It’s pretty easy to spot dark patterns when you look out for them, but I found a pretty obvious example of this.
Stoofie is a brand that sells water fountains for your pet (I don’t know what the problem with a water bowl is, but I digress). WayBack Machine
Plastered at the top of their website is “33% OFF Ends Today- Free Shipping” with no way to dismiss it. There is a scrolling text under the main image “FAST AND FREE SHIPPING 60-DAY FREE RETURNS”
If you scroll down, you’re immediately introduced with a product with the option to buy two preselected. The rest of this section explains itself:
Other things are sprinkled in the main page, but it really is the prime example of dark patterns. I am personally sick of finding them, but would love to see more examples of what others have found. Please, share your favorite examples of dark patterns. Don’t forget to archive them first so they can never be lived down.
Amazon, no Prime, when there are several shipping options. It routinely selects by default the one that costs money, even if the free option (if it exists) is only a single day later.
Why no, I would not like to pay $9 to get it by Wednesday, because Thursday is fine and it saves me $9. Now fucking stop trying to trick me into it.
Working for a certain big fucking corpo(that I utterly hate from bottom of my heart but don’t really have an option to leave), I see those patterns all over the product. Not just that, its practically impossible for non tech savvy to choose a non bundled or cheaper product or plan because it’s burried somewhere out of your sight
Water bowls are stagnant water and animals can sense that and do not like it. In nature, stagnant water is dangerous and kind of a last resort. Heck, even humans can taste this and probably don’t like it. Try leaving a bowl of water out for 24 hours and drink it yourself, you might be able to tell it’s not good.
Fountains keep that water tasting fresh, though tbh they might fill it with micro plastics or something so who knows if it’s really an improvement.
I’m not sure what you mean by “dark patterns” in this context. Isn’t this just marketing?
Is it that the more expensive choice is pre-selected? That the discounted price is likely just the real price and it’s never sold at the higher price? (that one got Saatva in trouble! - https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/open-lawsuit-settlements/11-5m-saatva-com-false-advertising-class-action-settlement/)
my favourite is Amazon’s:
- buy without prime (2$ shipping fees)
- buy with prime (free shipping)
exept you must pay amazon prime 10$ and it’s a monthly recuring subscription.
