S11.E14: Bite Toothpaste; BabyQuip; Coconut Girl; Pair Eyewear

[JTMacc99]

Sustainable teeth cleaning products; a solution for packing light and traveling easier with baby gear; a healthier version of a decadent treat; a customizable eyewear product line for kids. 

[hula-la]

My PVR marked this as a repeat, so I missed the first part of the show. As a kid who wore some horrible glasses, I would have loved some cool glasses options. 

[basiltherat]

I don't understand this glasses-from-the-internet thing -- don't you have to go to the eye doctor, do the whole "does it look clearer this way, or this way" thing and then, and only then, pick out frames that are suitable for holding your particular prescription.  At least, I did, and I've worn glasses for 55+ years.  At first, I thought they were talking about  frames, but they mentioned different lens coatings.

On another subject, I am tired to death of The Mark Cuban Is A Bully Show.

[LittleIggy]

I’ve never bought eyeglasses online, but, according to what I understand, you send the prescription from your eye doctor to the company.

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

I’ve never bought eyeglasses online, but, according to what I understand, you send the prescription from your eye doctor to the company.

Yeah, that was my impression too. I've gotten glasses and I do buy them from my doctor's office, but I've never been limited to certain frames because of my prescription. But I guess if some prescriptions call for that the glasses company would tell them.

I want to try the ice cream sandwich thing. Too bad they don't do mail order.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I loved the coconut product, and I'm so glad she got a deal.

I hated the baby gear rental.    I don't think it's a sustainable model with so many individual providers, and pricing. 

I loved the kid eyeglasses, and think they'll do very well.  

The toothpaste bits will not replace what I'm used to.  

[LittleIggy]

The toothpaste bites would be handy for travel purposes.

[foxfreakinmulder]

15 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I loved the coconut product, and I'm so glad she got a deal.

I hated the baby gear rental.    I don't think it's a sustainable model with so many individual providers, and pricing. 

I loved the kid eyeglasses, and think they'll do very well.  

The toothpaste bits will not replace what I'm used to.  

I agree with everything you've said.

I don't see a need for the baby gear rental, it seems more trouble finding a rental place close to where you are staying, driving to pick-up and then returning items before leaving. If you're staying with relatives you could make a pallet on the floor for little ones to sleep and most parents would probably prefer to take their own stroller because it fits their car seat.

The coconut product looked good.

The eyeglasses for kids looked like a fun way to change the look without buying a new pair.

The toothpaste bits were expensive and I don't think I would replace my tube for them. Also, what was up with the ladies pants? She had 2 big holes in the knees of her pants. I know that's a "look" now but I don't think you should wear them to a business pitch for money. I mean would you were pants like that to an interview? I couldn't stop looking at her knees, lol.  I know a lot of people wear weird clothes on here but I think for the most part they are trying to look the part of their product they are pitching, example: the girl selling the coconut product.

[LittleIggy]

Yeah, ripped knee slacks don’t project a professional image.

[BusyOctober]

We rented a stroller for a trip to Disney several years ago. We we were flying from Boston to Florida with our 5 year old.  Even though she didn’t use a stroller at home, we figured little legs would get tired fast, so better safe than sorry.  A friend told me about this company in FL that did onsite delivery and pick up of strollers (and other baby gear like cribs or pack n plays).  It was a great!  We didn’t have to deal with getting the stroller through airports or on the plane. When we checked into our hotel and got to our room, the stroller was in the room already.  When we left, the company came to the hotel to get it.  Long story short, this type of business has existed for a while, at least for hotel type travel.  And many hotels will supply a crib for a fee.  

Coconut ice cream sandwiches looked awesome, but I’m on the East coast, so I may be out of luck.

Toothpaste bits is a good idea, and the recyclable glass jar is good for sustainability I guess.  But I think it may take a lot of marketing bucks to change the way consumers think about toothpaste and the impact of packaging.

Glasses thing was cute,  but my first thoughts were a).Very easy to knock off  & b). They only make one shape? 

 

[marny]

While Bite may have more environment-friendly packaging, it's going to be very difficult to convince people to spend that much more for toothpaste. $12 for a 30-day supply (I assume that's if you brush twice a day?) is a lot more than most people are used to spending on toothpaste. And the commentary about the "bad stuff" in traditional toothpastes is just not backed up by real scientific authority. This gullibility is what led to her putting out a product that didn't even have fluoride in it. And now that she's adding fluoride back to it, all those customers who buy into the idea that additives = bad are not going to want to use her product anymore. So she's pretty much left with just an overpriced product that has good packaging. That will result in quite a narrow market.

 

[eel21788]

On 3/8/2020 at 11:42 AM, LittleIggy said:

Yeah, ripped knee slacks don’t project a professional image.

The only reason to wear ripped pants is because you wore them out and you don't have the money to buy new ones. Maybe she was trying to project the image that she needed money that badly and was desperate for a deal.

[KaveDweller]

2 hours ago, eel21788 said:

The only reason to wear ripped pants is because you wore them out and you don't have the money to buy new ones. Maybe she was trying to project the image that she needed money that badly and was desperate for a deal.

That woman probably spent more money on the ripped jeans than a new non-ripped pair.

I wonder if contestants on this show are encouraged to wear things that aren't a traditional business attire. It is more interesting to film, differentiates them from the Sharks, and gives us more to talk about. And I can see people dressing to reflect their brand.

[Kiss my mutt]

I’ve found optometrists to get their back up when you ask for your prescription because they want you to buy through them because that’s where they make their money. It’s like the snacks at movie theaters. 

[LittleIggy]

56 minutes ago, Kiss my mutt said:

I’ve found optometrists to get their back up when you ask for your prescription because they want you to buy through them because that’s where they make their money. It’s like the snacks at movie theaters. 

I buy my glasses at LensCrafters or Eyeworks. The optometrist gives me the prescription to take to them.

[seacliffsal]

It seemed that all of the products were way overvalued.  I felt like all of the presenters just wanted the exposure.  I wish that the producers had not bowed down to Mark Cuban and got rid of the 2% equity fee for appearing on the show.  Maybe if they still had to give up a very small percentage of equity that they would get more presenters who truly want a deal.

I also wish that Mark would take a few episodes off.  This is really turning into the "Cuban Tank" rather than the Shark Tank and I like to see different sharks make deals not just Mark and/or Lori (she should take a few episodes off as well).

[eel21788]

3 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

It seemed that all of the products were way overvalued.  I felt like all of the presenters just wanted the exposure. 

I totally agree. I also wish there was a minimum equity that they had to give up. These people coming in offering 2% and 5% should know there is no way they are going to get a deal. They should have to be willing to give up at least a 10%, preferably 15% or 20% stake to be realistic. Remember when sharks were routinely asking for 40% or more in equity? There were times when they even expected controlling interest in the company and got it.

[KaveDweller]

Is anyone else seeing multiple adds for eyeglasses on this page now?

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 3/10/2020 at 8:38 PM, Kiss my mutt said:

I’ve found optometrists to get their back up when you ask for your prescription because they want you to buy through them because that’s where they make their money. It’s like the snacks at movie theaters. 

Only the snacks at movie theaters is just a policy.  Federal law requires eye doctors to give patients a copy of the prescription at the end of the exam.  Patients don't even have to ask for it.

If they don't provide it, you can file a complaint with the FTC.  It's considered an "unfair practice."

Obviously this law was passed to address a problem, which means eye doctors were hassling people about buying glasses elsewhere.  But it shouldn't be the case any more.

 

On 3/7/2020 at 8:30 AM, basiltherat said:

I don't understand this glasses-from-the-internet thing -- don't you have to go to the eye doctor, do the whole "does it look clearer this way, or this way" thing and then, and only then, pick out frames that are suitable for holding your particular prescription.  At least, I did, and I've worn glasses for 55+ years.  At first, I thought they were talking about  frames, but they mentioned different lens coatings.

You go to the eye doctor to get the prescription, and then you buy the glasses from wherever you want.

I don't think there are that many mismatches between prescriptions and frames any more, now that lenses for even very strong prescriptions can be made much thinner and lighter.  That hasn't always been the case--think of the Coke-bottle lenses people used to have, which you don't really see any more because of new technology.  Those things were heavy, and putting them in the giant frames that were popular in the 1980s would probably lead to permanent indentations in a person's nose.

I've run across glasses websites that will indicate that a certain frame isn't suitable for bifocals because it's not "tall" enough to accommodate the two sections.  So there are still mismatches, but it's relatively uncommon.  And the bifocal thing obviously won't be an issue for kids' glasses.

 

[JeezumCrow]

The glasses were a cute idea, but too pricey IMO. As a former child who grew out of multiple pairs of glasses, I know my parents wouldn’t have splurged on many alternative colors knowing they’d have to splurge again in a year or two. 

[LuvMyShows]

I only just now figured out the name of BabyQuip.  Throughout the show, I was focused on what the name looked like, which was a combination of the word Baby and the word Quip, which didn't make sense to me, since a quip is a witty remark.  But if you pronounce it, it is said like Babe-Equip.  I don't think it's a good name as written because it gives no clue about the product, and actually makes you think that it will be something completely different (like something having to do with words).