We often hear about boycotts of products, services or even places *cough* Florida, Texas *cough* but some people have their own personal do not buy list.
Sometimes, it's because of one or more past bad experiences.... sometimes, it's for moral reasons... and sometimes, it's about who profits.
We're going to focus on that last one.
Reddit user MasterMirkinen asked:
"What product/service will you never buy because of its owners?"
Bob Ross Products
"Bob Ross products."
"Love the man, but since he died, the people that took over his brand and started selling sh*t with his name on it are awful, terrible people."
~ TalentedCilantro12
"100% agree, never buy a Bob Ross product. It is ALWAYS the cheapest made garbage, but sold at a premium price.
"They charge anywhere from $50 to $150 USD for a basic starter kit. The $50 doesn't sound bad until you realize that it doesn't come with a canvas, palette, or an easel and only has 5 small tubes of paints, 1 brush, 1 knife, and an 'instruction booklet'."
"If you want a cheap introduction kit for painting, just go to walmart and go to the art isle. They almost always have some 20 buck kit that comes with 10+ colors and a few brushes, typically a canvas and sometimes an easel with more brushes being less than a buck each and if the kit is missing something, you can buy a cheap one right there."
"If you want quality products, then just search up some local art store nearby and go there. I do not recommend Hobby Lobby or Michael's unless it's the only other option you have."
"Ask the employees for help. They almost always are enthusiastic about people getting into art."
~ shrtstff
Local Restaurant Owners Burning Bridges
"Locally, there are several restaurants in my city that I won't visit because they are all owned by the same guy and he was rude to me on an earlier occasion."
"Yes, I can be quite petty about these things."
~ InbhirNis
"Same issue here."
"When he opened his first place, he got mad when people used STREET PARKING. He thought he could reserve those spots for himself."
"Now he and his investors own 5 places, and I won't go to any of them."
~ audible_narrator
MLM = Pyramid Scheme
"Any product associated with MLMs (multi-level marketing)."
"The business model actively exploits people who need a second income and the owners know that."
~ PM_4_RATING
Anything Owned By Galen Weston
"This is occurring in Canada right now with anything owned by Galen Weston. People are boycotting any of his shops."
~ ihatepeoples
"Weston owns a conglomerate that includes several grocery chains, pharmacies, and more. He basically owns a large chunk of Canadian retail."
"His stores, which have always been popular, are now inflating prices to remarkable levels. 4-5x the price."
"It’s shocking, to be honest. And now people are boycotting his businesses."
~ buddhabaebae
Anything Kardashian/Jenner
"I’ve hit not interested on Kim's SKIMS and Khloe's Good American for years and I still get advertisements for them."
"I would never give A penny to any of those idiots."
~ Jessicaa_Rabbit
"I wanted to do a picture book for my daughter last Christmas. Then Kris Jenner appears in ads for Shutterfly and no picture book for my daughter."
~ hikerchickdacey
"THIS, I don't want to buy anything from them."
"I hope one day they go away and are ignored by the media. They are like roaches."
~ bailar_conmigo
PRIME Energy Drink
"PRIME Energy Drink—the group of f*ck boys that own it are the absolute worst."
~ cajunredbean1
""This one for sure… I actually don’t know anyone that’s ever even bought it. Total f*cking clowns, the whole lot involved."
~ NightDisastrous2510
"Kids make their parents who don't know anything buy it. That's who buys it."
~ Witness_me_Karsa
"The people I’ve seen drink it are kids and my dudebro roommates this last semester."
~ GhostofManny13
"If it makes you feel any better Prime has been a complete flop in Canada. Every single grocery store I go to, I see prime drinks on clearance for like 70 cent and they are literally giving them away to make room."
"Energy and hydration drinks market is ruthless and Prime tastes like sh*t, so makes sense."
~ thebriss22
MAC Cosmetics
"I just had a baby and wasn't looking so great—still was losing the weight from the pregnancy, plus not getting outside that often, barely getting showers in, etc... My husband bought me a hefty gift card for MAC, which at the time I loved."
"Went in, mostly cleaned up, but bare faced to get a foundation match, new lipstick, you name it. I couldn't get anyone to help me. Sales associates were helping out all the younger and prettier girls. I finally went up and asked for assistance with a foundation match and a lipstick."
"The sales associate gave me the glare up and down, did a twirl with his finger to encompass my post-pregnancy body and haggard-looking face, and said, 'ma'am, we just can't fix ugly....just.....whatever, find it yourself'."
"I asked another sales associate who rolled her eyes and said 'I don't have time for you'. I left in tears, feeling fat and ugly. My husband convinced me to write MAC about the incident, and corporate said they would ensure I would receive good service."
"Set up and appointment time for a 'makeover' and went back another day to the same store (Westfields in London). I was mega shy at the time, but after being ignored again, I said I was here for my appointment."
"The sales associate looked at me, did a lip snarl, and told me he wasn't going to do it, and he didn't give a sh*t was corporate said. He added on some 'haggard ugly women' comment about my face."
"Long story short, MAC refunded the money from the gift card. I took it and went to the Chanel counter in Selfridges. They made me feel like a million. Helped me find a routine for on the go, etc... the ladies from Guerlain came over and helped too."
"Never bought from MAC again—even 15 years later."
~ PrincssM0nsterTruck
Pilot/Flying J Truck Stops
"As a trucker, the Pilot/Flying J truck stop chains."
"A few years ago some of the higher ups got caught embezzling money out of the trucking companies who field at their stations pockets."
"Think, if fuel is $1.00 a gallon, they offer a $.25¢ discount legally, but instead these people were saying that the discount was $.20¢ and pocketing the nickel."
"If you pay $500 every time you fuel, that's a lot of nickels—$25 worth."
"Well a company got wind of it and there was a huge class action lawsuit about it. Someone was sent to prison, lots of people fired."
"If you're willing to screw the driver—several owner operators were plaintiffs in the lawsuit along with the bigger trucking companies—you don't deserve my business let alone my respect."
~ Riyeko
Murdoch Media
" Rupert Murdoch and his acolytes have done more damage in the west than any foreign government could ever dream of doing. News Corp takes the craziest right-wing loons it can find and gives them free reign to spout their crap to a national audience."
"In the UK he owns The Sun and The Times, in the US it's The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal and of course Fox News."
"Here in Australia, the Murdoch Press is inescapable. Almost every state in the country publishes a daily Murdoch paper."
"In South Australia and Queensland, it's the only daily paper you can get. He owns The Australian, which is the country's only daily national newspaper.
"He owns news.com.au which is the largest digital news outlet in the country. He owns Sky News Australia which is our answer to Fox News."
"For a long time, conventional wisdom was that you couldn't win an election in Australia without the support of the Murdoch Press. Very few leaders here have unfortunately."
~ satisfiedfools
BP Nor ExxonMobil
"I refused to purchase gas/petrol at BP for years because of the Gulf Oil spill."
~ Able_Exchange4733
"Growing up in Alaska in the 80’s/90’s I thought Exxon had gone out of business."
"But turns out they just closed shop in Alaska after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. No one up there would have stepped foot in an Exxon owned place."
~ all_of_the_colors
Hobby Lobby
"I have no interest in giving my money to the owners of Hobby Lobby."
~ _agrippa_
"Yeah, this is probably my firmest boycott. Stupid Supreme Court."
~ Foxhound199
"I’m with you. I don’t need a business to ‘agree’ with me on politics."
"But Hobby Lobby is actively working to weaken workers rights and promote theocracy."
~ GetBAK1
Tesla
"Tesla. They could be amazing cars, but I can’t stand Elon Musk."
~ olemiss18
"I didn't want a Tesla because they were too expensive. Then when I could afford it, I didn't because they are poorly designed."
"And then I discovered how big of a piece of sh*t Musk is and even if they fixed every single problem with Tesla I would never buy one."
All of that reasoning was before the Model 3 came out. Musk really started showing his true nature around that time. This is not yesterday."
~ BastouXII
"Who would have thought the guy claiming to be able to do the job of four CEOs was actually just a narcissistic huckster who was drunk on his own kool-aid? Shocked..."
~ foodishlove
"I’ve had two Teslas—they’re poorly made. I’m so anti-Musk, I sold all mutual funds and ETFs that have Tesla except I’m stuck with one."
~ Im_a_new_guy
"I have a Tesla and a Chevy Bolt. In my opinion the Tesla is not an amazing car.
"The charging network and the car’s integration with it is fantastic. I hate literally everything else about the vehicle."
"I drive the Bolt unless I’m going more than 200 miles."
~ snorkel42
"Yeah, I'm not financing the return of fascism, thank you very much."
~ MrLeville
Chik-fil-A
"I haven’t bought Chik-fil-A in over a decade and I only ate some in the past year because a coworker brought a whole platter into work and I had a few bites for politeness sake. It was salty as hell."
"People are genuinely shocked when I tell them I don’t eat Chik-fil-A, like how do I survive without their food."
"Lol, there are several other chains that sell just as good if not better chicken and I don’t have to give money to a company that wants to erase my existence as a LGBTQ+ person."
~ killjoy_feminist
MyPillow
"I have chronic neck pain and although I’ve heard it’s supposed to be a good product, I’d rather live in pain than put a dime in that a**holes pocket."
~ momsasylum
"It’s a fine product, but so are most comparable pillows in that price range."
"The thing is that most people have never justified spending $99 on a pillow. They’re sleeping on some basic ones they bought on the cheap many, many years ago."
"But since MyPillow successfully branded itself as, 'buying my product is basically like a donation to Trump and owning the libs', people began to find cause to upgrade their pillows."
"Lo and behold, it gets incredible reviews, because of course it would. It’s the first luxury pillow most purchasers have ever owned."
"We’ve got some great pillows that were a wedding gift. Still the comfiest pillows I’ve ever slept on."
"I don’t remember the brand—NOT MyPillow—but it’s the best gift we got on our wedding day. There’s lots of great options if you’re willing to spend the money."
~ McBurger
Is there a product or service you'll never buy because of who owns the business?