Buycott - Barcode Scanner & QR Bar Code Scanner Reviews

by Lucy275682

Buycott is completely biased to liberals and progressives. There are a few campaigns on here that any decent human should be in favor of supporting (infringements on basic human rights) but then there are the silly ones like “boycott Donald Trump” that are just meant to divide people. If that is on Buycott then there should be a campaign that supports the opposite side of the spectrum. I’m sure if you asked the developer their point of view on equality they would be all for equal distribution of opportunities but yet here they are be exclusive rather than inclusive. Let’s try to do things that benefit people rather than continue to feed upon the negative that is slowly deteriorating the foundation of unity, cooperation, love, and respect that our country is built upon.

by Kelso IV

I’ve always said that capitalism could be used to accomplish great change by informed consumers, so I was excited at the idea of Buycott.

I’m disappointed to find it hasn’t seen an update in 2 years and is full of bad info. Many companies are cited as having connections to certain causes (positive or negative) that aren’t true. Take, for instance, Tillamook, a dairy company from my home state of Oregon. They’re listed as being a primary client of an Israeli textile manufacturer and the source cited for this says NOTHING about Tillamook. I found that almost all sources cited for all 26 of their conflicts showed no mention of Tillamook. This was the case for the vast majority of conflicts I checked the source for.

What’s the purpose of Buycott if it’s full of false claims with no real sources? How will that aid anyone in being a conscious consumer? It won’t. I’ll go back to relying on my own research.

by Lillie235980877

The workings of Buycott itself is fine. It’s the design that went into the this app campaigns that isn’t functioning as intended.

Who are the moderators for each campaign and how can we trust that they are informed, active, and reevaluate each company based on new evidence? If we can’t trust them (MANY are inactive, don’t make a complete listing of companies, or have made factually inaccurate decisions) then there should be community-run ways to edit the campaign information, such as:

1. The ability to suggest a company be moved from category to category (right now there is only the option to add it to a campaign, but not to remove it from one or to switch it between the avoid/support lists).
2. The ability to vote on the accuracy of each campaign/company listing - obviously with security protections so a company can’t buy votes - and those that fall too low in accuracy ratings are removed from the list.
3. The ability to request ownership/moderator status for a campaign that seems to have lost its leadership.

There is basically no oversight and no assurance of quality. It’s a good idea, but it needs to function very well, otherwise why would I bother with these inaccurate reports rather than simply buying whatever as I always have done?

by Blah1468643780

Doesn’t seem to be possible to remove a campaign from your list once it’s added. Can’t get support from the webpage because the “download app” banner blocks the main menu button and has no close-out option. Once I found a way around this and tried to actually click the search bar, on mobile it does absolutely nothing. Can’t click, can’t get typing cursor.
In Buycott when searching something, the search results that come up block half of the “campaigns, people, products” menu, so you can’t sort the results. App and website need serious improvement to be useable, they’re a nightmare (website, on desktop and mobile). It’s a shame because the concept has potential.

by AvgJanet

There are some good bits of information on here, but there’s a lot of misleading information as well. You don’t know who is putting up the different campaigns or where they got their information. There’s no one to ask either.
The causes listed are all good causes, but Buycott tries to simplify boycotting companies and products down too much. Some of the companies on this list are trying to work on these issues, but they can take time and those discussions are not part of Buycott either.

by Hciaowj

This is my dream app. It just needs to function. I can’t view any campaigns under the environment tab and haven’t been able to since I downloaded Buycott a month ago. Also, on a company profile, it’ll show a number of “other campaigns” but when I click it sometimes it will show many campaigns less than that number or none at all.

There’s no way that I can find to add info about a product or company that only exists, you can just report an innaccuracy. I also don’t know how to create products. I also don’t know what an “action” is or how to take one. When I first started using it there was a section on product pages for me to select if I was going to buy the product or not and I think when I selected no it means I “took an action.” Now that doesn’t show up for me anymore.

Please fix these problems! I have contacted customer service but gotten no reply.

by IIIIII JD IIIII

There is very little choice where I live but I like the idea of a organic user created database(if that’s what it and not yet another illusion). Disappointed in it’s obvious political orientation as any intelligent person would not believe we have a choice in partisan politics or really in anything; wish there was a way to this app the federal reserve and if they want to make their app about politics and social justice they should start by explaining the banking system, fiat currencies, and those who control it(the same people that control the media, our food, and everything else). But all we can do is vote with our dollar; and for that Buycott gets 3 stars, but I wish it got 5. leave the stupid politics out of it; quit trying to control people ; it exposes you as a part of the problem disguised as the solution.

by Ikarisama718

I starting using this application fairly recently and while I admit some of the things that i purchase are less than mainstream, I have been diligent in adding as much as i can to fill the database this app uses for the good of all of us. What annoys me are the constant app crashes (10 times in the last two days, usually while I am trying to submit a review for a product), and the scanner going crazy (trying to scan a product 10+ times in a row rapidly without pulling anything up, like it seizes up pulling an entry from the database and so just keeps trying to scan with the same results). I really do want to keep my buying power away from certain corporations and keep it moving towards better causes, and this would be a whole lot easier without the glitches. Overall, 3 out of 5 for in-depth data on corporations and corp. trees but you have to fix it before I give it anything higher.

by ME@JO

To be honest, I think it is hard to keep track of all the companies and subsidiaries as there are so many products and, I suspect, diversification and diversions by corporations. However, I was disappointed to find out that they did not know that Garden of Life is owned by Nestlé. I had been buying a lot of their products and therefore unwittingly supporting an extremely immoral company; fortunately my step-daughter is more savvy and figured it out. I will still use their app and still highly recommend it but do your research too. The other great thing is that it will send a notification to the company telling the that you did not buy their product and what the issue is.

by Breezyloven

Some of the foods I am interested in buying, have no information about them on Buycott. (they aren’t in this database anymore than just a name). So this bums me out because it only really sticks to larger brands. Most large brands are all bad and should be avoided in general. I wish there was an option for me to send a note that certain products need some research done! I would love to help be part of the truth revealing! Thank you for what information IS offered though. This is a great idea coming to life. I hope some day there is a way good company brands can be rewarded from this...and evil ones will get revealed.

by Queenie 777

I absolutely LOVE Buycott. It helps me make the RIGHT choice when it comes to many products I buy. Body lotion, facial creams , food that is made with MONSANTO CRAP. I just am thrilled I have this help next to NON GMO Project verified. I also do wish that this app had everything that can be scanned but do your part and type in the questions it asks and maybe it will be soon be an item to scan. Thanks to everyone who created Buycott and continue to make it better.

by RolandGS

Sure it adds 20 minutes to my shopping - sure it makes me uncomfortable with some of my most traditional shopping patterns - sure I wish it had the ability to do similar ratings for items without barcodes - but these are all the uncomfortable things that we need to embrace to create the impact we want to create in the world. Sign up and vote for causes with your cash!

by Pink-fish

When I first open Buycott I was a little put off because it seems to be super liberal. It’s so hard to find good information that isn’t slanted so I tried look past that. I actually use Buycott to support Trump and buy products from several other corporations that seem to politically offend this app. I just had to turn it around to use it to support what I think is right.

by ForeverTheX

Buycott has personally helped me “vote” with my purchases. It’s helped me stay informed by avoiding purchasing from certain companies that I wish to not support and makes me feel better about my shopping. It’s really easy to use, most the time all I have to do is scan a barcode and I’m immediately informed about that particular product. Thank you for making my life easier!

by Brad Silk

Buycott is great! I got it and stopped using for almost a year, but now I'm back at it. I thought it was going to lead me to use better cleaning supplies and hold once local/small companies accountable for selling out, but it actually as proved to open my purchases to chains. I assumed walgreens and seventh generation might be bad organizations, but thy aren't! Still trying to but small and local, but Buycott makes it easy to but convenient and still be aligned with my moral compass.

by GKirkpatrick

This language popped up when I went to do the review. It does though state my beliefs and cynicism exactly. So, I'm a cynic and very distrustful of large for profit corporations that I believe will do ANYTHING.... REPEAT ANYTHING...to make money. I therefore was looking for an app to help me make purchases from companies that I either agree with or at least I don't oppose. Buycott is the best I've found to allow me to check products and companies before I buy. I use Buycott every time I shop. It's quick and easy and I recommend it.

by Scottyboyg9

Your money is your power, and we need to stop giving that power away to people and institutions who cause us harm, danger and imbalance. Buycott helps you redirect that power responsibly. Is it a perfect app? No. But it’s free, and it’s effective, and it is one of the few apps that actually makes a difference in the world. I’d rather join the couple million this app users who question their purchases -who take a moment to stand up for their values - than the billions who just mindlessly complain and consume.

by Jro12877667

What an awesome app! I'm so glad I found this- it's an easy way to make a difference without spending your whole life on Google! If there is a cause you really care about, or a few, this makes it easy to make sure you're shopping choices aren't conflicting with your cause. If they are you can easily send a message to the company. It will also tell you if a company supports your cause and you can tell them that as well- great way to easily give companies feedback, good or bad. This little app could make a big difference.

by "fastlove" George Michael

Been using it for years so this review is late. Got tired of the prompt to to review every time I opened Buycott in the store LOL. The good - different campaigns offer new perspective and learning opportunities to expand your horizons regarding the adulteration/destruction of food by big farma & big companies and the diabolical ties that have been created in the pursuit of making $$$. I also found international items in the database. The bad - unfortunately even food is politicized and the “identity politics” is nauseating😕. Just keep telling yourself you’re here for the food, health and to protect yourself.

by BigOldWombat

The only way to actually get companies to do that right thing, is to not do business with bad companies, and give your money from good companies. Buycott allows you to easily avoid certain products as it tells you what it’s parent company does, whether good or bad, and provides alternative products if you decide not to buy it. You can also add friends and see what decisions they have made (if they decide to turn that on of course). It’s a great app that allows you to easily make good purchasing decisions. I highly recommend it to everyone.