These answers def reflect a shared sense of “it used to be better.”

"Don't forget all the MLMs that fair organizers refuse to kick out."

"Right? What the hell happened to them? They've actually decreased the amount of crafting supplies for all the ridiculous home decor. Which is always 'on sale' even though it's not."

"Yeah, the original theory was they were restaurants that got to make good food without having to spend all the overhead of a store, so anyone with a good idea and good food could start a restaurant and sell it for cheap. 

Then everyone realized those above things are true, and also you can skirt a bunch of regulatory rules, and you can still charge a shit ton, and you can ride the "food truck" wave instead of actually wanting to make good food."

"Wholeheartedly agree. It makes me so sad to see how congested and expensive northern Arizona has become. Flagstaff was such a special place when I lived there in the early 2000s, and Sedona was a chill place to spend the day. Now it's just like the mountain version of the Hamptons."

"A seller got mad at my wife because she left an honest review. He was selling 'Made in the USA' cat trees. So we thought of a homemade craft-type cat tree. We get it, and it's flat-packed pressboard from a Chinese factory, still has stickers with Chinese characters on them from the factory. She writes a review and honestly says it's a quality product, but it's mass-produced in China, not a 'Made in USA' handcrafted.

The guy tried to claim that, because he designed it in the USA, the fact that he contracted a Chinese factory to make and drop-ship the item did not negate the 'Made in USA' claim. I got nothing against the guy making a buck, but he's just LARPing as a small craftsman."

"One of my favorite ones went from making cool things to opening mystery bags and reviewing fidget toys. They make a lot more money for a lot less work, so I guess I get it." 

"Yeah. I hosted space in my home in the early days. It was a weird shift in guest expectations. It went from feeling like a cultural exchange, where I always met guests, and often hung out a bit. To a door code, only non-human interaction, where they seemed annoyed I existed."

"My local board game shop opens the cards when you buy them. Means people can't resell them and only collectors and kids are actually interested."

"Good riddance, honestly. Now it's Black Friday week, and Black Friday month, and Cyber Monday, etc. It basically killed the idea of a single-day deals event. Now, maybe retail workers won't have to go to work at midnight after Thanksgiving."

"An awful lot of people are buying retro games simply because they are rare and expensive. They don't even play them."

"Dude, for real. I planned a big trip to Zion to hike the Narrows last weekend, and it was magical, but then some stupid SOB comes walking down the canyon blasting music on a Bluetooth speaker. Oblivious to the glares of everyone. Made it all about himself."

"All pets are emotional support animals. That’s literally why we have pets. That doesn’t mean you can bring your dog to visit Nana while she’s unconscious in the CCU."

"Games used to be made by gamers. Now it's made by MBAs who have never touched one."

"This is part (just part) of what's behind the shift in the feel of Las Vegas. It used to be cheap rooms and loss leader buffets and food deals, the goal of which was to get you into the casino, where you'd then drop lots of money. Now, everything is priced crazy high because the attitude has become that they don't need loss leaders... everything, every element of the experience, must be designed to absolutely maximize profit.So short-sighted."

"I used to live just outside of Annapolis in Maryland, and every year the main highway would be clogged with Ocean City traffic because of tolls for the bridge. One summer, the local paper ran a series of articles on back road navigation, which destroyed all the side streets. I remember one day it took me over 30 minutes to get to my house after turning into my neighborhood."

"That's what really annoys me. My friend called this 'performative traveling' the other day, and I have to agree. So many people travel only to take photos and brag about having been to a place with zero interest in actually experiencing the places and cultures — it just has to look nice." 

"Yes, I remember when I was younger, going to PA to all the outlets and getting wild deals. Last time I went, I stopped into an 'outlet' store, and I saw their online store had lower prices. I asked if they would price match, and they said no, it was an outlet store, and that meant it was priced lower than anywhere else. I showed him my phone, and he tried to say the website was wrong. That’s not an outlet store, it’s just a store."

"I think thrift stores and related businesses were ruined by resellers. And the same with stores like Ross and TJ Maxx. They were infinitely better 20 years ago, when resellers weren't shopping every day for something they could flip for profit."

"I feel like reselling in general has ruined or degraded most hobbies. Desperate people want a side hustle because the economy is garbage, so they swoop in on popular things, it can be Pokémon cards, board games, thrift stores... anything, and suddenly, quiet hobbies are now wildly expensive because scalpers are trying to step in as middlemen."

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.