tnode192 wrote:One item that I haven't seen mentioned is that the last Barrels of Crud was much more like the ones of old, (other than the ones where the Warehouse Monkeys miscounted the numbers of craps), with much more variety than had been the norm lately.

I have to wonder if the Barrels of Crud didn't become a victim of it's own success, they only have so much defective stuff around, so they had to buy cheap junk to fill the expected bags if they did them every month and birthday and April 1st and increase the quantity to try to increase the chance of people getting one. At 3500 bags a month and 3 items, thats 10K+ items a month they had to come up with. The bags became a bottom line cost.

If they reduce the Barrels of Crud to every other Wootoff or even just 4 times a year, whatever is needed to build up a pile of real junk in the corner of the warehouse that they need to get rid of and use that to fill the bags and bring them back to their heyday... then I'm cool with that. They get rid of crap, we get bags of it, that would make them truly worth fighting for again.

JMHO.

I will have to agree with you 100%

klozitshoper wrote:I am SERIOUSLY shocked by the vitriol and venom spewed out last night and today. During the 7 years of my being a member here, I never saw such baloney about nothing. I have never, ever received nor am I weeping about a Barrels of Crud - tried but lately hearing what people have gotten, I am really not interested. Back in the day - early days - we were delighted with the pop-up mystery speakers (took me a year or so but I did get them), the roombas, the breadbox/toaster, the computer stuff that was cheaper than anywhere else. Oh, yeah, somoneone might moan that they had tried yet once again but failed to score an item, but never, ever, this childish (and that is the ONLY word for it IMO) behavior by seemingly adults. What about change occuring over time do those of you who are so angry and miserable not understand? Hell, I used to get 7% - 15% on bank deposits - loved it and miss it, but the economy does not allow for that any longer. And, for anyone who criticized Matthew's weekly wootcasts - shame and double shame. The writers are exceptionally talented people who work tirelessly to bring forth entertaining and informative (AND at the same time) for us to peruse on here. I am ashamed of most of what I have read as it has been directed to staff.

What? Just ignore this level-headed, responsible stuff. Instead, everyone grab a pitchfork and/or a torch and let's storm the castle. Now, who's with me!?

jofjltncb6 wrote:What? Just ignore this level-headed, responsible stuff. Instead, everyone grab a pitchfork and/or a torch and let's storm the castle. Now, who's with me!?

agingdragqueen wrote:And like I've said before on Deals, I've not yet been trolled enough on the internet yet, have to get it somewhere, right?

So, had any eggs lately?

(If I vanish, remember me fondly.)

agingdragqueen wrote:You're awesome- I love reading your posts on Deals- but no worries for the Woot staffers. We need the feedback, though at the same time, we're trying to make everyone happy. It's not working, clearly. It's turning into an awesome thread now that a lot of us have been pointed to it. And like I've said before on Deals, I've not yet been trolled enough on the internet yet, have to get it somewhere, right?

You're just saying all the right things cause you don't want us storming the castle.

jloveland wrote:[...]Barrels of Crud are kinda overrated, in my opinion, so I can take or leave them.[...]

Yes, as they are, they are certainly overrated. That said, they are worth every penny to achieve. It may all be carp, but it's the finest carp out there, and mostly certainly worth the $8.00 even if you would never buy the item(s) on their own merit.

I paid $20 something for a grab bag at a wannabe deal site, and I guarantee you I will never ever buy from them again as the box they sent out was indeed junk and retailed value for all items could not have been worth more than $5.00 if I am being generous.

Surely it is a grand experiment to squint out of us exactly why it is we feel so passionate about "our" Blue Oyster Cults, but we do. Perhaps it's for some the sharing in a forum and for others it's the waving in your face and saying, "Na Nya!"

I'd also like to say that I am somewhat reassured reading some of the staff posts. We want to feel as part of the community, and two-way certainly is a good bonding agent.

Don

inkycatz wrote:We read everything, no worries.

ps. I like chocolate shakes. I also like wine. I'm not keen on chocolate wine, though.

Do you like watches?

Watch.woot.com ... Watch.woot.com ... Watch.woot.com ...

Just saying ... And you can take credit of the idea ... Even though Yugster beat you to it ...

I don't even think a Barrels of Crud exists.....it's not real. I've never seen one. I've never touched one. I've never smelled one. Me getting riled about this is like getting mad about clean underwear......

agingdragqueen wrote:That's the issue- we're so big now and have so many legal bits to worry about that there's a lot of particulars we have to pay attention to now.

It DOES work, I wouldn't continue working here if I didn't believe in the company and its evolution, but at the moment- we're having to pander to our consistent and long-term customers as well as the new and they're very different. Not that I'm trying to draw a divide. It's been wonderful meeting the new people and keeping so many of the old- but we need to find something to work for everyone.

But yes, suggestions- I'd love them. I've got a lot of freedom in my position to influence and know every facet of our business. We're working on making things fun again, but fun again for everyone who visits.

When you try to please everyone , you end up pleasing no one.

Start with items that are actually discounted. I bought one item yesterday because the price was worth trying it out. $1000 for a projector???? on a site thats suppose to be rapid fire during a woot-off. Maybe if the price was originally 10k.

patriot14 wrote:I don't even think a Barrels of Crud exists.....it's not real. I've never seen one. I've never touched one. I've never smelled one. Me getting riled about this is like getting mad about clean underwear......

But what does rile me up, WOOT, is everytime I type Barrels of Crud you replace it with Barrels of Crud instead of Barrels of Crud Just because I am lazy and don't want to type Barrels of Crud doesn't give you the right to change my Barrels of Crud It's unethical! Barrels of Crud is Barrels of Crud and that's that! Never in my life would I use the phrase Barrels of Crud..

patriot14 wrote:But what does rile me up, WOOT, is everytime I type Barrels of Crud you replace it with Barrels of Crud instead of Barrels of Crud Just because I am lazy and don't want to type Barrels of Crud doesn't give you the right to change my Barrels of Crud It's unethical! Barrels of Crud is Barrels of Crud and that's that! Never in my life would I use the phrase Barrels of Crud..

SEE!!! YOU ARE OUT TO GET ME!!!

patriot14 wrote:SEE!!! YOU ARE OUT TO GET ME!!!

agingdragqueen wrote:That's the issue- we're so big now and have so many legal bits to worry about that there's a lot of particulars we have to pay attention to now.

It DOES work, I wouldn't continue working here if I didn't believe in the company and its evolution, but at the moment- we're having to pander to our consistent and long-term customers as well as the new and they're very different. Not that I'm trying to draw a divide. It's been wonderful meeting the new people and keeping so many of the old- but we need to find something to work for everyone.

But yes, suggestions- I'd love them. I've got a lot of freedom in my position to influence and know every facet of our business. We're working on making things fun again, but fun again for everyone who visits.

Misguided tact IMHO.

The 'new' customers for the most part have been drawn (lured?) to woot by the OLD customers.. Word of mouth. I've told countless people about woot..or what woot once was.

Some suggestions:

Quite simply, change up the product offerings: give us more variety; the offbeat stuff we can't readily find elsewhere. This is what made woot unique in the first place.

Do we need a monthly woot-off? In my opinion, no. It's typically re-hashing the stuff we have seen during the 3-4 weeks previous to the woot-off. If we didn't want it then, we don't want it now. And distance makes the heart grow fonder...

a Barrels of Crud in EVERY woot-off? Not necessary, but a nice touch. It might be made even nicer if there were fewer woot-offs, making the Barrels of Crud#39;s that much MORE special.

Continue to offer them in an indirect manner. That is to say, keep the automated programs and the bots out of the game.. Make us take that extra step to get it; sort of like the April Fools bags... Links within the product description usually require a set of eyes and a finger or two.

Stop being so.. so.. so Amazon-ish...

The staff at woot has typically been very responsive and caring. That level of service coupled with the uniqueness that was woot is what made it a stand-out. You don't have to look far to find what the customers want... Just look at what you were doing 3-4 years ago, No magic bullets. No need for high priced consultants (though I'll be happy to bill you for this session)...

I wasn't too disappointed with the whole, no Barrels of Crud this time. However, I do have to agree with some of the complainers here that say something has changed over the past few yrs.

As a wooter since '05, I've seen a steady decline of the "fun" stuff, and a steady increase in the items that cost hundreds of dollars, and can be found at some other online site for about 10% more.

I was lucky enough to be able to get the last two Barrels of Crud#39;s and they contained the exact same items. If you do plan to keep having them, at least make the contents different. I can only use so many cupcake lip glosses and spit wad dart board games for my office.

Hey, anyone have any thoughts on this last Wootoff? I did not get a monkey this time so I would love to do a swap with someone who did score a few. What color was the cape this time? I missed the bum o colon as well,my PC locked up seconds before it came up but that's ok I had a great time anyway. I look forward to posts from the lucky ducks who nailed the burned old cookies this time around, bet you can't wait until that beautiful brown carton shows up on your doorstep. I think I can speak for most of you faithful Wooters, when I say it was a super time as always.I'm already putting some cash aside for the next one,so long live monkeys with colorful capes and those wonderful busts of clara.

This is quite a fine collection of entitlement-minded whining. Yeah, I see the probing - how far can you push the price up and the quality without destroying the community that you bought. When you've got stockholders, giving any more or taking any less than you can get away with is malfeasance.

I got my first Bag of Cuuuuuuuuuute! in 2008 and it was GREAT!! It had well over $100 worth of stuff. Some of it broken..some of it new. It was wonderful..loved it.

I got my second one last year..and it really was crap. I never complained because it's a game of chance...or used to be. I won again the following month..making my third bag. It was even worse than the second one. I was disappointed. I have come to think after reading about other crap won lately that it's all about junk for sure now. Maybe I missed some posts where they got great stuff..if so..sorry. But after being here since 2005..I have to agree with the other old timers..it's changed and not so fun anymore. Prices are not great like they used be and what is offered is not great anymore. Lots of changes..like life. So..after staying glued for 3 days hoping to get some great stuff for the 14 grandkids..I realize it was a waste of time. Worst thing..no crap offered..not even a chance. I think my wooting days are over. What the hell happened to the monkey??? That is the worst!

Ok I have two questions.

The 1st is towards my fellow wooters...
Would you guys rather have the Barrels of Crud filled with better stuff and have the Barrels of Crud only sold every other woot off or would you rather have it sold every woot off with generic stuff?

The 2nd is towards woot staff....
Would you guys make the Barrels of Crud better if they were only sold every other woot off or would they stay the same?

Kellyoh1415 wrote:Well stated, Doc. I feel the same way. Loyal customer, up for three days, excited to be back on Woot after a few months away (not purchasing anything). Sure, I purchased something small but I honestly will not purchase another item on Woot until they have a legitimate Woot-off, that means screaming monkeys and Bags of Crud.

Woot, you sure are standing on a slippery slope right now with all your loyal customers and fans.

docflash wrote:i've been woot!ng for quite a while, and have bought a number of things. i agree that the killer deals seem more few and far between. that's sad.

but to have a wootoff *without monkeys* and WITHOUT A Barrels of Crud is a big mistake. it really risks losing the community feeling that's one of woot's unique points.

there's a whole mythology that's been built up around woot, wootoffs, Barrels of Crud#39;s, flying monkeys: IMHO the Corporate Masters are fooling around with it at their peril.

i'm disappointed.

Well said, my thoughts exactly. Something is different, it's changed, and I don't like it. Bring back old Woot!

Amazon will do to Woot what Microsoft did to Jellyfish.com. Strip it bare, take what it wants, sell off the rest, then end it alltogether. If I could only find some of that mysterious white powder they used hide in the mail, I know exactly where I would Smartpost it to.

dopepeddler wrote:Amazon will do to Woot what Microsoft did to Jellyfish.com. Strip it bare, take what it wants, sell off the rest, then end it alltogether. If I could only find some of that mysterious white powder they used hide in the mail, I know exactly where I would Smartpost it to.

Has to be the stupidest post I have ever seen on Woot.

nanaejt wrote:Has to be the stupidest post I have ever seen on Woot.

I agree Nana!

nanaejt wrote:Has to be the stupidest post I have ever seen on Woot.

Obviously ,you never knew Jellyfish.com.

matthew wrote:Whaaat? My little podcast, the quintessential symbol of Woot's decline? Aw, shucks, you're going to give me a swelled head!

For real, though: I'm sorry you like the video format less than the old audio one. But if you really want to experience something becoming "less interesting," record your own audio podcast every weekday for over five years and see if the novelty doesn't wear off for you a little.

I was more than ready for the change, personally. This was definitely not a case of our corporate wagemasters dictating a new direction; it was just that I was good and sick of the podcast as it was.

Also, your fondness for the old audio podcast was not widely shared by your fellow Wooters. Considering its not-exactly-phenomenal popularity, the weird thing is not that I eventually stopped doing it, but that I didn't stop after just a couple weeks.

It's not that I 'dislike' the video podcast. It's that I enjoyed the everyday burst of creativity/stupidity, which was the daily audio podcast.

It was a ritual of mine to check in and listen every weekday morning. It kept the site fresh.

Once the video ones took over, I only had to check once a week. It felt like something was missing. Still does. Can't quite put my finger on it.

andrewkl wrote:Misguided tact IMHO.
Some suggestions:

Quite simply, change up the product offerings: give us more variety; the offbeat stuff we can't readily find elsewhere. This is what made woot unique in the first place.

Do we need a monthly woot-off? In my opinion, no. It's typically re-hashing the stuff we have seen during the 3-4 weeks previous to the woot-off. If we didn't want it then, we don't want it now. And distance makes the heart grow fonder...

a Barrels of Crud in EVERY woot-off? Not necessary, but a nice touch. It might be made even nicer if there were fewer woot-offs, making the Barrels of Crud#39;s that much MORE special.

Continue to offer them in an indirect manner. That is to say, keep the automated programs and the bots out of the game.. Make us take that extra step to get it; sort of like the April Fools bags... Links within the product description usually require a set of eyes and a finger or two.

Stop being so.. so.. so Amazon-ish...

Agree with all suggestions above.

dopepeddler wrote:Obviously ,you never knew Jellyfish.com.

Obviously I'm not talking about jellyfish.com.

I have a simple answer to all of this. Woot used to be the parent, now woot has a parent. Woot sold out.

I joined Woot in 2007. Why? Word of mouth. I remember sitting there in a barber shop waiting to get my haircut and this old man was there typing on his laptop with one finger, looked at me and said, "hey, do you know about whhoooot!?" I said "whoop there it is, the song?" Old man then says "No! Wooooot dot com." I said no, so he told me more, I got home and checked it out. Here it is now five years later. Over those five years I bought some things, took a short break as I focused hard on school and my new family, but woot has always been a part of my daily routine. However, I noticed things were changing recently. I didn't notice that others felt the same way. But it is obvious now, something is different. I wouldn't normally take the time to write something like this, but Woot is so much more than a daily deal site. It is a community. Woot needs to only look in the rear view mirror to see what is once was.

From the Matt Rutledge's letter to all employees June 30, 2010:
Q: Will the Woot culture change?
A: Amazon is interested in us because they recognize the value of our people, our brand, and our unique style of deep-tissue, toxin-releasing massage. And they don't want to start changing things now.

My new question is, does this answer still apply?

Things have changed.



I'll be back at midnight. Sigh.

RIP [/WOOT!]

It's kinda like Netflix. Just have to make a little more money. (Amazon) They can't leave Well enough alone.

nanaejt wrote:Has to be the stupidest post I have ever seen on Woot.

got that right

jpawmsu wrote:When you try to please everyone , you end up pleasing no one.

Start with items that are actually discounted. I bought one item yesterday because the price was worth trying it out. $1000 for a projector???? on a site thats suppose to be rapid fire during a woot-off. Maybe if the price was originally 10k.

I got a 65" TV for $2000 from Woot (don't remember if it was a woot-off) and am more happy with that than anything else I bought on woot.

I was already pretty fed up with Barrels of Crud#39;s already - when you can spend hours on 10 woot-offs in a row and not get one, having the site lock up if you even see them for sale.

So I'm more feeling like it's not worth the bother, but they should be every woot-off.

They're already a very effective marketing tool, but not having them sometimes...

Craig234 wrote:I got a 65" TV for $2000 from Woot (don't remember if it was a woot-off) and am more happy with that than anything else I bought on woot.

Hear,hear!

Craig234 wrote:
They're already a very effective marketing tool, but not having them sometimes...

I'd disagree, as long as its random which wootoff they are in, those wanting them will still have to watch every wootoff if they want them.

If they box up returns and junk as it comes in and next wootoff after the pile gets to 3000 boxes, it would be pretty random. You might have back to back, it might be three months, you'd never know.