# What are your irrational, compulsive buying habits?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 11, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652 "2004-03-11T05:52:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/1 "2004-03-11T05:52:49Z")
What things do you always buy if you come across them, regardless of need and cost (okay, maybe not cost :D)?
For me, it’s candles. I have this strange urge to buy candles that I see, particularly if they look good or smell nice. I got large boxes of them at home already.
What about you?
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### Author:  [@vodkatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vodkatonic)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/2 "2004-03-11T05:55:04Z")
Hmm, with me it seems to be kitchen stuff, such as magnets, dishtowels, glassware ect. Especially if it is on sale, oh, and shoes 🙂
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### Author:  [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/3 "2004-03-11T06:06:41Z")
Er, all of the above.
Cosmetics, giftwrap, and shoes. I’ve run out of room to store them, but I still can’t resist.
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### Author:  [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/4 "2004-03-11T06:18:42Z")
Some how I managed to break free of the Hallmark/ gift wrap hold on the complusive purchase part of my brain. Took years of detox. Finally rid myself of the last rolls of Xmas paper this year. Now everyone gets their presents wrapped in Kraft paper or my kids XL art work. This girl ain’t Hallmark’s bitch anymore.
I recently gave up **Joann’s** because I was buying loads of craft shit that I have never started and knew as I was buying it would never do. Not sure what hole I was filling with that one.
I love shoes, but they hate my feet. It doesn’t stop me from trying them on, but I usually stick to my Birks or Dankso’s. At $120 a pop, its not exactly an impulse buy.
But my two weaknessess, and I am sure Dopers will understand, are books and magazines.
If money and space were no object, I would probably buy every freaking purse that caught my eye. It is my Holy Grail Quest for the Ultimate Purse. Irony is, that I carried a standard backpack for nearly 12 years. It’s madness, really.
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### Author:  [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/5 "2004-03-11T06:56:14Z")
I wouldn’t call buying books and mags irrational. You are going to read them, right? I know I will. Pretty sure about that. Yes, one of these days.
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### Author:  [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/6 "2004-03-11T08:03:08Z")
Evening clothes. I have more than enough, and several very expensive numbers I’ve never even worn. Everyday clothes, like basic t-shirts and pants, never catch my eye - it’s always the sparkles and the prettiness that draw me - and as a result my wardrobe is about 60% eveningwear and 40% casual.
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### Author:  [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/7 "2004-03-11T11:17:35Z")
When I was a kid I could not stop buying Monchichis (monkey cuddly toys that can suck their thumbs-don’t know how universal these are). Whenever I went to a jumble sales= and I saw one if these poor creatures cruelly being sold by uncaring “parents” I would have to buy it. Even now when I see one I have to stop myself from buying it and feel guilty afterwards about leaving the poor thing alone and unloved. _sob_
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### Author:  [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/8 "2004-03-11T11:56:59Z")
I have a definite Thing for vintage Pyrex. CanNOT pass it up. I have a whole cabinet full of it already, and there’s no way I’ll turn down the next piece I find. I also love old metal canisters. And if I had room, I’d probably have ten or twelve dining room tables, because I love the old laminate tables, and I love anything primitive. Right now, I have about 6 different dining room or kitchen tables scattered around the house.
My whole family, including **todd33rpm** has a Thing for office supplies. The other day we found ourselves circling around and around the Sharpie display at Office Depot, cooing and exclaiming like we’d just discovered the gate to heaven right there in Aisle 5. I think we ended up with about 5 different packages. They have new colors, what can I say?
Oooh, now I’m in the mood to hit the thrift stores. Betcha there’s some Pyrex I haven’t found yet.
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### Author:  [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/9 "2004-03-11T12:08:34Z")
Cross stitch patterns.
I recently found a very lovely website that organizes the cross stitch patterns into categories such as Flowers, and Cats, and Occupations. I am currently drooling over a few of them, but I have already succomed to some of them.
> **[Cross Stitch Patterns and Cross Stitch Kits from 123Stitch](https://www.123stitch.com/)**
>
> Cross Stitch Patterns and Cross Stitch Kits from 123Stitch
For some reason they seem to have scaled back on their Fantasy section, which is really too bad. They had this one called Transformation that I bought immediately which is really cool.
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### Author:  [@Triss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triss)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/10 "2004-03-11T12:51:04Z")
Books. I read every one of them though, or at least try to. If I’ve made a really poor choice then I will give up but not after at least sticking to it for several chapters just to see if it picks up.
I give boxes of books away to local libraries and family & friends a couple times a year.
I loves me some books. 🙂
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### Author:  [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/11 "2004-03-11T13:10:02Z")
Toilet paper, toilet paper, and more toilet paper. Eons ago when I was married, we had absolutely no money whatsoever, and were constantly out of everything which might be considered as “must haves”, like laundry detergent, toothpaste, dishwashing liquid and, yes, toilet paper. Even though I got divorced almost 20 years ago, whenever I’m feeling insecure, I buy toilet paper–lots of it. You can always tell how well my life is going by checking the stockpile of toilet paper in my bathroom closet.
Right now, I think I’m down to about four rolls, which means life is going fairly well. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/12 "2004-03-11T13:28:35Z")
Books. I currently have 10 books in the queue, but if I see one I think I want to read, I still buy it.
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### Author:  [@zephyrine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zephyrine)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/13 "2004-03-11T13:30:15Z")
Shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. There must be at least 10 of each in the shower at the moment, and more in the cupboard. The thought of not having a choice of what to wash my hair and body with every day is traumatic to me. This wouldn’t matter in the slightest if I wasn’t often too poor to buy more than the basic food supplies, and if I didn’t have an aversion to cheap brands. The number of times I have gone out to buy nothing but milk and come back with two different types of shampoo is ridiculous. I also think that civilisation will come to an end if i don’t have industrial supplies of tea and coffee in the house, and I sympathise with the toilet paper obsession.
While all of the above are useful and essential items, having a year’s worth of supplies in the house at all times borders on the compulsive. I have visions of miraculously surviving nuclear fallout, and still managing to be clean and sweetly scented, while sipping a cup of Earl Grey tea.
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### Author:  [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/14 "2004-03-11T13:30:39Z")
Not me, but my wife. She has a Care Bear affliction. Any and everything CB must be purchased. She claims they`re for the children, but I know better. 🆒
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/15 "2004-03-11T13:33:21Z")
I’m kinda hung up on shampoo and conditioner right now. I’ve got at least three perfectly good (and pretty expensive) shampoos going at the moment. It’s driving my husband a little crazy. I think I’ll stop for now and just rotate these ones until they’re gone.
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### Author:  [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/16 "2004-03-11T13:38:41Z")
> [@Elysian](#):
>
> Cross stitch patterns.
[shameless plug]
My wife has several hundred of them for sale on Ebay right now. Please go there and bid on a few; it will save our marriage if she divests herself of her surplus.
Look for anything posted by \*\* JRHBOXERS\*\*…
[/shameless plug]
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### Author:  [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/17 "2004-03-11T14:06:44Z")
JRHBOXERS? Are you sure? I couldn’t find anything. Post a link, please.
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### Author:  [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/18 "2004-03-11T14:13:19Z")
> [@zephyrine](#):
>
> Shampoo, conditioner and shower gel.
Oh yes, I do this too. And the worst of it was when I lived in a town with a Lush shop.
(Lush, for those not familiar with it, is a kind of upmarket Bodyshop with organic type cosmetics. You can smell these shops three blocks away, which some people hate. Their stuff smells lovely, is ridiculously pricey and comes with over-the-top claims of happiness attached that I just keep falling for. Mind you, even if it doesn’t exactly make my life complete, the stuff does always put me in a good mood. No, I don’t work for them.)
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### Author:  [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/19 "2004-03-11T14:27:02Z")
I’ll join the ranks of compulsive shampoo buyers. I have shampoo to make my hair thick, shampoo to make my hair curly, shampoo to make my hair shiny … it’s sad. The shower caddy is slightly overloaded.
I also buy books, but at least I read them. Sure, I have about 15 of them on the “to be read” shelf (I had to expand to a whole _shelf_, rather than just a pile), but I’ll get to them eventually. The problem I have is that once I buy and read a book, I can’t get rid of it. There are hundreds of books in my home that I read once and will never read again, but I can’t give it to anyone, what if I _need_ it?
My true downfall, however, is pajamas. I _love_ pajamas. I used to buy shoes, but that gets expensive. Now it’s all about the jammies. But I _do_ have a tendency to change into my jammies as soon as I get home from work, so at least I buy them _and_ use them!
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### Author:  [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-irrational-compulsive-buying-habits/233652/20 "2004-03-11T14:44:01Z")
Food, particularly if it’s canned or frozen, and I have no idea what to do with it.
I am very untrustworthy in ethnic grocery stores. I buy things when I can’t even read the label, because the label is in Arabic, or Chinese, or Korean, or Spanish. I buy them because they look neat, and if I stare long enough at the picture, I might even be able to figure out what the contents are.
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