Yes, that is the same thing.

[Despina83]

Last night a cashier called me and asked if we had any children's Motrin, because a guy had been looking all over for it. I go to the pain relief aisle and see a ton of boxes that say children's Ibuprofen (I think you know where this is going now). He comes over and says he was looking all over for it. I show him the boxes. He stares for a minute and then goes, "THAT'S Motrin? The one I had before said Motrin on it." I told him this is the exact same thing, just without the brand name. "Oh, okay, thanks."

[MoonCat]

Not familiar with generics, I guess. He probably never looked at his Motrin box where it says active ingredient: ibuprofen.

[Raveni]

His wife probably sent him, lol. My brain shuts down when I am in "honey-do" mode sometimes.

[Gizmo]

Not familiar with generics, I guess. He probably never looked at his Motrin box where it says active ingredient: ibuprofen.

Seriously it shocks me how often I look at brand name medications and see that all they contain is Ibuprofen. It does make me wonder why they are about 5 times the price as Ibuprofen!

[Rapscallion]

The cost of marketing, that's why.

Rapscallion

[MoonCat]

The cost of marketing, that's why.

Rapscallion

It's the cost of all those boxes that say "New and Improved!"

[surreal20]

Technically speaking, it's the brand name alone. Most items that one would buy that are priced higher are for these reasons but not limited to:

Brand name
Marketing cost
Box
Ingredients
cost of assembly

i could go on..but no one wants me to find my accounting text book...

[Captain Trips]

Well, actually there can be a difference in the inactive ingredients, if they list them at all. Being lactose intolerant, I can't take generics that use lactose (milk sugar) as a filler. So I have to sometimes be careful.

But the quality of the filler has nothing to do with cost, everyone else is right - the big names need to pay for their advertising somehow. Go with the generic. If not sure, find the brand you want, read (READ, DAMMIT!) the label, and find a generic with the same active ingredient.


What am I saying, I know these people (and I use the term liberally) don't bother reading labels. Too much work, it means they'd have to think.

[Shalom]

Children's [brand name] motrin was recalled last year, and hasn't been available since. Customer probably never bought the generic before.

The company really shot themselves in the corporate foot on this one. There's really no difference between the brand and the generic besides the price, so mostly they were trading on the (incorrect) perception that their product is somehow better, stronger, more kosher, or whatever. Now that it's been unavailable for some time, those people who insisted on the brand name product are forced to take the generic instead and finding that it works just as well. Even if they manage to get their factory to finally pass inspection, they'll never reclaim the market share they once had.

[AccountingDrone]

His wife probably sent him, lol. My brain shuts down when I am in "honey-do" mode sometimes.

If I want something specific, I send hubby to the store with a label, written name with the specifics, or once I printed off a picture of the item from the internet =)