Monday, July 30

Woot Now Ships to Hawaii & Alaska: Let's Get Non-Contiguous, Y'all!

by Jason Toon


It's a big week for the Last Frontier and the Aloha State! Just 53 years after Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union, residents of those states are finally eligible for the greatest privilege of American citizenship: the right to buy stuff from Woot! (Not just Shirt.Woot tees, either! Real stuff!)

Most of the time, anyway. We're prohibited from shipping certain items to those states, like wine. And the bulk of some items will make shipping to Alaska and Hawaii cost-prohibitive. But hey, most of the time is better than none of the time, right?

Just look in the Features section to see if any given sale is eligible for shipping to AK & HI addresses. We'll call it out loud and clear, like the majestic honk of the nene or the goofy chuckle of the willow ptarmigan. (Yeah, that's right: we're talking state bird smack. Hangin' with Woot is not for the faint-hearted.)

So Alaskans, send some of that oil money our way! Hawaiians, we'll be happy to help you dispose of your pineapple fortunes! Does this mean Woot will start selling items tailored to your states, like surfboards or walrus repellent? Anything's possible in the wild, weird world of Woot - especially now that that world is two states bigger.

UPDATE: an earlier version of this post said we were unable to ship items to AK & HI that contained Li-ion batteries. We double-checked and it turns out we're cool to do that. Yay!

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Friday, June 15

Snapster Rides Into The Sunset: Woot Founder Matt Rutledge Says Goodbye

by Jason Toon

There comes a day in every dad's life when he has to take a deep breath, trust that he's made a difference, and let his child carry on without him. And then occasionally send his child a few bucks when things get tight. Today is that day for Woot's Big Daddy, the man who dared to ask "who says trolling isn't an effective business model?": our founder Matt Rutledge announced today that he's moving on.

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Monday, May 28

 

Thursday, January 05

The Hour, The Light Year, The Woot

by Scott Lydon

When Han Solo bragged about doing the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs, he created an entirely new form of measurement out of nothing. On January 3rd, our pals at Salon.com did the same.

 

what you like is in the limo

 

In this post about the tv show Real Housewives, our new best friend Mary Elizabeth Williams makes US the new standard for relationship commitments. It's a good feeling to know serious journalists mix our brand with a celebrity disaster, so we're glad for the mention. Next goal: to get Mortimer and Monte on The Bachelor!

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Tuesday, December 20

Look Upon Our Mural, Ye Mighty, And Despair!

by Sean Adams

We've stuffed your mailbox with our packages. We've left giant boxes on your front step. We've filled your houses with weird and (sometimes) useful junk. We've even wrapped you in our own line of tee-shirts. Well, now, we here at Woot are going to leave our mark on something else.

The walls of our own friggin' office.

 

No, seriously: down in Dallas, we've got this huge building emblazoned with a Woot logo. But in Seattle, there's almost nothing in our office that indicates our presence aside from one little banner and the sweet stench of nerd wit... or what we thought was nerd wit. Then we cleaned out the mini-fridge and the smell went away.

But that's all changed today! Today, we got a mural! Based on artist Dan Zettwoch's designs for our shipping boxes, rendered in black and green vinyl, and applied to the wall using a blow torch (!), the scene shows a booming, Woot-controlled metropolis. It's a city with no official name, but we like to call it "The Internet." (Take a look and suggest a name in the comments if you like.)
 

 

 

 

 

So yeah, today is a proud day for the Seattle Woot team. Our home looks a little more like home. Now, if only we could get our cleaning staff (Roombas) motivated enough (charged) to pick up a little bit, things might start feeling half-comfortable around here.

See plenty more "making of" pics at the Woot Flickr page.

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Thursday, December 08

Calling All CES-Goers! Woot Wants to Cover You!

by Randall Cleveland

It's that time of year again, when everyone comes together to focus on the things that truly matter: The Consumer Electronics Show! And this year, let's remember to keep the CONSUMER in Consumer Electronics Show. Anyway, we here at Woot will be heading to Las Vegas for our annual exercise in expense account fraud, but this year we figured we'd try something a little different: this year we thought we'd try preparing.

We're putting out the call. Are you going to be at CES? Then let's get together! We want to hear from you if you'll be at the convention with a product to demonstrate, a party we can crash, a spokesman you'd like us to interview, or press credentials we can abuse. If you've got a CES-related event and want Woot there delivering snarky, irrelevant coverage then hit up the Woot Writers on Twitter. Let us know what you've got going on and how we can "enhance" it. (I put "enhance" in quotes because really I meant "mooch off of it." But seriously, we'll interview you and junk.)

And if you're heading to CES in a geek blogger capacity, stay tuned for a special opportunity to become a Woot Writer For a Day!

Are you excited for CES and our annual avalanche of coverage? Planning on going yourself? Want to suggest something we should cover? Don't give a damn about the whole thing and just came here to complain about an order or something? Let's talk about it in the comments!

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Monday, October 24

Home.Woot: The Deals Are Coming From INSIDE THE HOUSE

by Jason Toon

Living woot is the best revenge, they say. Or they will say, anyway, once they get a load of Home.Woot, the newest star radiating its glory across the Wootiverse, launching today. We've never been content just to colonize your computer desk or your media center, but now we're really gonna hit you where you live.

Today it starts with the Metrokane Rabbit Supreme Crystal Wine Glass 4-Pack. But that won't be where it ends.

You're now one step closer to living the total Woot lifestyle. When you wake up in the morning, when you sit down to eat, when you lay your head at night, yes, even when you shower... we'll be there. And we'll be bringing along some of the top brands in homegoods at the lowest prices on the web.

It's too late to lock the door. Don't bother calling the landlord. Home.Woot is moving in. To stay. So what kind of cable channels you get around here?

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Wednesday, August 17

Wootcast Casting Call: Dogs In Clothes Needed In Seattle Next Monday

by Matthew Norman

Seattleites: Is there a tiny dog in your family? Does it sometimes wear a sweater, rain jacket, tuxedo, football jersey, or other clothing?

Consider dressing it up and bringing it to Regrade Park downtown at 3rd Avenue & Bell Street next Monday, August 22nd! We’ll be recording some video footage for a future Woot Video podcast—and your little mutt could be America's next top ecommerce web video star!

WHAT: Dogs on Film
WHERE: Regrade Park, downtown Seattle
WHEN: Monday, August 22nd, 11:00 AM

Hope to see you — and your dolled-up dog — there!

Photo: Buddy the Puggy in his Benny Polo by Flickr user Eco-Pup. Used under a Creative Commons License.

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Tuesday, June 07

Giant Monkey Invasion!!! (And How To Build Your Own)

by Jason Toon

"It was May 11, 2011 - a day like most any other day," writes wooter Maniacmous in his account of buying and opening Woot's most recent Bag O'Crap. Little did Maniacmous know that clicking that big orange oval would set in motion a chain of events that brought this monumental visitor into his home.

Read on for the story behind the Giant Woot Monkey Cut-Out, an epic tale of vision, toil, and plywood...

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Thursday, May 12

Hi, Hivemind: The Woot Writers Talk To Reddit (And You)

by Jason Toon

Ever wondered how Woot's writers crank out all that Woot-Off copy, or what products are the hardest to write about? OK, you probably haven't. But by request of some members of our favorite social linksharing community, now you can find out anyway. Woot's writing team invited Reddit to ask us almost anything today, sparking over 500 comments and landing the discussion on Reddit's front page. We're blushing.

Thanks for having us, Redditors. We had a great time, even though we had to cut it short after a while so we could do our real jobs. But if you missed our five-man Redditastical jam, post your question below and we just might deign to acknowledge you. Forget talking about products - now you can talk about talking about products!

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