Someone has built a website called Just Buy Nothing that lets you browse products, add them to your basket, and checkout without actually buying anything. It’s meant to help people with online shopping addictions get their fix without spending money.
The execution is clever. You can browse categories like “Home & Garden” and “Electronics,” complete with product photos, descriptions, and reviews. There’s even a fake currency called “NoBucks” and reward systems for completing “anti-consumption tasks.” It feels like a real shop until you remember nothing will actually arrive at your door.
The creator’s insight is spot-on. For many people, the dopamine hit comes from the act of purchasing, not from owning the thing. The moment you click “buy now” is the peak. Everything after that is anticlimax, buyer’s remorse, and clutter.
Why This Won’t Work
The fundamental problem is that human nature adapts faster than browser extensions. People will find workarounds. They’ll use different devices, disable the extension “just for this one purchase,” or simply shop elsewhere.
We’ve seen this pattern before with website blockers and app timers. They work brilliantly until they don’t. The moment you really want something, your brain becomes remarkably creative at bypassing your own restrictions.
There’s also the substitution problem. If fake shopping scratches the same psychological itch as real shopping, what happens when someone gets bored with pretend purchases?
The Problem Isn’t Technical
Online shopping addiction isn’t really about websites being too easy to use. It’s about deeper stuff like boredom, anxiety, social comparison, and the fundamental human desire to feel like we’re improving our lives through acquisition.
No amount of clever UX can fix the underlying psychology. When someone feels stressed, telling them to browse a fake shop instead of a real one is like telling an alcoholic to switch to non-alcoholic beer. It might help temporarily, but it’s not addressing the core issue.
The most honest solution is probably the most boring one. Close the tab. Delete the apps. Find something else to do with your hands when you’re bored. Accept that wanting things is normal and you don’t have to act on every impulse.
I am not a therapist.
Better Distractions
This whole thing is wonderfully backwards.
The website might help some people. But it also shows our instinct to solve problems by building things.
Shopping addiction? Build a fake shop.
It’s perfectly human.
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