Does anyone "copy" you?

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

We have a relative of my DH's that is forever doing and getting what we do. Drives him nuts. Trips, cars etc have all been replicated. They drill us on some things as they don't want to do the "research" and assume we are the experts. They are badgering me about my digital camera now and want me to e-mail all the specifics about what to get. I had to ask YOU guys that and do my research online and with consumer reports! AGH! You would not believe some of the things they have copied. I guess we should be flattered, but it is about to wear thin. I have enjoyed telling them and helping with Disney trips-they knew nothing about them ! Any way to stop this copycat syndrome?

 

[Ranatra]

I have a SIL that constantly wants me to write down all the recipes of everything that I make. It took me 25 years to get all my recipes together. I can't possibly do this. I told her she's welcome to come over and write down everything she wants, but that I don't have time to handwrite these all for her.
So, yeah, I do feel like she is copying me.

 

[DixieDreamer]

Well... short of NOT talking to them... I doubt that you can really do much about it other than telling them WHERE you did your research on various things without giving them the actual answers. It is a form of flattery as well as a laziness.

 

[snoopy]

Yup, my SIL is like this. Everything we have, she wants. She is always asking me where I buy my clothes or where I bought a certain piece of furniture so she can run out and buy the same exact thing. The problem is that she doesn't have an eye for choosing the right thing, so she never gets to copy me exactly.

It used to bother me, but I've gotten to the point where I'm flattered. When her and my brother first got married, I wasn't so crazy about her, but now I realize that she is just insecure about making decisions on her own. I try and help her develop her own style, we just recently went out and selected some furniture for their house that suits them to a tee. And the good news is its their furniture, with their style, not mine.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

These are my SIL and BIL too! In this case, it is laziness mostly! Both of us are SAHM, but she seems to think she is much busier than I am ! She has no clue...between my volunteering at both kids schools(she only has one school), my reservist DH being away a lot, and dealing with my parents right now(another story ) I do NOT have time to do all this for her. I think I may just send her some links, though she specifically asked for model numbers and exact accessories ! What is it with SIL's?

 

[Kallison]

Must be a SIL thing. My SIL copied EXACTLY our wedding, same church, same florist, same reception, same photographer, same songs, same service. I remember DH's cousin coming up to us and saying "This is so bizarre", everything except the dresses were different. She also wants to go wherever we go on vacation. When we bought a house with an inground pool, she got a similar style house a few months later. I don't let it bother me at all, I think she just wants to try and keep up with her brother. She has never been to disney and gets "very" upset every time we plan a trip, so I try not to tell her until the last minute.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Tell her to come to the DIS and ask us all her questions, we do that well here and have lots of help. Really, the DIS can answer just about anything.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

But then I could not talk about her Dan ! I did actually give her this link when helping plan her trip. Too much work for her to post I would think.
Kallison, they took the exact honeymoon we did ! I think they even slept in the same bed

 

[MarkRG]

Ah, it's worse with my family!

It's not so much copy as it is 'keeping up with the joneses' type of thing.

With my parents and my brother and sil, they have to match every move we make.

We buy a mini suv, my parents have to buy a new mini suv.

We setup a short notice trip(the DVC member cruise), they now have a trip next week for a week at Cocoa Beach. I'd call it a vacation, except my dad's retired!

Plain drives us nuts, totally understand.

 

[Margie J]

There's a person at work who does this. They bought the same exact coat as a co-worker, wear the same types of accessories as others, do the same types of "little things" (putting out snacks, planning outings) as others, say they like certain activities they never showed an interest in before, etc.

They are very insecure and want to fit in. It just looks weird though. They aren't being true to themselves. This is the kind of stuff kids do, not adults.

 

[Kermit]

My sister does that. I have to go with her every time she wants to buy a printer, computer, digital camera, or anything like that because she says she just wants my opinion. I'm happy to give it to her, but sometimes I just don't have the time or energy to do her shopping. Then for the next month, every time she sees something on sale with slightly different specs, she'll call and ask if her deal was better or worse. My sister also copied me and had a baby at the same time I did. She even went to the same doctor.

 

[mickeyfan1]

Originally posted by Kermit
My sister does that. I have to go with her every time she wants to buy a printer, computer, digital camera, or anything like that because she says she just wants my opinion. I'm happy to give it to her, but sometimes I just don't have the time or energy to do her shopping. Then for the next month, every time she sees something on sale with slightly different specs, she'll call and ask if her deal was better or worse. My sister also copied me and had a baby at the same time I did. She even went to the same doctor.

I'm not sure about the baby thing being a copy thing, but there is a solution to a lot of this. When someone asks for specifics, give them the wrong ones, omit ingredients in recipies, don't tell people when you are planning a vacation, just go, the answer to is this a better deal than mine is of course not , you are the best at picking out the right thing. Call me evil, but I think you can turn all the copying into fun for you. When the copier can't figure out why the cake tastes different or where you went on vacation, eventually, they will tire of it, and leave you alone.