Imagine you’re walking through WalMart (or Target if you’re one of the “classy” folks) and you’re shopping for cereal. You’re searching for your favorite cereal, Reese’s Puffs, and you come across a boring-packaged box of “peanut butter spheres”. Now, you’ve had the pleasure to eat both brands. You’ve eaten the name brand and it was nothing short of living up to expectations; full of flavor, great packaging, plenty of bang for the buck. But, you’ve also eaten the generic; full of flavor, dull packaging, maybe a little less but alas, it’s MUCH cheaper. We’ve all been in that spot where we’ve had to decide between quality over quantity. Much like cereal, i’ve watched the debate play out amongst fetish items. My take? Well, does the name brand ever lose sleep over the likes of the generic sheep? That’s a 100% no. 

I’m sure there have been plenty of times when we’ve seen women open a shop, full it with $15-$20 panties and guarantee free shipping, free pictures, and tracking. Now at first, it’s infuriating. Same brand new gal’ is going to market the SAME item I am but for half the cost. AND she may even get all of the buyers who were eyeing MY goods? I get it. The thought of it is infuriating. But just like the cereal, the value brand may not have all of the cool tricks and features the name brand does. And you know why people keep coming back to the name brand? Because it’s a name people trust. It has just enough extra sparkle to keep the loyal customers coming back. Sure, the generic value brand has its perks, too, and maybe for those on a budget it’s a crucial staple. But without having a counterpart, the name brand would have no reason to stay in business. Thing of it like this: you can’t have positive if there wasn’t a negative. You can’t have a generic if you don’t have a name brand. Each sets the stage and standard for the other. The generic keeps the prices competitive and the value brand sets the stage for a quality product. 

So many times I have seen sellers get bent out of shape, and rightly so, for sellers who are low-balling prices and product. But ask yourself this: how does it feel knowing you are the “name brand” out of the two? I bet it feels pretty special. Those sellers don’t make as much as you’d think, and the buyers who are “buying in” to their generic product.. do you really want them anyways? As annoying as it can be, the two opposite prices keep supply and demand in check. Those generic prices don’t always hold up and at the end of the day, the name brand has a good reputation. Instead of continuing to set lower prices and standards, stand firm to what you believe your product represents. And if your product needs rebranding, then do so. But, your product will never continue to grow if you are dwelling on the other end of the spectrum. 

Are you a generic or are you a name brand? Thankfully, the choice is yours.