S11.E04: Bug Bite Thing, Snacklins, Knife Aid, Plop Star

[JTMacc99]

Knife sharpening by mail; a device that offers relief from bug bites; a bathroom product to help block odors; a vegan alternative to pork rinds.

[James Moore]

Whoever is editing Shark Tank this season needs to be fired. Tonight Freddie Mercury presented his mail order Knife Sharpening Business without stating who Sharpens the Knives and for how much it costs the business to sharpen them. Freddie probably did say it but whoever edits this show neglected to show it leading me to believe this is done by Osmosis. 

Edited October 21, 2019 by James Moore

[Jillybean]

7 hours ago, James Moore said:

Whoever is editing Shark Tank this season needs to be fired. Tonight Freddie Mercury presented his mail order Knife Sharpening Business without stating who Sharpens the Knives and for how much. Freddie probably did say it but whoever edits this show neglected to show it leading me to believe this is done by Osmosis. 

I thought they said $10 per knife regardless of size or type. And they may have said it's  a four-knife minimum. 

I've already ordered Bug Bite Thing. I wish I'd known about it 6 months ago! Reviews on Amazon are mixed, but I'll try anything. 

Edited October 21, 2019 by Jillybean

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

I thought they said $10 per knife regardless of size or type. And they may have said it's  a four-knife minimum. 

Yes, that's what I remember too.  I wondered about how to package the knives... whether they supply packaging and what that costs.

I really couldn't believe they got all that interest... 

[James Moore]

The $10 they said was the charge to the customer but not their business cost and who sharpens the knives.  I edited my original post to make this distinction clearer.

Edited October 21, 2019 by James Moore

[Koalagirl]

58 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

Yes, that's what I remember too.  I wondered about how to package the knives... whether they supply packaging and what that costs.

I really couldn't believe they got all that interest... 

They supply the packaging.  It’s $49 for 4 knives in that package. It’s all on their website.

[Gregg247]

Mark was right; the Sharks were groveling for the "right" to be partners with the knife-sharpening guys.  I couldn't believe it when everyone but Mark followed Lori out into the hallway to beg the owners to sell them a sliver of their company!  Then, they did the same thing next with the Bug Bite lady and her Mom.  I would have taken Rohan's deal for the bug bite thing; he could take that company much farther than Lori.  I guess Rohan's branding expertise is no match for Lori's "Golden Ticket"! <gag>

Speaking of <gag>, I really didn't need to know how proud Mark is of "leaving his Mark" in the bathroom!  I thought Lori was about to make an offer on the poop pill, but I think Rohan's talk about "B2B" vs. "B2C" confused her and scared her away.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Lori is the worst!

[PBnJay]

I can't stand Mark, from his crowing over his great poop to hating on every healthy (or so-called healthy) food item.

Does every shark have a "golden ticket" now? Like Willy Wonka? And if Lori's is gone now, will the other sharks ace her out on future deals?

I wonder if the Bug Bite Thing would work on snake bites. They never did answer whether it would work for ticks. 

[Whimsy]

That Golden Ticket is completely worthless.  Lori was waving that thing around like it actually meant something valuable.  It would make sense if it held some actual value like- all the money and work for half of the asking equity or something.  I just don't get why she was crowing on about it like it was the be-all end-all. 

Knife sharpening by mail?  No thanks.  I have to go a week without any knives?  I guess it wouldn't be so bad if I had multiple sets, but I don't.  I have one smallish butcher block that holds one bread knife, one carving knife, one paring knife, one utility knife and one larger chef knife.  So, I would not really be able to go without knives for a week.  Also, $10 regardless of size?  I would not pay $10 for a little paring knife. 

I also didn't like the Plop thing.  I actually thought it was a product that was going to somehow mask the "plop" sound when I saw the name.  That's actually a bigger embarrassment for me in a public restroom.  I guess a little tablet you can discreetly put in the water is less noticeable than a spray that is evident when you spray it.  

[Jillybean]

I have no idea what the hell that golden ticket was. I've never seen her mention it before.

[AuntieDiane6]

The golden ticket is probably based on AGT's Golden Ticket where you don't have to go through the semi-finals to get to the finals (a deal).

[saber5055]

Lori said her "golden ticket" was pure gold, so maybe that's just a perk someone gets if they take her deal. Gold is approx. $48/gram, and there are approx. 28 grams to an ounce. So that ticket maybe was worth $45, give or take.

Plop Star was so strange, like you have a couple in your pocket when you are at a friend's house and have to go? How about just reaching your elbow back and flushing as you go. That gets rid of everything, including the smell, and it's free.

Of course, that's not an option for Mark Cuban, who likes to stand and admire what he left in the bowl. I'll bet his bathroom stinks up a storm, but he probably has multiples in his house so can rotate between stink ups.

Agree that one guy looked like Freddy Mercury. He was quite handsome!

Does anyone use one of the knife-sharpening tools that are always advertised on tv? It was odd the sharks went crazy for the knife deal, but I guess these days people will pay anything to not have to do anything.

[eel21788]

2 hours ago, PBnJay said:

 They never did answer whether it would work for ticks. 

They did answer that. It doesn't remove a tick. It only removes insect venom and saliva.

[atlantaloves]

You can buy a great knife sharpener on Amazon for 7 or 8 bucks.  It works folks.  That was totally crazy, but I still enjoyed the show.

[EtheltoTillie]

My husband and I are plagued by mosquito bites in summer, so we ill probably try that device. 

The Accu-Sharp home knife sharpener is great.  No need to send out knives for professional sharpening.  You're supposed to hone them every day or so anyway.  Professional chefs hone on those wands and then every so often resharpen with a stone.  That's just not necessary for home cooks and hard to do.  I use that Accu-Sharp every other day, and it's easy and works great. 

Poop pills:  I thought they dismissed it too soon as having no market.  There is probably a market for it.  e.g., in an office or other public bathroom.  Maybe they didn't fully test the market, but I think there would be a market.  The poop spray has a large market, so I think there would be interest n the tablets as well.

Edited October 21, 2019 by GussieK

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, eel21788 said:

They did answer that. It doesn't remove a tick. It only removes insect venom and saliva.

I know it doesn't REMOVE the tick, they were not asked that, they were asked "does it work for ticks." And they never answered, they just replied with the same sentence, "It works on insect bites and stings." I listened specifically when the tick question was asked since a tick bite can itch for months. I get tick bites often but never mosquito bites and never bee stings. So I looked at the website, which says it works on "insect bites & stings." A tick is an arachnid, so I guess it doesn't work for ticks OR spider bites.

They could have said that on the show, but I'm guessing they wanted to leave it all generic to sell more without any negatives, like "yeah, but it can't do this or that."

I still wonder about snake bites so you don't have to cut the wound and suck the poison out like in the movies. (Only half-way kidding, it would be great to put in First Aid kits if so.)

37 minutes ago, GussieK said:

Poop pills:  I thought they dismissed it too soon as having no market.  There is probably a market for it.  e.g., in an office or other public bathroom.  Maybe they didn't fully test the market, but I think there would be a market.  The poop spray has a large market, so I think there would be interest n the tablets as well.

Yeah, I thought they turned it into a big joke and then blew the guy off. He said it should be marketed to corporate, and I can def see it in offices. You know, so "that guy" can use it when he disappears with the newspaper for a half hour after lunch.

Hopefully, the fellow can make it go (eh) without the sharks.

[mjc570]

I really liked the knife business, I would totally send my knives for sharpening, and I don't think $10/knife is a lot.  My problem is the 4 knife minimum, I just don't have that many knives.  A 2 or 3 knife option is something I would go for.  I have an electric knife sharpener, it works well enough but just not as well as a real knife sharpener with better equipment.  Agree - the guy totally looked like Freddy Mercury, ha ha. 

I thought the bug thing looked gimmicky,  Hope it works, I might be interested, I spend a lot of time outdoors.

Love the snacks - and the guy.  I thought he was great.  I'm glad he finally got a deal.  I hope he redoes the packaging though.

The Plop star - I thought that was a well designed product, and I think there is a HUGE need for something like that.  I think the people who create the problem, though, are not the ones likely to carry this around.  I can see hotels, restaurants, movies, offices and other public places having aa basket of these out.

[EtheltoTillie]

13 minutes ago, mjc570 said:

The Plop star - I thought that was a well designed product, and I think there is a HUGE need for something like that.  I think the people who create the problem, though, are not the ones likely to carry this around.  I can see hotels, restaurants, movies, offices and other public places having aa basket of these out.

Agree!  They "poo pooed" the business to business market, but I think this is exactly how it would go big.  

[Whimsy]

40 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

I know it doesn't REMOVE the tick, they were not asked that, they were asked "does it work for ticks." And they never answered, they just replied with the same sentence, "It works on insect bites and stings." I listened specifically when the tick question was asked since a tick bite can itch for months. I get tick bites often but never mosquito bites and never bee stings. So I looked at the website, which says it works on "insect bites & stings." A tick is an arachnid, so I guess it doesn't work for ticks OR spider bites.

They could have said that on the show, but I'm guessing they wanted to leave it all generic to sell more without any negatives, like "yeah, but it can't do this or that."

I still wonder about snake bites so you don't have to cut the wound and suck the poison out like in the movies. (Only half-way kidding, it would be great to put in First Aid kits if so.)

Yeah, I thought they turned it into a big joke and then blew the guy off. He said it should be marketed to corporate, and I can def see it in offices. You know, so "that guy" can use it when he disappears with the newspaper for a half hour after lunch.

Hopefully, the fellow can make it go (eh) without the sharks.

I still think they answered the question. They said that the device only works on insects and bugs that inject venom just under the skin. Despite ticks causing some people to itch, I don’t think it’s due to venom under the skin. 

[saber5055]

44 minutes ago, mjc570 said:

I think the people who create the problem, though, are not the ones likely to carry this around. 

LOL, this is so true. (Did you mean people like Mark Cuban?)

I don't remember any of the sharks saying, "Yum, these are so delicious" when eating the snacks. I'm glad the guy got a deal though. Real pork rinds don't taste like much of anything except what flavoring has been put on, so these would be a good substitute.

[James Moore]

9 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

Yes, that's what I remember too.  I wondered about how to package the knives... whether they supply packaging and what that costs.

I really couldn't believe they got all that interest... 

6 hours ago, Gregg247 said:

Mark was right; the Sharks were groveling for the "right" to be partners with the knife-sharpening guys.  I couldn't believe it when everyone but Mark followed Lori out into the hallway to beg the owners to sell them a sliver of their company!  Then, they did the same thing next with the Bug Bite lady and her Mom.  I would have taken Rohan's deal for the bug bite thing; he could take that company much farther than Lori.  I guess Rohan's branding expertise is no match for Lori's "Golden Ticket"! <gag>

Totally agree with you. Many of these people in Shark Tank have no common sense and don't see the Big Picture. If someone like Rohan has done what the "Entrepreneurs" goal is, then you go with that Shark,

[theatremouse]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I know it doesn't REMOVE the tick, they were not asked that, they were asked "does it work for ticks." And they never answered, they just replied with the same sentence, "It works on insect bites and stings." I listened specifically when the tick question was asked since a tick bite can itch for months. I get tick bites often but never mosquito bites and never bee stings. So I looked at the website, which says it works on "insect bites & stings." A tick is an arachnid, so I guess it doesn't work for ticks OR spider bites.

I do think they answered the question since instead of getting into a spiel about specific species, they cut the point: it's sucking up venom and/or saliva that was injected onto or under the skin causing the irritation. So the answer was basically "if the root cause of the bite's unpleasantness is saliva or venom, it helps, otherwise no."

That said re: ticks, I was under the impression it doesn't usually cause a lot of itching and when it does it's because the person is particularly allergic to the tick's saliva - which does have toxins in it but they usually have a numbing effect (which is why so many people don't notice they've been bitten) So I would expect this device to potentially make people more uncomfortable if used after removing a tick, rather than less because they'd be removing the numbing. Tick's mouths are barbed too I think (which is why they hold on so damn well) so the bite might hurt more if you removed the saliva.

[rhys]

 I have good knives, too. Not nearly like Kevin (that's whacky!), but they do need pro sharpening imo occasionally.

Edited October 22, 2019 by rhys
Man, I need to pay attention!

[Silly Angel]

Plop Star idiot's jar, for which he no doubt paid a lot of good cash, read "The world's most discrete bathroom sanitizer." Later, when they showed the packaging it read "discreet." Still, you're a fool; you can't proofread your own shit; I'm glad you got no deal; I liked nothing about this guy, although I do like the tiny little travel-size Poo-Pourri atomizers that are smaller and more DISCREET than your dumb packets.

End of rant. That dude put me in a mood. P.S. Now I'm craving Snacklins.

[Spunkygal]

I get my knives professionally sharpened for $5 each. A lady in our neighborhood who is a serious home chef has a guy come to a cul-de-sac in our area twice a year to sharpen knives and scissors. In between times, I use a sharpening stone. I learned the technique from an old Good Eats episode. I’m not waiting a week to get my knives back. How will I cut the limes for my gin and tonics while I’m waiting??!!

Edited October 22, 2019 by Spunkygal

[marny]

I liked the idea of the knife sharpening service for the convenience of mailing them in and having them sent back, but the price really isn’t great. I understand it costing more than when I have to take my knives in for sharpening myself (shipping cost plus convenience has value), but it’s still overpriced. They said $10 per knife, but that’s not accurate. According to their website, it’s only $10 per knife if you’re having TEN KNIVES sharpened, otherwise it’s more. I don’t even have ten knives, and doubt most home chefs do. It sounds more like a good service for commercial kitchens than home kitchens. 

[ljenkins782]

On 10/21/2019 at 12:23 PM, Gregg247 said:

Mark was right; the Sharks were groveling for the "right" to be partners with the knife-sharpening guys.  I couldn't believe it when everyone but Mark followed Lori out into the hallway to beg the owners to sell them a sliver of their company!  Then, they did the same thing next with the Bug Bite lady and her Mom.  I would have taken Rohan's deal for the bug bite thing; he could take that company much farther than Lori.  I guess Rohan's branding expertise is no match for Lori's "Golden Ticket"! <gag>

Speaking of <gag>, I really didn't need to know how proud Mark is of "leaving his Mark" in the bathroom!  I thought Lori was about to make an offer on the poop pill, but I think Rohan's talk about "B2B" vs. "B2C" confused her and scared her away.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Lori is the worst!

I was so baffled by the "golden ticket" thing. She was holding that out as if it meant something, but her deal was worse than some of the others. Barbara was offering more money AND was in talks with Mark to do a 2 shark deal, I think someone else was offering a smaller equity bite. All she did was offer them what they'd asked for, but held that ticket out as if it had special powers. 

Quote

Lori said her "golden ticket" was pure gold, so maybe that's just a perk someone gets if they take her deal. Gold is approx. $48/gram, and there are approx. 28 grams to an ounce. So that ticket maybe was worth $45, give or take.

LOL, did you see her almost forget to actually give it to them? I think one of them had to ask for it. So all the yapping about the stupid ticket and she nearly didn't even hand it over. 

The frenzy over the knife sharpening was astounding to me. I didn't expect them to get any interest at all, let alone have all the sharks circling like that. I don't have fancy knives, so I'm not their target market, but I'm stunned that so many people would be interested in this service. 

I liked the Snacklins guy, but I was also surprised that he got a deal. Once he mentioned all the investors and how little he owned, I thought he was dead in the water. I agreed with Barbara about the snack space being so difficult to break through in, I feel like there are already products like that out there. It seems like it'd be tough to grab a share of that market.

Quote

I think the people who create the problem, though, are not the ones likely to carry this around. 

Haha, probably true! I wasn't sure what the sharks big issue was, there actually IS  a market for these products, as evidenced by Poo Pourri's success. And the idea of a discreet little strip of tablets I could stick in my purse, rather than carrying around a bottle with Poo Pourri emblazoned on it, I'd go for it. 

It's not something that I worry THAT much about, but there are certainly circumstances where I'd use it (like when you're sharing a small hotel room or house or depending on where the bathroom is located, sometimes you'd rather not leave your "mark" quite so obviously). 

I get that his valuation didn't add up, but it was hardly the worst product they've had in there. It seemed like a "better mouse trap" version of an existing product so I didn't understand the complete dismissal.

[dogdays2]

I actually get the knife sharpening thing and (I think for the first time ever) my DH and I actually looked it up.  I have some very nice steak knives that I got years ago.  They are dull, dull, dull.  So dull we've stopped using them.  We've tried sharpening ourselves, without great success. 

We could easily go without them for a week and having the convenience of just shoving them in a bag and having them come back super sharp and be able to use them for a LONG time (since we don't use them often), is a big turn-on for me.  I understand I could probably get them sharpened more cheaply but it means time (which I don't have) and effort to take them somewhere. 

I now understand from above posts there may be a better self-help option.  But I didn't know about it as I was watching (and other prob don't either) so this option could be very attractive.

I also agree the editing was terrible.  I didn't understand how the bug thing worked.  Also, I'm kind of surprised it's not a medical device.  I know THEY said it wasn't but in due diligence I'd want to be sure of that, as it would bring in a host of regulations with which they're probably not currently complying.

[DEL901]

What`s interesting is that I can find that mosquito thing searching on amazon.ca, but not amazon.com.

BTW, it was $33 and literally sucks out the stinger and, presumably, any left behind venom or whatever.

[aemom]

35 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

What`s interesting is that I can find that mosquito thing searching on amazon.ca, but not amazon.com.

BTW, it was $33 and literally sucks out the stinger and, presumably, any left behind venom or whatever.

I just ordered it off their own website.  They offered free shipping to Canada and with tax, it was $28.73 CAD.

My son is the most delicious thing that mosquitoes have ever tasted, so I'm hoping this will make next summer easier for him.  I plan on putting this in his Christmas stocking.  Hopefully it works!

[aemom]

On 10/21/2019 at 2:52 AM, James Moore said:

Whoever is editing Shark Tank this season needs to be fired. Tonight Freddie Mercury presented his mail order Knife Sharpening Business without stating who Sharpens the Knives and for how much it costs the business to sharpen them. Freddie probably did say it but whoever edits this show neglected to show it leading me to believe this is done by Osmosis. 

On 10/21/2019 at 10:01 AM, Jillybean said:

I thought they said $10 per knife regardless of size or type. And they may have said it's  a four-knife minimum. 

I believe the point was that they didn't tell the viewers how much it costs them to sharpen the knives - so we don't know what their profit margin is.

[JTMacc99]

I liked the knife sharpening idea. I have excellent knives and a couple of them would do well with a professional sharpening. 

But all of the shark interest had to do with the guys. If I remember correctly, they were the Happy Socks guys, right?

Happy Socks is a big deal. 

[aemom]

On 10/23/2019 at 4:18 PM, aemom said:

I just ordered it off their own website.  They offered free shipping to Canada and with tax, it was $28.73 CAD.

Just to follow up, I received my order on Friday - so it only took 2 days to arrive.  Fingers crossed that it works well.

[roctavia]

I’m curious to hear how the mosquito thing works for those of you that ordered it.. the thing I’ve been wondering is that many times you don’t know where the bite is until hours later when it really starts to itch and I wonder if there would be much left at that point to suck out with the device...  will await updates next summer 🙂

Edited October 30, 2019 by roctavia

[nlkm9]

I hope this is the right episode lol. I bought the snacklins and they are amazing!!