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?

Doc Martins now they've been rebranded and come in 50 different styles. A guy in Office Shoes told me not to buy them for my insistent daughter as so many people had returned them this year as they're so badly made now (but coat a fortune)!

AgeLikeWine we were also put off buying a Land Rover a few years ago by the car dealer selling them (he sold other stuff too)!

We were going to buy a two year old one and he said they were an absolute money pit as the parts and maintenance cost so much.

I’ve got an OG yellow and grey Dyson and it’s fantastic, there’s a local business who service it yearly for £20 and it’s never let me down.

@JanuaryJonez, if you want DMs get vintage ones or buy the similar styles from Solovair.

Apple - easy to use gadgets that sync seamlessly if you have multiple Apple devices and their customer service is (generally) superb.

McVities digestives are the right combo of being a bit salty and sweet. Only M&S digestives come close.

Aesop - I honestly don’t understand for the life of me how it is so expensive. I used to enjoy using it at the airport lounge’s showers (remember when people used to go abroad for holidays?) but would never spend that much on it! M&S do a cheap knock-off which smells exactly the same.

The White Company - they do nice bedding but again I can buy the exact same thing from John Lewis for a fraction of the price and same quality. I bought a towel from John Lewis which was exactly the same as The White Company however they were charging £45 for it versus £22 at John Lewis! What a joke.

Michael Kors - I can remember someone was offering to rent out their watch for the day for £100 when I was younger. I even thought then that was ridiculous for a MK watch!

Boots’ own brand of anything - everything is so expensive. I can remember when I was looking for mosquito spray and I went into Boots and saw a bottle for £6. I then went into Wilko and saw the exact same bottle (except it was Wilko own except Boots) which was £2 .

Jo Malone - yeeesh. ALL her perfumes smell like lavatory spray

Also high end hair salons - avoid! . I was treated to a cut & colour for my birthday a decade ago in a famous Mayfair based place.

It was basically a pecking order and I was 'behind' a TV personality and a Russian millionaire regular. Subsequently my hair fried and it took six months to get it back to normal.

I was lucky in that a former employee now lives in our area and is now freelance, so she cuts/colours our entire family for a fraction of the price.

Ruinart champagne. My DB was given a bottle in a Christmas hamper. It costs over $100 in Australia, so we were happily expecting a flavour sensation.

It was foul. Call me a bogan, but Yellowglen cheap Aussie pinot bubbles is so much nicer!

@Hairbrush123 which M&S one smells like Aesop? I feel the need to shop

Our XFis currently leaking have taken to local garage and they can't tell.us why. No way are we taking to jaguar they would charge 300 just to have a look. We have had so many issues in the 3.5 years of owning it we are now considering PCP cars after years of just buying outright. We won't do it though but has not been a great experience.

@JesusWeptonaBike

@Ireolu

Our XFis currently leaking have taken to local garage and they can't tell.us why. No way are we taking to jaguar they would charge 300 just to have a look. We have had so many issues in the 3.5 years of owning it we are now considering PCP cars after years of just buying outright. We won't do it though but has not been a great experience.

I had so many problems with my 2016 XE, constant air conditioning problems, heated seats, the cameras not working, problems with the infotainment system. I had that car for 3 years from brand new and I couldn't wait to get rid of it (plus I couldn't fit my pram in the boot!).

@Ireolu worth checking with the dealer (I work for JLR and our diag fee is £100)

[quote PawsQueen]@Hairbrush123 which M&S one smells like Aesop? I feel the need to shop [/quote]
@PawsQueen look for their “Apothecary Restore” range - it smells just like Aesop to me!

@groovergirl

Ruinart champagne. My DB was given a bottle in a Christmas hamper. It costs over $100 in Australia, so we were happily expecting a flavour sensation.

It was foul. Call me a bogan, but Yellowglen cheap Aussie pinot bubbles is so much nicer!

That reminds me of the Christmas my father bought us a bottle of Dom Perignon for a special treat! It was honestly no different from Sainsbury's best but he was so proud of having bought it for my mother and me that we made all the right noises!

Yankee candle

@JewelGarden

I bought that creme de la mer for my mums birthday one year, sneaked a bit to try it and thought it was very similar to the little blue pot of nivea you get. Left my skin very shiny.

I was coming on to say this! I had a teeny tiny tester pot of La Mer from John Lewis and I was so excited to try it and it was just like old school blue Nivea! Very heavy and left my skin feeling quite greasy. I'd never buy it.

Clever marketing.

"the Christmas my father bought us a bottle of Dom Perignon for a special treat! "

I prefer Prosecco to champagne.

We bought a Beko fridge (no freezer compartment) from Curry's 14 years ago. It was a silver under counter ex display one. It cost £50. I'm desperate for a new one but cannot justify getting a new one as it still runs as good as new. The plastic shelf door inserts aren't all that hardy but we have always been able to replace them by buying them from specialist parts replacement shops on Amazon or Ebay for no more than a fiver.
We've had a Zanussi dryer that lasted 2 years, a Siemens dish washer that lasted 4 years (that was second hand to be fair) and maybe 3 or 4 washers since we got together 18 years ago but nothing has lasted as long as our cheap Beko fridge.

@ZaraW how is it the same thIng? An outlet has products discounted all year round. Regular stores with a sale on, isn't all year round, will only be for limited items in limited sizes and by the time am selling mine, the store most likely
Doesn't stock that item anymore. So no not the same thing 🙄

You're supposed to warm Creme delamer in your hand before applying it. Not sure if that's the 'magic' bit and that it might work for other skincare

I used to.work for JLR. I'd never own one.

They know their quality is shit.

for the last year I worked there, their own stats showed that 17% of AA breakdowns were for a JLR vehicle and 20% of JLR vehicles broke down in their first year.

I'll stick to Honda and Toyota thanks.

[quote wonkylegs]@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. [/quote]
Only just saw this. Thanks for the tip @wonkylegs!

A lot of these brand name mentioned here are not premium

Yes to Clarks. They are expensive and shite, don't last 5 mins. I also despise this narrative of 'support' for children's feet and ankles...err, I think evolution took care of the fact that we can walk about on perfectly functional feet (excepting disabilities). And they sell bloody horrible little patent Mary Janes...for small kids! Ffs, girls need to be able, and encouraged to, run about and climb stuff. Not sit about to avoid scuffing their perfect little shiny shoes.