Plagued Consoomers / Consoomer Culture - Because if it has a recogniseable brand on it, I’d buy it!

To me, all comes back to nerd elitism. Dorks who get good at one thing and will gatekeep it to ridiculous degrees.

It reminds me of getting into Magic the Gathering and going into a card shop to buy a pack of cards and having to deal with a thirty year old dork who has a snobbish attitude towards everyone including people who want to give them money. Fuck these losers who want to set a high bar of participation for what is a childs hobby.
The Simpsons created Comic Book Guy for a reason. Apparently it's a lot more common than I thought.
 
Adult video gamers and toy collectors need to be ostracized again. Hobbies should be productive and creative, not just collecting garbage. Even Pixar did it but I doubt we can go back now the investors have a grip on the industries.

1000008490.png

We need to bring bullying back so people stop being such sadsacks
 
I was watching a video about inflation and how everyone is financially fucked right now and one of the people featured in it unironically said "Get yourself signed up for tiktok shop, review something you own and use already, get a commission".
That's where we are now. In times of financial struggle, the easiest and most reliable way to make a quick buck is on modern Home Shopping Network.

Anyway, no that topic:


 
Adult video gamers and toy collectors need to be ostracized again. Hobbies should be productive and creative, not just collecting garbage. Even Pixar did it but I doubt we can go back now the investors have a grip on the industries.

View attachment 5871457

We need to bring bullying back so people stop being such sadsacks
Ironically the director is a collector himself and created the character because he realized his own absurdity of not letting his kids play with his collection.
 
But forgets to factor in the thousands of dollars spent on flights, accommodation and food.
Just like there are "Disney adults" there are "Japan adults" who go there several times a year just to go shopping for sperg stuff.

The new yt feature of recommending random channels is kinda depressing because sometimes you get people like that trying to show off their mountain of product except they have zero engagement and like 10 views. At least some of the popular soy punching bags might get a sponsorship or something out of it, but most just sit alone in their pile of plastic.
 
There is always the chance the games will go down once the nostalgia does. For Nintendo I can't see that happening, everyone will want to play Mario's origin, but for the pc-engine and Sega, I can't image in thirty years too many people are going to be clamoring for cotton 2 or Shinobi x.
"Pssst... hey kid... you wanna buy Skyrim? It's a classic... I've been selling this game for over 30 years now"
Todd_Howard_in_disguise.jpg
 
Adult video gamers and toy collectors need to be ostracized again. Hobbies should be productive and creative, not just collecting garbage. Even Pixar did it but I doubt we can go back now the investors have a grip on the industries.
I think if we had had better gatekeeping from autistic Comic Book Guys instead of retarded tolerance, hobbies would have remained the niche thing they were for people who actually liked them, not for the fuckwads who moved in to conSOOOOOOM Funko Pops and watch the fucking Big Bang Theory.
 
I was watching a video about inflation and how everyone is financially fucked right now and one of the people featured in it unironically said "Get yourself signed up for tiktok shop, review something you own and use already, get a commission".
That's where we are now. In times of financial struggle, the easiest and most reliable way to make a quick buck is on modern Home Shopping Network.

Anyway, no that topic:


I was much happier before I read the term Tik Tok Shop. Goodness :(
 
Adult video gamers and toy collectors need to be ostracized again. Hobbies should be productive and creative, not just collecting garbage. Even Pixar did it but I doubt we can go back now the investors have a grip on the industries.

View attachment 5871457

We need to bring bullying back so people stop being such sadsacks
The thing that's such bullshit is that all these toy companies, like LEGO especially, have made adult toy collectors their main market focus because they'll buy everything. It means that this stuff is no longer for kids. I get that kids these days are more likely to play Fortnite or watch Skibidi Toilet on their iPads but when all of their for-age toys are specifically marketed (and, more importantly, priced) towards adults with arrested development who are chasing the same high as delusional retards who collected Beanie Babies, what else are they supposed to do?
 
The thing that's such bullshit is that all these toy companies, like LEGO especially, have made adult toy collectors their main market focus because they'll buy everything. It means that this stuff is no longer for kids. I get that kids these days are more likely to play Fortnite or watch Skibidi Toilet on their iPads but when all of their for-age toys are specifically marketed (and, more importantly, priced) towards adults with arrested development who are chasing the same high as delusional retards who collected Beanie Babies, what else are they supposed to do?
For real, I was trying to find a present for a nephew's birthday a few years back and one look at the LEGO site and I was like "fuck that" and bought him a GBA game instead because he likes old pokemon games and shit. Which brings me to a personal pet peeve: The retarded prices of certain old games consoles, especially NES and PS1. Some of the most mediocre PS1 games I played back in the day are being sold for the price of a new Triple A game because fat retards with 401Ks view them as an investment and price out people who just want to casually play a game they liked as a kid and think it's cool to own old tech. Fuck video game investors and fuck their gay "mint condition" certificates. The vast majority of people responsible for driving up the prices of old-ass games are not people who play them, they are ""collectors"" who are still waiting for the day that the shitty '90s comics they have will give them a retirement fund.
 
As someone with a genetic predisposition to bad spending habit, I have sold part of a huge rare guitar collection I had and decided to keep just 3-4 I like and actually use and like, such as a Corey Beaulieu signature Jackson V and an inexpensive Dean Tyrant that I love. The biggest thing nobody tells you is guitars cannot be that different across price ranges and its just wood, wires, and magnets.

The amount of rampant consoomerism in the modern music industry with everything from cheap pedals and guitars is fucking absurd. Guitar youtubers can be straight up predatory with manipulating people into spending money on things they do not need.

Very few people have actual full on music channels without pushing product anymore because the disease known as gear acquisition syndrome runs rampant. Joe Bonamasa can go fuck himself for normalizing extreme consumerism above quality music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC1dCSWiFYg
 
Last edited:
Knife guys are probably the worst for this imo
View attachment 5727206
A pocket knife is handy, having a spare isn't a terrible idea, having one for everyday of the week is a bit weird but whatever. having 60 is just daft.
I hate folding knives, always feels like there's a very present chance that you might slice your fingers off if you put any weight into it and the block thing failed.
Im surprised that people who get into collecting them don't get the fixed ones and a nice little leather holder type thing.
Late and off topic sperg tbh, but the idea of a knife closing on your fingers is brutal

Guitars have got stupid lately. You can't just find any old second hand bass for 50 quid any more or whatever.
Same with pedals. Theres nothing to them and they charge loads.
You'd think it would be the opposite now, in the days of endless digital plug ins, but it's not.
 
Last edited:
The thing that's such bullshit is that all these toy companies, like LEGO especially, have made adult toy collectors their main market focus because they'll buy everything. It means that this stuff is no longer for kids. I get that kids these days are more likely to play Fortnite or watch Skibidi Toilet on their iPads but when all of their for-age toys are specifically marketed (and, more importantly, priced) towards adults with arrested development who are chasing the same high as delusional retards who collected Beanie Babies, what else are they supposed to do?
This is a big problem with racing games of all things. So many of them are either Mario Kart kart games for kids, or are broken racing sims for autists. There's no Burnout, Need for Speed, or F-Zero for those that want something fun.

Cars too. There's no entry level vehicles any more. Everything new is a huge, overpriced SUV with computers and gadgets. I remember watching a video about a new entry level vehicle that was so concerned with cost cutting it even had straps for interiour door handles, only to put wi-fi, computers, electric motors, and a glass roof on it, driving the price to over 10k.


I'm not sure if I've just become horrible and jaded over time but I'm starting to find retro gaming youtubers gross. Something about seeing a guy past his 40s wearing a Mario Bros baseball cap indoors and the backdrop of their room is full of funkopops, figurines, gaming paraphernalia meticulously organized into a shrine to their childhood.
I was trying to think why I changed my mind on this, and why I make exceptions for someone like Razorfist and LGR vs someone like Moviebob. This is going to sound gay, but maybe it's no sense of aesthetics or proportions. No style, coherence, or meaning to it. It's just a trove of plastic crap stacked on a shelf. The artwork on them isn't chosen for it's style or message, but because it references nostalgic thing. RLM is likely the best example where they wear movie shirts and it's fine, but their nerd crew costumes are deliberately gaudy?
 
I hate folding knives, always feels like there's a very present chance that you might slice your fingers off if you put any weight into it and the block thing failed.
This, and the fact that the folding mechanism greatly reduces the rigidity of the knife. A good knife is not only for cutting, its also useful for prying and squashing/cracking things. The best knife is the one made from a single metal bar for the blade and the handle core.

Also there are at least 5 identical knives in that image, except for color they are the same knife, I don't know how to explain it except for hoarding. If you are collecting things then the goal is to have a variety of items, not 5x of the same, functionally identical ones.
 
Cars too. There's no entry level vehicles any more. Everything new is a huge, overpriced SUV with computers and gadgets. I remember watching a video about a new entry level vehicle that was so concerned with cost cutting it even had straps for interiour door handles, only to put wi-fi, computers, electric motors, and a glass roof on it, driving the price to over 10k.
A long time ago I leaned something about how fast food restaurants don't actually give a shit if you refill your drink a million times because according to some marketing agent's actuarial table, the cost is offset by brand recognition magic. I still can't believe that was a real fact even though I learned it in a non majors marketing class. Anyway, if it is a real phenomena, I wonder if wifi and electronic garbage add ons have some similar deal where all the tech is essentially free to the point of sale because of all the deals being made way further upstream of production.
 
Also there are at least 5 identical knives in that image, except for color they are the same knife, I don't know how to explain it except for hoarding. If you are collecting things then the goal is to have a variety of items, not 5x of the same, functionally identical ones.
The funkopops of knives
 
Cars too. There's no entry level vehicles any more. Everything new is a huge, overpriced SUV with computers and gadgets. I remember watching a video about a new entry level vehicle that was so concerned with cost cutting it even had straps for interiour door handles, only to put wi-fi, computers, electric motors, and a glass roof on it, driving the price to over 10k.
AKSHUALLY, if you adjust for inflation, the price has remained rather consistent since the late 60s. An entry level car in 1970 was going to be something like an AMC Gremlin, Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega or Volkswagen Beetle, and those cost about 14-16K new adjusted for inflation. Today the cheapest cars in the US are the Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa which are about 17K new. They also get an order of magnitude better fuel mileage (and the mid-late 70s were just as bad as today in terms of gas prices), have basic features like air conditioning (you had to pay extra and install it yourself/pay a mechanic with those cheap 70s cars), and are safer to drive because of features like airbags.

The problem comes that an entry level vehicle today should be far cheaper than in the 70s thanks to the increase in worker productivity, but instead it's the same price. Nobody's selling a stripped-down version of those cheap cars despite the obvious demand.
 
Adult video gamers and toy collectors need to be ostracized again. Hobbies should be productive and creative, not just collecting garbage. Even Pixar did it but I doubt we can go back now the investors have a grip on the industries.

View attachment 5871457

We need to bring bullying back so people stop being such sadsacks
Gonna have to disagree, if you're an adult with a stable income any hobby will look like a waste of time compared to getting a second job in terms of productiveness, you're not going to enjoy anything with that mentality IMO, as for creativity, I think that there are a bunch of hobbies that don't involve creativity but are still a great thing to get immersed in, like fishing, cross-country cycling, really any type of sport/ physical activity.
 
Nobody's selling a stripped-down version of those cheap cars despite the obvious demand.
Except the chinese, who can make new cars for under 3k. That said, they are chinkshit and banned in the western world because of safety, emissions, etc.

New cars also don't last as long, and usually have to be taken to a dealer to be repaired due to said computer components. I'm reminded of a meme I saw recently where someone had to take a car into the dealer because the software in the door handles failed to update so they couldn't open the door. This has a knock on effect that there isn't really life for these cars after their warranty expires because, by design, they are not intended to be maintained long term.
 
I think that there are a bunch of hobbies that don't involve creativity but are still a great thing to get immersed in, like fishing, cross-country cycling, really any type of sport/ physical activity.
I've got relatives who are into wood turning and small cabinetry. The cost of the machines and equipment really adds up, some woods are horrendously expensive due to their scarcity, and the end result are beautiful art works that frequently have no practical use. The sale of these artworks can offset some of the cost it takes to make them, but they rarely sell for what they are worth. For example, one of my relatives took a commission to make a brass pen. It took my relative a week to make the thing, and he had to modify his equipment and learn how to turn metal as he went... and he got something like $300 for it. I saw it before he shipped it to the new owner, and it was absolutely gorgeous, a rare combination of the functional and true artistry. My relative made another brass pen for himself and then swore never to make another because it was such a massive bitch. Occasionally I see hand turned wooden vases in op shops and I cringe because I'm looking at something that would have taken months- or even years- for the wood to be sourced, cured, turned and finished, and it's sitting there in an op shop with ten dollars on the price tag.

The clubs my relatives are involved in are extremely oriented in resource sharing, and it's traditional for deceased club members' spouses to enter their old equipment into club auctions. One of my relatives refits and restores his own machines and makes a lot of his own tools, but even with wheeling, dealing, swapping and exchanging it all adds up at the end of the day. He's an artist, and yes, he sells a lot of his work but he never breaks even, and neither do any of his equally talented and skilled mates.

Even "practical" hobbies can be expensive as fuck. I think the cheapest hobby possible these days is going to the library.
 
Back