FAQ

Q: What is Meh?

A: We’re an online store that only offers one item a day. It’s the worst selection in retail!

You can click the “buy it” button to buy what we’re selling; or you can can click the Meh button to signify your disinterest in so doing. Then you can come back the next day for a fresh chance to make the same decision about something else.

Q: What’s this “Meh button”?

A: Oh, the Meh button is the key to this whole enterprise! The Meh button takes your default non-decision to decline to buy something, and turns it into a satisfyingly affirmative act.

Everyone knows “buyer’s remorse” — that faintly shame-tinged disappointment you experience in the immediate aftermath of a purchase that was unwise, unconsidered, or just unnecessary. We know the feeling better than most. Curse you, past self! So impatient! So impulsive! So irresponsible in money matters!

But why don’t we experience its inverse? Why aren’t we carrying good feelings around with us from all the times, every day, we’ve walked away from choices we would’ve (however mildly) regretted? We didn’t just passively fail to make poor decisions in those cases; we actively made good ones. We should feel good about them. And that good feeling should offset the episodes of buyer’s remorse that sting us so much less frequently, but so much more intensely.

We want you to have that good feeling. Take notice of it. Validate it. Bask in it. Punch the Meh button! It’s pretty gratifying. We wish we had a real-life Meh button to carry with us out in the world. We’d press it every time we walked away from an impulse purchase, passed up a diet-breaking donut, or declined to engage in a pointless argument.

We log your complete Meh button interaction record so you can see how many times you’ve clicked it, and what your longest unbroken streak is. You’ll get obsessive about it. Pretty soon the otherwise passive act of not buying stuff on Meh will start to feel like an achievement.

Q: Really, just one item per day?

A: This model originated with Woot.com, the internet’s first daily deal website, which we launched in 2004.

It was was kind of a big deal: It attracted a million visitors a day, inspired a bunch of copycat sites, and was ultimately snapped up by Amazon in a 110-million-dollar acquisition deal in 2010.

Under Amazon’s ownership, Woot abandoned the one-day-one-deal model in favor of multiple simultaneous sales. To their cohort of all-wise and all-knowing MBAs, “growing” the business that way must have been a no-brainer, right? Like, why not two items a day? Ooh, or what about 36?

It makes a kind of sense. Total sales increase in the short term. But it also eliminates what had been singularly interesting about the deal-a-day retail experience. A site with one item for sale is (arguably) interesting; whereas one with a few dozen things is just a store with crummy selection.

When we got our chance to start over, we went back to basics. We’re convinced we can keep the essential characteristics that make this kind of store uniquely fun, while still getting the business to grow and thrive.

Or else we’ve accidentally created a company whose main product is Meh button clicks, and we’ll go directly out of business.

Q: I stayed up for this?

A: That sounds familiar. We get it, we get it, we’re getting older, too. We got tired of staying up late, so we’re launching our events at midnight EASTERN time – that’s 9pm for the lucky folks on the west coast.

Q: Ok, so this is a daily deal site. Why claim it’s an experiment?

A: Isn’t it weird that this is unique again? Hey it might be a good idea!

Q: Might be? That doesn’t sound very confident.

A: Oh, we have no idea if this’ll work. See, that’s why it’s an experiment. Luckily for us, the big picture includes Mediocre Labs, where we’ll be concocting other experiments to rid you of excess cash. We’ll even reuse some of the same infrastructure to ensure they will be as mediocre as this one.

Q: What else is there to do here?

A: Besides the deal? Oh we have plenty of ways to waste your time. There’s that story, our video, a poll, and a whole community spewing out all sorts of crap in our forum every day.

Q: Can I buy it after it’s gone? What else can I buy?

A: No. Nothing. Come back at midnight eastern.

Q: Why can’t I buy more than x?

A: Because jerks will come in and buy up everything before you even get here and try to sell it to you for more on eBay. We want to sell to actual people, not to other stores.

Q: Is my purchase taxable?

A: If you’re shipping to CA, IL, MO, NY, TX, or WA we’ll add the sales tax to your order. Most other states say you’re supposed to report and pay tax on out-of-state purchases. Whether you do that or not is your problem.

Q: Do you ship internationally?

A: Nope. But, apparently, many of you are using a freight forwarding service to order and ship out of the US, which seems to be working just fine. Here are a few that we don’t have anything to do with.

Q: Will you ship to APO/FPO addresses?

A: We don’t, but places like APO Box or Ship It APO will forward it on for a fee. We’re not at all connected with them, so use whichever one you prefer.

Q: How much is shipping? How will it be shipped? Can I pay to expedite it?

A: Shipping’s always $5. So yeah, we’re going to ship it the slowest and cheapest way we can possibly find. Usually that’s Smartpost or Surepost, which starts with FedEx or UPS and ends with the post office. It’ll probably be 2 weeks before you get it. And no you can’t get it any faster.

Q: Ok, fine, it’s slow. But when will it be shipped? And how can I track it?

A: We wait until the day after the event ends to print the shipping labels, and sometimes if it’s busy it can be two or three days (not counting weekends, because we don’t ship on weekends). Once it ships, we’ll throw a tracking number on your orders page at https://meh.com/orders and send you a “Your order has shipped” email with all that on it.

Q: What’s your return policy?

A: If it’s damaged, defective, or just DOA, we’ll either refund or replace it at our discretion. Just fill out our support form and tell us all about it.

We DO NOT accept returns if you just decided you didn’t want it, don’t like the color, or just feeling a little buyer’s remorse. You might try eBay - with as cheap as you probably got it, you could even end up making a little off it. Or hone your reputation for generosity by giving it to someone a little less picky.

Q: What can’t I say in the community?

A: Spam sucks. Personal attacks are lame. Bias should be acknowledged.

Q: How can I contact you?

A: At our support form. You can find it in our footer, too.

Q: But how do I talk to a real person on the phone?

A: Nope, we don’t do that. Call someone you truly like, or who likes you (Hi Mom!). Besides, email support is cheap, and so are we.

Q: What’s the warranty on this thing?

A: Warranty and product specs are at the top of the discussion for that deal, in our forum.

Q: I’m offended by that product/your story/that video/you – to whom do I complain to get you to change your ways and behave more professionally?

A: If you’re offended, then, to paraphrase Obi Wan, these aren’t the experiences you’re looking for. Leave if you don’t like us.

Q: Can I send an item as a gift?  Can you giftwrap it?

A: Yes of course you can send an item as a gift, that seems very nice and thoughtful. But no we don’t offer gift-wrapping. Seriously, you wouldn’t want us gift-wrapping anything.

Q: What payment methods do you accept?

A:  Currently Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Not Paypal. And no, you crazy weirdos, not Bitcoin.

Q: Can I order using my phone / tablet / mobile device?  Where do I get the app?

A: Yep, we made it easy for you to buy our crap from most anything mobile. But you don’t need an app, the site’s responsive, so it should work just fine on your phone or tablet.

Q: How do I change my password, update my email or mailing address, etc?

A: Click that little head in a circle at the top of the site. Or, you know, go here.

Q: How do I track my order?

A: Our advice: live your life for a week or two, your thing will just show up. But if it’s been awhile, check My Orders (which is also in our footer), we’ll put a tracking number there when it’s shipped.

Q: Do you have an RSS feed? I’m not a 16-year-old so I don’t use Twitter.

A: Yes. Point your feed reader to: https://meh.com/deals.rss

Q: Do you have an API? I’d like to build a tracker, widget, doodad.

A: Yes. API details here: https://meh.com/forum/topics/meh-api

Q: You seem smart and awesome and attractive. Can I work for you?

A: Aw shucks. But no, really, are you sure you want to? If you’re willing to throw caution to the wind, check our current opportunities here.