How many times have you ordered something online and the item that arrived was of disappointing quality? Or how many times has a new item you bought broken after just one use? From shoes, clothes, cutlery, and even appliances – it seems that manufacturers don't build things that last anymore.
To highlight this phenomenon, we've collected the most frustrating and hilarious examples of low-quality items that people have shared online. From the "What I ordered vs. what I got" trend to everyday tools that left much to be desired in the quality department, we present to you the times new purchases had people extremely disappointed.
#1 I Bought A Cat Tower Online That Turned Out To Be Much Smaller Than Expected. Trevor Is Still Trying To Be Appreciative Tho
Image credits: SageKitty666
#2 The Crystal Mug My Boyfriend Ordered Me For Our Anniversary vs. What We Actually Received
Image credits: sleepysphynx
#3 Ordered The Robe You Wear When The Police Comes To Tell You Your Millionaire Husband Died In Suspicious Circumstances
Image credits: breakfastatoddhours
In 2023, comedian Ellory Smith retweeted a photo of actor Ben Schwartz recreating Billy Crystal's character Harry's look from the cult classic When Harry Met Sally. In the photographs, both men are wearing white cable knit sweaters, yet the quality differs significantly. Whereas the sweater that Crystal was wearing was thick and chunky, Schwartz's was thin and almost see-through.
"The quality of sweaters has declined so greatly in the last twenty years that I think it genuinely necessitates a national conversation," Smith captioned her tweet. Many netizens agreed, and even major publications ran articles like The Atlantic's "Your Sweaters Are Garbage" and Nylon's "What's Going On With Sweaters?"
#4 The Little Nail That Could And Two Hammers That Couldn't
Image credits: -herekitty_kitty-
#5 The Mask I Ordered (Left) vs. The Mask I Got (Right)
Image credits: reddit.com
#6 Adamant - High Quality
Image credits: nflodin
Yet clothes aren't the only product that has declined in quality over the years. As evident from this list, people are noticing that everything from toilet brushes, knives, and even pans just don't last as long as they used to. We're not just imagining things. Experts concur that a lot of things are made to last us a shorter amount of time.
They refer to this phenomenon as "Planned obsolescence." It's a strategy manufacturers use to drive consumerism and cut costs. Global compliance and sustainability director at Tag Alex Hicks explains: "Products over time have reduced in robustness in terms of materials. They've got thinner, the construction is cheaper, and we've seen a general move from metal to plastic."
#7 Can’t Really See It From The Other Picture But The Print Literally Has A Crochet Pattern In Addition To The Weird Flesh Tone. They Really Just Played In My Face
Image credits: Chris_Mench
#8 Ordered Doc Ock, Received Depressed Ock Instead
Image credits: Beautiful_Fishing569
#9 My Shoes Crumbled Into Literal Powder On My Way To Work
Swipe through the pictures for reverse disintegration I guess. For context, these were relatively cheap off brand shoes I bought a few years ago and had not worn in the last 2 years. Had almost reached work when I noticed, had to ask the cab to take me back home and then bring me back to work.
Image credits: dinosaursandme
Today, we're almost used to replacing items quickly. Think about your shoes: what was the longest you spent using one pair of trainers? Some sources say that the average walking shoe is built to last for 300-500 miles. Others put the end of a shoe's shelf life at 8-12 months. If we were to tell this to our grandparents, they would probably be appalled: "In my day, shoes would last you for 10 years," they would probably say.
#10 I Ordered A Happy Sad Octopus, Both Sides Came Sad,
Image credits: JackLlewellyn2
#11 I Washed A Blanket With My Clothes And It Basically Disintegrated…
Image credits: NikkiThunderdik
#12 My Toaster Melts Its Own Plastic When Toasting
Image credits: Thereareways
In truth, people replace used items even if they're not worn to bits. A desire for something more trendy, pretty, or functional can also drive sales. Take smartphones, for example: people often want to own the newest one that has all the cool new features and prolonged battery life.
But manufacturers have faults here too. They design the phones to be replaced every couple of years or so, mostly so you can't update your old phone with the newest software and therefore are susceptible to cybersecurity concerns.
#13 Just Bought This Underwater Protective Case In Thailand And Went Swimming With It
Image credits: reddit.com
#14 What I Ordered vs. What I Got
Image credits: Pbacker
#15 The Incredibly Short Tang Of This Knife Was Only Secured By One Breakable Plastic Post. The Three Thicker Securing Pins Are Purely Aesthetic
Image credits: humangeigercounter
As Alex Hicks explains, back in the day, people would repair things. If your clothes ripped, you'd sew them back together. If a minor kitchen appliance broke down, you'd take it apart and maybe fix it yourself. But today, most things are built in a way that even people skilled at repairs won't be able to fix them. "Products are designed so that they're impossible to get into without specialist tools," Hicks says.
#16 Paint On My New Cheap Barbecue Melts When Coal Is Burning
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#17 You're Not The Only One
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#18 My "Genuine Leather" Calvin Klein Belt. Got Home, Tore Off The Tag Which Peeled Back The Plastic Coating Revealing The Rubber Core
Image credits: jorel424
Some might argue that there's nothing wrong with items having a short shelf life: they're cheaper, and sometimes even made from recycled materials. But there's a catch too: consumers need to be able to differentiate between greenwashing and which brands have truly "green" practices.
#19 This Electric Heater Can Melt It's Plastic Casing When At Full Power
Image credits: ignatirabo
#20 The State Of My Raybans Case After 1 Month
Haven’t been rough with it at all. Started to split a couple days ago and now it’s completely torn as I’ve gone to open them with absolutely no resistance. Premium sunglasses with a cheap leather case
Image credits: Professional-Date735
#21 This Garbage "Leather" Coating That Eventually Flakes Off And Gets Everywhere
I love these headphones (Anker Soundcore Life Q20), they have great sound quality and noise cancelation for their price. But my GOD can manufacturers stop trying to make imitation leather with this garbage? Every time I use them, my hands and ears get covered in little black flakes.
Image credits: MrZokeyr
Hicks gives tennis shoes as an example: yes, they contain a lot of recycled materials. But you can't recycle shoes with holes in them when they're worn out, so, in the end, they still end up in the landfill. Manufacturers earn more money and are praised as "green," consumers spend more of their hard-earned money, and the planet accumulates even more trash when the tennis shoes go to the landfill. That doesn't seem that "green," does it?
#22 The Handle Just Broke Off My Brand New Cast Iron Skillet. I Haven’t Even Cooked Anything With It Yet
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#23 Put My Brand New $120 Pan On A Hot Pad That Was Supposedly Made For Hot Pans. I Hadn’t Even Cooked On It Yet, The Fabric Is Fused To The Pan And Won’t Come Off
Image credits: Jakefrmstatepharm
#24 It Said 72 Bags. Didn’t Say They’d All Have Tea. A Few Of The Bags In My Great Value Green Tea Box Are Like This.
Image credits: philwrites
So, what's the solution? Hicks believes that both the consumers and the manufacturers should take responsibility. People should evaluate their shopping habits and buy new things only if they really need them. They also should attempt to reuse and repair things as much as they can, and that's where manufacturers making repair-friendly items come in.
#25 Almost Burned Down Our Kitchen
So we got gifted a Warming Toy that you warm up in the Microwave and it has lavender scent to help kids sleep. We followed the directions excatly, keeping in mind the wattage of the microwave too. Well the small store it was bought from put a bowtie on it because they probably thought it looked cute. However that did not go with the toy and turns out it can't be warmed either... cought fire inside the microwave. Smoked up the whole kitchen. Threw away the microwave as it was stained with burned plastic. Kids were both traumatized... ugh.
Image credits: Effective_Treat_9609
#26 Ordered Jordan's Online. Got Fake Ones
Image credits: Hunchmine
#27 My Hammer Broke When I Hit A Nail On Workbench Trim
Image credits: millersquad1071
Then there's the legislative side. Hicks says laws should influence brands to guide people into a more sustainable and greener direction, but says that lawmakers need to go about it thoughtfully. "I have also seen how environmental controls can have a negative financial effect on those in society who have the least income first, which of course isn't fair as lower earners already deal with a lot of stress when it comes to purchasing decisions," he explained.
#28 My Toilet Brush Broke
Image credits: Foxbaster
#29 My Boss Ordered Chairs For The Break Room Last Year. He Too Did Not Get What He Expected
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#30 Phone Was Dying And I Was In A Hurry, And Didn't Get The Chance To Read It Properly Until I Got Home
Image credits: hotto_
What are your experiences with poor-quality items, Pandas? Have you ever bought a pair of shoes that disintegrated after their first wear? Or have you ever had any other frustrating experiences with a low-quality item? Let us know in the comments. And share with us how you personally fight the abundance of cheap, low-quality junk!
#31 Bought The Walnuts And Nutcracker From Local Market
Image credits: voucherwolves
#32 BBQ Set Came With Metal Skewers, But The Handles Are Filled With Plastic So They Melted All Over Our BBQ After The First Use
Image credits: one-engineer
#33 When You Purchase A $20-30 Stained Glass Lamp On Amazon With Bad/No Reviews
Listings I could find ranged from $20 to $30, all using the same product photo just edited into different backgrounds. Most had no reviews, a few had bad reviews but most people at least got something 3 dimensional!
Image credits: someusername47
#34 Shoe Has Holes In The Plastic Sole That Let's Water Pass In Between The Styrophome And The Plastic. Results Are A Mobile Pitre Dish
Today was a hot day and I did alot of walking. They did not look this red in the morning. They are new shoes too!!
Image credits: KnottiMunki
#35 I Ordered Some Acoustic Sound Panels. And People Complain About Their Big Macs
Image credits: Woop_dee_do
#36 Scam Level: Expert. Ordered These Cute Little Guys Assuming I Would Receive What Was Advertised….you Know What They Say About Assuming
Image credits: TemporaryCapital1830
#37 The Description Said Sweater And They Literally Printed A F*****g Sweater Pattern On Some Cheap Fabric. This Wasn’t Even From Temu
Image credits: -princess_chaos-
#38 Broke After A Month On Untangled Straight Hair
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#39 Stainless Steel, Two Weeks Old
Image credits: WeSaidMeh
#40 Got A Knife That Says USA. It Broke And Then I Realized It Say China On The Back
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#41 Was Cutting A Zip Tie
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#42 Amazon Is Selling Bootleg Disney Colouring Books
Wife bought this on Amazon, it's just a bound book of random low resolution/quality colouring pages easily found on Google image search. Initiated a refund and they didn't even want it back.
Image credits: inv4zn
#43 IKEA Quality
Image credits: Tekst_n_Username
#44 Ordering Paper Towels From Some Random Website
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#45 Turns Out The Art On The New Mug My Dad Bought Me Is Just Paper And It’s Already Peeling From Washing
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#46 Sick Of Everything Being Made Out Of The Lowest Possible Quality Plastic And Breaking After Like A Month Of Light Use
Image credits: 123ticklemyknee
#47 Pearls Of Wisdom: Be Cautious When Ordering Online. Expectations vs. Reality
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#48 I Kinda Feel Like You Should Never Unpack It
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#49 I Ordered A 6ft Tall Rainbow Tree From A Facebook Ad And This Is What Showed Up! I'm Crying From Laughing So Hard, I've Never Had This Happen In Real Life!
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#50 The Seal Plush Pillow I Ordered vs. The One That Arrived
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#51 Lived In Our Apartment Over A Year, Pay $1250/Month And This Is Our Door Now
The glue or seal gave out the other day, now when we open/close the door the flappy front of the door gets stuck to the door frame and is terrifying. WHAT IS WITH THIS QUALITY?! The inside is just cardboard slivers. I’m so confused and frustrated by whatever this door is.
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#52 I Waited 6 Months For This. Wtf
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#53 Was Suspicious Of My “5 Lb” Plate Set…
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#54 Breaking Bad Mask My Friend Bought On Instagram
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#55 What I Ordered vs. What I Got
To keep it short, I was specifically looking for a goldendoodle holiday figurine for my MIL. At the time, there were no reviews on this and it was $30 so I took a risk. It didn’t pay off this time… I at least thought it would be 3D LOLLL😭
I would be a bit upset if it wasn’t so funny. I think I’m going to keep him and put him outside.
Image credits: Negative-Rub5351
#56 What I Ordered vs. What I Got
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#57 Bought A New Garter Belt 2hrs Before My Hockey Game. Broke Instantly
For those that don't know. This clips onto your socks to keep them up while playing.
The socks are tubes of fabric that go over your shin/knee pad. Not your feet.
I was lucky I packed my old one that still works and is over 20 years old.
Image credits: Budakra
#58 I Got Food Poisoning After Ordering Cheap Tilapia Online
I should've known that 45¢ per filet was gonna cause me trouble but no I just had to.
Image credits: alexesparza
#59 Splurged For The First Time In A While And Bought Some Brand New Airpod Pros. They Tore In Half When I Tried To Take The Eartip Off
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#60 This Winter Hat I Ordered On Wish (vs) The One I Received
Image credits: DanielJayPizzle
#61 Ordered A Pink Floyd Stained Glass Panel. Recieved An Actual Picture Of It
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#62 I Thought It Was One Piece.. Guess Not Guess The Plastic Was Structural
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#63 Damn It Wish, That's Not What I Ordered
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#64 Took A Step On The Ledge And My Pants Exploded
Was at work and took a slightly large step up onto a ledge, like literally 2 feet high, and my jeans did an explosive rip. From front crouch all the way around the back to the top of the butt! They did not even have a rip or wear spot prior. Never again buying cheap Target jeans.
Image credits: Kevin8saxman
#65 What You Order vs. What You Get. Don’t Buy From Instagram Ads!
Image credits: theplushbunni
#66 What I Ordered vs. What I Got
Ordered this mask almost a month ago hoping to get a good deal. Believe people when they say if it’s to good it’s probably not true. Where do I even begin with this monstrosity. The material looks nothing like advertised. It’s not stretchy whatsoever it feels like it came from the dollar store. The hair is very clearly fake there’s stains on the back half of the mask there’s NO mouth hole and it’s three sizes to big for any normal persons head. Not to mention it smells like battery acid. They removed the ability to review the products shortly after people started receiving them for obvious reasons. And I will 1000% be using the 30 day return policy. I just can’t see why anyone would think this looks even remotely similar. Maybe if I was blind and had never seen a human I might fall for this mask but I refuse to let this thing rot in the closet it can go right back where it came from. A month wasted and I still have to ship it back. Safe to say I’ll never be ordering from this group again.
Image credits: Scuddie-
#67 Bought This For My 3 Year Old. "The Claw" Is A Print Out
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#68 I Am Trying Hard Not To Laugh
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#69 My New Loofa Unraveled The First Time I Used It
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#70 The €0.30 Dishwashing Brush My Wife Bought, After 3 Up-And-Down Movements Through A Lukewarm Pan
Image credits: NotDiCaprio
#71 All The Floss Sticks In This Package Break Before I Can Even Get It Between My Teeth
I usually get this brand and style since they seem to work better than others. Guess not this time. I thought maybe it was something with the teeth I was trying to use them on so I switched to the bottom row, same thing. So I decided to just squeeze one with my fingers, broke right in half with almost no pressure.
Image credits: DarthHarambe666
#72 Broke The Key Trying To Open This Tin, Then Broke A Knife Instead
Image credits: Henry_Oof
#73 I Ordered Nice Knives For The First Time In My Adult Life From Ebay. The Seller Sent Me A Box From The Set I Ordered But The Knives Were A Different Line With Much Lower Quality, Then Accused Me Of Swapping The Knives Out And Are Refusing To Accept A Return
Image credits: DragonSpiritAnimal
#74 What I Ordered And What I Got!
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#75 What I Ordered vs. What I Got
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#76 This Speaker That Is Filled With Cement To Give You A False Idea Of The Quality Of The Magnet
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#77 Pizza Cutter Broke And Sliced My Thumb Open, Proceeded To Burn My Other Hand On The Pizza Stone. All Over Some Cheap Frozen Pizza
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#78 Rooster Lamp - "Quality Control Department" Said There Is No Difference Between What Is Pictured And What Arrived
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#79 That Thing Is Smaller Than My 13 Inch Laptop
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#80 Knife Handle Broke Revealing It's Secret
Was doing some garden weeding with a cheap old knife when the handle snapped revealing a tiny tang and fake rivets!
Image credits: EntirelyRandom1590
#81 Hello Fresh's Quality Is Getting Horrible. Basically Chicken Scraps In A Bag Of Breast Strips
Image credits: lawlesswallace75
#82 My Mom's Last Aliexpress Order... Geographically Incorrect Tags. It Works Both For Italy And France Travel Journals
Image credits: Long-Last-Name
#83 So I Ordered A Spider-Man Mask A While Back, And This Is What Came In
Image credits: UrameshiYuusuke
#84 Someone Bought Me A 2to Ssd Last Year, It Died Recently, I Opened It And It's Just An USB
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#85 160 Dollar Earbuds Bought 3 Days Ago New Have Bad Audio Quality
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#86 Nike Quality Control Strikes Again
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#87 Brand New Levis Just Came In From Amazon. This Is Not The Levis Quality I Was Raised On
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#88 I Should've Known Better Than To Order Free Socks From A Cereal Box
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#89 I Bought A Top-Rated "Waterproof" Phone Case On Amazon. It Was Defective, Very Low Quality, Didn't Even Seem To Be Designed To Be Waterproof, And, Guess What, I Was Greeted With This
Image credits: Cheetawolf
#90 Old Toilet Seat Broke From Wear & Tear, So Landlord Replaced It With This…
Image credits: jinswoon_
