Have you ever bought something and started feeling buyer's remorse sometime later? Or maybe you purchased something for a new hobby that you forgot about a week later, rendering that purchase completely useless?
A 2019 survey by Ladder and OnePoll revealed that an average American spends $1,497 per month on non-essential items, so you probably have. The researchers also found that people make approximately five impulse purchases a month.
All this data might make it seem that we're an extremely consumerist culture. But maybe it isn't always like that? Curious to know stories about people's most regrettable purchases, one person asked online: "What is the worst purchase you've ever made?"
Bored Panda had a conversation with the person who started this thread, user u/lilsparrow18. They kindly agreed to tell us more about their worst-ever purchase and what they think about consumerism and the oversaturation of things.
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u/lilsparrow18 tells us that their thread was inspired by a bad purchase they made. "For me, it wasn't so much of a terrible purchase as it was bad timing. I bought a car when I didn't have my license yet, and due to different circumstances, I didn't have much opportunity to drive it for a while, and then, the petrol that was left in it went bad, and it created a bunch of problems."
The Redditor then put the whole ordeal somewhere in the back of their mind. "I believe everyone has what I'd like to refer to as a mental 'vault,' where all the things you really don't want to think about or pretend don't exist go. That whole car situation is in my vault because I may as well have burned the money, and for some reason, that day, the vault started to come ajar."
#2
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#3
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The netizen tells Bored Panda that they experienced a lot of distress and cringe due to that unlucky car purchase. "I felt I needed to make a post, even though I didn't share my own story," they explained. "I thought it may be a topic most people would be able to relate to at one point or another, and seeing other people's mishaps, while not pleasant for them, can be somewhat cathartic when you have an experience of your own."
"But bad spends are just one thing that can go in the vault – anything can go in the vault if it's something you need to deny the existence of to feel better," the Redditor explains their theory.
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We chatted with u/lilsparrow18 about how buying an excessive amount of stuff is becoming more and more normalized. They say they don't really feel affected by it, perhaps only when socializing. "Consumer culture maybe only impacts me in the sense that when I'm out with other people, I do tend to enjoy buying things more, and it is strangely part of the social experience."
"But I'm also autistic," the Redditor opens up. "So there are social challenges involved in that – like how many people rely on alcohol to socialize, I find it's easier to socialize when in a stimulating environment, such as a shopping center where there are many things to look at and purchase, to fill the silence and act as a crutch of sorts. That being said, I still don't tend to do this too much, even though I do enjoy it."
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#9
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u/lilsparrow18 is an Aussie, and they say that consumer culture is perhaps more of a problem in the United States. "While it's definitely prevalent [everywhere], I think it's known to be more culturally relevant to the US than here in Australia."
"People from the US have a strong presence in media, including places like TikTok, and I think a lot of people would associate consumer culture with the US primarily. For me, other than maybe going out with some friends to go out shopping once in a blue moon, I don't think it's very relevant to me."
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#12
Infomercial at 2am. Brand new credit card at age 18. Ended up ordering 200+ pocketknives, two sets of samurai swords, and a large fantasy sword for a very persuasive salesman from that commercial.
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The Redditor tells us they're not easily influenced by what they see on social or any other media. "What people put online or what may be popular at the time doesn't really have an impact on my purchasing habits, and I tend to only buy what I want to or I feel is actually necessary, regardless of anyone else."
"I know as far as advertisements go, they don't seem to influence Gen Z as much as some other generations, and the autism, as I mentioned earlier, may make me especially disconnected from this sort of culture."
#13
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For those who want to become more savvy consumers, u/lilsparrow18 advises people to do research. "I know anything regarding money is easier said than done because it takes time to change habits, but I think the most important thing is research. Whether it's researching whether you can get the same product on special, or if it's a larger purchase, researching the quality of the product or getting second opinions."
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#18
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"Also keeping any receipts on larger items and being aware of any possible warranties can save people a lot of money," the Redditor adds. "And if someone is particularly prone to impulse buying, it may be worth reflecting on why that is and if it's worth investigating by seeing a mental health professional as well."
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An HP printer that, if you put in the ink that CAME with the printer, it locked you into their ink subscription service so that you could not even use /legitimately purchased actual HP ink/ that was not purchased via the subscription. Which means that if you need ink but don't want a subscription, you have to buy fake ink. But using fake ink completely invalidates the warranty, so they won't even help you fix any future problems with your printer.
I threw it out even though it technically still worked, because I didn't want to put another user through the b******t of trying to hack your own printer to use LEGITIMATE INK, and bought a Canon with ink tanks. No regrets.
F**k HP. I am never purchasing any of their products ever again. As far as I'm concerned they owe me $200.Garments that didn't fit me but I bought them because I was going to lose weight.Got really into bowling, watched all the videos, practiced my form, etc.
Went and bought bowling balls for me and the gf, had them fitted and drilled, bags to carry them, bowling shoes. All in all, it came out to $1200.
We went to our local bowling alley on a Monday night and the place WAS PACKED!!
So, we start talking with people and find out the reason that its so busy is because today is the last day it is open before the building was scheduled to be demolished.
Next closest bowling alley is like 3 hours away. So we played two games with our new fancy bowling gear and it's been sitting in my garage for 4 years now.I once bought a bed for my cat, good bed, comfy af, that mf didnt even used it a single time and slept in the box of the bedExpensive mandatory school books that you never end up using for the entire course.I'd say 20 or so funny dinosaur hats when being super drunk. But then again, I unexepectedly received a package with 20 funny dinosaur caps, which was kidna awesome.Double-Fisted Cheeseburger Ruffles.
I have never returned a bag of chips before in my life *ever.*
I opened the bag walking through the parking lot and ate a chip.
The pungent taste of vomit immediately filled my senses. It stopped me dead in my step.
I did a complete about face and walked right back into the store to the returns dept.
I explained the situation and convinced the girl to try one of the chips. She spit it out.
Worst Ruffles flavor **ever.**Probably micro transactions in video games. I’ve wasted a lot of money on games that I don’t play anymore. I really wish I could refund them all and get my money backI needed some bonding material added to my 2 front teeth, as they were losing enamel. The dentist talked me into adding 8 crowns (upper) instead so everything would match. He then proceeded to drill down my teeth, too much. They looked more like tooth PICKS by the time he finished drilling... 6 1/2 hours later. Then temporaries, then 'permanent' crowns. The crowns keep popping out, there's not enough tooth underneath to hold the crowns. This craziness cost $15,000 plus he insisted I do 'crown lengthening' (miserable and unnecessary periodontal procedure) for another $2,500. The worst purchase from hell. He now has the audacity to act like he's doing me a favor when I return to have him recement these crowns.A Samsung fridge. Thought it was so pretty. Didn't make enough ice, melted all over the inside of my fridge multiple times. Then I found out I was lucky because other people's caught fire. I have a Bosch now. Much better. And I have ice more often than twice a week.I would have to say an RV trailer we paid about $26,000 for. It still is a great trailer but if we added up all the days we stayed in it and then multiplied it by $300 (for a fancy hotel room a night) I doubt the total would be over $26,000. Plus generators, gasoline, miles per gallon, etc..University tuition , biggest waste, should have just learnt dropshipping / ecom or something online instead of studying health sci and paying thru my a*s for itA wedding.
Getting divorced costs more, but I consider that money well spent. Months of health insurance at $1,288 a pop that I don’t even use most of the time; just have it in case something does happen so maybe I won’t go bankrupt.Well I just came back from my first backcountry ski trip with my new backcountry skis, skins, backpack, poles, transceiver.
Turns out I really really hate skinning up hill.A Treadmill. If you’ve purchased exercise equipment, you know exactly what I mean. Not only was it hella expensive, it sat there unused, collecting dust and taking up valuable real estate in the guest room. It’s a pain to move and even more of a pain to try to get rid of.I paid ten grand for the full self driving module on my Tesla model 3.My first car. A '99 Kia Sephia. I was 21 & went into the dealership alone as a young unexperienced woman. Got totally screwed on the financing but I didn't know any better. Found broken glass all over the backseat the next morning. Alignment was all messed up. My mom went down & raised hell at the dealership. I had one issue after another with that car. I ended up suing Kia & won a settlement. Best day ever was when I got rear-ended & the car was totaled. It was a minor collision but the car was worth so little it was more cost worthy to just total it. Went & bought a Toyota. These days I drive Subarus. I will never purchase a Kia again.I paid a whole bunch of money purchasing and training a service dog for my disabled daughter. The dog is very nice, but does not perform any of the tasks that he was trained for. The trainer had the dog full time for almost 1 year and the total cost was over $20,000. My wife wants to send him back for more training, but I’m wondering if it is just a sunk cost fallacy at this point.A piano. I couldn’t play then, and I can’t play now.I accidentally over drafted at Starbucks when I was working in retail. That cost me damn near $40 for a salted caramel Frappuccino.I bought a deli slicer for the house when I don't actually buy bulk deli meats and cheeses.A Simpsons magic 8 ball. I keep it on a shelf as a reminder that I can be really stupid and not to be so wasteful.Beats headphones. And this is coming from someone who also bought a ZUNE!Bought a $200 travel backpack to use for my trip to Japan. Unfortunately the backpack didn't hold much space and when I was caught in the rain with it, the black colour from the zips leaked out onto the bag.A used FIAT. Big mistake.Fjallraven Kanken were very popular in my school and I begged my dad for one on bday. So he spent $120 on original, waterproof Kanken backpack just for me. It got dirty extremely quickly and it couldn't be cleaned. Not worth it. I have it for 3 years and it looks worse than my $25 school backpack that I used for over 4 years.Purchasing c**p versions of items and then having to go and buy the expensive version eventually. Done it on loads of items l.Tattoos
