Which premium brands do you think should not be premium?

[Cheeseandlobster]

For me it's Morning Fresh. I thought it was shite a decade ago. Bought it again recently and it is still crap. It doesn't lather and my usual Aldi own brand is far superior. How on earth has it survived this long?

Yves Dormer duvet cover.
£50 for a single pillow case £400 for the duvet cover.
Yeah it’s nice, but not 10 times nicer than the other ones I have.

@nettie434 weirdly an Amazon basics bedding set I bought recently when in a bind turns out is amazing quality as good as my old 'good' bedding
Good quality and weight fabric, fab seams and fastenings - it was a real surprise.

@Congressdingo, it might not be true of all brands, but I think that the companies that I hinted at might do this. I suspect that H**ter might do the same but I haven't had any for decades.

I think that some brands who have Outlets, may have lines that are only produced for the outlet shops.

I used to work in manufacturing and some companies we supplied were far more fussy than others. I don't think that they still are so I won't name them.

Tiffany is very overrated and overpriced (you are paying a fortune for the advertising and blue bag)

See also Links of London

My Miele washing machine and tumble dryer are about 12 or 13 years old and so far had no problems (admittedly the tumble dryer us not used very often)

I rate M and S school shoes over Clarkes but I had a pair of slippers from there that fell apart after about a week!!

I thought Links of London had gone bust?

Olaplex. Very disappointed.

Châteaux neuf du pape.

Dyson.

Hunters.

Warburtons bread. In particular that in the orange or blue packets.

I know someone who has worked in QA for a high street shop (mentioned in one or two previous post)

This person knows her clothes as she worked in the industry (worked for a designer as a seamstress/tailoress). She likes all sorts of brands and not necessarily ones you'd think of.

If I got this right:

A surprising one she likes is Bon Marche. (yes, I know, but she says they make comfortable trousers)

On the quite happy to wear are things like Fat Face, Joules, Boden, M&S and Jaeger (from a few years ago), House of Bruar and Peter Hahn for knitwear, Hotter, Skechers, Rohde for shoes

She really likes Toast and SeaSalt, and says their quality is great, after that the more top end brands like Aquascutum & co. Due to age and Covid she does buy from mail order but not internet.

Bear in mind that this person is retired and has been for about 10 years so her taste is not a 35-yr old's but she dresses quite 'young' for her age.

One thing she has said is that standards hove gone down noticeably, not just in clothes but in things like dressmaking fabric and knitting yarrn.

The Links of London shop closed and they axed lots of jobs but I think it's still available as a brand.

I knew I'd forget someone. Seamstress really likes Uniqlo.

Rolex.
Overpriced, mass produced aspirational nonsense!

By god they got it right though as everyone seems to aspire to own one!

PG tips

@Wherearemymarbles

Rolex. Overpriced, mass produced aspirational nonsense!

By god they got it right though as everyone seems to aspire to own one!

I'm sorry but this comment isn't informed by anything horological.

Overpriced?!! Look at what the Daytona retails for - around £10k from memory - and then what new ones retail for on the grey market. Rolex could triple the price at their retailers and still fill their order list. They limit supply to maintain exclusivity. They are anything but over priced considering the horological pedigree.

Speaking of which.. the Oyster case, the perpetual movement, the quality of the functions.. there's a reason why serious people in their fields choose them.

If you're just frustrated at their ubiquity as the "I'm rich!" thing of choice, then sure - fine - vent away. That's your opinion.

But some things are factual. Rolex make very, very good timepieces - right up there. Yes Vacherin, Audemars, Patek remain the trilogy. But that's UHNW stuff.

Rolex works because it's luxury, at a price point where theoretically (!) a reasonably successful person in their field could save for an Oyster or Datejust and then have it for years and it holds its value.

Over priced it isn't..

That Rolex comment has got me shaking my head.... really bizarre. This thread is full of folk venting about their perception of luxury goods, not whether they're badly categorised as premium.

What should a Rolex Datejust retail for?! Considering what an Omega or Tag retails for, and how badly they hold their value, as I said before Rolex could charge way more and still fill their order book.

@SarahBellam new look with notions 😂

Dyson fans. Our got clogged with dust, because our apartment seems to be a dust magnet. It stopped being able to work at anything but a low speed.

DH, who is an electrical engineer and fixed radar systems in the military, took it apart and cleaned the air intake.

He then spent a WEEK, an hour or so a day, trying to put it back together. It almost got binned. I heard a few choice swear words. He finally succeeded but it can no longer move back and forth.

Not worth the extra $$$.

Definitely don’t agree with some on here. I love M&S food, my Miele Hoover is amazing and I have several Joules tops/dresses that have lasted years .

My pet moans include Apple (whose systems have some real annoying quirks) and for those in creative industries you can no longer customise many old school larger Apple Macs— they’ve gone for the Chinese market and style over actual substance.

Anything Cadbury’s - which now has a weird filmy taste

Chanel perfume (and I appreciate this is personal taste) to me smells of cat piss

Nespresso machines

Tiffany's or any other expensive jewellery shop. Especially when it comes to the price of a diamond. Plus if you are interested in the quality of the diamond and in having a say in how your diamond is set you are FAR better off going to the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter.

Also, I'm always suspicious of a clothing brand that continuously sells their product at a discount. Think Gap, Joules, crew. If they can afford to knock 20-40% off during promotions then they are charging WAY too much in the first place for a product of average quality.

Kettle crisps have gone downhill.
I'd love a Miele washing machine as my dishwasher by them is fab.
Fairy is the best washing up liquid. The others are just awful.
Chocolate isn't the same anymore by any of the manufacturers.
Pledge is the best furniture Polish! Anything else is an imposter.

Genuwine

Rolex make c.850,000 watches per year. That’s hardly limiting supply. Their movements are little better than ETA pretty basic.

But you are right, they are perceived as a luxury brand, just about affordable and the only watch that holds it’s value (significantly) better is a Patek.

It me that doesn’t perceive as a luxury brand.
I never said they were crap.

But no you mention TAG….

@Crikeyalmighty, I vaguely recall some interesting research about Chanel no 5 and toxo infection where people with the evidence of the parasite infection find the smell more attractive. It might be linked to influencing mouse behaviour to encourage predation to enable toxo lifecycle completion.

We bought a Fortnum and Mason hamper for a special birthday. The smoked salmon was certainly not that great and even in Waitrose you can buy some far nicer for a 3rd of the price.

Aldi does a really good dupe of Baileys (I think called Bally Castle or similar) for about £3! It is a little thinner than Baileys but the taste is lovely and great value for money. They only sell it around Christmas time though, Sainsbury's own version is also good.

Can’t believe M&S food and Miele appliances are getting stuck!

The people posting have obviously not tried M&S Eccles Cakes.