My idea for a new deal site that will overtake all other deal sites.
9OK, so I just thought of this, but I can’t imagine it’s not been thought of before.
A site that sells one item at a time.
The in stock quantity of said item is unknown.
The item starts at a price, and then the price gets lower as time passes–it is based strictly on time, and not how many have been sold.
The fun part for the buyer is waiting long enough to think you are getting a great deal, but not too long to where the item sells out and you miss it.
After item sells out, next item starts.
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Would be fun only if products do not disappear when the price drops to a low price threshold.
@cranky1950 Agreed. So, in theory, if an item is truly something nobody wants, the price would drop all the way down to $0.01. The site would take a bath on that item, but hopefully stay afloat by all the other items that they’ll make money on. But, the appeal of getting that occasional steal is why people would become addicted to coming back.
What sparked this idea is this product on camelcamelcamel: http://camelcamelcamel.com/Origami-RB-01-6-Tier-Book-Shelf/product/B00IP4B2QY
Look at the price history graph.
I bought a couple of these shelves years ago for about $84 each. When I saw the price at $56 a week ago, I bought a couple more because they’ve never been that cheap. Now the price is at $37. I could have saved about $40 if I waited… But NOW, I’m extremely tempted to buy two more at $37. But, do I keep waiting until the price drops more, or buy them now in fear of the price going back up to normal. My brain says buy buy buy, but my wallet says I can wait until it gets below $30… The drama!!!
/giphy drama
@phatmass You’re a bad influence but that’s a great product, and I grabbed two. Not only that, I chose no-rush shipping and got $2. in e-book credits.
@OldCatLady I bet you payed $37.20, but now the price is $37.14. I’ve never seen this before, and it makes me want to give them all my money.
Now the price is $37.13. How low will it go!?
@phatmass Shut. Up.
@OldCatLady @phatmass $37.04
edit: I sprung for 1 at this price.
@phatmass I have two of the 3-shelf origami shelves and they’re awesome. I’m seriously tempted to buy one of these for my garage.
@DaveInSoCal @OldCatLady The price went back up to $109. I grabbed one at $37 so I feel good about that. Wish I would have bought two!
@phatmass amazon will refund you the difference between what you paid and lower price as long as lower price occurs within 10 days. Contact them
@CaptAmehrican I don’t think this is accurate. I’ve tried.
@CaptAmehrican I thought they stopped doing that in May?
@phatmass Probably went back up because so many of us clicked on that link and some bought…
@CaptAmehrican does that mean I can buy one now at $109 and get the $37 price difference.
@mellaine Back down to $65.
@DaveInSoCal Thank you
You know how some folks get into a rage when they find out they paid $1 too much for an item? Now multiply that over every hour because the price kept dropping.
And what would stop most of the customers from purposely delaying their purchases until late in the day? That doesn’t help the company’s bottom line, y’know.
@narfcake because if they wait, they might miss the deal. The customers have no idea when it will sell out. Some items may have very low stock.
Seems like it’d be too dependent on the initial stock of the item. That said, I’m broke until I get a substantial check in the mail, but I could use some bookshelves and this seems nice. If it’s still cheap when I have money I’m going to grab 3 or so. Thanks for that.
Oh my gosh, the shelves are now below the $37 mark. $36.96. I bought another one! Hahaha.
http://amzn.to/2ebrvaL
@phatmass
Kinda like this idea. Even if it were tweaked. As long as the seller was a company like Meh.
Most companies who do this sort of thing with “unbelievably good deals” are horrible places that game the system against the consumer and allow 10 great deals a year just to have a few extreme examples to promote as being “typical”.
@phatmass when i checked last night they were $38.16. checked just now…
List Price: $120.00
Price: $109.99 Free Shipping for Prime Members
meh folks must have bought a lot of shelves!!!LOL
This concept has been tried time and time again. On a couple of deal sites, it is the only way you can buy, and it really pisses a mehtherfucker off to buy something at one price and come back and watch the something still free-falling in price long after it was bought at what was felt was the best price to lock in at - and customers get pissed real quick and don’t return. Maybe the most entertaining - and comical - is https://www.droptilyoushop.com - where the concept (which is now beat to fucking death three times over) has taken on an even new twist and the shit they try to sell is presented in rapid fire succession just to keep you interested.
It’s a gimmick. And a poor one at that. Customers that buy high cancel their orders \ refuse shipment \ do a chargeback. It is a retailers nightmare to sell in this way.
@mehtherfucker This is ridiculous…
@ELUNO I’ll buy three!!
@mehtherfucker This is kind of addicting to watch
That’s addicting to watch but there is zero honesty behind it. It looks like a bunch of low rate junk. Doesn’t even have to be live, if I was running that site i’d have a start price and end price that im ok with, and just run the clock down over and over. If anyone buys at any available price I’m making a profit, so the shitty items can just cycle and cycle until they sell. Not a single thing got down to a price that resembled a deal while I was watching.
@djslack yup!! i watched it, for longer than i intend to. lol start’s out higher than the retail price and stops at 1/2 the retail price… over and over and over again!!! even at half retail price, the crap i saw was way overpriced…
Concept very similar worked great on jellyfish.com (rip my dear friend). But there was not some unknown quantity, there was literally one of the item being offered. No buyer’s remorse because the price went lower, because once it sold they moved on to the next item.
And they mixed in games and prizes, which kept the site fun. I keep hoping someone will re-invent it (Microsoft bought it and quickly killed it), but I’ve never seen anything like it since.
@phatmass By posting this, you have cracked the code of just exactly how Buyers who work at all the “Deal” sites are trained in our craft:
Navin R. Johnson: [bleakly] I’ve already given away eight pencils, two hoola dolls, and an ashtray, and I’ve only taken in fifteen dollars.
Frosty: Navin, you have taken in fifteen dollars and given away fifty cents worth of crap, which gives us a net profit of fourteen dollars and fifty cents.
Navin R. Johnson: Ah… It’s a profit deal. Takes the pressure off. Get your weight guessed right here! Only a buck! Actual live weight guessing! Take a chance and win some crap!
Are there any sites that do a group buy price adjustment type deal? I’ve always thought that would be neat.
The concept, in my head at least, is thus:
A bluetooth speaker is offered for sale, at say $8. You “commit” to buy one. However, as more people commit to buy one, the price adjusts downward. At the end of the day, enough people have committed to the purchase that it’s now $6.75 or something, and all the orders are processed at once.
I’m not entirely sure how that works with an MA. Like, do you place a “hold” on the initial amount and then actually process it for less? Is that even technically possible?
@hanzov69 I’m not sure what’s in it for the seller. I’ve been on sites with Dutch auctions (didn’t ubid once use them?), but those are somewhat different.
@moondrake Admittedly I don’t know anything about the financial machinations of these sites. It seems to me that the incentive (beyond the gimmick of course) is that while the profit margin decreases per unit, the volume (over)compensates.
I had to look up “dutch auction”, and it does seem similar in concept, although with a twist.
@hanzov69
Massdrop does something kinda similar.
They are best known for audiophile stuff, but also do keyboards and ultralite outdoor gear and other speciality niches.
They arrange with a manufacturer or distributor for a special purchase offer with an initial offer price and a closing date and time.
If a certain # of people agree to purchase, the price drops to an intermediate level. If they hit the threshold of an even larger # of purchase commitments, the price drops to the lowest level.
The # of purchase commitments for each price level, and the price at each level are clearly shown.
I’ve gotten some great stuff there. Live the place.
Growth hack fails: if the quantity of your customers who are unhappy after a purchase is higher than your ability to replenish them, you lose. This is why you saw those shitty penny-bid schemes advertising on national news networks until they ran smack dab into the failed side of this equation (sucked dry all the cheap national airtime, bored audience they could find)
I predicted Jellyfish would fail more resolutely than it seemed to 10 years ago. It at least created a very cool community that made it seem viable. (Optics to that community were good, business metrics were not)
@snapster So you’re saying Deal Dash and Quibids won’t be doing more TV ads anytime soon? If so, that’s wonderful news.
@snapster @dashcloud BUT THE IPAD ONLY COST ME $43 DOLLARS!!! (and $634 in bids)
Great idea but after a few month it will only expand to different sites that sell other items