I tried the 'brandless' startup that sells everyday items for $3 — and there's a huge catch

Brandless is a new ecommerce startup offering a wide assortment of household and food items, each at the magical price of $3. 

The idea behind Brandless is that it can add value for the consumer by selling quality merchandise without a so-called "brand tax." Instead of having a big logo emblazoned on a product, the actual attributes of the product are listed on the package instead. 

Founders Tina Sharkey and Ido Leffler came up with the idea as they looked at how consumer behavior had changed, and how many big name brands are struggling as a result.

"The false narrative of modern consumption, that brands have created and products have created, was actually dying a fast and painful death," Sharkey told me.

She added that customers are more likely to shop in accordance with what they value, whether that's a preference for organic or non-GMO products or a good value.

I was enticed by Brandless' promise, so I decided to try it out.

I happily shopped around, adding things to my cart. But as I went to check out, I hit my first snag. Brandless wanted to charge me $9 for shipping. I would have had to add $56 more to my order to get to the $72 threshold for free shipping. My other option would be to become a Brandless member, which would lower the free shipping threshold to $48.

I was about ready to give up on the order, but I saw later that day that Brandless was offering a discount on shipping — $3 for the first order. Ok, fine. You've got me, Brandless.

I placed my order and waited for it to arrive. I got the aforementioned tongs and garbanzo beans, as well as a two-pack of mac and cheese, gel hand soap, coconut cookies, and peanut butter.

The package arrived via FedEx four days later. The packaging was all very slick. The box and packaging tape are (somewhat ironically) all branded with the Brandless logo. Inside, literature welcomes customers to Brandless.

I immediately tore into the coconut cookies. I was packing for a trip and forgot to eat a real meal all day. But as hungry as I was, I wasn't impressed with how the cookies tasted. They were sweet and coconutty, but they were also really fragile, and there were a lot of crumbs at the bottom.

There was also a lot of salt, which I began to notice more as I reached the bottom of the 4.5-ounce bag. Yes, I ate the whole thing.

But in my opinion, $3 is a bit steep for one sitting's worth of cookies. For comparison, a 14.5-ounce bag of Oreos is $3 at Target. They're not non-GMO, but they are delicious.