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"I don't understand why people <insert words here> products that have a reputation of hardware failures."

What is the correct way to form this sentence?

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    Doesn't buy alone work fine here?
    – Caffeinated
    Commented Jul 18, 2011 at 17:46
  • 4
    Buy alone wouldn't work because it doesn't demonstrate a continued interest or investment in the products.
    – whoabackoff
    Commented Jul 18, 2011 at 18:05
  • Into is correct.
    – user231780
    Commented Jun 15, 2017 at 2:58
  • The verb "buy into", in the sense of commiting to invest, is normally used with a business venture or a business concern (He bought into a real estate venture to develop upscale suburban townhomes) not with a product that is readily available and can be purchased at retail outlets. We wouldn't say "Why do so many people buy into that luxury SUV when it gets two stars for reliability?" We'd say "buy" there.
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 13 at 12:10

4 Answers 4

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This is the correct form:

"I don't understand why people buy into products that have a reputation of hardware failures."

See 15th definition of buy on Dictionary.com:

15. buy into, to purchase a share, interest, or membership in: They tried to buy into the club but were not accepted.

There is also a slightly more metaphorical, but not uncommon, sense of this phrase, listed in thefreedictionary.com:

2. Informal To believe in, especially wholeheartedly or uncritically: couldn't buy into that brand of conservatism.

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    There's another definition of buy into which isn't in Dictionary.com: 2. Informal To believe in, especially wholeheartedly or uncritically: couldn't buy into that brand of conservatism. It's not clear which of these definitions, if either, the OP intended.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jul 18, 2011 at 17:59
  • Using the verb to buy into as believing in something is far from being informal.
    – user231780
    Commented Jun 15, 2017 at 2:57
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Buy-in is a noun, meaning:

the fact of accepting a policy or change because you agree with it
If you want to make major changes you need buy-in from everyone in the organization.

To buy into something, a verb, means:

to believe something, especially an idea that many other people believe in
She had never bought into the idea that to be attractive you have to be thin.

It would be possible to write your sentence with "buy in to", but this is not common:

buy-in to 9 (these uses are still as a noun, just located before "to")
buy in to 18
buy into 845 occurrences in COCA

Note that this search includes transcripts of spoken English as well as various written sources; you shouldn't put too much stock in the exact numbers, but the trend is clear. Readers will understand if you write:

I don't understand why people buy into products that have a reputation of hardware failures.

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  • In this case, in to is strictly incorrect.
    – user231780
    Commented Jun 15, 2017 at 3:00
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I believe "into" generally implies entering (for example, "log into"). And "buy in" is the verb: "If you can't sell out, buy in!" Thus, it's "buy in to," but "buy into" is probably acceptable.

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I would say that it should be "buy in to".

A very similar question was asked in "Log into/login to/log in to", which I believe applies nicely here as well. And in that answer, another question/answer was referenced ( "into vs. in to") which also seems very relevant.

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  • The verb is to buy into, not to buy in, so it should be put as one word.
    – user231780
    Commented Jun 15, 2017 at 2:59

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