Q-tips have always been the brand to go to, but sadly, they are not as great as they used to be. While the stick is very strong and not flimsy like other brands we have tried, the cotton portion is not as full. You can call it shrinkflation, but I call it disappointing.

The are horrible quality. They bend like a feather. I wish I hadn't bought 3 huge boxes, they're garbage. I'd rather use the cheap no-name brand than these. Nothing like the ones you buy "not in bulk", they're clearly made a lot cheaper than the ones they sell in regular stores.

When did the stems become cheap and flexible? They used to be sturdy and easy to use, now the slightest pressure they bend all over the place. These aren't any better than generic brands and cost more. I'm confused by all the recent 4 and 5 star reviews. Have you all even opened and used these new inferior Qtips? Are you working for Unilever?

"Q" might have stood for quality years ago, but not anymore. Quality does not seem to be the priority. My household has gone through 3 different 625 count boxes of Q-tips the past couple years and the quality of the Q-tips brand Q-tips are now no better than the Dollar General or Dollar store brand products. The cotton swabs are inconsistently made from one to another and have loose cotton, not enough cotton, too much cotton, it shreds or pulls away from the stick, and the sticks bend easily and are not as strong as they used to be even 5 years ago. My family has been using Q-tip brand Q-tips for over 100 years, but I can no longer justify spending extra money for these over cheaper off brand swabs.

Q tip brand was the best-key word being WAS. I bought the 3 pack at Sam's not too long ago. I'll return them as soon as I can. They are terrible. The cotton padding is thinner, the "stick" is flimsy and bends easily. Almost dangerous when I use in my ears. I might as well be buying from the Dollar Store. What happened, QTip? Why did you cheap out on us and manufacture such an inferior product? SHAME ON YOU!!!

The stick part of the swab bends under very little pressure, and there is noticably less cotton on the ends than when I have purchased them previously. I have been buying Q-Tip brand for decades and if this is their way to cut cost, then I will buy a different brand.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Over the years I have tried many different brands of cotton swabs and I always go back to Q-tips brand. They really are the gold standard of swabs and are really worth paying a little more for. They are versatile and really durable for all applications. This massive pack will last me a really long time, even though I use a few every single day.

Just bought the second box of 500 Q-Tips cotton swabs. I had hopes this box would be the quality that Q-Tips was known for. Nope, they are flimsy and roll under any pressure. There is nothing left that separates Q-Tips from the generic brands except the price. Hopefully, someone got a big promotion for cutting production cost.

Why are Q-Tips such poor quality lately? They used to literally be the best, gold standard cotton swab. Have used them for years to clean my ears daily. In the last year or so, the sticks are more bendy and there is noticeably less cotton on the tips. The cotton on the tips is usually loose and not nice and tightly wound. This leaves more scratchy stick at the tip to scratch or injure your ear or whatever you are cleaning with it. They are just all around sloppier and not as well made. Companies should be ashamed of themselves for selling inferior quality products at an inflated price. Why don't companies make product they can be proud of anymore? Don't you want to be the best at what you make? Have pride in your product? I hate the world we live in now.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Q-tips are super useful around my place. I use them every day for makeup, cleaning little cuts, or even small spots in my car. We even use them when we're painting. So, having a ton of them on hand is pretty much a must-have at my house. We love and use them, and I think they're more durable than the generic ones.