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[juno]

Originally Posted by MS_Angel

Hi

I bought a pair of sandals in Primark a couple of months ago - espadrille type in baby pink, for £5. Saw the EXACT same ones in Barratts today for £15!

Anyone know of any other instances of this type of thing?

MS_Angel

It's not actually the same product, it's a copy. There will be some tiny detail different somewhere! Primark do a lot of that kind of thing. Bay Trading do too. In fact, most of the cheaper shops will copy something from the more expensive ones.

[Bendybops19]

adsa's own milk chocolate is practically exactly the same as Milka, does any one if it is the same??? its like 25p for a whole family sized slab !! and is SO delicious!!!!!

[lipidicman]

I think people are looking for 'X IS Y', not 'X is really LIKE Y, is it the same?'
Sorry to be short with you! I'm stressed (marking students work is depressing)

[vansboy]

A bit boring I know, but Savlon Antiseptic Cream = £1.49ish in Sainsburys.

Their own label cream = 99p with EXACTLY same chemical ingredients, with like for like quantities.

If you've li'l uns with constant grazed knees, a 3o% saving isn't bad!!

VB

[anntics]

Hi all

very interesting thread, thanks to all the contirbutors.

My favourite perfume is Spellbound by Estee Lauder. I also buy 'mesmerised' from the smell-a-like range that can be found on market stalls and in some shops, to wear in the day. It smells exactly the same to me and I get asked about it just as much as when I wear the real thing.

My friend thinks I'm extravagant for wearing expensive perfume to the supermarket and such like, little does she know......

Originally Posted by megsykins

Don't forget ex-display models when looking for a bargain - i saved £50 on a hifi and £200 on a laptop this way.

I would be wary of ex-display unless it's an amazing bargain. It is difficult to know how long some items have been on display and display models can get a lot of 'hammer' from customers.

Last year I wanted to buy a particular TV but the only one left was the display model. I was told that their display TV's are never turned off, so they might have been running continuously for many months. If modern electrical items are designed with a maximum 'life in use' as we are led to believe, then a proportion of it had been used up already. I decided that the paltry discount they were offering did not make up for this potential loss of life expectancy and went elsewhere to purchase another (unused) one.

Cheers

Ann

[lipidicman]

Display can be OK

If you are buying from a small quality hifi shop then at least you know that the display model works Ok, and it wont have been hammered, merely run-in. It wont be 'dead out of the box'. But from somewhere like currys, I would be wary - there it will have been poked and prodded by a lot of idiots

A tv on all the time? - should be OK, a lot of wear comes from power-cycling (switching on and off and the thermal changes). I wouldnt say that a tv would necessarily last any less time because it was on display. Remember the failure times are averages and you could lose half the lifetime through mere variation. For this reason a display model easily could outlast a boxed one. You still get a full guarantee and you can still demand that it lasts a 'reasonable time'. The most importnant thing is to buy from a shop that will deal with problems well (I cant resist mentioning John Lewis here, I dont work for them, they have just always been fantastic, and they price match the likes of Curry's and Comet)

[snake666]

dont know if anyone has listed about this on here already if they have sorry for a repete post

a few years ago i worked in st ival and all the fruit juices for all the supermarkets are the same, one night we did asda for 59p a ltr then we changed cartons and did m&s for 109p

this is for all juices and milk

snake

[lipidicman]

So St. Ivel makes all the juices for all supermarkets?
St. Ivel is part of the Dairy Crest/Unigate group, the largest supplier of milk
I'm not disputing that you did Asda and M&S for that product
But ALL juices and Milk? Dairy crest dont mention fruit juices in their main products.

http://www.dairycrest.co.uk/index.shtml

[Ayesha]

To reiterate what others have said - Cadbury's definitely do not make chocolates for Thornton's! There is a clear marked difference in taste! It is true though, having also worked for Thornton's, that they make chocolates for Marks & Spencer's although there are differences in appearance.

At university, and having done a project on Aldi, I was informed by my lecturer that Aldi's cornflakes are made by Kellogg's! Although Kellogg's famous strapline is, 'We don't make cereals for anyone else'!

I was also informed that Heinz make supermarket own brand baked beans although own brand versions are slightly watered down.

[skiking]

Peugeot 807=Citroen C8=Fiat Ulysse
All made in the same factory on the same line. Only difference is badge and names of the colours

[SaraSeahorse]

Originally Posted by snake666

dont know if anyone has listed about this on here already if they have sorry for a repete post

a few years ago i worked in st ival and all the fruit juices for all the supermarkets are the same, one night we did asda for 59p a ltr then we changed cartons and did m&s for 109p

this is for all juices and milk

snake

I live in Corby and used to work for a company called orchard house, they produced FRESHLY squeezed orange juice for lots of retailers (there would be subtle differences in blends, sugar acid values) these included then safeway morrison marks and spencer co-op asda etc

[meggyloo]

i used to load vans for a company that made clothes for m&s and they would put a diffrent label in the £180 womens suits and sell them to wholesale warehouses and other places

the amount of time i would notice them in windows in local womens cloths shops for £30 or market stalls
no wonder m&s are in trouble

this is still the case today

[mrwibble]

Just been looking at petrol strimmers in B&Q - the Ryobi machines and the own brand Performance Power ones look identical in terms of the motor and a number of core components. Stampings and the internal parts I saw were identical with indents and machine marks (scratches) in the same positions so I assume that the core power plant (and possibly the drive train to the head but I need to check as far as I can see) is the same to gain scale economies. The differences relate to the user interface - the handle appears better, jazzier paintwork and plastic housings. Not sure about guarantee but based on the key components the own-brand looks a bargain if it lasts only 3 years - most of the £40 electrics last only a couple of years based on my experience - the £20 own-brands a year if you are lucky.

The bottom end machine is on special offer at the moment in-store only - £49.95 compared to £79 and £89 for the similar Ryobi.

[bagand96]

Anyone looking to buy a FREEVIEW box at the moment. Asda and Tesco are both selling boxes at £34.97. These boxes are the same, but are also the same as the Goodmands GDB3 which will set you back £45+ as well as the same as a couple of Bush and Alba Boxes.

The boxes are all made by a Turkish company called Vestel and although the plastic and the badge may be different they're all the same box. They are branded Pacific (at Asda) and Digilogic (at Tesco).

[pmd]

I don't like buying Nestle products because of 3rd-world baby-milk. I do like eating shredded-wheat-type cereal, and I buy Sainsbury's Miniwheats.

Does anyone out there know for sure whether these are made by Nestle for Sainsbury or not?

[before hollywood]

Originally Posted by bagand96

Anyone looking to buy a FREEVIEW box at the moment. Asda and Tesco are both selling boxes at £34.97. These boxes are the same, but are also the same as the Goodmands GDB3 which will set you back £45+ as well as the same as a couple of Bush and Alba Boxes.

The boxes are all made by a Turkish company called Vestel and although the plastic and the badge may be different they're all the same box. They are branded Pacific (at Asda) and Digilogic (at Tesco).

bagand96 is right,
the full story is, that most cheaper freeview boxes are made by vestel, these include matsui and techwood at currys and dixons, all (i think) alba, bush, goodmans and even (i think) hitachi? not sure about thomson? maybe someone could shed some light on the situation?
it's true about the digilogic and pacific boxes, the only boxes i have seen for under £50 that are definitely made by the name on the front are by sagem and humax (although humax boxes are nearer 60).
has anyone else noticed that the digilogic dvd player in tesco looks exactly the same as last years pacific base model at asda?
if you go in some asda stores its still on display even though they replaced it last year
i'm not joking :rolleyes:

[fairmorn308]

Originally Posted by natalie1980

Marks and Spencer Soup made by Baxters
Chocolates made by Thorntons
Milk by Robert Wiseman Daries
Most of the ready made meals by Sun Valley
Chicken by Grampian
Bread by British Bakeries

I know coz I work for m&s

Baxters make waitrose soup aswell.

I work for Baxters

[rebus]

my hubby used to work for Burtons Biscuits (ABfoods), they make all of Marks and Spencer's shortbread as well as ASDA and tesco, the only difference being that Markies pay for top quality ingredients. And just for the record, WAGON WHEELS are smaller than they used to be!!!
I also know that ALBA (lower end of the market) are made by Sony, I can't see past the fancy exterior of the Sony!! (but have started to but ALBA as things wear out and they're just as good)
Happy shopping

[bbruce]

I recently found out AEG is now made by Electrolux and is the same underneath as Zanussi. When you look closely, it becomes apparent.
My old AEG washing machine was expensive and good (second only to Miele) but became uneconomical to repair when a replacement motor costs the same a new budget machine.
As AEG new prices have fallen to Zanussi levels recently, maybe their parts will too.
Looks like the only quality independent brand is now Miele! They are excellent but must have a limited market so maybe it's just a matter of time before they get gobbled up!

[Searcher]

Originally Posted by cattie

Having known 2 people who worked for Heinz for many years I was told that Heinz do not make products for any other label or company other than their own.

It's the same with Kellogg's I'm given to understand. You can always tell the difference between their cereals & shop's own brands. They just don't compare.

I worked at Kellogg's many years ago as a subcontractor, their slogan at the time was "if it doesn't say Kellogg's ON the box it isn't Kellogg's IN the box". As far as I know this still holds true.