Things that are worth paying a bit extra for

[SpecialSpaghetti]

Just spent the best part of 45 minutes with DC going through numerous (5 - DC is a stationery fiend!) and doing an audit of all the working pens/pencils/felt tips/colouring pencils etc.
Never ceases to amaze me how disheartening it is when the leads in the pencils/colouring pencils constantly snap when you are trying to sharpen them.
The branded ones were a dream in comparison.
Pic (hopefully attached) shows the difference in quality.
The staedtler ones were great.
The ones from unknown origin had chipped wood and snapped leads.
There was even one that could not be sharpened! The wood just wouldn't 'give'.

What things in your life do you consider it worthwhile to pay a bit extra for?
Colouring pencils and pencils are now firmly in my list.
Bin bags too.
Split bin bags are not a pleasant experience!

Butter
Tea bags
Coffee
Fruit and Veg from M and S
Ketchup and Mayo
Meat
Sliced Meat from the deli section
Weetabix and Cornflakes
Washing Powder and Fabric Conditioner
Skincare
Shampoo
Foundation and Lipstick
Soap
Shower Gel
Toothpaste
Bedding
Underwear and Socks
winter Coats
Shoes
kids Coats
kids Shoes
Welly Boots
My Shopping Trolley
Rucksacks
Luggage

Beans
Lurpak
Any food really, i hate cheap shit

Food, agree that M&S fruit and veg just lasts and tastes good
clothing
bedding and towels
coffee

Winter boots! (Signed, a Canadian)

Tea bags, wine, bras, suncream (ultrasun long lasting nonstaining).

Technical outdoors clothing. Always worth paying more for the Goretex or equivalent.

Nappies - cheaper ones seem to lead to an increase in needing nappy cream?
Bread
Tomatoes
Bacon (any meat really)
Chocolate

But now more than ever before, I'm convinced you get what you pay for with everything.

Builders

Fish fingers, hate grey ones
Loo roll
Shampoo
coffee
cheese

Agree re Mutti, coffee etc & would add, compost!
The cheap ones are awful..

There's quite a few things but off the top of my head -

Salted butter - nothing with 'spread' in the name.
Jam - tip tree or bonne maman, the rest is just sugar paste.
Perfume - I don't care what anyone says, cheap perfume smells cheap, doesn't last and smells weird as it wears off. Not worth it.

Kitchen roll

Butter.
Olive oil
Business class travel.
Taxis

Pocket tissues. The own brand ones fall apart so quickly.

Another Mutti Tomatoes fan here! Discovered them during lockdown and have never gone back. They transform your cooking. I stock up
whenever it’s on offer.

Also cheese.
cheap cheese is awful and I’d rather have less of the decent stuff. Not necessarily branded but deffo ‘ taste the difference’ level. Aldi cheese is gross.
I also hope the cows get treated slightly better with swankier cheese but I know that is not necessarily the case. 🙁

Coffee
tea bags
bras
trainers
mattress
wall paint

Agree with PP about school rucksacks. We bought DS a nearly £100 North Face one (this was before north face became a thing) at the start of y7. He’s now nearly finished y10 and it is still going strong. I remember having a new rucksack for school each year, usually a sports brand, and they’d have been £15-20 each 35 years ago.

For me:

Estée Lauder skincare (used for 25+ years save for forays into Pixi, Clinique, Superdrug etc, and nothing comes close for me)

Diet Coke

Christy towels

Wirarpa knickers

Soap and Glory beat scrub of your life body scrub

Occitane 20% Shea hand cream

Garnier sensitive micellar water

Kellogg’s crunchy nut cornflakes

Marmite

Nescafe gold blend decaf coffee

Shoes, mattresses, toilet rolls.

Branded laundry products. I find shops own brand don't have any fragrance on them and the clothes don't get as clean. And bras. I've got big boobs and find cheaper bras don't give me any support.

I second bras

Tea bags
Dentist
Wellies

And weetabix. Never found a decent non branded version.

Bonne Maman jam. Lurpak (when it's on special offer) Azera coffee (when on special offer

Agree with tinned tomatoes and olive oil. Bloody depressing tasting going back to the cheap stuff.

Bin bags
toilet roll
jam

I love this thread will pop in in a bit