# Ever buy from a spammer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 3, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771 "2003-03-03T16:50:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/1 "2003-03-03T16:50:25Z")
Just wondering if you, or anyone you know, ever bought anything from a spammer. _If the answer is **yes** , please include before and after photos so we can see if your breats/penis are/is actually larger._ 😛 Seriously, I automatically delete any e-mail that is not from someone I know. And I wouldn’t imagine opening an attachment if I weren’t pretty darned sure what was in it. I assumed most people did the same. But apparently not, as evidenced by the spread of some viruses. I understand that spam is so cheap that very few responses make it worthwhile. Do you know anyone who has bought from a spammer? If so, what products/services? ---
**Author:** ![\_etalhea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/779978/32.png) [@\_etalhea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_etalhea)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/2 "2003-03-03T19:35:04Z")
No, as long as your definition of spam is the same as mine. I never buy as a result of advertisements from unsolicited sources. I have bought as a result of “newsletters” or other special offers, but always from A) somewhere I had already made at least one purchase on my own or B) somewhere I registered knowing full well that I would receive periodic e-mails as a result of giving them that info. These folks do sometime get out of hand, and I have regretted registering some places that I had initially thought would be good. I figure this type of arrangement balances, because I have received some coupons and other offers that I would not have received otherwise. With that being said… **How the fuck** is putting me in an infinite loop of popups and changing my home page to some bullshit page that in turn puts me back in this godforsaken loop…whew!..gonna get me to buy their product/join their site/otherwise give them money? Where else in life do people expect significant returns from harassing people to the point of screaming anger? What’s up with this bullshit? (sorry for the rant, but thanks for letting me vent, you are so right) ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/3 "2003-03-03T20:59:26Z")
No, I do not want to support those idiot spammers, and they have never offered me a product that was even halfway interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/4 "2003-03-03T22:01:49Z")
**Metalhead** - agree wholeheartedly on the “loop” sites. To me that signifies the lowest possible order of vermin. It always surprises me when I come across a relatively “reputable site” say an established retailer, or a museum, or a governmental site that tries to hold me hostage. Is there anyone that does not get pissed off by this? Could they possibly think they are providing anyone a service of value? ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/5 "2003-03-03T22:03:50Z")
Ya know, I was actually thinking about buying an X-10 camera a while back… until they started those damn popups. Now there’s no chance in hell I ever would. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/6 "2003-03-03T22:49:22Z")
Oh god, no. Even if I got spam for a product I actually wanted, at a reasonable price, I would not purchase from them just out of principle. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/7 "2003-03-03T23:48:38Z")
I mean- anyone who has as a first contact with you an illegal action- how are things going to get any better? But spam is cheap to send, so they have little to lose. Even if there is only one naif in 1000, they are ahead of the game. I don’t like dudes who takes the law into their own hands, but I may make an exception for those crackers who respond to spam by hacking & destroying the web site. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/8 "2003-03-04T00:32:36Z")
No, and I have often wondered about this question. _Someone_ must be buying or it wouldn’t be profitable. Granted, it is a _very_ cheap way to advertise, but even so, you must have purchases to make it worth the cost. ---
**Author:** ![truthbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@truthbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthbot)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/9 "2003-03-04T01:25:09Z")
No, no; a thousand times NO! Even if I was in dire need of a kidney; and a spammer offered me a perfect match for a mere $29.99 (installation & labor included), I would choose a lingering death. I loathe spam, spammers and their ilk. To recap: no, I have never purchased anything from a spammer. Nor shall I in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/10 "2003-03-04T05:04:19Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-buy-from-a-spammer/158771/11 "2003-03-04T05:36:35Z")
I’ve bought from emails that I requested. For example, I had signed up to have yahoo! host my email domain about 2 years ago, and last year, they began to offer different plans. I signed up based on an email that I got informing me of the change in service plans. But it was sent from yahoo! to yahoo!, and only to their subscribers who had checked the “keep me informed” button. I’d never buy from anything unsolicited.