I went to Best Buy today because I needed a new laptop for work. I haven’t stepped foot in BB in probably 10 years but they had the best price for the one I was looking at online. I thought this would be a relatively simple transaction: go into the store, find the computer I wanted, pay for it, and leave.

Instead, I was approached by two different people trying to sell me phone/internet services, then upsold by the employee helping me in the computer department. (Fine, it had more space, figured I could use it longer.) After all of that, I was finally told they didn’t even have the laptop in stock. But! They could order it for me, and it would be delivered in two days.

So I drove to a physical store, dealt with multiple sales pitches I never asked for, spent time being upsold on things I didn’t need, and ultimately couldn’t even walk out with the product I came there to purchase.

I basically stepped into the store and was immediately immersed in what felt like an endless series of sales funnels.

What frustrates me most is that I actually wanted to buy something. I had a legitimate need, had already decided to spend the money, and showed up ready to make a purchase. And somehow, the experience was so unpleasant that I left feeling like I didn’t want to buy anything at all.

This is what gets me about modern consumerism and why I stopped trying to buy anything except out of need. Even when you’re willing to spend money, companies are determined to squeeze every possible dollar out of you through upselling, add-ons, service pitches, etc etc etc instead of just allowing you to make the purchase easy.

I understand that employees have sales targets and companies want to increase revenue (bc the shareholders!!! /s). But ironically this experience made me want to consume even less than I already do.

I went home and just ordered the laptop I originally wanted online since I’d have to have it shipped anyway. But I miss when buying something in store could just mean buying the thing you came for.

who the hell is asking for all this shit 😭 walked into my local Big W (Walmart equivalent in Australia) and there’s just SO MUCH halloween stuff everywhere, like this animated skeleton taking a shit. like genuinely who is buying this 😭 every year there’s a whole new collection which makes me feel so overwhelmed. WHO IS ASKING FOR THIS AND WHO IS BUYING THIS

https://www.bigw.com.au/product/halloween-animated-skeleton-on-toilet/p/6069287?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_id=21501740563&utm_campaign=BIG+W+%7C+Home+%7C+Shopping+%7C+Decor+And+Furnishings&utm_term=&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21501740563&gbraid=0AAAAADkZkLiYpzgczD94ltiBke-OSbdgE&gclid=CjwKCAjw88HWBhA3EiwAo2Zd6ELp60hWMFmUGD0wq0mANdx_R9eh6b6do8oBhFjdBWJzMb3EkvocHRoCYJIQAvD_BwE

Look, I'm 100% in support of purchasing media and holding onto physical copies over streaming, but I feel like this is just another consumer manipulation tactic. And of course, it would be in Target where all the cute, trendy things are. 45s have already been around for ages and play on a regular turntable. Do we really need to repackage and rebrand this with a whole new player and collection of tiny versions of the real thing?

I'm sorry if this isn't the place to ask, i just really dont know what to do.

I never buy stuff online, and when i do it usually doesnt come with Styrofoam, so i am completely lost now that i have a box full of it. It's non recyclable here, floats easy with the wind and very easy to be mistaken for food by animals. Is there any way of upcycling small pieces or disposing of it correctly?