Companies You are Currently Boycotting

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Since my ipod classic broke apple.

 

[superbatranger]

I don't actively boycott any companies. If I don't buy the products of a company, it's just because I have no use for them.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I'm not boycotting anyone, especially game-wise. That seems a bit silly. If company makes a product that I think is good, I'll probably get it, regardless of who they are.

 

[Chewster]

Aramark, because they run monopolies on campuses everywhere and the students suffer as a result.

Also, I don't really shop at WalMart much, mostly because they are depressing and disorganized.

I'm not a fan of Apple either. They make good products, but they are absurdly overpriced and I don't need to be paying for "lifestyle goods" when it comes to computers. They also admit their iPod DRM limits do nothing, but keep them anyway, which is nothing to respect.

 

[park92]

Apple, and Valve. Not much explanation is needed.

I assume for Steam, but my question is this:

Why does Valve have so many fanboys, and what's wrong with Steam? (If you dislike Valve for that.)

I mean, I will admit, a lot of Valve games don't seem as awesome as everyone makes them out to be, although Portal really WAS that awesome... and I love the deals I get from Steam.

And, yeah, Apple sucks.

i love steam i bought l4d2 for 6.79 and call of duty 1, united offensive, 2, 4, 5 for 30 bucks

 

[robinkom]

"Boycott" is a strong word... I'd say that there are companies that I feel I have been wronged by that are currently losing my business until they make up for it with future business endeavors.

Apple Inc. comes to mind because their computers are overpriced, underpowered, and can only be upgraded or repaired for you by them because of proprietary hardware. They haven't wronged me, but the implications of their fanatical "cult-like" user base as a lot to do with it for me also. I've had way too many Mac users argue with me or try to convert me over the years. So, no thanks, I'll stick with building my own PCs.

 

[Tears of Blood]

ok theres a simple way to stop it slowing down your pc (not that iv ever noticed any real issue myself, despite durig patching) end the process. Your customer service comment might be correct, but from personal experience most companies have bad customer service, however the ones providing good and well priced content are worthy of support

Yeah, I've never noticed it slowing down my PC either. I am still able to run Oblivion at full capacity with Steam on with no problems.

 

[LastMondaysHangover]

Activision. Honestly after seeing out of touch Bobby Kotick is with reality and how he screwed over Infinity Ward, I immediately sold MW2 back to GameStop in exchange for Bad Company 2.

 

[Boemmel]

Maybe I am misunderstanding something, but wouldn't boycotting something not only mean refusing to buy something from a particular company, but also doing some form of protest against that company as well? Because that would be the way I understand and differentiate a "boycott" from a normal buying decision where you simply eliminate certain companies from you buying decisions based on your preferences.

For example, I see a large number of so-called "boycotts" against Apple right here in this thread. Now, if you would not only refuse to buy Apple products, but also for example protest in front of an Apple store or write letters to Apple detailing which behavior of Apple you are exactly protesting against, that would in my mind be a true boycott.

But if you are simply saying "meh, they are overpriced for me" and then go buy something else, or even if you have some sort of philosophical disagreement with the way Apple does its business, but do not formulate some sort of open or public protest, in my opinion that is not a boycott, that is simply a normal buying decision where you formulated and weighed your preferences and then made a decision for or against a certain company.

So for me, it is a little puzzling that so many of you seem to clearly state that they are boycotting something when in my mind, nearly all of you guys are simply doing a relatively normal buying decision based on your personal preferences. Then again, maybe I am just seeing it wrong

 

[Helmutye]

Bayer - after the US FDA denied them permission to sell HIV-tainted medical products in the US (the products were made from HIV and Hepatitis C tainted blood and were known to be infectious), they went ahead and sold them in a number of other countries, despite the fact that they knew this would infect any who used the products with HIV. Sure enough, tens of thousands of people were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C.

Holy crap.

I need a link for that one, I almost don't believe it.

Here's the wikipedia page on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contaminated_haemophilia_blood_products

And a page with a video of an edition of Scarborough Country about the scandal:

http://www.h1n1vaccinerisks.org/uncategorized/bayer-exposed-hiv-contaminated-vaccine/

And to the best of my knowledge, nobody has been prosecuted for this. I believe the statute of limitations is fairly short for this sort of thing, so by the time many people found out they were infected it was too late to sue. Thousands of death sentences so Bayer could make a little extra money.

 

[Dango]

Activision... at least until Black Ops comes out or I accidentally buy one of their games.

 

[SeriousSquirrel]

Heins Ketchup.

I can't give any money to the Kerry family.

 

[Thurmer]

BIG W - for building up hype about having GH3 for half price when it was released then having 2 copies of the damn thing, there was like 50+ people there when it opened, was not happy.

apart from them not really anyone else, theres companies i dislike such as sony but I wouldnt boycott them.

 

[Thurmer]

2. Wal-Mart (Terrible, evil business practices that kill small businesses)

It's called a free-market. Would you prefer socialism?

Do you know why Wal-Mart is big? Because they are doing something well.

Do you know why Wal-Mart are successful? Because their products are cheap and plentiful.

Wal-mart provides hundred of thousands of jobs for people of all ages and skills - some who would not be able to make a living otherwise.

~

I hate it when people look out for the little guy, just because he's little.

Freedom > socialism.

Also, a few of the posts above this one give plenty more reasons why they suck.

Perhaps they employ a lot of people, but most of those people could easily find somewhere else to work, and even if they cannot Wal-Mart is not going to have any problem FIRING them, even if they've been working for them for a long time. Indeed, those are usually the people they get rid of first. There's a Wal-Mart right next to where I work (Home Depot, yes I realize that Home Depot has a similar policy in some areas, but I know for a fact that they don't kill small businesses, because we send our customers their way all the time when they can't get what they need at our store.) and I have heard countless stories about the terrible things they've done to their employees.

If you like Wal-Mart you can just say so, but you don't need to accuse me of being a socialist. Sheesh.

Big fish eats Little fish, Darwin kinda outlined this one pretty well I believe. If the Little Fish can't find a way to protect and sustain itself then it really has no place existing. Also Wal-Mart started out a Little Fish so yep evolution of business and brands.

 

[Canid117]

I'm not really boycotting anyone because nerd boycotts never really work.

 

[Littlee300]

Ubisoft...total boycott until they remove their good for nothing DRM...

Either that or just pirate their DRM protected titles just to piss them off and prove that they are only fueling piracy.

Can't help but say "ass hole" to myself after reading that.

Probably apple. They are just overpriced it makes me wonder how much more money people will have if they didn't overprice..

 

[AwesomeExpress]

I am boycotting the following companies:
- Pepsi
- Nike
- McDonalds
- Zellars
- Kentucky Fried Chicken
- Burger King
- Facebook
- Twitter

 

[Michael Dagastino]

1: Ikea- Their furniture falls apart in about a year or two's time (yes i assemble it correctly)
2: McDonalds/Burgerking-They have terrible Health Inspector scores in my area (Culver's is the best!!!!!!)
3: Any and all electric cars- Impractical, creates more pollution than a standard petroleum automobile, and they have bad body styling (exception of the Testla concept).
4:My college's parking system-To park for 1 semester on certain sides of streets, id have to pay $300 American. Rip off.
5: Call of Duty: I liked them up to 4, after that, they became way to multi-player focused, and I, like Yahtzee believe that games should stand up on Single Player, or may be Co-op.

 

[Dr. Gorgenflex]

I have no morals so I am not really boycotting anybody.

 

[Loviathan]

Maybe I am misunderstanding something, but wouldn't boycotting something not only mean refusing to buy something from a particular company, but also doing some form of protest against that company as well? Because that would be the way I understand and differentiate a "boycott" from a normal buying decision where you simply eliminate certain companies from you buying decisions based on your preferences.

For example, I see a large number of so-called "boycotts" against Apple right here in this thread. Now, if you would not only refuse to buy Apple products, but also for example protest in front of an Apple store or write letters to Apple detailing which behavior of Apple you are exactly protesting against, that would in my mind be a true boycott.

But if you are simply saying "meh, they are overpriced for me" and then go buy something else, or even if you have some sort of philosophical disagreement with the way Apple does its business, but do not formulate some sort of open or public protest, in my opinion that is not a boycott, that is simply a normal buying decision where you formulated and weighed your preferences and then made a decision for or against a certain company.

So for me, it is a little puzzling that so many of you seem to clearly state that they are boycotting something when in my mind, nearly all of you guys are simply doing a relatively normal buying decision based on your personal preferences. Then again, maybe I am just seeing it wrong

The act of announcing your boycott in a public forum would probably constitute enough of a protest, after all the intention merely needs to be public. I know I have discussed my dislike of the companies to follow with my friends and family. Particularly when another one buys a damn iPhone.

However, I do agree with you on the point that merely not buying a product from a company because you have no interest in said product is not boycotting that company. The reasoning being that if they made a product relevant to your interests you would probably buy it.

My understanding of the term boycott is that there should be some motivation for refusing a companies product.

As for companies that I boycott;
-Apple - I hate the monopoly they tried to implement with the fairplay system.
-Activision - enough said.

There's probably a few others that I have avoided for a while, but i figure now is as good a time as any to sling shit at the common villain.

I would agree with the boycotting of Bayer, however, as a pharmaceutical company is is difficult to ensure that you avoid the full range of their products. Additionally, one day one of their drugs just might save your life. That said their history is not a good one.