# Why do parents stop buying? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873 "2012-05-23T20:25:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/21 "2012-05-23T21:47:05Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Say there’s an adult who likes to hang out at Central Park weekly. There’s a vendor that sells snacks and beverages. Terry buys an iced coffee for $3.00, enjoys it, but nevers buys that or anything else. Why did he stop buying. Again, forever. > > Say t Because he got hit by a truck. Death is the only explanation I can think of for him to never ever buy _anything_ again. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/22 "2012-05-23T21:49:19Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Ok, let’s move to adults buying things for themselves. What would stop an adult from buying a certain item? An item they like and that is inexpensive. Indefinately. Why do you assume that they don’t? Lots of adults buy things they enjoy on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/23 "2012-05-23T21:53:15Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > There’s a reason sames are handed out, to get people hooked. Even drug dealers use this practice. You don’t say. Well, if not eating chips and drinking soda caused violent withdrawal symptoms, I guess little Johnny would be selling his parents’ silverware, breaking into cars, and peddling his own sweet, underaged ass to get his Funyuns and Mountain Dew fix. Seems like this sort of thing should’ve been covered in your marketing courses. ---
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/24 "2012-05-23T21:54:12Z")
“samples” not “same” ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/25 "2012-05-23T21:55:59Z")
Because Terry found a pube floating in his iced coffee, and it put a bad taste in his mouth. So to speak. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/26 "2012-05-23T21:57:50Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m going to go ahead and assume someone (parent or otherwise) has cut off the OP financially, in which case the reasons may look like this: you’re not entitled to someone else’s money, they may want you to change some things and don’t want to subsidize your lifestyle anymore, or they may not want to throw good money after bad. > t no u ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/27 "2012-05-23T22:28:28Z")
Every few years I buy an iced coffee, just to test to see if I still don’t like iced coffee. Nope. Coffee is a drink best served hot. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/28 "2012-05-23T22:34:15Z")
Huh. I thought this was IMHO, not Mind Reading. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/29 "2012-05-23T22:57:44Z")
Are you asking us to speculate on actual people passing through? Ask them. Is this a brain teaser? If so, it’s because Johnny is now a diabetic and too young to understand. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/30 "2012-05-23T23:23:31Z")
Some people are disturbed by desire. They believe that liking something will eventually lead to dependency, which then will lead to obsession and addiction. So they head this off at the pass by intentionally avoiding pleasurable things. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/31 "2012-05-23T23:46:18Z")
Mind Reading is down the hall. Some possibilities - for adults. You didn’t really like the thing all that much Every time you pass by you are too busy to stop to get it You just ate or are just about to eat something even better You’re short on money and every cent counts ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/32 "2012-05-23T23:53:18Z")
Because the iced coffee contained the antidote to the poison he was given to get him to blackmail his employer. After realizing he was poisoned he slept with his boss, a woman married to a top CIA operative. The incriminating photos were used by a splinter group to pressure her to beg her husband to release an operative. After the operative was released he was directed to an iced coffee vendor who, after given the code word, slipped in the antidote. He never wanted iced coffee again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@The\_Lovely\_Margo\_Lane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lovely_Margo_Lane)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/33 "2012-05-23T23:56:37Z")
Some people just don’t pick up or change habits that readily. I quite frequently purchase, eat or otherwise experience something that I enjoy but don’t end up repeating habitually. And not because I have a good health or financial reason either – I discovered a few months ago that I absolutely LOVE lima beans. I never ate them as a kid because neither of my parents are keen on them, but my boyfriend and I picked them up at the store on a whim because we eat a lot of various other beans and figured we should try them. As mentioned above, they were a hit! Unfortunately, I can’t seem to get in the habit of buying them or even remembering to put them on the grocery list, so we don’t eat them regularly. My point? Well, I’m suggesting that simply liking something isn’t necessarily enough to create a habit. There are complex factors both conscious and unconscious involved, many elaborated upthread. In the OPs examples, I’d suggest that the previous habits (of going on the errand/to the park WITHOUT making the treat purchase) are entrenched in such a way that it takes more than just _liking_ the treat to change the habit. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/34 "2012-05-24T00:14:31Z")
Because. No, seriously, that’s the answer. There are far too many possible reasons for the millions of people who make or don’t make purchasing decisions every single day, most of the time multiple times a day. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/35 "2012-05-24T00:17:38Z")
They probably don’t want Johnny to grow up to feel entitled. Nobody (even parents) owes you everything you want in life. Next thing you know Johnny will expect to find things on the ground for free he can just take and sell to people. Next after that? ANARCHY! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/36 "2012-05-24T00:35:43Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Say there’s an adult who likes to hang out at Central Park weekly. There’s a vendor that sells snacks and beverages. Terry buys an iced coffee for $3.00, enjoys it, but nevers buys that or anything else. Why did he stop buying. Again, forever. Okay, so one of my coworkers, kind of (he was at our site only 2 days a month) left for another job in March. People were ordering from this place called [Boloco’s](http://boloco.com/), which has the bizarre concept of selling only burritos and shakes. Seriously, no tacos, no nachos, just burritos and shakes. I gave in and bought a shake called the cookie monster. It was delicious. I will not be buying another one in the near future. Why? a. it was $5 which is too much to spend regularly if you’re a frugal yankee and an eat-to-live sort rather than a foodie b. it was 682 calories. For someone my weight that’s 70 minutes of intense aerobic exercise to burn off. It was very yummy, but not something I can imagine eating even on a monthly basis. One presumes Terry might agree with at least one of my reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/37 "2012-05-24T00:56:39Z")
Some people are also more inherently ascetic than others. Others are depressed or anhedonic for various reasons, or simply lack the drive to put forth the necessary effort to acquire repeat experiences, foods, or things. If a person isn’t really into physical/experiential pleasures, then the “buzz” gotten from an impulse buy or a new treat wouldn’t be as likely to induce that person to follow up on it and make that purchase again. Unfortunately for your marketing perspective, there isn’t much advice I could give to make “things” more attractive to people who aren’t really attracted to “things” for those reasons listed above. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/38 "2012-05-24T01:05:25Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Ok, let’s move to adults buying things for themselves. What would stop an adult from buying a certain item? An item they like and that is inexpensive. Indefinately. Being a masochist? A _beginner_ masochist? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/39 "2012-05-24T01:06:07Z")
Maybe the little prick Johnnie mouthed off just one too many God-damn times. Now he’ll be “going to live with Grandma”. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873/40 "2012-05-24T01:12:43Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Say Johnny and his parents stop buy a paticular gas station weekly for gas. On their very first visit his parents get Johnny a bag of chips and a soda. Total cost $3.00. Johnny loves it and eats it all. However in the following weeks, johnny’s parents refuse to buy him the chips and soda. > > Why? > > Johnny like it and eats it. His parents are well off, plus his snack is only $3.00, so money isn’t a problem. What is the source of the parents resistance? Johnny is over 30 and needs to move the fuck out of their house so they’ve finally found the strength to start implementing the “tough love” plan they had been discussing for the past few years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-parents-stop-buying/622873.md?page=3)