Clark Howard

15 things you can buy cheaper under a different name

You probably know that private label goods can save you a lot of money when you choose them over name brands.

But are you sacrificing quality by buying off-brand?

Turns out the answer is not really. Savvy shoppers know that off-brand goods are sometimes made by brand-name manufacturers and just sold under a store’s own label.

Likewise, did you know that it’s possible to save money just by buying something under a completely different name?

RELATED: Costco Black Friday 2018: When to shop & how to find the best deals

Buying a product under a different name can save you money!

Back over the summer, we told you about how you can buy dewormer for your dog at a much cheaper price if you can get ahold of fenbendazole — the active ingredient in many dewormers.

It’s typically sold for horses in paste form at tractor supply stores, seed and feed stores and the like.

In the same vein, if you use pine litter for your cat’s litter box, giving pine pellet horse bedding a try can save you big bucks, too.

When we did a price check, we found a 40-pound bag of pine pellet horse bedding sold for $8.75 at a seed and feed store vs. a 20-pound bag of the brand-name pine cat litter that regularly sold for $9.99 at a supermarket.

It’s exactly the same product! Why pay more for so much less?

That got us thinking…what other products could you be paying less for if you just buy them under a different name?

So we turned to this Reddit thread and found a bevy of potential buys. Read about the savings in the original posters' own words…

Pool supplies

Pool too acidic? You can get a 2-kg tub of “pH Up” pool chemical at the pool store OR you can an 8-kg tub of sodium bicarb (yes – baking soda) at the hardware store for half the price.

Pool needs salt? Pool salt at the pool store costs double of what a bag of salt costs at Costco.

One of my light bulbs burned out last year. The pool store wanted $80 for a new bulb… I ended up finding the exact same bulb that was intended for tractors at the hardware store for $8.99

– jreed26

Grilling & entertaining

In the summer I grill a lot. I bought welding gloves so I could handle the chimney/grill lid. Cheaper than the ones in the grilling section at the hardware store and oven mitts don’t cut it.

– _hellonasty

Use mineral oil on your wooden cutting board instead of “cutting board oil”. MUCH CHEAPER.

– redhotjose9

Sterno supplies

The fuel alcohol you use to heat fondu or warming pans is just denatured alcohol. You can buy it for about 1/3rd the price in the hardware section.

– firefarmer74

Magic erasers

They are not even remotely close in quality to magic erasers, but you get a lifetime supply of melamine bricks for the price of 2 magic erasers.

They do fall apart during usage, but those clumps just fall to the ground. They don’t stick to anything.

In some cases, it’s an advantage that they fall apart quicker. For example, when they get stained or pick up color from paint or ink. You don’t want to use that side on another surface without cutting or rubbing it off because it may transfer and smear some of that color on what you are trying to clean.

– Warpedme

Water bottle cleaning tablets

[They are] basically denture cleaning tabs. They work amazing but may make your water a bit minty.

– BlondeLacey
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Paint brushes for art projects

As an artist who also worked at an overpriced art store, [here is some] great advice…if you need quality paint brushes, use makeup brushes! Elf sells some for like $1-3, they’re generally really nice quality, comparable to $15-20 brushes you’d buy at an art store. Sure, you could buy a pack of like 50 brushes at Walmart for $5, but sometimes an artist does need quality over quantity!

– sashabybee

Wedding dresses

I bought a white prom dress as my wedding dress [and it] saved me $400!! Funny thing is I went in that shop the following year and they had marked that dress up because of it.

– nermyah

Using doggie supplies as baby hygiene supplies…

Disposable change pads for baby = puppy pads

Small plastic bags for wrapping up diapers = doggy poop and scoop bags

– 5abrina

…And using incontinence supplies for puppy training!

If are a dog owner and you use puppy/dog pee pads…buy the human ones near adult diapers sections. They are bigger and always cheaper. My vet told me about this.

– kurinevair666

Beauty supplies

If you use a hair smoothing or straightening serum like Biosilk or Chi [then] Tresemme keratin smooth serum is a good dupe for either and costs $5 a bottle instead of $20-$25.

If you use nail polish remover, you can get a quart of pure acetone from the hardware store for the same price as a 6-8 oz bottle in the toiletries section. Pure acetone also works better than super glue at bonding some plastics.

– wiredandwiser

For really dry, cracked heels (or hands) get bag balm at a place like Tractor Supply. Way cheaper than foot creams and works well.

– Grandmapoppy

Medication substitutions

Instead of Zyrtec ($0.50 each), search for cetirizine ($0.02 each). Works with a lot of OTC medication actually — just search for the active ingredient and you’ll find a cheaper version. Buy in bulk, most medications are safe and effective far after their listed best by date.

– kendrickshalamar

And to piggy-back off this, most OTC sleep-aids are just generic Benadryl, which is much cheaper.

– thatG_evanP

Alka-Seltzer is just sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and aspirin. Usually I don’t need the aspirin part just the stomach settling part so I’ve stopped buying Alka-Seltzer.

– tgbythn

Floor pillows

Made an account just to post this. Instead of “floor pillows” I buy giant dog beds, like from Costco.

– okdennvm

My sister used them in a reading nook as a teacher. She has mixed feeling when the kids realized the tag on the pillow and were offended that they were from “Pooch Palace.” haha

– pajic_e

Sound blankets

Instead of buying “acoustic blankets” or “sound blankets” to make a nice studio/recording space, consider buying moving blankets instead — Harbor Freight’s are fine, and huge ones are $9. Add grommets if you want to get fancy.

– CharlesWiltgen

What would you add to this list? Write in below and let us know!

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