# What are scams that you know to be scams, but you buy into anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 5, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019 "2010-04-05T14:23:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/41 "2010-04-06T15:15:03Z")
> [@Alpine](#): > > So, uh, anyway. > > I have to admit that I occasionally purchase organic produce. But it’s only if it looks better! Really! I buy organic produce fairly often. OK, not that often out of grocery stores, but I do buy a share from a local [community-supported agriculture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agriculture) farm, so for a good chunk of the year I get locally-grown, almost all organic (some is grown using integrated pest management) produce. Frankly, I know it tastes better, but that’s because they’re using varieties chosen not for being able to be shipped thousands of miles or to survive 15 mph impacts, but for things like **flavor**. I’m not entirely convinced that trace pesticides can harm adult humans - assuming the pesticides are used at proper levels in the first place, that is. But I do know that they can have an effect on farm workers, and I care about them. I have farming on both sides of my family, as recent as my grandparents, and it’s important to minimize risk to workers. My weak spot? Buying candy bars off parents who bring their kids’ sales boxes to work to raise money for (whatever school thing). I know the kids’ program doesn’t get much money off the sales, and I know the kids don’t get the experience of learning how to do things for themselves if their parents bring the candy to work. But man, present me with a candy bar when I’m bored at work and I’m a sucker. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/42 "2010-04-06T15:36:59Z")
I keep buying expensive aftershave/colognes, because they will make me irresistable to hot, sexy women!😕 ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/43 "2010-04-06T16:36:37Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > When I met my gf, she was embarrassed to admit that she owned a timeshare. We have since used it every winter since then. We love the location (St Martin) and have made friends there. We could do the same vacation a bit cheaper, but there are advantages. She (We) have turned down offers on it! I got mine in a place that wasn’t ideal - 'cause you can just trade it for anywhere in the globe! (Hasn’t worked out for me so far.) Also, the annual assessment fees are probably about what I would pay for a hotel room at my desired destination for a week (that’s not counting what I paid for the damn thing). So, I got _buuuuurrrned!_ ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/44 "2010-04-06T16:38:14Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Aww look, the wise and cynical Clothahump is trolling for a warning (for either threadshitting or ignoring a mod’s direct instructions), so he can play the martyr, being the world’s first person ever persecuted for attempting to expose religion as a scam… > > Brave, brave Clothahump!!! > > ETA–I posted before I read Czarcasm’s warning… So did I. And when I read his warning after I made the post, I reported my own post and requested that it be removed. My reward for trying to play by the rules is an official warning, instead. Oh, well. C’est le vie. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/45 "2010-04-06T17:09:07Z")
I read my horoscope sometimes, after I do the crossword puzzle. And I always read my fortune from the fortune cookie. Other than that, I guess I’m like Ferret Herder – I’ll buy the chocolate bars. But I **won’t** buy the wrapping paper. ---
**Author:** ![Chickie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chickie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickie)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/46 "2010-04-06T17:17:59Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s peppermint liquid soap This be no scam! This be god in liquid-soap form. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/47 "2010-04-06T17:52:11Z")
> [@Alpine](#): > > no Zima for Xema? Sadly, I find my homonym unappealing. ---
**Author:** ![Dolly\_Madison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@Dolly\_Madison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dolly_Madison)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/48 "2010-04-06T17:57:27Z")
[This.](http://www.cremedelamer.com/index.tmpl?ngextredir=1) Yet I still pursue the dream of eternal youth to the detriment of my bank account, and I have this company to blame. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/49 "2010-04-06T18:14:15Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Other than that, I guess I’m like Ferret Herder – I’ll buy the chocolate bars. But I **won’t** buy the wrapping paper. I’ve stopped buying Girl Scout cookies too, but it’s because the serving size for GS cookies is “one box.” And I know a candy bar has fewer calories than a whole box of cookies, so it’s a start. Oh, I buy way more makeup than I end up wearing. I keep hoping to find something magical - yeah, right. Plus I know that I’m too lazy to do a real makeup routine in the mornings, so maybe something would have been near-magic if I’d used it right. At least I throw it out eventually, especially after it’s “aged” past recommended expiration dates; I have a sister-in-law who I swear is a hoarder of makeup only. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/50 "2010-04-06T18:28:32Z")
We’re paying for about 10 times as much cell phone as we need, but they’ve made it such a fucking hassle to change anything that I can’t be bothered to fight through it. I hate cell phone companies. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/51 "2010-04-06T18:30:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Las Vegas. Silenus stole my answer. I am exactly the brand of sucker that town was built for. (Atlantic City, too). My particular weakness is video poker. No matter how cold a machine runs I am certain, CERTAIN I say!, that if I step away from it someone will swoop into my spot and win the $20/$40/$300 I have already played in it. And now you know why I don’t go often. Regarding tooth whitening, I’d try it if it weren’t for my fear that 10 years from now we’ll be hearing that all this whitening turns out to be bad for the enamel, creating a giant revenue stream for dentists. Hmmm. Maybe I’ll send my kid to dental school. Oh, and that reminds me…college! I was told I couldn’t possibly acheive my hopes and dreams without a degree. I could have. I’m not saying everyone could have. Not only could I have acheived what I have professionally without ever having gone, the money I spent on school would have gone a long way to making my business more resistent to the effects of the current economy. I paid my own way through and came out with 25% of the cost in debt. I’ve had to request deferments and still owe. I’ve been out of school over 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/52 "2010-04-06T18:59:09Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > We’re paying for about 10 times as much cell phone as we need, but they’ve made it such a fucking hassle to change anything that I can’t be bothered to fight through it. I hate cell phone companies. Yeah, I could probably say the same thing about my land line telephone; I could probably replace it with any number of cheaper, equally effective solutions (VOIP, pay-as-you-go cell phone), but I’ve been burned before and I refuse to change now. I hate ALL phone companies. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/53 "2010-04-06T21:06:26Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > online poker. ☹ Online poker is not a scam on reputable websites. Of course, if you are not good at poker you will lose money, but so what? ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/54 "2010-04-07T00:34:49Z")
> [@Khendrask](#): > > Currently, I have a habit of buying tools and the like because they “Look like they would make a job easier”, except, in all cases, they fail miserably. [This one’s for you](http://www.spookymen.com.au/competition/3.php). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/55 "2010-04-07T00:48:49Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Oh, I buy way more makeup than I end up wearing. I keep hoping to find something magical - yeah, right. Plus I know that I’m too lazy to do a real makeup routine in the mornings, so maybe something would have been near-magic if I’d used it right. Yep, me too. And last weekend I bought, for the first time, lotion just for my face. Doesn’t do SHEEEYIT! For 18 bucks, I didn’t expect miracles, but surely something…I mean, ANYthing? Jeebus. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/56 "2010-04-07T01:18:09Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > Yep, me too. > And last weekend I bought, for the first time, lotion just for my face. > Doesn’t do SHEEEYIT! For 18 bucks, I didn’t expect miracles, but surely something…I mean, ANYthing? Jeebus. You need to give any kind of special face cream (e.g, things with retinol in them) 4-8 weeks before seeing results. Even though I’ve read a dozen articles that say multi-vitamin supplements are useless, I still take them in the hopes I can stave off the cancer I fear is inevitable due to my vegetable-poor diet. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/57 "2010-04-07T02:27:24Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > By “scam”, I mean a product or service whose marketing is designed to make you think you need it, even though you don’t. > > -OR- > > A product or service for which artificial demand was created, such as bottled water or diamonds. I’ve bought diamonds for my wife. And yes, I know all about them. They are really pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/58 "2010-04-07T04:20:40Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > You need to give any kind of special face cream (e.g, things with retinol in them) 4-8 weeks before seeing results. > > Even though I’ve read a dozen articles that say multi-vitamin supplements are useless, I still take them in the hopes I can stave off the cancer I fear is inevitable due to my vegetable-poor diet. Welp, I’ve used \ something by AVON of all things, and that made changes almost immediately. Maybe I’m already spoiled, maybe different things work for different people but…I don’t even have wrinkles or anything \…just looking for something to even things out a bit. Don’t laugh, but I’ve never used anything on my face that wasn’t everywhere else, too; even vaseline, in the winters. It’s just so depressing to see literal shelves full of various expensive products, and be told ‘oh yah, they won’t work for a while. And they might not work at all for you!’ Talk about gambling! 😛 I should probably stick with the vaseline, and work on finding the right makeup \>.\< Also, ditto on the vitamins, though I have discovered recently an actual effect, which is to say a cessation of the tennis elbow I somehow picked up a few months ago. No I don’t play tennis; why do you ask? 😛 And when I forget them for a couple of days, it comes back, so…they’re helping. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/59 "2010-04-07T04:47:06Z")
I like Airborne. I know it doesn’t do anything, but it tastes good when I’m sick. Lately I’ve been getting a generic that is only slightly fizzy, and it seems to help with the dry throat that I have the whole time, no matter how much water I drink. I also would put in bottled water, but I don’t really think it’s as big a scam. There really are differences in taste. I’ve done my own blind taste tests. I have not found a filter that produces as good tasting water that does not cost more than just getting the discounted water from my dad’s work. (66 cents a gallon) ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019/60 "2010-04-07T14:07:55Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I’ve bought diamonds for my wife. And yes, I know all about them. They are really pretty. If it wasn’t a diamond (even though she really isn’t into ‘shiny’ things), she wouldn’t be my wife. It was worth it (though I still grumbled about the artificial cost - just not to her). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-scams-that-you-know-to-be-scams-but-you-buy-into-anyway/535019.md?page=4)