Is it just me or are these seemingly more frequent? They used to happen every 3 or 4 months and it seems like monthly lately.
Are they super profitable? Must be
Yes. They are happening more frequently.
I’m starting to wonder if Meh has changed their buying policy as there seem to be more items which I haven’t seen on any of the Meh-verse sites but show up in mehrathons with only 5-10 units before they’re sold out (the cat butt coloring book and tortilla blanket are two from this mehrathon already). Or maybe those are “loss leader” items mean to help keep up excitement for the mehrathons. I’m just a simple country aerospace engineer, not a internet commerce site mogul or buyer so I don’t have any basis for speculation except that this is the internets anyone with an opinion can become an expert if they have enough followers on the right social media. But, mostly, yeah, they’re happening more often.
@gt0163c I feel pretty confident that those limited unit items are just there to fire the fuels of excitement and frustration. Their meh-ness comes not from themselves but that moment of thinking, oh hey, this might be a neat deal only to immediately find they are sold out.
@gt0163c@zachdecker I think someone was either drinking heavily or ordered a container of crap that only had a few of a lot of items. Can’t see anyone who is in their right mind buying “cat butt” books on purpose.
Or they misjudged how popular something was going to be, bought too much the first time around and so have to find different ways to keep selling it to get rid of it.
@gt0163c I think, if I recall correctly, they also do fulfillment for other companies and that might be crap sitting around their warehouse that those companies don’t want back because there is so little left and they have stopped selling it? Who knows. Not me.
@gt0163c@CaptAmehrican Or maybe they were sent samples by companies that wanted them to sell there stuff and they are dumping them this way if only a few for sale?
My guess is that with so many businesses temporarily/permanently closed, there’s a lot more unsold ‘stuff’ on the market. Meh likely has been getting more/better deals on said ‘stuff’, and the Meh-verse of sites can’t flip it quick enough. Additionally, I’m guessing they regularly buy ‘lots’ of random boxes/pallets at auctions sight-unseen. Sometimes I’m sure it’s good stuff that sells easily and makes them a pile of cash. But sometimes, it’s inflatable pickles and toothpaste dispensers .
@Felixaurelius I’m pretty sure they get treated 100 times better than Bezos’ employees. Hell, seems to me they’ve been figuring this shit out, so maybe it’s easier (which would be awesome). But I do wish them every joy and goodness.
the IRKs I’ve been getting have been more than $5 worth of use/amusement
IRKs are hella easier and less stressful to get, and I don’t have to either stay up half the night or be on at exactly the right moment
the whole thing fits nicely into working from home and being isolated from the rest of the world
delivery of (at least often prepackaged IRKs) has been scary fast
bottom line, I see the whole thing as a kindness or at the very least a thing that at worse indifferently benefits me
I hope they make money somehow. If I get suckered into buying shit I don’t need, that’s on me. Jesus, this is capitalism; and as far as capitalism goes, it’s relatively innocuous and enjoyable.
To be clear, I don’t give half a fuck if they’re manipulating me, unloading shit, whatever. I mean, forchrissake, frequently-questionable (but sometimes brilliant) shit we don’t need has always been 90% of what happens here.
Same ol’ same ol’, maybe better, as far as I’m concerned.
@Kidsandliz Easier. It’s always been a bit of a pain. And I suppose I should qualify easier for me. Maybe I’m just a lucky bastard in this one weird little sense (and a few others).
IMO Meh has really stepped up to the game during the pandemic - More Mehathons - although the damn captcha kills me every time… but in all seriousness I personally am grateful for the addition of these events
@Kidsandliz Don’t really have a specific strategy. I just refresh when the timer hits zero; if I see the IRK bag I hit “BUY”, click the “I’m not a Robot” box and “Submit” button. Don’t know why but I don’t seem to get the captcha puzzles like a lot of folks do. I use the Chrome browser also but I don’t know if that’s a factor. Just a streak of bad luck I’m in I guess.
@IndifferentDude@Kidsandliz Yup, refreshing at the right moment is a big factor. Refresh too early and you get the sold our page of the previous item, then by the time you refresh again, others are already far ahead of you in the queue. And if you’re not lucky enough to get just the check mark, you’re sol.
@f00l@KuoH Do you think it may have something to do with Prefetching? I found the following info about the process and it seems that it may be very helpful:
Prefetching allows a browser to silently fetch the necessary resources needed to display content that a user might access in the near future. The browser is able to store these resources in its cache enabling it to deliver the requested data faster. Therefore, once a web page has finished loading and the idle time has passed, the browser begins downloading other resources. Once a user clicks on a particular link that has already been prefetched, they will see the content instantly.
Chrome implements this feature and it’s also able to be disabled if you choose to. Might be wise to ensure everyone’s browser supports it to increase their chance of snagging an IRK!
What makes a bigger diff is that chrome is a google product.
If you are logged onto and using Google apps or services a lot on a given browser or agiven machine, google finds it easier to validate you.
simple way to clean out the leftovers from the deal a day sales that don’t sell out.
I love it!
Yes. They are happening more frequently.
I’m starting to wonder if Meh has changed their buying policy as there seem to be more items which I haven’t seen on any of the Meh-verse sites but show up in mehrathons with only 5-10 units before they’re sold out (the cat butt coloring book and tortilla blanket are two from this mehrathon already). Or maybe those are “loss leader” items mean to help keep up excitement for the mehrathons. I’m just a simple country aerospace engineer, not a internet commerce site mogul or buyer so I don’t have any basis for speculation except that this is the internets anyone with an opinion can become an expert if they have enough followers on the right social media. But, mostly, yeah, they’re happening more often.
@gt0163c Cat butt coloring books as “loss leader” items to help keep up excitement.
I truly hope someone from meh can confirm this was the actual thinking on those.
@gt0163c I feel pretty confident that those limited unit items are just there to fire the fuels of excitement and frustration. Their meh-ness comes not from themselves but that moment of thinking, oh hey, this might be a neat deal only to immediately find they are sold out.
@gt0163c My second guess was they were purchased as gifts for office staff, and they had a few extra so they decided to meh-rathon it.
@dijit27 Those are my feelings as well. And I definitely agree with the feeling of meh-ness.
@gt0163c @zachdecker I think someone was either drinking heavily or ordered a container of crap that only had a few of a lot of items. Can’t see anyone who is in their right mind buying “cat butt” books on purpose.
@gt0163c Whenever I see low quantity on some items I wonder if they are selling samples they considered featuring. That’s what I would do,
.
@cfg83 Is that a thing companies do?
@gt0163c I don’t know, but I think of it like the record stores (remember them?) that sold record albums with the “do not sell” stamps on them.
@CaptAmehrican
Or they misjudged how popular something was going to be, bought too much the first time around and so have to find different ways to keep selling it to get rid of it.
@gt0163c I think, if I recall correctly, they also do fulfillment for other companies and that might be crap sitting around their warehouse that those companies don’t want back because there is so little left and they have stopped selling it? Who knows. Not me.
@gt0163c @CaptAmehrican Or maybe they were sent samples by companies that wanted them to sell there stuff and they are dumping them this way if only a few for sale?
My guess is that with so many businesses temporarily/permanently closed, there’s a lot more unsold ‘stuff’ on the market. Meh likely has been getting more/better deals on said ‘stuff’, and the Meh-verse of sites can’t flip it quick enough. Additionally, I’m guessing they regularly buy ‘lots’ of random boxes/pallets at auctions sight-unseen. Sometimes I’m sure it’s good stuff that sells easily and makes them a pile of cash. But sometimes, it’s inflatable pickles and toothpaste dispensers
.
/giphy bored
What do you do when you have a warehouse full of crap? Charge folks $5 to take it off your hands…
I want to send a care package to the people who have to pack up and ship all this stuff, mehrathons musst be exhausting
@Felixaurelius I think they just use a snow shovel now. Once scoop per customer.
“Welcome to your Meh internship.”
@Felixaurelius I’m pretty sure they get treated 100 times better than Bezos’ employees. Hell, seems to me they’ve been figuring this shit out, so maybe it’s easier (which would be awesome). But I do wish them every joy and goodness.
POPSOCKETS! SPA KITS! POLLY POCKETS! AWESOME!
Best way to cheat on the deal-a-day promise by having a new deal every 5 minutes and having them available all day after it pops up.
My take on the more frequent mehrathons and IRKs:
I hope they make money somehow. If I get suckered into buying shit I don’t need, that’s on me. Jesus, this is capitalism; and as far as capitalism goes, it’s relatively innocuous and enjoyable.
To be clear, I don’t give half a fuck if they’re manipulating me, unloading shit, whatever. I mean, forchrissake, frequently-questionable (but sometimes brilliant) shit we don’t need has always been 90% of what happens here.
Same ol’ same ol’, maybe better, as far as I’m concerned.
/giphy shrug
To which I say, thanks Matt and minions.
/giphy gracias
@joelmw irks easy to get? Read the irk threads LOL.
@Kidsandliz
Easier. It’s always been a bit of a pain. And I suppose I should qualify easier for me. Maybe I’m just a lucky bastard in this one weird little sense (and a few others). 
Ymmv (giphy apparently hates me)
/giphy ymmv
IMO Meh has really stepped up to the game during the pandemic - More Mehathons - although the damn captcha kills me every time… but in all seriousness I personally am grateful for the addition of these events
I installed CAPTCHA to save my fellow robots from wasting money on this crap.
@jmhsrv @joelmw agree 100%. This has been a very fun thing during the worst year, even when I miss the IRKs. Thanks meh people!
Please, MAKE THEM STOP!!
I’m going broke $5 at a time!! 
I’ve now won 
in a row and I’m running out of room to store my stuff!! HELP!! 
/giphy way too much
@IndifferentDude Wow, 10 in a row!?!?!? I thought I was da king with 5 this year.
Oh, the crap you must have!
@cfg83 Yep! I’ve got PLENTY for White Elephant gifts this year!
@cfg83 @IndifferentDude Do share your secrets to getting one (grin).
@Kidsandliz Don’t really have a specific strategy. I just refresh when the timer hits zero; if I see the IRK bag I hit “BUY”, click the “I’m not a Robot” box and “Submit” button. Don’t know why but I don’t seem to get the captcha puzzles like a lot of folks do. I use the Chrome browser also but I don’t know if that’s a factor. Just a streak of bad luck I’m in I guess.
As a fellow robot, I understand your pain.
@IndifferentDude @Kidsandliz Yup, refreshing at the right moment is a big factor. Refresh too early and you get the sold our page of the previous item, then by the time you refresh again, others are already far ahead of you in the queue. And if you’re not lucky enough to get just the check mark, you’re sol.
KuoH
@IndifferentDude
The chrome browser helps. As does being logged into and recently active on google
@f00l @KuoH Do you think it may have something to do with Prefetching? I found the following info about the process and it seems that it may be very helpful:
Prefetching allows a browser to silently fetch the necessary resources needed to display content that a user might access in the near future. The browser is able to store these resources in its cache enabling it to deliver the requested data faster. Therefore, once a web page has finished loading and the idle time has passed, the browser begins downloading other resources. Once a user clicks on a particular link that has already been prefetched, they will see the content instantly.
Chrome implements this feature and it’s also able to be disabled if you choose to. Might be wise to ensure everyone’s browser supports it to increase their chance of snagging an IRK!
@IndifferentDude @kuoh
Prefetching might make a diff re chrome.
What makes a bigger diff is that chrome is a google product.
If you are logged onto and using Google apps or services a lot on a given browser or agiven machine, google finds it easier to validate you.
@f00l Yep, I do all of the above. Thanks for the info!