[R+D] Dealbreakers - What’s the Pettiest Reason You'll Refuse to Buy Something?
2We’re talking about stuff like something requiring yet another account or maybe that their commercials are just too annoying.
Tell us what you won’t buy no matter how cheaply we bring it to you, and why!
- 13 comments, 26 replies
- Comment
Anything from a retail website that requires setting up an account before they’ll allow browsing the merch, and wants a verified email and/or phone. FTS!
@werehatrack “You can’t see what we sell until we can SPAM you!”
@werehatrack I have often bailed out of websites that popped up a window with “Save some trivial amount on your first order by letting us spam you forever and sell your information on to the rest of the spam gangs!” If it comes up more than once, or is hard to close and bypass, I’m out of there.
Sometimes I just don’t like the name they’ve given it, especially if it’s prominently displayed. I also really hate stuff (clothing and accessories) with a brand name or logo that is visible from 20 feet away. I’m not buying stuff to become a walking ad for their products - with the possible exception of MEH tees.
@rockblossom
There a couple brands I’ll wear (mostly skater/surfer stuff) but besides that and meh I completely agree with you.
The fact they make me buy it on Amacrap.
Not that I don’t buy on Amacrap, but if that’s the only way I can get it, and it’s actually an USA made product, I don’t need it.
Paying for shipping
@catthegreat I sometimes hear you although I do get it because they do pay for it. Less than we would pay by a long shot but they do pay for it. But watch me try to figure out what else I need from Penzeys so shipping is free
If they pissed me off somehow…
Exxon (& now Mobil by association)
KFC
BP
Burlington
…
Or endorsed by people I despise or can’t respect
Plus anything Gator. Or Alabama.
@llangley
I never learn my lesson when it comes to Kroger. I boycotted them for like a decade bc they pissed me off so bad but then they were the closest grocery store so I started running there when I forgot something and sure enough it happens again. I’m just done with that place.
@llangley I still don’t buy gas at Exxon or Mobil stations because of the Exxon Valdez oil spill 35 years ago. (Yes, I know the gas even at name brand stations can come from who-knows-where, but I just can bring myself to patronize a place with either of those two logos.)
@llangley Burlington…coat factory? is this because of the messy shoe aisle?
@ItalianScallion this is why!
@jouest I wouldn’t know about that. It’s because they sold dog-fur lined parkas in the past. Said they were duped by a supplier but…no second chances from me on that. Maybe they thought if they dropped “coat factory” people would forget. Not me.
@ItalianScallion @llangley I boycott some brands and stores for similar reasons, but I don’t consider those reasons petty.
@ItalianScallion @Kyeh that’s an EXCELLENT point!! Agree
I generally shy away from any non-computing device that’s “smart” and requires internet connectivity and/or highly dependent on an app to function. Being able to remotely turn on a coffee maker won’t save me any actual time in filling the water or coffee, nor should I have to use some app just to be able to turn on a light or something.
@narfcake
Yup, we’re 100% a dumb house besides our phones.
@narfcake @Star2236 OTOH, my espresso machine needs 20 minutes to warm up, so I use a “smart” plug to be able to turn it on before I get up in the morning. I use lots of smart bulbs too so I can program them for when I’m away. I’m with you, though, on things that are internet-connected or use an app just because they can, especially when privacy is compromised.
Things with sports team logos. I’m not a sports fan at all.
I refuse to shop at Target - they screwed me bad one Christmas and canceled the order that was THE main gift for my kids from Santa, AFTER claiming it was shipped and me waiting patiently. Then they admitted they accidentally sent my items to another customer and refused to price match a replacement because when I made my purchase it was a Huge Black Friday sale and that item sold out so all they had were upgraded versions at twice what I paid…we’re talking hundreds on price difference, not just $20. That was probably 10 years ago, still won’t shop there.
Also boycotted Carson Pirie Scott for the last 40 ish years or so. Back in the day when we’d camp out overnight for concert tickets, my friend and I were first in line for Wham! tickets. When the time came to let us in, some jamoke opened the wrong doors, so the people at the end of the line we’re closer and ended up being first and obviously we were last. We ended up getting 2nd to last row in the amphitheatre and I was taking my mom, she loved George Michael, and my poor mom had to stand on the chair to get a good view.
If you are a brick and mortar store- but you give priority to people online (or on the phone) over people who are in the store with you.
I’m sorry, but I worked in retail as a kid and it was drilled into us- customers in the store get priority- and I still believe that should be true.
If you make me wait forever… I’d rather drive 15 mins across town and go to your competitor even though its probably longer in the long run.
If I hear you bad mouthing other customers (or other employees)… sure… I know thats part of the job and that all people bash their most annoying customers… just don’t do it in front of me.
I will never use ticketmaster. Maybe about 15 years ago I bought a ticket and I must have accidentally clicked or didn’t see a box to uncheck about getting information on vacations because they started hounding me trying to sell me ticketmaster affiliated time shares. I asked 7 or 8 times for them to stop calling me and put me on their do-not-call list. A different person called… I told her “I am recording this call” (I wasn’t) “and I am telling you now in clear terms, if ticket master don’t stop calling me I will press legal charges against them that I have a detailed log of every time they called and I told them to stop” (I had started doing that).
That finally stopped them calling me… but to this day I will not use them. If there is no other option to buy tickets to some event, I’ll just not go.
@OnionSoup But those are excellent valid reasons, not petty at all.
@Kyeh @OnionSoup
That would be every auto parts store everywhere.
@ItalianScallion @Kyeh @OnionSoup Rockauto isn’t without their faults, namely that parts originate from multiple locations so shipping costs add up and their condition is dependent on the warehouse, but I don’t recall the last time I needed parts so quickly that I’d resort to an auto parts store chain given the big price difference. Also RA often has more choices beyond “lowest quality” and “maybe slightly above lowest quality at a higher price”. Sure, some chains offer lifetime warranties on their parts, but I’m still out the labor if it’s crap and it has to be replaced earlier than expected.
If I just wanted cheap, I’ll keep an eye out on Amazon Resale or roll the dice on a generic for a fraction of the price, being cognizant of what the ramifications of failure would be. Remember, even a lot of the OEM parts are made overseas; the biggest difference is that the OEMs (hopefully) have more QC checks in place whereas the cheap ones may not.
Granted, in some cases, the off-brands are BETTER than the originals. For some vehicles, one is better off with a cat-sat-on-a-keyboard brand for cooling parts because they’re made of aluminum versus the OEM plastic. That breaks with age. Just like it’d break my [the owner’s] wallet.
I will add “ships from Florida”. For nonpolitical Reasons.
I guess I need to be petty. (My previous comment was regarding the Exxon Valdez oil spill.) I won’t buy things if the TV ad for it irritates me. For example
Hey, maybe it bothers me more than it should.
@ItalianScallion yeah, those commercials
) and the jingle on 4-Imprint (for certain!). Blue Chew on Motortrend was relentless…not everyone watching car stuff is a dude, folks. And the pharmaceutical commercials!! Skyrizi, Jardiance, etc. I’ve even learned the choreography on the early Jardiance ones, they were everywhere!! 
Agree on Mando (“ewww, it was me!”
@ItalianScallion
Yeah, that one too
.
@ItalianScallion @llangley
Jardiance - my mother’s short term memory is terrible, and she LIKES the Jardiance song. So she won’t mute the ad. My poor brother who lives with her has heard it a trillion times. Sometimes he sings the song to annoy me.
@ItalianScallion @llangley And I won’t patronize businesses with super-annoying jingles either. Empire Flooring and Stanley Steemer, ugh!!!
@Kyeh, you poor thing!
Yes, I mute all the ads promoting GLP-1 medication for weight loss. (I take Trulicity for intended purpose.) It’s on principle more than annoyance: at the high doses needed for weight loss, it causes many people to have nausea or gastrointestinal issues; if you stop using them, you generally gain back weight; they’re outrageously expensive (around $1000 per month) and only recently are insurers starting to cover them for weight loss; and they seem to me to be too casually prescribed especially considering what I just mentioned here. I’ll get off my soapbox now…
@ItalianScallion Yikes!
It’s ironic that she likes the song - she weighs about 80 lbs. and it’s hard to get her interested in food. She’d probably disappear if she took a GLP.
@Kyeh awww
my Mom was like that except she still loved miso soup. I made it for her every day 
@llangley Oh, that’s so nice! And so healthy! My mother mostly prefers sweets to anything healthy, unfortunately.
Billy Mays is dead. Long live Billy Mays!
@user86414294 Apparently that Anthony guy was his arch-rival and stepped up to become the new king of tv pitchmen.
@user86414294 Billy Mays was Meh for people who lost the TV remote.
When after browsing I get an instant email telling me I forgot something. That is when I click unsubscribe. West Elm is notorious for that and it’s because my daughters love the store and when getting gifts they ask for my info