[M277]

Yeah, I do this too. I don't know why or how, but on a subconscious level, my brain registers online ads as something bad / malicious, and so anything I see through an ad is automatically labelled as bad.

I even freak out if I accidentally click on an ad on mobile because I feel as if I have downloaded a piece of malware.

I don't know where this comes from...possibly due to having been there back when many ads really were malware? I am not sure.

[smabie]

wait so if I showed you an ad for every product in existence you would buy nothing at all?

[bdefore]

poster didn't say anything of the sort. but given the situation you're constructing, i'd expect they'd buy only what's necessary and all things being equal from the one that advertised least.

[M277]

Yeah, precisely. In that case I'd only buy what I need. If there are multiple sources / alternatives, I'd buy from the one that advertised the least. If they all advertised equally, I'd probably ask people I know which one they found the best and research on the best alternative.