What are some examples of fancier, expensive, boutique versions of things that are worse than the mass market version?

Theyre all paracetamol.

Hate to quibble but this is not right. In the US, Advil is a brand of ibuprofen, Bayer is a brand of aspirin, and Tylenol is a brand of acetaminophen (paracetamol).

Those are all pain relievers, but they're different drugs, and they may have different uses, different warnings, different risks, and different levels of effectiveness for different sorts of pain.

I agree that there's no interesting difference between generic ibuprofen and brand-name ibuprofen. or generic and name-brand acetaminophen. But it doesn't follow from that that ibuprofen and acetaminophen are the same thing.

But! The drugs aren't the same. People who drink a lot should probably steer clear of acetaminophen because it has been said to cause liver damage in heavy drinkers. Low-dose aspirin, while useful for heart ailments, might not be great for someone with a fever, particularly a kid, because of a (probably very slight) risk of Reye's syndrome.

(Oh and while Advil, Motrin, and store-brand ibuprofen are identical chemically speaking, I still think the coating on Advil tablets is tastier.)

I feel like what we're doing here is mostly the markup on the boutique variety is unjustifiable and not the boutique variety is actually worse

don't some people claim this about coffee (correct or not)?

used to see some foodie blogs insist Dunkin Donuts coffee was the best ever

Thanks for the course correction, Tomboto, you're right; most of this is about whether the $200 (thing) is twice as good as the $100 (thing). It usually isn't, but that is a different question from whether it's worse.

in the case of the latter my experience is: t-shirts.

T-shirts are always worse, in terms of fit, durability, and comfort, per each dollar you spend over $18 or so.

Hot sauce, too. I prefer Crystal (under $2 a bottle) to most probiotic, small batch, whatever artisan types.

― Yelploaf, Sunday, November 12, 2017 3:37 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hi 5. Crystal is great, most any mass market cayenne+vinegar+salt sauce is good. The spendier brands that have a lot of pulp and fruit and stuff mixed in can be good, it's just not enough of a return for the price. Hot sauce is v kechupesque in this regard.

Which is the best generic/cheap maple syrup? I can't fuck with that £5/6 a bottle stuff when I could get some terrible red wine for less than that.

Electric guitar.

Superhero comics! I never understand why anyone would rather read some back-breaking 1,500 page prestige hardback collection over a piece-of-shit badly-printed single issue.

Separating superhero comics from other stuff because there are lots of prestige books (e.g. the Fantagraphics Peanuts books) that are gorgeous (and also not prohibitively heavy).

if we're gonna try, for whatever reason, to stan for mass-produced beers than leave budweiser and coors well out if it ffs. gross.

a cold heineken or whatever, grand.

I feel like what we're doing here is mostly the markup on the boutique variety is unjustifiable and not the boutique variety is actually worse

― El Tomboto, Sunday, November 12, 2017 6:33 PM (thirty-five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

heineken is not the same style, although I like that on occasion. it’s not even trying to be a better version

otoh I heard several Japanese beers described as “efforts to create a Japanese Budweiser” and I can totally taste it. Kirin and Sapporo for sure

the boutique colas and ketchups are worse, please fight me

I love heineken tbh, but i will also "happily" drink the cheaper brands stella and budweiser. budweiser is good for adding to beef stews as well, not so great for drinking.

idk if Stella is cheaper than Heineken in the US?

it is in the uk

actually I think most Asian export lagers are all efforts to create a <demonym> Carlsberg

I wish I could argue that flat-pack furniture that's more expensive than IKEA is always a rip-off but I remembered I have several things I put together myself that are way better than the IKEA particle board edition.

cheap/generic maple syrup is not actually maple syrup so that's a weird one

list junk food dressed up for yuppies who are too smart for junk food

coffins.

the flimsier the better imo

"cheap/generic maple syrup is not actually maple syrup so that's a weird one"

that's probably true, hence the requirement for shoplifting.

> Hot sauce is v kechupesque in this regard

I'd disagree with respect to many hot sauces are so distinct they don't really compete with each other. Louisiana style hot sauces (and Louisiana brand > Tabasco > Crystal), Sriracha style hot sauces, Mexican style hot sauces, Belizean style hot sauces all serve different purposes in my kitchen. Red beans and rice would be wrong with the cumin that a Mexican style hot sauce would add. But generally, cost is no indication of quality. In addition to Louisiana > Tabasco, Valentina's = Cholula, and Melinda's bought by the gallon = Marie Sharpe's.

Aside: if one isn't making a barrel aged hot sauce, they're really easy to prepare at home. I just made a batch of this recipe when a nephew gave me 3 dozen home-grown habaneros, and it stands up to Marie Sharpe's.

good maple syrup is still cheap if you don't mind going to farm country to buy it

one subcategory might be things like cameras, where the fancy/boutiquey stuff is also specialist stuff. so not "worse," but probably worse FOR most people - the fanciest camera won't be set up to let you take good everyday pics right out of the box, they assume you'll be futzing with settings and stuff, but lower tiers will be. audio equipment might be similar in some ways. most vinyl afficionados would acknowledge that it's a bad fit for most people's listening habits, and wildly more expensive and (these days) boutiquey than spotify. but we are very happy with our records!

a lot of boutiquey things are riding this edge by selling you on acquiring this expertise and connoisseurship, supported by irritating marketing moves and stupid lifestyle blogs and shit. for the uninitiated it can be hard to tell which upsells are hokum (gold speaker wires) and which genuinely reflect an improvement in your experience. i'm making the transition to shaving with double-edged razor blades in a safety razor rather than cartridges. in the long run it will save me a fortune on mass market cartridges, but upfront it was a marked-up boutiquey "starter set" of razor, mug and shaving soap (I know, I know, I'm a sucker but I just couldn't go one more shave with my neck all irritated). and until i master the techniques i am getting a worse shave more laboriously (albeit without the irritation).

back in the main thread topic: 3D movies.

this thread would be more useful if it named specific boutique brands that suck. Otherwise, it's pretty obvious that most things have good and bad examples at all price points.

now you're getting all boutique-y on us

bad and boutique-y

With camera lenses or audiophile equipment, the buyer is often paying for a distinctive sort of distortion that they don't get from less expensive options. Lens reviews effuse about the quality of bokeh, how out of focus points are rendered. You may like that "warm" speaker, with the peak in the vocal frequency range and dip early into the cymbal highs, but from an objective standpoint, its poorer at reproducing the source material.

Honestly, that's okay. I just don't think a preference for certain kinds of distortion requires so much in the way of marketing justifications.

justifications rationalisations

Grace brand jerk seasoning/sauce is pretty unbeatable. Also Kikkoman maybe?

Oh and YYK zippers.

"Which is the best generic/cheap maple syrup? I can't fuck with that £5/6 a bottle stuff when I could get some terrible red wine for less than that."

the good pure stuff is always more expensive and WAY better than the bad corn syrup goop. but good maple syrup is just maple syrup so its not like a boutique thing.

i'm kinda addicted to bayer back & body aspirin with caffeine. totally makes my record crate-wrecked back feel better and gives me a spring in my step during the day. so, bayer rules. i haven't seen too many hipster aspirins out there though. there probably some herbal headache powders at the co-op in town.

Shampoo

― ur-oik (rip van wanko)

I would really like to know if this is true, because it would save me about 75%. Please tell me that a $5 bottle of shampoo is better than a $20 one. Anecdotal evidence from other people suggests the opposite so please tell me that they're wrong.

we have a fancy apothecary in town but i've never been there. maybe if they sold opium-laced tinctures i would go.

http://www.bluedragonapothecary.com/

xp massively dependent on your hair length/type imo

also, i hate saying the word tincture. one of my least-favorite words!

cleaning wipes

cleaning chemicals in general (windex vs gen brand)

i like that the generic ones are less potent

My mom proudly told me she went sulfate-free so I checked her bottle of Redken shampoo, and instead of sodium lauryl sufate, the 2nd ingredient was sodium lauryl sulfoacetate. I know nothing about chemistry but I think she's been had. So I laughed haughtily in her direction and she cried.

Btw I strongly dispute the "drip coffee" suggestion. The beans I buy from my local shop that come from Papua New Guinea, Sumatra, or Mexico and cost ~$15/pound are indisputably superior to anything I could buy at the supermarket. More flavorful AND smoother, not to mention easier on the stomach (less acidic). I can understand a nostalgic affection for old-fashioned drip coffee from a diner or whatever but it's not better than the truly good stuff.

shame on you!

Xp

For me, $5 is a fancy bottle of Pantene. I use $1 Suave.

Sulfate-free shampoo is like slathering mayonnaise on your hair, ime. It just doesn't work.

My hair = mid-length, thick

the SLSA molecule is too large to penetrate the skin, thus causing less irritation than sulfates.

my take on hair/skin products is try to go for cheaper products but if you find something that works for you, like really works, and it costs $$$, you just have to roll with it.

i'm open to be educated on this but i've never enjoyed using anything more fancy than a bic razor (though obviously getting a straight-razor shave would be superior).

i had a completely generic vegetable peeler with a cheap white plastic handle for, i kid you not, at least 25 years and it was old when i got it! sadly, i lost it or it ended up in the trash. i bought 3 different peelers ranging from 5 dollars to 20 dollars and they all broke almost immediately. one broke just by touching a potato with it! i'm not even lying. i didn't even start peeling, it just broke in half when it touched a potato.

just needed to get that *they don't make them like they used to* moment out of my system...

which luxury brand of potato peeler was too fancy for peeling potatoes?