Hacker News with Generative AI: Consumerism

Chinese Manufacturers Make Appeals to Americans: Buy Direct (nytimes.com)
Chinese manufacturers are flooding TikTok and other social media apps with direct appeals to American shoppers, urging people to buy luxury items straight from their factories. And amid the threats of sky-high tariffs on Chinese exports, Americans seem to be all in.

China, Manufacturing, Consumerism, Trade, Social Media

8 points by bookofjoe 8 hours ago | 1 comments

A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen (theverge.com)
Ask just about anybody, and they’ll tell you that new cars are too expensive. In the wake of tariffs shaking the auto industry and with the Trump administration pledging to kill the federal EV incentive, that situation isn’t looking to get better soon, especially for anyone wanting something battery-powered. Changing that overly spendy status quo is going to take something radical, and it’s hard to get more radical than what Slate Auto has planned.

Electric Vehicles, Automotive Industry, Design, Consumerism

1166 points by kwindla 18 hours ago | 1015 comments

The Pour-igin of Species (pudding.cool)
You’re in a rush and you need to grab a bottle of wine for a special occasion. You’ve got $40 and no preference for red or white, but you like wines with animal labels. Which wine are you buying?

Wine, Humor, Consumerism, Lifestyle

9 points by surprisetalk 8 days ago | 1 comments

Ask HN: Why do people buy Nvidia RTX 5090 at x2 the MSRP? (ycombinator.com)
Ask HN: Why do people buy Nvidia RTX 5090 at x2 the MSRP?

Hardware, Consumerism, Graphics Cards, Nvidia, Gaming

11 points by behnamoh 9 days ago | 10 comments

$3 Trader Joe's tote bags resell for more than $1,500 (qz.com)
Eggs aren’t the only things people will be hunting for at Trader Joe’s this Easter. Shoppers will also be flooding the aisles to track down the pastel-hued miniature tote bags the grocer released earlier this month.

Consumerism, Retail, Trader Joe's, Reselling, Easter

25 points by geox 12 days ago | 24 comments

Fuck Run Club, Join Sit Club (rawandferal.substack.com)
Nobody actually likes running. This is just a lie that Big Run (Nike) tells us, to sell us products we don’t need, for problems we don’t have.

Running, Lifestyle, Satire, Consumerism

76 points by striking 18 days ago | 56 comments

Buy Your Tech Now Before You Can't Possibly Afford It (gizmodo.com)
If the Switch 2 delay proves anything, it’s that Trump tariffs mean your tech will be more scarce and cost a lot more.

Technology, Consumerism, Economics

10 points by rntn 21 days ago | 10 comments

Are Levi's from Amazon different from Levi's from Levi's? (nymag.com)

E-commerce, Fashion, Retail, Consumerism

162 points by randycupertino 29 days ago | 152 comments

The Blood on the Keyboard (historynewsnetwork.org)
The history of ivory-topped piano keys and the invisible human suffering caused by our cultural commodities.

History, Culture, Consumerism, Ethics

6 points by Thevet 32 days ago | 0 comments

DoorDash Offering Payment Plans for Food Delivery Sparks Backlash (newsweek.com)
DoorDash is teaming up with Klarna to introduce a "buy now, pay later" option for food delivery, allowing customers to split their purchases into four interest-free payments.

Fintech, Food Delivery, Consumerism, Business

44 points by ferguess_k 36 days ago | 102 comments

'Danish Viking blood is boiling.' Danes and other Europeans boycott US goods (apnews.com)
Ivan Hansen, a retired Danish police officer, loaded up his basket at the supermarket, carefully checking each product to avoid buying anything made in the United States. No more Coca-Cola, no more California Zinfandel wine or almonds.

Boycotts, International Relations, Consumerism, Denmark, Europe

15 points by KnuthIsGod 38 days ago | 23 comments

Ultra-processed babies: are toddler snacks one of the food scandals of our time? (theguardian.com)
For time-poor parents, straws, sticks, pouches and powders can seem like a quick, convenient and even healthy option. But these oversweetened, mushy foods are creating a generation of choosy consumers whose teeth are already rotting

Food Industry, Health, Children, Nutrition, Consumerism

7 points by pseudolus 41 days ago | 1 comments

Tesla Owners Are Desperately Trying to Disguise Their Cars (rollingstone.com)
As oligarch Elon Musk continues to bulldoze entire sectors of the federal government via his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the backlash has taken a toll on automaker Tesla, which counts him as both CEO and de facto head of marketing.

Tesla, Elon Musk, Automotive Industry, Politics, Consumerism

10 points by borissk 43 days ago | 3 comments

Tesco trials giant trolley scales in Gateshead (bbc.co.uk)
Giant trolley scales are being trialled at a Tesco store in Gateshead sparking a mixed reaction from shoppers.

Retail, Technology, Consumerism, United Kingdom

19 points by asimpleusecase 49 days ago | 51 comments

Is REI turning into a corporate retailer? (seattletimes.com)
The union representing hundreds of REI workers has a simple ask for the Issaquah-based co-op’s members: Vote no on board candidates.

Retail, Unions, Companies, Consumerism

9 points by petethomas 50 days ago | 7 comments

Brother turns heel and becomes anti-consumer printer company [video] (youtube.com)

Brother, Printers, Consumerism, Video

22 points by CharlesW 52 days ago | 1 comments

Our Changing Relationship with Apple (mjtsai.com)
Apple’s positive effect on my life should not be underestimated. […] But I need to remember, now and again, that Apple is a corporation, and corporations aren’t people, and they can’t love you back. You wouldn’t love GE or Exxon or Comcast — and you shouldn’t love Apple. It’s not an exception to the rule: there are no exceptions.

Apple, Technology, Consumerism, Relationships

19 points by ksec 56 days ago | 21 comments

Introduction to a Self Managed Life (futo.org)
Apple and Google push users into closed ecosystems while removing options for personal control over data. Think back to when smartphones had microSD card slots, so you could store your photos, videos, & music locally & cheaply. As these companies started pushing paid cloud services, microSD slots disappeared from every phone. Apple no longer gives you a working “delete” button, and Google has mistakenly flagged people as criminals for sending photos a doctor requested of their sick child during COVID lockdowns.

Privacy, Technology, Mobile Devices, Consumerism

5 points by mkmk3 57 days ago | 1 comments

'The tyranny of apps': those without smartphones are unfairly penalised (theguardian.com)
From loyalty cards, to restaurant meal deals or simply parking your car – it is harder and harder to get by without signing up to a multitude of apps

Mobile Technology, Digital Divide, Accessibility, Society, Consumerism

788 points by zeristor 63 days ago | 841 comments

I Left Florida to Try Lab-Grown Meat (reason.com)
A company based in San Francisco just became the first in the world to sell direct to consumers what its founders call "cultivated meat," meaning it didn't originate from an animal that lived on a farm or in a muddy feedlot but from a giant steel vat.

Food Technology, Consumerism, Biotechnology

12 points by frankish 71 days ago | 1 comments

I Paid $70 for an AI Boyfriend. It Was So Worth It (harpersbazaar.com)

Artificial Intelligence, Relationships, Consumerism, Personal Experiences

61 points by yo_yo_yo-yo 73 days ago | 80 comments

Letters from BBC Television Licensing (bbctvlicence.com)
From the beginning of 2006, I decided not to renew my television licence. I found that my television viewing consisted almost entirely of tapes of old programmes purchased off Ebay, and that my watching of broadcast television was less than an hour a week. I therefore decided to stop watching broadcast television, and I today spend the £169.50 saved from the TV licence fee on video tapes and DVDs.

Television Licensing, Personal Finance, Consumerism

10 points by nixass 73 days ago | 3 comments

Netflix increases UK subscription prices despite record audience (theguardian.com)
Whether you are binging The Night Agent or American Primeval, getting a Netflix fix has become pricier in the UK as the streaming giant increased subscription costs despite a record audience.

Netflix, Streaming Services, United Kingdom, Business, Consumerism

3 points by adrian_mrd 76 days ago | 0 comments

The Sad Math of Ads (jamesdamore.com)
Advertising permeates modern life, drowning us in messages of inadequacy and promises of salvation through consumption.

Advertising, Consumerism, Psychology

42 points by TaurenHunter 79 days ago | 34 comments

Anything threatening to be a subculture is commodified before it can walk (2014) (dezeen.com)
Inevitably, in the latest book, The Peripheral, our unbridled materialism yields what we fear – climate-driven apocalypse.

Culture, Technology, Consumerism, Dystopia, Literature

252 points by delaugust 82 days ago | 265 comments

The console wars are over and nobody won (kotaku.com)
For decades, a war has been raging online and in stores. A fight between massive corporations trying to sell you plastic boxes that play games and their weirdly dedicated supporters. The fight was always silly, but very real and expensive, involving massive companies spending hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing, game development, and hardware. And for a long time it seemed like the console wars would continue forever. But that’s not what happened.

Gaming, Consumerism, Marketing

43 points by raytopia 83 days ago | 23 comments

The Americans Pledging to Buy Less–Or Even Nothing (wsj.com)
Instagram, TikTok and other social-media sites are usually overwhelmed by people showing off what they bought. This year, people are pivoting to something else: displaying how they’re buying nothing.

Consumerism, Social Media, Trends, Lifestyle

34 points by pseudolus 87 days ago | 78 comments

People are selling phones with TikTok pre-downloaded for an eye-watering price (independent.co.uk)
What’s TikTok worth to you? For some, apparently, the answer is: thousands of dollars.

Social Media, Consumerism, Technology, Marketing

8 points by blackeyeblitzar 91 days ago | 0 comments

Who owns your DNA? Privacy concerns in genetic testing services (incogni.com)
With the holiday season here again, at-home DNA testing kits are once again a popular gift option. As one of the most popular DNA testing services, 23andMe, faces bankruptcy, many consumers are looking into alternatives. However, choosing the right service may not be as straightforward as it may seem.

Genetics, Privacy, Consumerism, Health

7 points by ozornin 96 days ago | 4 comments

Hospitals in the US want to call patients customers now (reddit.com)
YSK, hospitals all across the US, don’t want to call you patients anymore, you are customers now.

Healthcare, Consumerism, Language, United States

6 points by notRobot 98 days ago | 1 comments