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Now with only a few clicks of a button, we can get everything we need or want. This has led to a serious discussion of what consumerism brings us and how we should change our shopping habits. And this is not the only reason why people sometimes need to think twice before confirming that purchase. Together with this goes untrustworthy brands, low-quality items, and influential hype of purchasing unnecessary things. 

Reddit user @u/Badass_Band1t asked people online “What should people seriously stop buying?” and received almost 40k upvotes together with 27.5 comments where other users shared their opinions about things that, for various reasons, should not be purchased in the future. 

Most of the answers showed that people are very much concerned about plastic use. A lot of comments suggested that we can all live without buying single-use plastic products when there are so many alternatives that are friendly to the environment. Plastic water bottles and cutlery were among the things that pollute surroundings the most and can be easily replaced with reusable items. 

I guess that spreading awareness about MLM (multi-level marketing) scams stuck in people’s minds as these companies and their products were also mentioned by users of Reddit. It was stressed in some of the comments that any kind of unnecessary things that provide you with temporary happiness are not worth buying as they only take up space but usually have no value. 

What do you think people should also stop buying? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below!

More Info: Reddit

#1

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Animals that are so inbred to meet a certain 'breed standard' that they are a walking vet bill from birth. Brachycephalic dog breeds such as French Bulldogs being an example.

Sarcastic-Me , stanze Report

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#2

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Shark fin soup. The fishers only want the fin and throw the shark out to the sea after cutting it since the other body parts have no monetary value, letting the shark to die

marisquo , jay.tong Report

#3

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Puppy mill puppies!

bagelmama11 , gianni Report

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Aisling Raye
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ADOPT DON'T SHOP. I feel like I have to say this so many times. Look for a pet at your local shelter. Give them a chance. I promise that an adopted pet knows that you saved them. In my experience they are always the sweetest.

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#4

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Anything an influencer gets paid to promote

nagygirl23 , HumongoNationphotogallery Report

#5

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group The sewage that comes out of TV Evangelists' mouths.

datazulu , Robert Couse-Baker Report

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denzoren
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention the robbery with all these "seed faiths" and donations preying on vulnerable persons.

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#6

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group University books… boycott them, ridiculous price for individuals to pay for education, should all be online publicly for free.

AidanOP , Teresa Grau Ros Report

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GFSTaylor
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not for free. The people who spend months and years writing them need to earn money from their work.

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#7

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group So much. Stop buy so much. You don't need all that f*****g s**t.

SolarisIX , Blondinrikard Fröberg Report

#8

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Animals they can't take care of for the rest of their lives.

mcontant , Phil Fiddyment Report

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Julia Larsson
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Like parrots who outlive their owners. If you want to buy one (please do your research ofc); find an adult parrot.

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#9

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group A new phone every year.

Gabochuky , Daniel Grothe Report

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denzoren
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've had my phone for the past 3 years and it's a gem. It's not even high end, it's a based model ASUS and it does everything I need it to. It fell numerous times and haven't broken!

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#10

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group GLITTER. Sparkles, glitter and sequins on everything, especially kids items.

You think it's hard to get that s**t out of your house after craft time?

It's MICROPLASTIC, and it's going into our waterways and oceans. Yet the toy stores and clothing stores are adding more sequins and glitter every day. Makes me furious. Just stop buying it!

candidlycait , m01229 Report

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Zophra
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Probably have heard this elsewhere but "Glitter is the herpes of the craft world."

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#11

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Detox teas or anything that claims to help rid you of “toxins” in your body. If you can’t do that s**t on your own already then you need a kidney or liver transplant, not a tea that a fit mom is trying to sell you.

TheBereWolf , Judit Klein Report

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M O'Connell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In their defense, I don't think they have any medicinal properties at all, but the schisandra/kuchika/chicory/dandelion "detox" teas are quite delicious.

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#12

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Caskets.

Especially those sealed tight ones... Our dead need to decompose, and they will, but the casket can just explode.

When I'm dead I want to be buried in a blanket and tossed in a hole. Let nature worry about me.

BevLive , Rob Oo Report

#13

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Products with palm oil in.

Yabanna_Koogarappa , Aul Rah Report

#14

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Cigarettes. Quit while you can. If you need help doing so, we can be friends and I can help you all I can.

ParanoidOzzy666 , Fried Dough Report

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Jenn Ryan
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've tried to quit so many times throughout the years. I've tried every product and cold turkey. I can get over the physical addiction just fine. It's the mental addiction I can't get past.

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#16

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group any kind of shower gel or facewash that has those plastic microbeads in them.

The beads are small enough to get through most filtration systems and are ruinous to marine life

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/microbeads-international-ban-damage-marine-life-plastic

graeuk , J B Report

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M O'Connell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The 'Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015' phased-out and effectively banned the sale of these products in the US in 2019.

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#17

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Fast fashion.

icee5728 , Denkrahm Report

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Freya the Wanderer
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Absolutely! I have bought hardly any new items of clothing in a decade. I buy most of my clothes at thrift stores.

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#18

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Diamonds

OrangeyUnicorn , kyler kwock Report

#19

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Anything involved in an MLM scam. I’m looking at you Young Living Essential Oils

wafflelover17 , Channy Yun Report

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Satirical Duchess
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

dear lord, why did that take me a second to realise it didn't say "men loving men scam"

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#20

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Plastic bottles.

Just buy a water filter and fill up the same bottle

Edit: for people saying just drink tap water, I agree 100%. I’m just saying there are a lot of people who only buy bottled water, drink it, throw it and buy another one. Ridiculously unnecessary. Those plastics are so difficult to recycle, if at all. Most just ends up in landfill anyway.

Trying to convince them to buy a water filter is good middle ground!

My FIL boasts about how eco-conscious he is but still does what I said above. Drives me mental.

ItWazFuken1ofYas , zeevveez Report

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Samantha Lomb
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

refilling a single use bottle does actually cause germ growth though. You need a reusable bottle than can be cleaned.

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#21

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Tiny plastic garbage

I see tiktoks of people unboxing like these mini-plastic toys (?) of name brand items.

And they will have 100s of them all individually wrapped in multiple layers of packaging just to have tiny replicas of a bottle of windex or lay's potato chips.

WitherWithout , Ivan Radic Report

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More Thinking Needed
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

81% of plastic ocean polution comes from Asia. Africa 8%, South America 6%, North America 5%, Europe <1%

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#22

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Red Delicious apples. You deserve better than that mushy garbage. Get yourself a honeycrisp.

1080TJ , Sonita Lewis Report

#23

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group K-Cups

If you have a Keurig, use the reusable K-Cup.

gizmosbutu , m01229 Report

#25

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Any home exercise machine or equipment that requires a subscription to use. You paid 2 grand for a treadmill and then a recurring monthly fee to use it. How is this business model working?

Hormel_Chavez , Make Lemons Report

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#27

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group S**t made of plastic they use once and throw away.

LPTKill , Carl Campbell Report

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jpaul
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Europe has started a "0 plastic" campaign. progressively any avoidable plastic is prohibited

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#28

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Most saltwater fish if they aren't willing to put in the effort, and certain species that just can't be kept in captivity even with the effort.

90% of saltwater fish you see in the store except for most clowns, some tangs, some seahorses, and I think maybe cardinal fish are all wild caught.

More than any other pet, when you take home a saltwater fish you have purchased a piece of the environment and you should treat it with every bit of respect it deserves.

RhynoD , Aquatic Life Report

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Raven DeathShade
Community Member
3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is why I stick with freshwater fish. My betta is perfectly happy in his ~30 gallon tank, and I'm getting him some more tankmates soon.

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#29

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Online IQ test. If there was a way to fail an IQ test, paying for one online would be it.

theoceanisdeep , Alberto G. Report

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Sam Yobado
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just be sure to buy all the brain training apps first, to make certain you are the superest smart.

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#30

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group I can't understand the people that buy holiday decor every single year. Are people buying fake trees and tossing them every year and needing a new one? Same with ornaments and what not. Obviously people move out of their parents or they need to replace ornaments if they're broken or something but the amount in stores does not add up to me. Why so much new stuff every year?

PumpkinPieIsGreat , subherwal Report

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Lara Verne
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No need to buy new ornaments every year. I still use ornaments from 1960s that belonged to my grandparents.

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#31

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Cheap children’s party favors. We aren’t talking the colorful pencils and paper pads that actually have some use. I’m talking about the non descript plastic forms with popular media stickers and other garbage. The amount of trash plastic available for this niche is staggering- especially given that most of those toys hold a child’s attention for 2 hours. Also- happy meal toys. Great for a collector, because most of them get thrown out 6 months after being found behind the couch. Legos are highly resealable/giftable and tradeable. Hot wheels last forever. Most toys have at least a possible second life. But party favor crap- is just crap.

Kinetikat , Elena Roussakis Report

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Bella, Your Kitty-Loving Queen
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was helping my friend buy stuff for her party, and she wanted all the useless s**t like mini skateboards and plastic springs, like bruh everyone is just going to throw this stuff away. (And the party was for 12 year olds, not 6 year olds)

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#32

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Please uninstall Yelp off your phone. They are nothing more than extortionists that hold small businesses hostage to bad reviews (real or fake, doesn’t matter). I can’t express how s**tty Yelp is as a company. Every time you open their app, you give them support.

svhelloworld , Jason Howie Report

#33

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Herbalife.

DrC0re , Joel Kramer Report

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TheAnimalLady
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Redundant and (seriously🙄) one word with no explanation or reference is useless, especially when BOREDPANDA is inclusive of other countries.

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#34

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Microtransactions, especially in sports games.

Cosmetics in a free to play game? I don't have a problem with that, gotta make money somehow and it doesn't affect gameplay. Blatant gambling and pay to win functionality in games like NBA 2K and Madden? Those can f**k right off

UsernameTaken-Taken , Trevor Owens Report

#36

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Madden. Seriously. Basically anything that comes from EA. They've just gotten a bit too greedy for my liking.

AlfredYT , Vincent Diamante Report

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Muff_Fluff
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All of their expansions (I’m a Sims player, not sure if they have other games with add-one) are way overpriced, and many should be included with the base game

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#37

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Merchandise with the pink "for the cure" bows.

turdburglerbuttsmurf , Marco Verch Professional Photographer Report

#38

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Fantasy books that are first of a series of 13.

Fantasy has become completely entrenched in this model where every story HAS to be a massive multivolume epic. I can count on one hand the number of multivolume series that actually NEEDED to be 8-10 books long. Most of them could have been told in one trilogy, if not just one epic book.

I 100% believe that writers are pressured to stretch out their 2 volume stories into 8 purely for the additional sales.

PhillipLlerenas , Pussreboots Report

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Nikki Sevven
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel the need to speak up to exempt Sir Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series, which is 40-something books long...and totally worth the investment.

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#39

30 Items We All Should Quit Buying, As Pointed Out By People In This Online Group Not a sexy or flashy response, but no one should be buying a boiler, furnace, or water heater below 90% efficiency. The ~80% efficiency equipment is ancient technology and you are throwing your money away while also spewing more greenhouse gasses!

Edit: well this did leagues better than I anticipated! Many of you have pointed out instances where the 80% is an appropriate choice, whether it be flue issues, a steam system, or you don't have the fund for the 90% upfront. On top of this I'll clarify that these upgrades should be made at the end of the boiler's life, it will almost never make financial sense to replace a functional appliance with a more efficient one, and the greenest equipment available is the one you already have. Heat pump crew, I'm with you, but currently, with US fuel mixes and electrical costs, there are very valid arguements against them. Everyone talking about how they have a 60 year old boiler that runs like a tank, this is some serious survivor's bias, if they all worked that well no one would have to replace old equipment and the industry would have died except for new construction.

DelxF , Mark Florence Report

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M O'Connell
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maintenance is key. Often repair technicians will try and talk you into replacing equipment rather than repairing it just because a tear-out and replace is much easier for them. In my experience components rarely all fail at once, and total replacement has significant dollar and environmental costs. I am a patient man and a competent technician. I replace nothing!

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