When I was younger, I really wanted a gaming laptop. The problem was that my mom only trusted Amazon and other big brand companies like Best Buy, so I didn’t have much freedom to compare prices or shop around. I didn’t know much about tech back then, so I just picked something that looked good and fit the budget.
I ended up getting a Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 for around $800. At the time, I thought it was a solid deal. Years later, after learning more about tech, I realized the model I got was one of the weaker configurations: small battery, lower-quality screen, and overall not worth the price I paid. I also found out that Amazon sellers often mix different versions under the same listing, so it’s easy to overpay without realizing it.
Recently, I switched to eBay and actually scored a huge win: I bought a Moto Edge 2021 (originally a $700 phone) for only $65. With the leftover money, I got a laptop stand, toolkit, cases, a controller, and even ended up with extra cash from my mom and eBay support. It made me realize how much better deals can be when you’re not restricted to one platform.
Now I keep thinking back to that laptop purchase and feeling like I got “robbed,” even though it’s been years. I know I didn’t have the knowledge or freedom back then, but part of me still feels frustrated about it.
AITA for feeling this way, or am I overthinking something that wasn’t really my fault?
Edit: My father was the one who gave me the $800 dollars, he gave me it after getting good grades to upgrade from my 2007 slow toshiba laptop.
Nobody is an ass hole for feeling something. In this case I would just say extraordinarily petty. It’s your mom. Cut her a break. How do you even remember this?
Life is too short to be regretful and in particular resentful about missed opportunities like this, particularly where there’s no malicious intent.
It sounds like you’re still young (mom still giving you cash for your purchases?) and would have been younger then. It also really sounds like your mum acted in good faith, trying to protect you via purchases that she thought would be better quality. She certainly didn’t ‘rob’ you, as that would imply that she benefited and/or had malicious intent. She was simply misinformed.
Feel free to be upset with amazon being shitty and predatory, and capitalism, and the poor quality of lots of goods. Feel free to help your mom find good deals in the future. But I’m not sure she deserves your anger so YWBTA if you made her feel guilty for that previous purchase.
Life is too short to hold onto these things, you’ll end up holding onto righteous anger that will just hurt you both.
YTA. You knew nothing of tech and neither did your mom. She didnt want you to get taken advantage of, which happens on ebay all the time to people. So she made the best choice she could with the knowledge she had. Idk what your upset about really? That she didnt learn all the tech stuff to help you better? That she tried to protect you? This is the definition of a first world problem. Are you for real right now?
LMAO – you need to get OFF the games and go out in the REAL WORLD. YTA
Have you ever heard the expression “there’s no use in crying over spilled milk”?
I bought my first computer from Gateway for $2000 and it was an absolute potato. ETA – that was in 2000, so $2000 then is almost $4000 today.
I think you’re in the wrong here.
Buying tech from ebay is a risk.
Your mum knew that she wasn’t knowledgeable enough to ensure a good outcome.
You were a child.
If it had gone wrong, the consequences of having no computer and no money for one would be bad.
Your mum made the right decision.
You later having a good outcome buying from ebay doesn’t mean the previous risk calculation was wrong.
YTA
you chose the laptop. So despite what you are trying to portrait you are responsible for what you bought.
New tech is always going to be more expensive than used tech. Used tech on eBay can be a scam.
Your mom just wanted to protect you and now you are blaming her for your own admited ignorance
YTA, you chose the laptop?? Yes, it’s possible to find better deals if you shop around more, but it is not your mum’s fault you picked a shit option as there are plenty of good devices on big websites too.
YTA you didn’t have tech knowledge back then, you could’ve easily bought a crappier laptop and/or gotten scammed on eBay so you’re bitching over false premices.
NAH, I do think you are still naive to the danger of online shopping.
Your mum is right to be wary, lots of people get scammed and stolen from, especially if using secondhand marketplace.
Yeah, it was a lot of money you spent but at least you were guaranteed to get what you ask for and you’d be able to return it and get a replacement should something fail. (I’ve been able to get replacement and refund through Amazon for example, could you say the same if you shop with every seller on eBay?)
And your mum wouldn’t have known the best tech either, so it was the blind leading blind. She just wanted you to get the tech from somewhere she knew was safe. So I think you’re being a bit too harsh in your mum.
Your mom was just trying to protect herself in a time when any place that wasn’t a known entity to her was a massive risk to steal her financial identity.
I’m assuming you’re still relatively young, but there was a time when eBay was not guaranteed, and there was almost nothing that could be done if a seller just screwed you over.
Also, your mom probably didn’t know anything about gaming computers, and had no idea about differences in capability. When I was a teenager, all my parents knew was what the news told them: that the chatrooms were hunting grounds for chomos and there’s a virus behind every mouse click. Every guideline about protecting yourself and your kids was hopeless, and the news was filled with fearmongering. Give your mom a break.
Oh, yeah, you might not BTA for feeling a way, but if you hold it against your mom who still paid for a laptop, then YTA
YTA. You didn’t know squat about laptops back then yourself. You robbed yourself.
Where do you draw the line?
Your mom did her best by funding $800 which is a lot of money for most parents.
You had a range of places to look and sounds like you had the capacity to search deals and reviews online – it’s not clear if you were 8 or 18 when doing this.
The vendors and manufacturers pushing out shitty configs and calling them “gaming” are in for some heavy lifting of the blame IMO.
There are for sure more scammers outside of the big box retailers cobbling together 10 year old parts into ‘new’ devices so your mum at least protected you from this.
You learned a lesson along the way.
YTA massively.