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I've got three kids. We have so much crap all around the house. We buy the junk that is constantly advertised to us. We purchase from Walmart which mostly sells

by xrd 4y ago

I've got three kids. We have so much crap all around the house. We buy the junk that is constantly advertised to us. We purchase from Walmart which mostly sells crap too. If we stopped for a minute and got off the social media train of consumption, and bought only high quality things, but a lot less of them, we would have a much better life and no clutter. But we don't.

wpietri 4y ago
I appreciate you commenting from in the thick of it. Do you have theories on why?
omginternets 4y ago
Impulse purchases? As someone who is as immune to advertising as one gets, I find your post intriguing, and I feel like asking what is probably a naive question: can’t you just not buy the stuff? Where does that break down?
- mrweasel 4y ago
  Because kids. It's easy enough to say "don't buy it", but the family members buy the juke, the kid comes home bawling his eyes out because everyone else has product X, and it's only $Y, so you get it, because it's been a long week, and it's really only Wednesday and you can't really deal with something valued at only $19.95 right now and just maybe it will buy you 20 minutes of peace so you can cook dinner.
  - narag 4y ago
    Because kids. Not that I can't understand, but that's terrible neglect. Saying no is difficult but it's the parents' duty, same as many other difficult things.
    - mrweasel 4y ago
      If you never say no, sure. I'd be rather surprised though if most parents haven't just said: "Screw it, get the cheap plastic car, I really don't have time for a 30 minute session of combined anger and crying right now". Personally I also sometimes make the "mistake" of letting my kid pick a toy, snack, t-shirt, and forgetting that she'll pick cheap colorful junk every single time.
      - narag 4y ago
        30 minute session of combined anger and crying If that's the expected outcome, it's already lost. ...and forgetting that she'll pick cheap colorful junk every single time. Still better than expensive colorless junk :)
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    In the most inoffensive way I can put this, this is a personal issue of parenting style rather than a problem with the junk or advertising. This is exactly the kind of "it's easier to just give in" mindset that is the ideal target customer.
    - mrweasel 4y ago
      > This is exactly the kind of "it's easier to just give in" mindset that is the ideal target customer. Exactly, be on-call, have 20 minutes to get home to deal with an alert, while at the same time trying to get a toddler to comply, it's not exactly the ideal situation for making sane choices. I am insanely impressed by anyone who regardless of how their day have been can stick to a rule of always making the correct choices and never giving in. I haven't personally meet anyone like that yet.
    - grugagag 4y ago
      How about it being both at the same time?
  - omginternets 4y ago
    > It's easy enough to say "don't buy it" Hmm, I'm not sure anyone said it was easy to say "no" to your kids. What they're instead saying is that it's often your duty as a parent.
- narag 4y ago
  Impulse purchases? Shopping addiction. There's a lot of info about that. Happens both in general, people that buys tons of assorted junk, and in niche hobbies like wristwatches, garments, shoes, perfumes, cars or car models.
lnsru 4y ago
Any source for better quality products? Because I have a feeling, that some things might be more expensive, but in the essence it is the same crap with better packaging. Dreaming about buying water pistol, that doesn’t break within 2 weeks. Dreaming about not instantly breaking nerf gun. About pants, that lasts more than 4 months. My list is long.
- mrweasel 4y ago
  There were a theory a while back, but I still think it's mostly valid. Originally you essentially had a three tier level of quality for basically everything, clothing, food, furniture, electronics, everything. Then marketing became an issue of price, and a race to the bottom started, to keep prices low, quality suffered. Still, a few people would, and could afford the high end options. The profit margin on the extreme high end is still large enough that it's profitable to service that segment, and the volume is in the low price/quality tier, but the middle tier isn't large enough to be as profitable, so it's not worth the trouble. Over time the market adapted to a two tier system, low quality and low prices or high quality, and high prices (sometimes high prices and low quality). The entire middle tier disappeared, to even if I wanted a slightly higher quality steak or shirt, I can't buy it, because it doesn't exists, and I'm priced out of the high quality tier.
augment001 4y ago
Why not?

by xrd 4y ago

wpietri 4y ago

I appreciate you commenting from in the thick of it. Do you have theories on why?

omginternets 4y ago

Impulse purchases? As someone who is as immune to advertising as one gets, I find your post intriguing, and I feel like asking what is probably a naive question: can’t you just not buy the stuff? Where does that break down?

mrweasel 4y ago
Because kids. It's easy enough to say "don't buy it", but the family members buy the juke, the kid comes home bawling his eyes out because everyone else has product X, and it's only $Y, so you get it, because it's been a long week, and it's really only Wednesday and you can't really deal with something valued at only $19.95 right now and just maybe it will buy you 20 minutes of peace so you can cook dinner.
- narag 4y ago
  Because kids. Not that I can't understand, but that's terrible neglect. Saying no is difficult but it's the parents' duty, same as many other difficult things.
  - mrweasel 4y ago
    If you never say no, sure. I'd be rather surprised though if most parents haven't just said: "Screw it, get the cheap plastic car, I really don't have time for a 30 minute session of combined anger and crying right now". Personally I also sometimes make the "mistake" of letting my kid pick a toy, snack, t-shirt, and forgetting that she'll pick cheap colorful junk every single time.
    - narag 4y ago
      30 minute session of combined anger and crying If that's the expected outcome, it's already lost. ...and forgetting that she'll pick cheap colorful junk every single time. Still better than expensive colorless junk :)
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  In the most inoffensive way I can put this, this is a personal issue of parenting style rather than a problem with the junk or advertising. This is exactly the kind of "it's easier to just give in" mindset that is the ideal target customer.
  - mrweasel 4y ago
    > This is exactly the kind of "it's easier to just give in" mindset that is the ideal target customer. Exactly, be on-call, have 20 minutes to get home to deal with an alert, while at the same time trying to get a toddler to comply, it's not exactly the ideal situation for making sane choices. I am insanely impressed by anyone who regardless of how their day have been can stick to a rule of always making the correct choices and never giving in. I haven't personally meet anyone like that yet.
  - grugagag 4y ago
    How about it being both at the same time?
- omginternets 4y ago
  > It's easy enough to say "don't buy it" Hmm, I'm not sure anyone said it was easy to say "no" to your kids. What they're instead saying is that it's often your duty as a parent.
narag 4y ago
Impulse purchases? Shopping addiction. There's a lot of info about that. Happens both in general, people that buys tons of assorted junk, and in niche hobbies like wristwatches, garments, shoes, perfumes, cars or car models.

lnsru 4y ago

Any source for better quality products? Because I have a feeling, that some things might be more expensive, but in the essence it is the same crap with better packaging. Dreaming about buying water pistol, that doesn’t break within 2 weeks. Dreaming about not instantly breaking nerf gun. About pants, that lasts more than 4 months. My list is long.

mrweasel 4y ago
There were a theory a while back, but I still think it's mostly valid. Originally you essentially had a three tier level of quality for basically everything, clothing, food, furniture, electronics, everything. Then marketing became an issue of price, and a race to the bottom started, to keep prices low, quality suffered. Still, a few people would, and could afford the high end options. The profit margin on the extreme high end is still large enough that it's profitable to service that segment, and the volume is in the low price/quality tier, but the middle tier isn't large enough to be as profitable, so it's not worth the trouble. Over time the market adapted to a two tier system, low quality and low prices or high quality, and high prices (sometimes high prices and low quality). The entire middle tier disappeared, to even if I wanted a slightly higher quality steak or shirt, I can't buy it, because it doesn't exists, and I'm priced out of the high quality tier.

augment001 4y ago

Why not?