I buy both. There are some things that I'm picky about, but most things I'm more concerned about the price. Most food products are off-brand or store-brand, likewise with most drugs and first aid material, and pretty much the only reason I've been buying clothing at name-brand stores is because I'm a plus-sized woman (currently) and I've yet to find things that fit me at Zellers or in second-hand stores (the plus sizes have almost always been picked through by the time I get around to shopping). I do fork out more money for cat food, though, and for beauty products. There is a difference between brand-name shampoos and conditioners and off-brand/store-brand products, even if we're told there isn't. I can't psychosomatically make my hair more tangled just because I'm using an off-brand product, so it must be that off-brand conditioners don't condition as well as the name-brand ones.