I made the mistake recently of visiting a knife collector forum that I have not visited since the early 2000s. The reason I stopped going there in the first place was because it inspired “consumer lust” and was bad for my wallet. Well, sure enough, I am now the proud owner of two expensive knives that are awesome but that I don’t need in any way at all. I think I will put them on eBay and try to recoup some of my money.
Another forum that I try not to visit is a headphone enthusiast forum. In no time at all, spending $200+ on headphones and headphone amps will seem very reasonable and a good idea.
There is also a forum devoted to tongue drums and hang drums that have me considering buying a $400+ dollar instrument just because it sounds so beautiful.
I realize the problem is me. I was just wondering if anyone else out there has sites or forums that are dangerous to their wallets and what are they?
steepandcheap.comkills me. I had to quit going, and had to tell my brother to not mention it to me.
What’s really killer about it is that they have a delayed shipping option, where it leaves your order open for 2 weeks, and in the interim you can add anything to the order for only $1 extra shipping.
So it’s really easy to justify adding a couple dollar gizmos here and there. Also became routing for my brother and I to notify each other if an order was open…and it never failed, we magically found something we needed.
Now, it’s really nice stuff most of the time, and if you’re outdoors-y I highly reccommend it. Just be careful!
Fatwallet. I peruse the Hot Deals section and buy random stuff on a whim. The last thing was Fart in a Bag. It was only $.97 with free shipping. How could I resist.
Damn you! I knew I should have avoided opening this thread. After all, it is practically time to start my Christmas shopping… and I could just take a peek at their clearance section… and I do have a kid now, I could stock up on presents for him for the next decade or so…
QPB (Quality Paperback Book Club). I was a member about 20 years ago, but got tired of having to send in the cards each month. A few years ago, I discovered that you can refuse the automatic selections online, and rejoined - and every now and then I order a boxful of books (they have a lot of sales) for which I don’t have any remaining room in my bookcases.
There’s a few forums I visit… that often give me free tickets to places where I will spend a lot. Think about it as a gambler being given a trip to vegas every month… it sure is a good deal, but you’ll end up spending more than you would staying home watching the TV.
Steam is particularly dangerous when they’re running one of their seasonal sales. I have at least a couple of years worth of game backlog from “Hey, that looks cool, and it’s cheap right now.” I ruled myself as strictly as I could in the last sale and managed to buy very little, half of which I’ve now played through.
I try not to actually browse Kickstarter, because I find myself wanting to back things almost at random. There’s a weird feeling of “I don’t actually want this particular thing for myself, but I want it to exist.” Sort of a creation-by-proxy impulse. I’ve mostly managed to resist it, contributing only small amount to a few projects that I will never personally have a use for, but I attribute that to limiting my exposure, not willpower.
So far, I’ve only bought things I actually have a use for. It’s a struggle every time I look at the site, though.
Micromark, as well as AS&S (heh) and Amazon. Despite their ugly website, I would like to own one of everything MicroMark offers. Oh, and the same goes for Dick Blick Art Supply.
Lush. I could spend a thousand dollars on their shit.
Brambleberry.com. It’s a soap-maker’s dream–IF you’re rolling in the benjamins. So many colors! So many delicious limited-time fragrances! Soaps and candles and makeup, oh my! D:
