Hacker News with Generative AI: Consumerism

CA bans food 'sell by' dates. Will it save you money without getting you sick? (latimes.com)
A new California law further regulates food safety labels and will take effect in 2026.
Food Safety, California Law, Consumerism, Food Waste
7 points by rntn 16 days ago | 2 comments
How and Why I Stopped Buying New Laptops (2020) (lowtechmagazine.com)
As a freelance journalist – or an office worker if you wish – I have always believed that I should regularly buy a new laptop. But older machines offer more quality for much less money.
Technology, Sustainability, Personal Finance, Consumerism
132 points by mgd 16 days ago | 141 comments
Honey's deal-hunting browser extension is accused of ripping off YouTubers (theverge.com)
The PayPal Honey browser extension is, in theory, a handy way to find better deals on products while you’re shopping online. But in a video published this weekend, YouTuber MegaLag claims the extension is a “scam” and that Honey has been “stealing money from influencers, including the very ones they paid to promote their product.”
Browser Extensions, E-commerce, Consumerism, Influencer Marketing
8 points by paulpauper 24 days ago | 1 comments
Ask HN: Are you crosssing the Amazon picket line? If no, where are you shopping? (ycombinator.com)
Feels like such a bougie question, but I just wonder: have any of y'all discovered an online shopping experience with quick shipping and broad product selection that competes well with Amazon?
Amazon, Online Shopping, Consumerism
8 points by jMyles 25 days ago | 13 comments
Why online returns are a hassle now (theatlantic.com)
Getting your money back is not as simple as it used to be.
E-commerce, Consumerism, Online Shopping, Returns
8 points by jnord 28 days ago | 2 comments
Obscene Prices, Declining Quality: Luxury Is in a Death Spiral (nytimes.com)
The holiday shopping season is hitting its apex. And do you know what I, a longtime fashion editor, will not be buying my loved ones this year? Big-name luxury fashion. I’d sooner set my eyebrows on fire.
Fashion, Luxury Goods, Consumerism
8 points by mmooss 28 days ago | 2 comments
Why is it so hard to buy things that work well? (2022) (danluu.com)
Why is it so hard to buy things that work well?
Product Design, Consumerism, Technology
693 points by janandonly 33 days ago | 576 comments
Sold-out farm shops, smuggling, safety warnings: US battle over raw milk grows (theguardian.com)
Unpasteurised milk, seen as both anti-government and anti-corporate, soars in popularity among conspiracy theorists and new agers
Food Industry, Health, Conspiracy Theories, Consumerism, Rural Communities
3 points by rntn 34 days ago | 0 comments
Tipping Isn't about Service – It's a Psychological Con Job (thewalrus.ca)
If you’ve recently paid for a coffee at a java joint, you might have been prompted by a point-of-sale payment device to add a tip of 15 percent. Or you might have been asked for a more generous 18 percent. A pushing-it 20 percent. A borderline-offensive 25 percent. For a cup of coffee that runs you about $3, and which someone poured from a carafe, that can seem a big ask.
Tipping, Psychology, Consumerism, Service Industry
14 points by pseudolus 35 days ago | 0 comments
Why is printer ink so expensive? (digitalrightsbytes.org)
Few liquids are more precious than printer ink, but that's not because ink is expensive to make. How can HP— and its handful of competitors in the highly concentrated printer market—get away with charging these kinds of markups?
Consumerism, Business, Printing, Economics
93 points by throw7 43 days ago | 123 comments
Honeycrisp apples went from marvel to mediocre (seriouseats.com)
It was a chilly Saturday morning in October, and at my local grocery store, shoppers were browsing the apple selection: piles of Gala, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Snapdragon, and Honeycrisp beckoned.
Food, Apples, Consumerism
350 points by haunter 49 days ago | 307 comments
Buy Nothing Day (buynothingday.co.uk)
Buy Nothing Day takes place on Friday November 29th, it's a 24 hour detox from consumerism and an opportunity for you to tune into the impact we have on the environment through shopping.
Consumerism, Environmentalism, Shopping, Sustainability, Events
175 points by thinkingemote 49 days ago | 84 comments
Black Friday is a trap (vox.com)
Since the 1980s, Black Friday has signified the kickoff to the holiday shopping season.
Black Friday, Shopping, Consumerism, Holidays
28 points by lr0 49 days ago | 40 comments
Ask HN: What are your most regretted tech purchases? (ycombinator.com)
Curious what people think is their biggest tech buying regret they wished never happened.
Technology, Personal Finance, Consumerism, Opinion
104 points by sys_64738 54 days ago | 377 comments
Why so many families are "drowning in toys" (vox.com)
America is in toy overload, and it might just be ruining fun.
Parenting, Consumerism, Toys, Childhood
66 points by gmays 57 days ago | 83 comments
Illegally logged wood from Cambodia likely ending up in U.S. homes (mongabay.com)
U.S. consumers risk using flooring products made of wood illegally logged from Cambodia’s rainforests, a recent Mongabay investigation suggests.
Illegal Logging, Cambodia, Environmental Issues, Consumerism, Rainforest
133 points by PaulHoule 60 days ago | 87 comments
Why computers are ridiculous now (write.as)
There's nothing fundamental that most of us are doing on a computer in the year 2024 that requires 16GB of RAM or a brand new processor. Why has it become the new default? Why does your computer that runs fine today require a replacement to run Windows 11? There's not one answer but several.
Technology, Operating Systems, Consumerism, Hardware
12 points by billybuckwheat 62 days ago | 1 comments
UK shrinkflation hits an absurd milestone (ycombinator.com)
Shrinkflation e.g. your favourite chocolate bar price is unchanged but weight sneakily reduced by 10%.<p>Now... underpants. H&M Cotton-rich short trunks Large were 33in at waist and are now (on the sample I bought today) 30in.<p>And unlike the chocolate bar which is marked e.g. "25g", the shorts' packaging lacks any figure to reveal the reduction in the number of inches you are getting.<p>What next? 11-inch rulers? :)
Consumerism, Marketing, United Kingdom, Economics
7 points by chrisjj 64 days ago | 7 comments
Airlines Hate 'Skiplagging.' Meet the Man Who Helps Travelers Pull It Off (nytimes.com)
Aktarer Zaman is the founder of a controversial website that unearths airfare hacks, most notably skipping the last leg of a flight for a cheaper price.
Travel, Airlines, Hacking, Consumerism
16 points by sebastian_z 66 days ago | 9 comments
Oddly-Specific Cleaning Products (aftermath.site)
When it comes to cleaning, I don’t like to overpay for watered-down chemicals. That’s why I tend to prefer cleaning products that I can buy in as concentrated a form as possible, preferably in bulk.
Cleaning Products, Consumerism, DIY
11 points by mkmk 69 days ago | 1 comments
Stores don't sell your favorite product anymore. That's on purpose (cnn.com)
Consumerism, Business Strategy, Supply Chain
5 points by elsewhen 70 days ago | 0 comments
Car sharing and second-hand phones not as green as they seem, research shows (phys.org)
Not all sustainable business models have the impact they claim, Leiden researcher Levon Amatuni revealed. Car sharing and phone reuse, for example, have a smaller positive effect than previously thought. Amatuni advises people to "pay attention to actual changes in their consumption behavior rather than green perceptions or labels."
Sustainability, Research, Environment, Technology, Consumerism
3 points by PaulHoule 81 days ago | 1 comments
Experts say a proposed revamp to the recycling symbol is still deceptive (grist.org)
Experts say a proposed revamp to the recycling symbol is still deceptive — and probably illegal
Recycling, Environmentalism, Consumerism, Sustainability
19 points by everybodyknows 82 days ago | 6 comments
We're in the Golden Age of Garbage Clothing (thewalrus.ca)
Pilling sweaters, stretched-out socks, flimsy denim. What happened to good garments?
Fashion, Consumerism, Sustainability
31 points by pseudolus 86 days ago | 15 comments
The history of the barcode (bbc.com)
Few people think twice about the barcodes on their shopping, but in the 75 years since they were first dreamed up, they have helped save lives, gone into space and stoked fears of the Antichrist.
History, Technology, Consumerism
91 points by belter 90 days ago | 25 comments
Bike Manufacturers Are Making Bikes Less Repairable (ifixit.com)
The bicycle is probably the canonical example of something that anyone can fix. Spares from all brands are mostly interchangeable, and you can do most repairs with wrenches, screwdrivers, and Allen keys, or some fairly standard tools for bottom brackets and chainrings. But that’s all changing.
Sustainability, Consumerism, Design, Repair, Cycling
207 points by LorenDB 95 days ago | 206 comments
Ask HN: When was the last time you bought something you were excited to get it? (ycombinator.com)
Ask HN: When was the last time you bought something you were excited to get it?
Consumerism, Shopping, Personal Experiences
8 points by michelsedgh 98 days ago | 21 comments
California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste (fortune.com)
California wants to help end the everyday household debate over whether the food in the fridge is still good to eat.
Food Waste, California, Legislation, Sustainability, Consumerism
42 points by paulpauper 102 days ago | 62 comments
Why I Never Buy Cutting-Edge Smartphones or PCs (howtogeek.com)
Technology, Personal Finance, Consumerism, Reviews
22 points by bentocorp 102 days ago | 13 comments
Diderot Effect (wikipedia.org)
The Diderot effect is a phenomenon that occurs when acquiring a new possession leads to a spiral of consumption that results in the acquisition of even more possessions.
Consumerism, Psychology, Economics
6 points by saikatsg 108 days ago | 0 comments