Recommended, 2024

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Scrap or bargain? How you recognize quality in promotional products


Photo: Meriel Jane Waissman / iStock

Stinginess is cool? Not with every promotional item ...

A frying pan for 15 euros? Is that good or are we only burning our fingers? Yvonne Willicks will tell you how to recognize quality on cheap promotional items.

Everyone knows these advertisements and brochures: "Only this week", "Only on Monday", "Great offer!" ... and we are already running in droves in the discounters and buy, buy, buy.

The products that are offered to us every day in various discounters sound really tempting: pans for 15, 99 Euro, sheets for 6, 99 Euro, LED light bulbs for 2, 99 Euro. There must be a catch!

Can products that are so cheap also be of good quality? Or they end up after two use only in the garbage ..?

One would think that products that were produced so cheaply, can not be good at all. After all, there were guaranteed savings in terms of materials, workmanship, skilled labor, etc.

Yvonne Willicks answers these questions with her team in the new episodes of the "household check" (from 26 October, 20:15 clock in the first). But she was allowed to look behind the scenes of a discounter and gain exciting insights.

Out came Yvonne Willicks with the following tips, where you can see good quality action goods - and avoid bad buys - can:

  • Pay attention to independent test seals: Trustworthy test seals are for example the GS mark of the TÜV or Stiftung Warentest. If there are already seals in the brochure that you do not know, then search the internet to see if the testing institute is worthy of trust.
    The CE mark, for example, is not a test but an administrative symbol! It merely states that the product complies with European directives.
  • For low-cost pans: According to experts, it is only possible to expect a good quality pan from 15 euros. Under it it is not really possible to offer good quality. Consider buying a cheap pan (over 15 euros), pay attention to the weight. The heavier a pan, the better its quality! Light pans can bend faster. Pay attention to the floor thickness. Also do the knock test. Tap on the back of the pan bottom. The less the knocking sound, the thinner the floor. The bell-like or melodic, the thicker the floor, the better the quality of the pan.
  • For cheap textiles: Take a good look at cheap textiles before you buy: How are the seams processed? How does the substance smell? If you smell an unpleasant odor, it may be that hazardous substances have been used. Even with textiles, there are certain test seals that give you security: The seal "Textile Trust" can be regarded as a quality feature. From compliance with eco-standards or fair production conditions, you can hardly go out with promotional products, however.

More tips are in the program!

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