"It Was Too Expensive To Just Throw Away": 17 Pandemic Purchases That People Are Having Buyer's Remorse Over
The early days of the pandemic feel like forever ago. While most of us were fearful of the unknown and not sure what was happening next in 2020 — that didn't stop the majority of us from online shopping.
Jessica Kellgren-Fozard / Via giphy.com
I asked the BuzzFeed Community what they regretted buying during the pandemic, and let me just say, people bought some pretty random things because the answers were all over the place. Here are some of them.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.
1."In desperation on a rainy day, I bought my kids a full-sized bouncy castle. It filled my front room. I also regret buying a piano and a crown for myself."
—Anonymous
2."My husband and I were already struggling emotionally, but then, we lost the two best cats we have ever had. So, after a brief pause, we went out and got two kittens. One ended up getting FIP, a fatal disease for which no legal meds exist. The only cure is a black market medication that you have to purchase from China. So we spent $3k to buy the meds to save his life. The other cat — we were bamboozled by the shelter. They told us she HAD a bladder stone, but had no residual urinary issues. Lies.
"She has spina bifida, and we quickly realized she wets herself in her sleep every day. They also missed a meningocele, so we spent $6k to get that repaired by a veterinary neurologist. I am constantly cleaning up her pee and have to cover all the furniture with washable pee pads. I don't necessarily regret either of them, as I love them, and I know not many other people could care for them as we do. However, they were definitely pandemic/depression/impulse acquisitions."
3."A Peloton bike — aka, my very expensive drying rack."
Peloton / Via giphy.com
4."I bought a knitting set so I could learn. Now, I realize that it was a waste of money and time"
—Anonymous
5."During the lockdown, I went a little crazy and spent something like $4,000 on lava lamps on eBay. My savings are kaput. I am not proud. The lamps are currently in a storage unit."
—Anonymous
6.The Dyson Airwrap. A ton of money for a product that doesn’t actually do much for me at the end of the day. Karma for spending too much time on Instagram and paying far too much attention to influencers!"
7."We decided we were going to build a fire pit in our backyard. So, we bought hundreds of dollars of rocks and tiles for it and dug a huge hole in the yard. My husband got back to working, and now, we’ve had a big hole in our yard for the past year with nothing done, and the grass is growing back in it."
NBC / Via giphy.com
—Anonymous
8."An expensive exercise machine that I never use now that my gym is open again."
9."My dad legit bought all the Harry Potter movies for $60-$80 dollars on the TV just mere WEEKS before they came out on HBO Max!"
E! / Via giphy.com
—Anonymous
10."I bought a rug for rug tufting. I made some rugs. They were super cute, and I did a great job, but now I have a $300 piece of machinery and a mountain of yarn that I don't touch...whoops."
—Anonymous
11."I took up knitting, and I have a ridiculous stash of expensive wool yarn (I'll knit my way through it eventually 😂 ). Not too huge of a regret though, I'd say. I definitely went mad for cooking books for a bit. I'm currently in the Fiestaware phase, but I do use all of my dishes, so I don't feel bad about that!"
12."An ultraviolet light wand to kill germs. Technically, it’s supposed to kill germs, but waving it over door knobs and water faucet handles was kinda stupid."
13."I'm ashamed of all the COVID art supplies stowed away in my guest room. I think I wanted to want to create art more than I actually, you know, wanted to create art. Sometimes, I still have that itch to make something, but I get really discouraged before I even begin because of my lack of talent."
14."The cross trainer that I only used for the summer of 2020 and haven’t touched in a good year. RIP."
Netflix / Via giphy.com
15."At the start of the pandemic, I was worried about getting enough exercise, so I ordered a treadmill. It’s small and basic, but still, cost $300, and I had to wait almost three months for it to arrive. Once I finally got it, I realized that I hate it. The walking surface is at a fixed angle, and I always feel like I’m going to go tumbling backward when I try to use it. Now it just takes up space, but I feel like it was too expensive to just throw away."
—Anonymous
16."I thought embroidery would be my new hobby. No. I have so many materials and tools now, it’s embarrassing."
17.And finally, "I bought so many shoes and handbags during the pandemic. I haven't used any of them."
NBC / Via giphy.com
