As the years go on, we start to find out more and more terrible things big corporations have done to their workers, their consumers and the environment.
University of Virginia Law professor Brandon Garrett wrote a book called Too Big to Jail. He told Vox prosecutors haven't been following through with the prosecution, only stopping at fines. As much as the fines have gone up in amounts, they have expressed leniency with corporations in hopes they stop breaking laws.
That hasn't seemed to have happened.
Redditors shared which companies are the most evil of them all.
Redditor outdropp asked:
"What is the world's most evil company and why?"
It's incredible what lengths they will go to for money.
A bad history.
"Chiquita bananas - I'm not sure if they're that evil currently but they have a really bad history of killing protesting workers, starting wars and supporting terrorist organizations."
- joujamis
"Ah yes. United Fruit Company. Who used their connections with the American government to overthrow a government in Guatemala because they cared too much about labour rights. And that's not all they've done. Massacre and bananas go hand in hand."
- ballsofstyle
"Imagine destabilizing an entire country just to secure a f*cking banana crop. Absolute bastards."
- SquilliamFancySon95
"The term 'banana republic' came from their relations with nations like Honduras."
- AlliedAtheistAllianc
"Was looking for this. Kinda crazy that the clothing brand Banana Republic became so popular despite this morbid allegiance."
- Alive-Contact9147
"That is bananas."
- Christmas_Panda
Poisoning everything and everyone.
"I am a little biased since I just saw Dark Waters but Dupont."
- Skeledenn
"The montage where they went over every contaminated product still haunts me. I got rid of every teflon pan I had and switched to cast iron after that. Obviously too late, but it's a start.
For those interested, the document on DuPont and Teflon manufacturing is available on YouTube in some countries. It's fairly disturbing however."
- JustStopBeingPoor
"I live 20 minutes away from Parkersburg WV, and you'd be surprised how little people in the area know about DuPont."
- chadwick_dean
"Then the PR campaign is working effectively."
- koushakandystore
"I came for this. DuPont is the biggest evil company most people haven't heard of. They have their hands on or in everything that's made yet no one know much about them. I'm convinced it's because they have so much money they pay to stay under the radar."
"Also you know, they poisoned our entire planet with C8."
"The entire reason weed was illegal and hemp wasn't popular in the United States is because in WWII they lobbied to get the contract to make all the rope for our navy during the war for cheap using nylon. In turn they wanted to have their competitor, I can't remember the name, put out of business and they made hemp rope that was way strong and cheaper to manufacture. So congress put a HUGE tax on hemp that paved the way for weed to be illegal to smoke and hemp pretty much impossible to grow legally."
- MrBojanglez
The own or operate nearly every brand.
"Nestle - Too many reasons to list."
- LyannaCeltiger88
"I'm thinking now maybe I should avoid Nestlé products but they apparently operate SO MANY different companies it would be nearly impossible to avoid Nestlé. I'd have to make drastic life/diet changes, adjust meal planning, my morning routine, shopping routes, budget for more expensive alternative products, etc. Plus I'd have to take time to research and memorize what companies are Nestlé-owned and make sure the alternative companies aren't equally unethical."
"Like boycotting would take over my life and would likely be viewed as an unhealthy obsession..."
- akzj
"I checked out r/f*cknestle as one of the folks who replied on here suggested, right in their main page is a picture of all the companies. Just take a screenshot and save the photo to your phone. Instant access and reminder for the companies. That's what I did."
- bluefl0werz
"They also have this linked in the pinned post where you can type a brand and see if it's a Nestle brand. It's not perfect, I searched for Crunch since it's a Nestle Crunch bar and it didn't show, but it's better than nothing."
- FromUnderTheWineCork
"Try the app Buycott. It's free and let's you avoid companies you don't like and tells you how others are ethically and whether their product is ethically sourced."
- ClearlyDoesntGetIt
Leaders in the climate crisis.
"Most fast fashion brands. Child labor, wasting horrible amount of water while polluting it, burning or throwing the unsold clothes into the ocean etc."
- Lord-AG
"I can't help but thinking that all mainstream products in the world are built on top of suffering, and that anything remotely ethical is just extremely expensive and scarce."
- drum_playing_twig
"It's completely down to money, end of story."
"Did you know that over 90% of everything you recycle, doesn't actually get recycled? That only 20-30%, depending on where you read, of all cardboard actually gets recycled, as in properly used again?"
"That the cost of buying new cardboard for companies now is CHEAPER than recycling it, or buying recycled cardboard."
"That recycling companies like Biffa sell their recycling by the ton, and were caught mislabeling nappies, sanitary towels and clothes marked as "waste paper" which is cheaper of course."
"Recycling is a BUSINESS, and like all businesses, profits are all that matter."
"We need to wake up to the fact that buying an electric car, replacing your lightbulbs, buying bags for life, eating less meat, it's all a puny drop in the ocean even if you combined everyone doing it. Because 100 companies produce 71% of the world's total pollution."
- Dynasty2201
A sketchy church.
"I mean Church of Scientology is pretty sketchy."
- Christmas_Panda
"There was a period of about 8 months on Reddit back somewhere in 2014-2016 in which former Scientologists were all sharing their experiences on here and then it was like it all of a sudden stopped. It made me wonder if Reddit corporate got pressure from the church."
- Christmas_Panda
"I like this reply because Scientology is not a religion or anything similar and should be considered money making COMPANY."
- ilove-bananas
Asbestos in their baby powder.
"Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its baby powder."
- planecompanyshort911
"Scrolled this far just to find J&J mentioned. It was unbelievable how long they kept this under wraps despite reports from way earlier regarding how carcinogenic their powder was turning out to be. Especially increasing incidence of ovarian cancer in women."
- akdsouza
"J&J doesn't have anything on Bayer…"
- DrEnter
No wonder many are crying to "Tax the Rich," or in other cases "Eat the Rich."
These corporate entities are literally destroying everything they touch and getting away with it.
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From the seller's perspective, the best price is the highest one possible that people would still buy. Usually, that's a careful game: supply and demand are balanced and the ideal figure is honed.
But sometimes, the price seems to come way out of left field.
A recent Reddit thread asked folks to discuss the most cartoonishly ridiculous prices they've ever laid eyes upon.
Often the culprits were the peddled products of niche internet companies or high end brand stores. But some truly weird examples from the furthest corners of commerce also made appearances.
For anyone who has ever been taken for a ride, this is a thread you'll empathize with.
Thic_water asked, "What's the most overpriced thing you've seen?"
Amazing Picture
"There's a 50,000 dollar HDMI cable on Amazon" -- BiscuitMiscuit
"I once read a review of an 'audiophile' grade ethernet cable. This guy actually claimed changing the ethernet cable from his router to his PC made his music sound better." -- ConspiratorM
"I heard that it is easier to change the list price of an item instead of make the item unlisted So sometimes you'll see an item listed for an absolutely absurd price because it is out of stock"
"I went to buy a $30 item once and the price changed to $10,000" -- Yomommassis
As High As They Go
"In a downtown consignment shop, an oil painting of sheep grazing in a meadow had a price tag of $18,700."
"It was by an unrecognized artist. When asked why it was priced so high, the shopkeeper said 'because someone will like it and buy it.' " -- Back2Bach
"My high school art teacher told me your piece is worthless until you have a buyer. Same idea." -- Solobotomy
INFUSION
"That $6 asparagus water Whole Foods sold a couple years ago; it was a 16oz bottle of water with 3 stalks of asparagus."
"Also, everything from goop."
The Ethical Underbelly
"Insulin. Discovered over 100 years ago and is now synthetically produced and still is being sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars in many cases."
"The drug companies decided they were going to make their gigantic profit margins off life-saving medicine."
-- t1runner
The Highest Stakes Party of All
"Weddings."
"I don't disagree with wanting the day to be special and memorable, but the industry jacks up the prices if they know it's a wedding, and there are way more affordable options while still getting to celebrate love and the future."
"No reason to break the bank. Use the money saved for even more memories."
Paying for the Name
"A few years back Nordstrom was selling a rock in a leather pouch for $85." -- Happy_Fun_Balll
"Neiman-Marcus used to put out the most hilarious Christmas gift catalog."
One year they offered his and hers Lear jets. No kidding. Just about anything in that catalog was wildly overpriced. More recently, they offered in their Christmas book, as a potential gift, a Boeing Business Jet for the wonderfully affordable price of 'north of $35 million.' " -- dramboxf
A Fitness Boom
"Literally any pair of dumbbells during the Covid lockdown." -- Nicod27
"I managed to walk into a Dick's Sporting Goods as they were offloading 300 lbs. Barbell sets. When they were helping me load the set into my car the employees said some guy had driven from Chicago (~5 hours) and bought a pallet of them."
"I know that motherf***er must have made a killing flipping them on CL." -- frankhaith4missouri
But It's So Cool Looking...
"Bottle service at bars is f***in stupid... I'll just go to a corner liquor store and buy the '4000$ bottle' for like 40..." -- Lone-Oak
"Bottle service seems great when I'm blacked out and my friend orders it... when he venmo requests me the next day it does not seem great" -- Sleepy_Tortoise
People We Trust
"Celebrity line of products."
"Companies hike the prices of products by hundreds of dollars just because the name of a celebrity was on it."
Out of Whack
"College" -- Universal_MJ
"That's the USA for you 'Don't wanna pay minimum wage? Get $100,000 in debt for school and some papers' " -- Thic_water
"Its sad when people say $30k of college debt is not too bad" -- ijustneedanametouse
Value Added Products
"A couple of years ago, Mark's and Spencer Food, a high end supermarket in the UK, tried selling 'Cauliflower Steak' which was a thick slice of cauliflower for £2.50. It was covered in plastic"
"You could literally buy a whole cauliflower in the same row a bit further down for 40p."
"They were crucified for it, it was hilarious"
-- patchyj
GOLD STUFF
"When I was in Dubai 2 years ago there was a cell phone store in the mall that sold phones that ranged from $30k -$120k. They were basically phones covered in diamonds and gold."
"That's $100k for something that is probably already obsolete."
-- holla09
The Internet of (Overpriced) Things
"The $700 Juicero. As if a Wi-FI connecting juicer was even necessary, let alone worth the price point." -- brownsheepinasweater
"'Juicer' since it didn't even actually juice anything, just squeezed bags of premade juice." -- Ninjachibi117
"There's an alcoholic version of this called the bartesian. It literally just mixes alcohol with pods of pre-mixed cocktail juice. It's $350 and for some reason people have been going crazy over it. It was sold out for a while. Such a marketing gimmic" -- Plumrose333
Bad, and Worse
"You know, for the longest time I was amazed that the company behind Epipen would charge a whole $100 on their product up here in Canada."
"Then I found out they sell the same product for over five times that in the US."
"Y'all seriously need better governments."
-- A_Person_13
Price-Gouged Basic Needs
"As someone who is half blind, glasses. I get the dirt cheap ones, and it still costs over $100 for the privilege of being able to see." -- TheRealHirohikoAraki
"Also wheelchairs. The basic ones are usually pretty reasonable, but if you need any sort of custom support they can routinely cost more than most luxury cars." -- rachaek
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People Explain Which Products Everyone Would Boycott If They Knew How They Were Really Made
There's a saying that nobody would ever want to see how politics or sausage are made. The product is palatable and welcomed, but the creation process is down right ugly.
A recent Reddit thread expands that principle to well beyond those two items. In fact, read through enough of these and you'll be left wondering what is something you'd be willing to witness as its made.
Redditors far and wide, all carrying specialties and insider knowledge--usually from a current or previous job-- spill the beans on the ugliest manufactured items.
These explanations are so ugly that you may think twice before purchasing the thing in the future.
tmckey150 asked,
"What is a product that if people found out how it was made they'd stop buying it?"
Paying for the Name
"Most low to mid tier vodkas. I work at an industrial distillery where we make millions of gallons of very high purity ethanol from corn."
"We have customers in the beverage market that literally just dilute our product to 80 proof or so, run it through a filter, and bottle it to sell."
"Those customers sell their products from anywhere from $8-$50+ for a liter. And you know what the main difference is? The more expensive vodka's bottle is 'fancier.'"
"It's almost all brand perception with these corn based vodkas."
-- AndJuan247
Signed by Someone
"Certain signed art work."
"Used to work at an art printing company that we did signature editions of certain pieces. Guess who did the signing me and some coworkers, we were all design and art majors so they just had us learn all the artists signatures, we even had machines that could mimic the signatures too, I wish I had a picture of the devices they were pretty cool."
"It was in the fine print that we were doing it and was approved by the artists but I guarantee most people would never buy the prints if they knew the signatures were forged. So always read the fine print when buying items, especially 'special' editions of stuff."
-- Dr_Edge_ATX
A Very Broad Definition of "Fresh"
"Fresh juices are not so fresh apparently. A friend whose family owns mango orchard told me these companies buy the leftover stock that doesn't sell directly and leave the rest to strong artificial flavouring for uniform taste." -- Curious_pari
"Explains why is always has that partially fermented tang to it" -- Ignorhymus
Sheepskin
"In high school, the girls in my class were horrified to find out what their Uggs were made of. They had no idea." -- unfaathomable
"Oh god I knew this girl who was like 'oh no you don't kill the sheep to make uggs!' And I was like 'no you are thinking of wool this is literally sheep SKIN you have to kill it'" -- barmitzvahmoney
Secrets Behind the Orange Tape
"Not really a product but if people knew how much and often people cut corners in construction, I think housing prices would go wayyyy down. I don't think I was ever on a job where a problem came up, and people were like, 'Okay, let's start over and do this right.'"
"Or, especially in bigger construction companies, how much time the employees waste to run the clock."
Unfortunately, A Timeless Example
"I'd imagine if people walked through the sweat shops that produce most of their clothing, they would consider spending a bit more for products made in a more humane way." -- TheSexyMicrowave
"We need more laws. Laws imposing responsibility on sellers (more so large scale sellers) to ensure their suppliers comply with certain humanitarian laws. Basic levels of income, exploitation free etc."
"I rarely advocate government intervention but it is too easy to just lie about your products and get away with it. We need laws, auditors and fines." -- Cryovat321
A Complicated Response to a Grave Problem
"After I found out the story behind the palm plantations for production of palm oil I made it my personal mission to completely throw it our of my life (and that sh** is in almost everything you eat)." -- Junduk
"and in so many cosmetic products and in shampoo and in cleaning detergent. one really wonders why the f*** they put that in there to begin with" -- mastapetz
"The WWF actually does not recommend boycotting Palm Oil at all, as substitutes are way less efficient, and require far more land to yield the same volume as Palm Oil would."
"I think the best thing to aim to do is push sustainable palm oil through governing bodied such as the RSPO." -- Acid_Monster
Tough to Boycott, Though
"The human brain is incredibly good at forgetting and ignoring information that might inconvenience it." -- 0100001101110111
"I'm gonna pretend like I didn't see this..." -- Epibicurious
"That's horrible. Never buying a brain again" -- Cheap-Power
Value Added Products
"I've work in 2 different meat departments in 2 separate grocery stores. The meat in the case that has had work done, (marinated or like put into kabobs) are usually the old meat we didn't sell that is about to go bad."
"That marinade is hiding how shi**y the meat looks."
-- Mroder1
When the Product is So Caustic You Don't Have to Worry
"Monster energy drinks. I have been to their bottling warehouse (I was in college with some guys who became chemists for them while I was working on my doctorate). Some defect in one of the machines caused a bunch of cans to leak. The wood pallets underneath disintegrated like wet paper."
"Further, the maintenance crew was on a cleaning rotation. They told me that the Monster tanks do not get cleaned unless there is so much buildup that it changes the taste. This is because it is so caustic that bacteria and mold don't survive."
Incarcerated Labor
"Garlic. The garlic industry is a hell of a lot darker than most people would think. I don't remember everything, but apparently a lot of Chinese companies that sell to restaurants overseas use prison labor."
"These inmates have to peel the garlic completely by hand, no tools whatsoever. There were a few inmates missing fingernails. If I recall correctly, one man said that he had a friend who had to resort to using his teeth because he didn't have any nails left."
"They work unimaginably grueling shifts, in which they have to meet a quota for the day or face consequences. They get paid very little, if anything at all. They all seemed so miserable."
-- foxglove37
Road Ready
"RVs. They aren't insulated fully. Nothing is sealed correctly. All the electronics that are "fancy and new" are outdated and inefficient. The manufacturers use the cheapest materials possible AND all RVs are built in 8 hours."
"A vacation home. On wheels. In 8 hours!?"
-- Leftydude777
Factory Model Haircuts
"Not a product, but a service.... I'm a hair stylist that's worked at Great Clips. They want us to do haircuts in under 16 minutes. If you're closer to 12, you become one of the 'elite.' "
"If you get a bad haircut from GC, yes, sometimes the stylist just isn't skilled. Most times, it's because we're rushed and bitched at for taking longer than 16 minutes."
"Eh, Nobody'll Notice"
"Coffee and cockroaches are linked in several ways....." -- demonardvark
"For those who don't know:"
" 'This happens with coffee because the large piles of coffee beans get infested with cockroaches and, according to Emlen, it is impossible to remove them completely. So they are simply ground up with the coffee beans.' " -- PaleNewt0
Rock and a Hard Place for Consumers
"Vegetables aren't necessarily 'made' so this might not count but If people saw the exploitation of people that went into getting their fruits and vegetables it'd be a different story. Many minorities work their asses off for little to no pay, through rain or shine."
"If they saw the hands and feet of the workers that provide them with the food, they'd be pretty shocked. 'How hard could it be all you do is pick fruit and vegetables all day' yeah right."
"Also the annoying 'oh my god you should be vegan it's completely cruelty free' people should shut up because the food your provided with by grocery stores isn't cruelty free either."
All for Our Vanity
"Mirrors. It involves sending miners into deep arctic caves to retrieve the element Mirrorium. It's a crystal in it's natural state and apparently you could make a 10' x 10' mirror out of just a 'pen tip' sized amount."
"I'm obviously making this up because I don't know how mirrors are made and they scare me."
Natural Flavors
"A lot of perfumes are made out of musk glands that come from deer. They are killed in order to get it and it's not pleasant."
"Also some vanilla flavoring uses a liquid that comes out from the base of a beavers tail. It's not a pleasant experience for them either"
-- DudeGuyVR
In a time where money talks more than anything else, the consumer's dollar holds a lot of power.
Withholding that dollar from unethical brands makes a big statement, not just about the brand, but about the buyer. What capitalistic nonsense do they refuse to engage in?
And also, if they continue spending their money there, such as Chik-Fil-A, what kind of atrocities are they committed to engaging in?
u/AngryTrooper09 asked:
People of Reddit, what unethical brands to you refuse to buy from?
Here were some of those answers.
US Healthcare Is A Joke
If I could ditch the over priced insulin, I would in a heart beat but you know, I'd like to live.
Here in Canada, the vial is $40 CAN. In the US, the same vial by the same company is $550 CAN.
So freaking unethical overpricing life sustaining medication.
Stealing Intellectual Property
Sinful Colors nail polish. 10+ years back my sister told me about how they took her friends nail art pictures and used them for marketing purposes. She asked them to either give her credit or take them down and they refused.
Petty Jealousy
Backcountry.com and it's affiliated websites. They hired a bunch of lawyers to sue small businesses using the name 'backcountry' anywhere in it's name or tag line. Many of the companies were much older than backcountry.com. They have since sent out a 'sorry we were caught' letter, but there's too many other outdoor companies that are run ethically, I can't justify buying from backcountry.
She Just Cares About Your Money
Random one, but Kylie Jenner.
She exploited young fans by saying she didnt have fillers and looks like she has big lips from wearing lipstick and liner. Then sold Kylie lip kits to take advantage of self conscious girls wanting bigger lips, and seriously thinking that she hadn't used filler.
She stole designs from smaller brands and used them for her own clothing, pretending her company made the designs.
Then her skincare is awful. Overpriced stuff that barely works, and the scrub will cause serious damage to your skin.
Another which some have commented on. She isn't paying her workers in Bangladesh. She is taking advantage of desperate people in order to save money...when she is close to being a billionaire.
Overall she just exploits her fans for money. Nothing she does is actually as good as it is made out to be.
Whoopsies
Lenovo.
It seems every year they are either putting malicious code or conveniently overlooked security backdoors into their hardware. And when called out on it, their response is "Was that wrong? Should we not have done that?"
Rurality Speaks Volumes
Walmart. I work for a small transport company so Ive seen how they bully small companies with fines for like, everything if you don't do things their way. Plus they also have a lot of internal stories about terrible employee treatment
Bentonville Arkansas has a bunch of little communities around it. Walmart decided one day to "test out" some small grocery stores in these communities, smaller than neighborhood markets. Ran them at a loss, forcing all the grocers shut down. Then went "We're not making money at these" shut down the grocery stores, forcing people to come back into the main town.
Last time I was in the region, I saw they were putting up walmart gas stations as well as the ones at each of the stores. All conveniently 5-10 cents cheaper than non Walmart gas stations.
I get "don't shop there" but when people are trying to save money, they're obviously going to go to the cheaper place. And no one can compete with the company that runs things at a loss until all the competition is gone.
Fast Fashion, Fast Pass
I don't buy from fast fashion brands. H&M, Zara , etc. They aren't unethical, but they are terrible for the environment. One of the most wasteful industries. I love fashion, don't get me wrong. I tend to lean towards a more vintage vibe anyway and thrift shop a lot. But when it comes to sneakers I'll spend a little more on some better brand. Over a wasteful brand.
No Free Market
If you read this thread you will realize that nearly everything you buy comes with serious ethical issues. It is nearly impossible to avoid consuming things that cause harm. What we need more than you individually boycotting a company you just discovered has unethical practices is for you to join a political movement to hold the wealthy and the powerful accountable and to regulate business practices. There are simply too many people who are either oblivious or refuse to be inconvenienced that render little boycotts here and they're ultimately ineffective. The market does NOT regulate itself effectively. This is a myth and a lie.
Running Through The Excuses
Honestly, Mcdonalds.
After running that poor old lady through the mud for literally serving coffee that was dangerously hot and then refusing to pay her bills over their coffee being so hot that it gave her third degree burns and nearly killed her after putting her in shock.... All she wanted was her medical bills paid for. She only sued because they kept refusing, despite the courts saying that 190 degree coffee was too dangerous to serve in the end.
They were in the wrong, and painted her lawsuit as frivolous and that she was the idiot. Coffee is hot, but it shouldn't be served at 190 degrees.... Plus the way they treat the franchisees and employees. Food ain't good enough for me to want to give them any money.
They Ruined Star Wars
EA Games.
It used to be that you either bought a game OR had micro transactions in a free game. EA changed this so you had to BUY the game and then pay for micro transactions to unlock the good part of the game.
Google "most down voted reddit post" and it's EA customer service trying to justify their decision to put micro transactions into Battlefront.
If I see a game with EA on the cover I absolutely 100% will not buy it.
Not The Chocolate!
Nestlé and its brands, Mars, Hershey, and Folgers. More generally I don't buy any chocolate, coffee, or clothing that uses exploitative labor, as far as is in my power. Lots of child slave labor in those industries.
More Chocolate Stealing?
Hostess. They "borrowed" from their employees pensions, and then filed bankruptcy. Only to come back, debt free and start making Twinkees again. Also, all big business who took money from the payroll protection program intended for small businesses.
The Biggest News Story Of 2017
United Airlines. They violently dragged away a medical professional who needed to go back to work just for more room for some employees. After the incident, the ceo sent an email to employees saying he was 'belligerent' and 'distruptive'. They also killed a puppy by putting it in the overhead compartment where there's no ventilation.
Let's Normalize Necessity, Not Money
Bottled water.
Unnecessary plastic pollution? ✔️
Less regulated than tap water? ✔️
Stealing water resources from developing countries? ✔️
Capitalizing on what should be a basic human right? ✔️
Not-So-Funimation
Most anime studios. They pay their employees low wages and work them to the bone, paying by the page completed rather than the hour. Made me rethink my stance as an anime fan. The only ones with any sort of ethics are Kyoto Animation, paying their workers a livable wage. They'll be the only ones I'll buy from until things change.
The Food Is Poison!
Chipotle and Panera. Hate their marketing campaigns, both claim to be "healthy" and "clean" but truly aren't. And those words are akin to "natural" when discussing food and nutrition - too broad a description and utterly meaningless. So many better Mexican food joints and local sandwich places I'd much rather support.
Retail therapy is a thing for a reason. In a capitalistic culture, we get used to using money as a means for comfort. So we think, let me buy some "comfort" food. Let me buy this new video game, because I deserve it. Ooh, this hat is cute. Buying this will make everything better.
But sometimes the usefulness of a purchase actually outlasts the simple thrill of just buying it.
WrathOfChevy asked:
"What's the best purchase you've ever made?"
Here were some of those answers.
Just A Quiet Moment
We were at the tail end of a 32 hour road trip with our 5 kids ages 5 to 15 years old at the time. I love them but I needed silence. I bribed them with a dollar for whoever could be quiet the longest. I thought I'd buy myself perhaps 5 minutes of quiet tops before someone breathed someone else's air. Nope. Complete silence for just over an hour until we pulled into our destination. I declared them all winners so they all got a dollar. By far the best $5 I've ever spent.
I Want To See
Got LASIK 4 years ago and continues to be the best money I ever spent. I wake up, and can just...see? With no glasses or contacts? Amazing
My Own Coffee Shop
Bought a Breville Barista Express espresso machine 5+ years ago. I drink at least 2 americanos or lattes a day. It has never failed in any way shape or form, and at this point has saved me approximately eleventy billion dollars at Starbucks over this time period. I absolutely love that machine.
Paco The Horse
I bought a horse named Paco for $500. My mom's hairdresser kept trying to sell him to me, starting at $3500 and every few months she would lower the price $500. When she got to $500 I said I would look at him. That was 18 years ago. He was the first horse my daughter was able to get out and ride on her own. She took him to the county fair the first year she showed there and won numerous ribbons on him, including hunter over fences jumping him over 3 foot fences. We didn't know he could jump.
After she moved on to other horses we kept him and many different kids showed him at the fair all doing very well with him. Another lady had a parade horse get sick, and borrowed Paco and took him to the Kentucky derby parade and the Indy 500 parade. He proudly marched in both.
He also became a lesson horse and taught hundreds of beginners how to ride a horse. Never once has lost his patience with anyone. The only thing he asks in return is some peppermint candy.
He's in his late thirties now and is still going strong. He doesn't do many lessons anymore, but every once in a while someone is lucky enough to get to learn on him.
When You Live In Suburban America
My car.. It isn't even that great (96 Camry).. But going many years without a car was a daily struggle. Now I can get anywhere I need to without having to bother friends and family. Something as simple as grocery shopping went from being embarrassingly difficult to not a big deal.
Our Best Friend For Life
When I was about 10 years old my parents and I were in our backyard clearing out a ton of weeds that had gotten out of hand. I had trouble focusing because our next door neighbor had this really adorable puppy and all I wanted to do was play with him.
We found out that they were actually going to take him to an animal shelter because their son was not taking care of him like he promised. I decided to ask my parents if maybe we could get him instead. I was an only child and never really have anyone to play with unless a friend would come over and the thought of having a puppy to play with whenever I wanted to was great.
My parents agreed and our neighbors offered to sell him to us for $20, which is really cheap for a dog when you think about it, but a lot of money for a kid. I had that saved up and immediately agreed and promised I care for him and love him forever. So, he became my puppy and like a brother. After a few days of debating I named him Snoopy.
Snoopy became my closest friend. He made me laugh, played with me, and would just hang out and watch TV with me. He was always there for me, especially through some tough times in my life where I was extremely self-destructive. He saved me from myself. He was there at my side through tough breakups where all I ever wanted to do was lay in bed. He was an amazing friend. He was there to see me graduate 8th grade, high school, and college. I hoped he would be there on the day I got married and maybe be around for when I had kids, but unfortunately as much as we wish for things, sometimes they don't happen.
This is the first picture of I have of us together and this is the last. He died 5 years ago after being by my side for almost 17 years. That little ball of fur in the first picture made such a huge impact on my life bringing me years of happiness, friendship, and love.
There And Back Again
I broke up with my HS sweetheart near graduation for reasons. She got a new boyfriend and I a new girlfriend (mine didn't last but 2 weeks). Months go by, I started college, and we remained in touch. I missed being with her and as our initial anniversary date neared I knew she was single again. So on that day I dropped by her job as a supermarket cashier and bought a pack of gum. As she rang me up I asked her if we could get back together. She said maybe, but would call me later. Of course she said yes and we've been together ever since, got married, & have 2 kids. Easily the best $1.07 I ever spent!
Halving My Size
The food and fees for the medically supervised diet I'm on right now. I've lost 121 pounds so far and only have 36 to get to my goal. I feel so happy with myself and very proud that I've managed to do this. And of course I already look damn good, I started at a size 26 and I'm a size 14 now, there's so many small and large benefits I've noticed from being a ton thinner. From no longer worrying about being able to fit in chairs to simply being more comfortable in my own skin.
It All Worked Out
My divorce. I didn't even know how miserable was until one day, I was planning how I could successfully abandon my whole life.
I was going to apply for jobs across the country. I was mentally making lists of what I could fit in the car with the dogs so I could ghost. I was going to abandon the house I just bought, figured my parents would disown me based on their anti-divorce stance and years of telling me "marriage is forever. You vowed good times and bad." I was going to change my number so no one would know where I was. Started trying to figure out how I could save the deposit for an apt. I would stay married but live separately and I'd just start life over as if I was an orphan.
Had this moment of clarity that to go through all that to get away from him, i should just divorce him anyway. My parents didn't have to live with him and it was worth severing ties with them to get away from him. Why was I giving up the home I'd bought, and the life I'd made?
Things came to a head one day, the next week I had a consultation with a lawyer. Took off work so as not to arouse suspicion. He told me I could think about it and I was like "dude, I've done nothing but. Here's my cc." I called my mom on the way home and let her know. I was expecting "we're disowning you" and was shocked and in tears when she said that she had been wrong, if it was that bad they would support me and help me pay the lawyer fees. I hung up with her, my dad called me not 2 mins later and said it was about time.
I was expecting this bitter divorce and... when I broke it to him he's like "I'm going to let you go." We had an uncontested divorce, I gave him an, as my lawyer phrased it, "overly fair", settlement. It's been 8 years, I'm still paying off the divorce settlement, but I am in a better place mentally, a better relationship and it was worth getting out of an extremely toxic, emotionally abusive relationship.
Puppies Are Good For Your Health
I was living with my mum when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had her surgery and had started the first of three years of chemo and radiation.
I drove her anywhere she needed and went in with her. Doctors visits and chemo can be really boring, so I always had two bags full of different things depending what she felt like doing.
We were in our way to a chemo visit and instead of going in with her, I felt like visit the animal shelter. No idea why, I had never left Mum during a chemo visit before.
The shelter was five minutes from the hospital and there were plenty of animals but I had my eye on one. A six month old lab x border collie puppy that was just terrified. Would not come anywhere near me. I couldn't leave him in that outdoor concrete kennel. How can a puppy be so terrified.
I drove with him back to the hospital. The chemo ward had a garden with windows, so we sat there waving at Mum. Mum came out and wasn't happy, there was enough going on let alone a puppy. But this dog was so quiet and timid. He curled into mum's lap and I never heard her complain again.
The best part was mum would walk him every day along the beach (she was covered head to toe in clothes and sun block) and she became stronger and healthier each year. When I was at work, I was comforted in knowing he was by her side.
He was $360 but easily the best purchase I've ever made.
"Bought my dog..."
Bought my dog during severe depression and loneliness. She's been a great friend so far and makes most days fun. Even when she shits on the carpet (she's still a puppy).
"Lived like a miser..."
My house.
Lived like a miser for 10+ years to afford a down payment. The feeling of putting money into the house instead of rent is fantastic.
"Thanks to..."
Thanks to a Costco membership and basement shelving, My family of 3 were packing 60+ Charmin triple rolls when the shortages started. We just stock up whenever it is on sale and there had been a sale not long before. I wouldn't call myself a prepper but when at the prices costco has for things like 25lb boxes of high quality rice for around 10 bucks, you would be a fool to not keep one of those bad boys in the bottom of your pantry.
"Invested..."
Invested $20,000 of an inheritance into a weed grow. Now I've been working in the Cannabis industry 4 years and have made probably $300k on my investment.
"No one is allowed..."
The Complete Calvin & Hobbes, bound, three volume set.
No one is allowed to touch it. My daughter reads all the cheaper paperback collections I received over the years every xmas. She 17 now, I might just let her have a peek.
Also, a close second is a painting of a Hawker Hurricane I found in what I thought was a nice art store. I just felt like I should have it. I looked it up after i bought it and it appears to be commonly replicated. But I liked it, I love military history, and its one thing in our house that can be pointed to and said "that's here because of Kurt_Go_Bang."
"They will change your life..."
Birkenstocks! They will change your life, especially my high-arched comrades.
"I never had pets..."
The pet adoption fees for my cats.
I never had pets growing up (my mother is allergic) but my wife always had cats. So after we were dating for awhile and living together we adopted two cats.
I never felt so much unconditional love or had a stronger feeling of having a home until they lived with us.
"They didn't have much money..."
Laptop for my younger brother and his wife. They didn't have much money and really needed one. Started breaking down crying in Starbucks. Made me start tearing up as well.
"Got drunk once..."
Got drunk once on holidays and thought it would be a great idea to buy a dog. Woke up later that afternoon in my hotel room with a 10 week old Alaskan Malamute puppy I had somehow managed to sneak in.
It's been 6 years now and she is the greatest thing to ever happen to me.
"While on unemployment..."
When I was 23, I got let go from my job as a groundskeeper. While on unemployment, I bought a $2 scratch off ticket. Turned out, I won $2500! I used that money to purchase the parts to build a gaming PC, which I had no experience with. After buying all the parts, and with a little help with wiring, I found a love for computers, and how they work. I am now working at an engineer level at my current IT job, and am doing very well, mentally, which I was not before that $2 scratch off purchase.
"I can take a bunch..."
A crockpot. I can take a bunch of vegetables and meats or beans or whatever , and some water or chicken stock, throw in a pack of frozen seasoning vegetables (bell pepper, onion, celery), toss in salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, put it on medium to high heat and go to bed and literally go to work the next day and never worry about it. The roast and veggies? Perfect. The chicken fiesta soup? Immaculate. The red beans and sausage? Food of the gods. The vegetable stew? To die for.
All I do is throw things in it and then literally ignore them and the next day dinner is just ready, like I actually did something.
"I suffer..."
I suffer from severe insomnia and I'm currently pregnant.. So I'm a person who already doesn't sleep, who can't take any of my medication for this and I'm growing a human inside of me, which isn't comfortable.
I bought a new mattress about a month ago and have gotten the best sleep I've ever had in my life! Definitely agree!
"I've worked..."
Graduate school. Switched from an undergrad of Microbiology to Computer Science masters. I've worked for some of the top companies in the world, done some pretty cool stuff, and had a lot of fun along the way. Far and away the best purchase and 2 years of my life.
"I grew it..."
I purchased a pizza shop in 1999. I grew it to 4 pizza shops and then sold them all. I now own 8 restaurants in another concept and am financially set.
"She still hasn't..."
The engagement ring for my wife. She still hasn't figured out how far beneath her that she married. Please, nobody tell her!
"My old boss..."
My car. '08 Prius in 2014, 50k on the clock, perfect service history, 1 previous owner, $7.5k. My old boss had more money than sense.
"It's calming..."
A guitar. If you give it some time, any instrument can be great. It's calming and stress relieving.
"Trust me people."
King Size Casper Matress. Trust me people, it's LIFE changing. LIFE CHANGING. Second prize: an attachable bidet for 32 bucks off amazon. LIFE CHANGING.
"This little pug..."
Most stories here are a dog. And I agree that's the best purchase I made. My pug is my wife's and I kid and for all sakes, it behaves like one. We've been married for 5 years and got him after our first year married as a prelude to kids. Neither one of us would think that we would go thru infertility and the possibility of kids may not happen. This little pug has allowed us to fill that gap, not in an unhealthy way but definitely in the loving way. A little source of constant happiness while dealing thru the shittiness that's comes from infertility. It's the little things that allow for us to always maintain perspective.
"Recently?"
Recently? An herb garden. Got parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, peppermint, dill, cilantro, and of course, catnip. Watering and watching them grow is extremely soothing. Plus, freshest possible herbs! And cat drugs for my kitties, because they should benefit, too.
"After driving nothing but..."
A new car. After driving nothing but crappy old cars with tons of mileage on them I got a new one. Crazy how nice it drives and how often it DOESN'T break down.
"My then girlfriend..."
$10 for a Kappa duffle bag.
My then girlfriend (now wife) bought one at the same time. We picked them up at a Kroger almost 20 years ago when we were in college. We use them nearly every other weekend to pack clothes and supplies to visit family and friends. Hell, my wife damn near lived out of hers for 3 years for her job. I would not be surprised if they last another 20 years.
"The kind that comes..."
Compact floor jack. The kind that comes in a plastic case and fits nicely in the trunk of your car. Makes changing a tire on the side of the highway a speedy, safer affair. Those scissor jacks are not good.
"I love being able to..."
My guitar has given me more pleasure than anything. I love being able to pull it out and play something to speak with people
"Honestly..."
Honestly, if I think of time used, reliability and just never breaking down in 12 years, it has to be a white Sony VAIO laptop. Astonishing in it's durability... shame they stopped making them, was the best $700 I think I've ever spent.
"Where I live..."
My central air conditioning. Where I live, we get two-three months of summer, but totally worth it. I hate trying to sleep when it is hot.
"Heading out..."
My hiking bag. 2012. Decided I was going to get one, hopped onto Kijiji knowing almost nothing about hiking backpacks and found a large mec brio for $50. Apparently you are supposed to try on different ones until you find the right size, well I just impulsively bought it and it fit like a glove.
It's carried me from memory to memory, bursting at the seams with tent poles, punctured beer cans, clothes, gear. Whatever I want to bring I can find a way to stretch the bag to accommodate. I have abused the hell out of it and it just doesn't break.
Regular visits to the Bruce Trail, Lake Superior, Kawarthas, Algonquin, Ganaraska trail. That thing took me through so many of the experiences of my 20's that made life worth living.
Heading out for my first hike of the season this Saturday, these days I store it prepacked with gear and whisky and add food and batteries the night before a hike.
"Maybe not the best..."
Maybe not the best but I recently bought a convertible sofa for 30 dollars. There was an error on the site and it was 94% off.
"I finally..."
My computer bag. I finally bought a good leather bag and it'll be the last one I ever have to buy.
"I've been sewing..."
I've been sewing for a while now, and my brothers birthday is coming up, so when my grandma dragged me into a fabric shop, and I found the best thing for his birthday, he's a cyclist, and I found a peoce of material with bikes on it. I bought it, and I'm really excited to get started! I've never given my brother a proper birthday gift, and I'm sure hell love it, at least I hope so!