Comments on: The Something Store

The Something Store

jonson — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:54:20 -0800

It's only $10!

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:58:03 -0800

It's true, you can't get something for nothing.

By: Dr-Baa

Dr-Baa — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:58:55 -0800

It's kind of like when Woot sells Bags of Crap (aka Banjo of Consternation). I'd try it, but with my luck I'd probably get a Chia Dong.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:59:09 -0800

However, you can get nothing for £3.49, so I guess it all evens out in the end.

By: DU

DU — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:00:38 -0800

It's the dollar store, with $9 shipping. Oh and you can't see what you are buying. Pass.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:02:08 -0800

Our empire in decline.

By: Pastabagel

Pastabagel — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:07:34 -0800

I'd rather have the $10. If this company is successful, I want all complaints about the economy, mortgage crisis, and corporate greed to cease immediately. Send you $10 and you send me whatever you want? How about you send me something, and I send you whatever I think it's worth. Or how about I send you ten bucks and then trace the shipment back to you so I hunt you like game. Or whatever.

By: fatllama

fatllama — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:08:54 -0800

Pepsi Something.

By: misha

misha — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:10:40 -0800

Wish there was an American Woot. This "Something" store is brilliant marketing. I should make one next time I want to get rid of stuff and don't have the energy for a garage sale.

By: Plutor

Plutor — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:11:28 -0800

I just ordered one something. Ten bucks? That's like a lunch and a half. Or a seventh of a tank of gas. I'm hoping for the belly-dancing costume, but I'll probably get something useless like the GPS. I'll let you guys know when it comes.

By: porn in the woods

porn in the woods — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:11:52 -0800

Nothing from nothin' means nothin' You gotta have somethin'

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:17:03 -0800

I'd prefer a Little Something Something, myself.

By: Fuzzy Skinner

Fuzzy Skinner — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:19:09 -0800

All Blinged-Out Cabbage, all the time!

By: Fuzzy Skinner

Fuzzy Skinner — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:21:12 -0800

Also: something, something... something.

By: ssg

ssg — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:24:31 -0800

I was hoping this was some sort of joke or commentary, but it looks like it is real. Frightening.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:27:06 -0800

For $10, I won't kick you hard in the nuts. For $5, I'll only gently kick your nuts.

By: quin

quin — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:29:54 -0800

There are times I wish I were rich. Seriously rich, (no... make that Rich!), like more-money-than-I-could-ever-reasonably-spend kind of Rich! I would love to create a site like this. Most of the stuff I would send out would be of the $1 item with $9 shipping, but every couple of ten thousand orders, I would send out something cool, like a $1,000 dollar TV or something. And once in a while, I'd send someone a BMW or an Audi, and then, just for fun, once in a million, I'd buy someone a house. And I would deny it to the hilt. I would employ armies of skilled lawyers who would cross every T and dot every I in an effort to make sure that no one could ever prove I had anything to do with these windfalls. Just because that would make it fun.

By: DU

DU — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:30:03 -0800

If this company is successful, I want all complaints about the economy, mortgage crisis, and corporate greed to cease immediately. Unstated, but OBVIOUSLY 100% true, assumption: Poor, homeless, exploited people are the ones driving the bulk of ecommerce.

By: nola

nola — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:30:07 -0800

So how much for a beefy T that reads I was kicked gently in the nuts by ColdChef and all I got was gangrene!

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:30:30 -0800

I already have a something and I like to think it isn't little.

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:32:24 -0800

For $10, I won't kick you hard in the nuts. For $5, I'll only gently kick your nuts. So, by that logic, you should caress my nuts for free.

By: sciurus

sciurus — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:32:34 -0800

Little Orphan Annie Decoder Ring 2.0.

By: naju

naju — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:37:39 -0800

As an alternative, here's a listing of thousands of charities. Pick one at random without looking, and give $10. Simple and fun! (I got the Snow Leopard Trust of Washington.)

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:41:03 -0800

Does this remind anyone of THX-1138? Remember how they buy things just to bring them home and toss them into the disintegrator? And it's a little funky box?

By: lekvar

lekvar — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:42:16 -0800

Why don't you get yourself a little something? I already have enough useless consumer goods in my apartment, thank you very much.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:42:30 -0800

So, by that logic, you should caress my nuts for free. Or tickle them for a quater, at least.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:45:28 -0800

Guaranteed not to contain anything fun.

By: SpacemanStix

SpacemanStix — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:49:39 -0800

There's a psychology to online ordering that caters to the fact that people simply like to get packages in the mail, and it becomes addicting for some people. Add a lottery component, along with it being somewhat whacky and Christmas-morning-not-sure-what-I'm-going-to-get-but-it-might-be-cool, and you get all kinds of people who will sign up for this.

By: msalt

msalt — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:50:50 -0800

There is already a book about this. (My kids love it.)

By: msalt

msalt — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:51:37 -0800

Metafilter: For $5, I'll gently kick your nuts.

By: Project F

Project F — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:53:10 -0800

If this company is successful, I want all complaints about the economy, mortgage crisis, and corporate greed to cease immediately. I'm pretty sure that you already want all those complaints to cease unconditionally. I fail to see the connection to this silly little store.

By: absalom

absalom — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:57:46 -0800

How much to gently massage my nuts?

By: Project F

Project F — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:58:01 -0800

naju: that's a truly great idea.

By: rokusan

rokusan — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:59:54 -0800

I'd prefer a Little Something Something, myself. Check out the Blow girls, three doors down.

By: Avenger

Avenger — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:01:37 -0800

How much to gently massage my nuts? $5, same as on Metafilter. Seriously, though, how exactly is this different from gambling? "Send us your money and you might get a valuable prize!!!!"

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:08:05 -0800

Why don't you get yourself a little something? You had me at pinched cheek!

By: prefpara

prefpara — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:13:10 -0800

Isn't there a similar scam on ebay where you buy cards with pre-loaded value anywhere from $0.01 to $200? With guess what value being more common?

By: bondcliff

bondcliff — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:14:15 -0800

I gotta say, I'm kind of intrigued by this. I'm not sure I'm ten bucks worth of intrigued, but I am tempted.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:19:00 -0800

It's worth it if you don't open the box, leave it out as conversation piece, a mystery. The mystery is better than the content.

By: Project F

Project F — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:22:10 -0800

I just bought 'something' for two of my friends. As for the cost, who cares, it's $10. That's less than I paid to have Mr. T as the voice on my GPS.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:25:51 -0800

That's definately a difficult business model to mess up. You give them $10, they give you something.

By: Project F

Project F — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:29:12 -0800

I'd just like to express my joy at the dozens of people who paid $5 to have the right to express their opinion that it's silly to waste $10 on the internets.

By: Jofus

Jofus — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:30:38 -0800

This is the part of the thread where I say "20 bucks, same as in town."

By: pedmands

pedmands — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:41:23 -0800

stbalbach: "It's worth it if you don't open the box, leave it out as conversation piece, a mystery. The mystery is better than the content." Then you come uncomfortably close to being the pretentious J.J. Abrams.

By: Pants!

Pants! — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:50:26 -0800

I like the "Something Not" legal disclaimer.

By: msaleem

msaleem — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:53:03 -0800

Interesting series of articles on the strange allure of dollar stores (and part two).

By: Plutor

Plutor — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:12:44 -0800

Jofus: "This is the part of the thread where I say "20 bucks, same as in town."" So you're saying this website is half price? Or that I should have bought two?

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:46:02 -0800

Wow, this is some kind of peak moment for commerce: we've automated and monetized a replacement for the birthday gift from your great-aunt. If you Google "SomethingStore" you can find out what people got, as they love to share this detail on blogs. What I'm curious about is what they don't give you - what's the deal with the business model? The merchandise kind of looks like what they have at our local discounter, BigLots (panini machine, Fossil watches, clothes from catalog companies, utensils, etc). So they must just bid on lots and send the stuff around. But someone mentioned getting an iPod, so perhaps they are salting the deliveries to keep the money flowing in. They're gonna make a mint. It's a crazy idea, but it just might work. This is the kind of thing they make musicals about.

By: inthe80s

inthe80s — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:49:51 -0800

Greetings, friends. Do you wish to look as happy as me? Well, you've got the power inside you right now. So, use it, and send one dollar to Happy Dude, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. Don't delay, eternal happiness is just a dollar away. Mr. Burns: One dollar for eternal happiness. Mmmm ... I'd be happier with the dollar. Same thing, only they send you something you won't want, and you're ten times poorer.

By: mecran01

mecran01 — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:57:34 -0800

Ok, they list stuff they refuse to send, which is a total dealbreaker for me: Body parts; Organs or other body parts; body fluids; stem cells; embryos

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:58:57 -0800

In the great entreprenuerial spirit of competition, I hereby offer the same deal to all MeFites: Send me $10, and I'll send you something. Actually, today only, because you're a special crowd, I'm offering you the special "Friends and Family" of only $9. That's right, $9, for which I guarantee you something! Imagine the surprise and joy you'll feel when you get something in the mail from me - for a whole dollar cheaper than those Other Guys! email in profile.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:18:48 -0800

It's worth it if you don't open the box, leave it out as conversation piece, a mystery. The mystery is better than the content. Schroedinger's Tchotchke!

By: sir_rubixalot

sir_rubixalot — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:23:18 -0800

No embryos?! Pass.

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:25:23 -0800

Well, I'm something of a sucker. I think. I'll let you know next week.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:27:38 -0800

They're gonna make a mint. It's a crazy idea, but it just might work. This is the kind of thing they make musicals about. Haaaa. They've made musicals about far stranger topics.

By: tadellin

tadellin — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:32:17 -0800

Instead of someTHING, can I just get SOME for ten bucks?

By: Plutor

Plutor — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:37:33 -0800

Miko: "They're gonna make a mint. It's a crazy idea, but it just might work. This is the kind of thing they make musicals about." MARCO: ♫ I have an idea for a website that sells random things ♪ MARCO: [works at keybord for 45 minutes] INTERMISSION MARCO: [works at keybord for 38 minutes] MARCO: ♬ God, I have to pee ♫ It practically writes itself.

By: Plutor

Plutor — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:39:36 -0800

No, screw you, HTML entities

By: LionIndex

LionIndex — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:48:33 -0800

This would actually work pretty well if you had people that you needed to get a gift for, but didn't actually feel like going out and buying them something or putting any energy into thinking about what they might want (or don't know enough to be able to figure that out). Just send in your $10, they get some random gift, ostensibly from you.

By: Kibbutz

Kibbutz — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:49:13 -0800

Cute idea. But about 5,000 somethings ordered in the last 6 1/2 months, according to the site (and I'm guessing the busiest months were right before Xmas, after which activity has tailed off considerably). So . . . 1. $50,000 in revenue 2. Minus $10,000 in shipping costs (@ say, $2 each) 3. Minus $15,000 in product costs (@ say, $3 each) 4. Minus other overhead expenses 5. ????? 6. Lack of profit! And even if #4 = 0, it's still around $3,500 per month in pre-tax profit, for a completely unscalable business with little or no barrier to entry. Good luck! Kibbutz Raining On Entrepeneurial Parades Since 1984

By: ImJustRick

ImJustRick — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:50:03 -0800

nebulawindphone wins.

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:55:57 -0800

3. Minus $15,000 in product costs (@ say, $3 each) This is where your math is off, assuming they're buying bulk lots. Which, from their merchandise, it looks like they are. They are likely to be spending much much less on the items than this. I also wondered if there is product planting going on - in other words, if they're selling their service to distributors to generate buzz about products. However, after looking at the products, most are not the kind of item that gets promoted in that way.

By: zamboni

zamboni — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:01:33 -0800

Isn't there a similar scam on ebay where you buy cards with pre-loaded value anywhere from $0.01 to $200? With guess what value being more common?

Wild West grifter Soapy Smith would be proud.

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:03:20 -0800

Founder Sami Bay describes the business plan.

By: Kibbutz

Kibbutz — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:05:32 -0800

This is where your math is off Miko, I'm assuming you're right, and I hope so for their sake. And actually, I thought my math was off in point #5, as well (heh heh).

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:07:39 -0800

Heh. No, I don't think they're making a lot of money, but I once went to this trade show on the piers in Manhattan where bulk goods (like this stuff) were auctioned off to dollar stores and discounters...and the stuff was really cheap, sold in giant cases for not that much. So I'm guessing they're using sources like that. Kind of capital-intensive though.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:11:54 -0800

That's definitely a difficult business model to mess up. You give them $10, they give you something. You'd think it'd be hard to mess that up, but: Verizon.

By: esmerelda_jenkins

esmerelda_jenkins — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:13:12 -0800

I prefer The Boring Store, but that's just me.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:21:41 -0800

Because God knows we won't destroy the planet soon enough simply buying identifiable crap.

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:27:58 -0800

We do not provide any items or services that are illegal to trade in United States, for example.... Illegal drugs and drug accessories, including psychoactive and herbal drugs such as salvia and magic mushrooms; materials promoting use of illegal drugs or accessories. This shop sucks.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:37:03 -0800

Send me ten bucks and I'll send you a random bicycle part.

By: YAMWAK

YAMWAK — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:47:20 -0800

First thought I doubt I'd be so lucky though...

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:55:19 -0800

You know what? I'm in, too. Same deal as miko-- send me $9, I'll mail something to anywhere in the United States. I'm dead serious, and you'll probably get something fairly cool, because I've got boxes of stuff in the basement that I never unpacked when I moved two-and-a-half years ago. Books, toys, souvenirs from Japan-- you name it. E-mail's in the profile, PayPal accepted. Buy something from me!

By: sy

sy — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:59:40 -0800

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

By: Bonzai

Bonzai — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:02:03 -0800

Send me $10 and I'll send you a random bill from my wallet. (Umm, wait a second. *removes everything but the ones*) Okay, any bill chosen at random!

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:21:07 -0800

I ordered one "something". I like stbalbach's idea of not opening it, although I'm sure I will. And I am about to be overcome taking up Miko or Butt on their offer. Jesus, you can lose $10 easily in one pull of a slot machine in Vegas. People losing their minds up-thread about how THIS is the problem with America. For those counting pennies, I'd like to remind you there is a fantastically expensive "war" going on. In fact, the war could have bought 34 million of these boxes TODAY. By next week, the war could have bought one of these boxes for every person in America. I would rather have whatever is in the box than sit through Speed Racer at the theater.

By: turgid dahlia

turgid dahlia — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:53:44 -0800

Only ten of your American dollars? I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE. Except my self-respect.

By: The corpse in the library

The corpse in the library — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:06:04 -0800

My family did a Yankee Gift Swap at Christmas a year and a half ago. One person carefully wrapped a box containing a $25 scratch card. Brilliant! Do you keep it -- not scratching off the foil, of course, until the exchange is over -- or force your brother-in-law to trade you the Twins Deluxe Beer Can Roasting Set for it?

By: nosila

nosila — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:58:45 -0800

Hey, that's awesome! You can buy yourself an item to re-gift next Festivus!

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:11:06 -0800

Eventually, we plan to make money on volume. Volume of marketing data collected, he means.

By: Tube

Tube — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:12:11 -0800

For $10, shouldn't they call it "Dime Bag"?

By: Science!

Science! — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:39:58 -0800

Add me to the list of "I'll mail you something" people. I don't even want ten bucks up front, I'm leaving my apartment soon and I need to downsize. I'd be happy to start mailing stuff out across country, to be honest it'll probably be a USB cable or a book. I have lots of both. If you really like it then you could send me money for it, or for shipping, or some cookies. (Outside US must provide payment up front.)

By: Miko

Miko — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:02:59 -0800

Hey, I have takers. I'm already having fun planning my Somethings.

By: gohlkus

gohlkus — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:45:07 -0800

The best thing about this thread is YAMWAK having introduced me to Dresden Codak. The second-best thing was a very close second, the offer by three MeFites to do their own version of the SomethingStore -- which is WAY more tempting than the real thing. Heck, I'd offer to do it for just $8 and undercut the market, but I just don't have the time.... (or, okay, enough stuff worth $8, I'll admit).

By: ShawnString

ShawnString — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:34:25 -0800

Science! do you really live on the bering strait? if so I would love something. I might even send you cookies

By: Science!

Science! — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:43:37 -0800

No, that's just a cool seeming place to live. I'm a born bred and current midwesterner, want a package from Kansas?

By: kscottz

kscottz — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:59:35 -0800

I decided to do the fiscally responsible thing. Instead of applying my $600 economic stimulus check to my credit cards or popping the money into a CD I bought 60 somethings instead.

By: andreaazure

andreaazure — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:53:03 -0800

This is like opening a booster pack from a trading card game. $10 in, something out. Opening things up is fun. ...so is reading this thread. I love Metafilter sometimes. =)

By: Kibbutz

Kibbutz — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:01:22 -0800

This is where your math is off, assuming they're buying bulk lots Which is true--except the larger the bulk of their lots, the less product-differentiation they have (and the more likely it is that customers like kscottz are to be disappointed). And the smaller the lots are, the more likely that the cost-per-item is higher. Interesting concept, though, from both a business model and consumer standpoint.

By: Kibbutz

Kibbutz — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:04:08 -0800

And I confess, that in a weak moment, I will likely purchase one of their items (maybe your life is like a box of chocolates, but mine is more like this movie).

By: samsara

samsara — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:04:01 -0800

A mystery box....that could be anything! It could even be a boat!!

By: bargainhunter

bargainhunter — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:18:34 -0800

What is the point? I don't really get it Is this scrounging 2.0?

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:54:20 -0800

What is the point? I don't really get it Is this scrounging 2.0? posted by bargainhunter at 7:18 PM on May 13 [+] [!] Eponywha...?

By: misha

misha — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:28:26 -0800

I just want to ask any of you that DID go for the Something to report back here on what you got in the box, please!

By: headspace

headspace — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:45:46 -0800

I got Something from Miko instead of Something from that website, and it's *awesome*.

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:29:23 -0800

Boo! So far I've only received two nothings!

By: Plutor

Plutor — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:11:38 -0800

My Something came today. It's a somewhat standard looking canvas laptop bag. Coincidentally, I dug my old (Pentium III 300MHz) laptop out of the closet this week, and couldn't find my old bag (I bet a certain someone brought it to Goodwill). My only complaint is that it's navy blue. A co-worker of mine got a Something, too, and it's much smaller (maybe the size of a softball, but lighter). He's out today and Monday's a holiday, so it won't be opened until Tuesday. Successful? I'd say so. Am I going to buy a Something Else? Unlikely, except maybe to ship directly to sorta-friends with a sense of adventure for birthdays or holidays.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:33:22 -0800

Miko sent me a Something also-- actually several Somethings. They rule. There's no way I could have gotten Something that cool from some dumb old website.

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:49:02 -0800

I actually got these two cool somethings from the Something Store today! I consider this a success!

By: msalt

msalt — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:11:48 -0800

You got a necklace, and a coffee-drinking cat?

By: quin

quin — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:19:23 -0800

Yeah, I wouldn't have thought that a cat would ship nearly that well.

By: maurice

maurice — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:59:28 -0800

I got a remote control car. Watch your toes!

By: kerning

kerning — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:35:02 -0800

i got an eggling. it's pretty heartwrenchingly adorable.

By: Project F

Project F — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:08:08 -0800

I ordered 2 somethings from each of the following something vendors: The Something Store: result. Miko: result. Faint of Butt: result. When ranked by my 5 year old nephew, the Something Store's offering fell fall short of Miko and Faint of Butt's offerings, and I have to agree. I can't choose between Miko and Faint of Butt's offerings. Miko included food, but Faint of Butt included a book I'd meant to read for years. It's clear they're tied for mega-first place.