I get this. I have bowls that I don't like, but also I haven't seen any that I do seriously like enough to buy. In the grand scheme of things, it's a cheap way to make the spouse happy. Especially if they moved in and your already had the bowls. It lets them put their touch on their home.

A lot of things I have are functional, but never truly what I wanted. Maybe the size is just a bit off for how much I eat, or the way the bowl is shaped makes it slosh too much.

I think I have 3 or 4 sets of bowls now. Though I don't think I've paid for any. Some were left by the previous owner, others were a gift bought super cheap/used and were from the Disneyland hotel (I worked at Disney and we got access to buy what the company used in their restaurant for like $0.50/bowl), and another set my fiance brought when she moved in.

Otherwise I like to shop estate sales, garage sales, and thrift stores. I almost bought a set of retro 1950s bowls from a neighbors garage sale last month. Decided I didn't need another set though.