S13.E08: Wendy's Gnome Shop; Ornament Anchor; The Real Elf; Santa's Enchanted Mailbox

[JTMacc99]

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Holiday cheer heads into the Tank when an entrepreneur from Charlotte, North Carolina, shows how her hobby turned lucrative business is committed to bringing smiles into every home with her magical designs. A family of entrepreneurs from Milford, Connecticut, return to the Tank for another shot at a deal with a product designed to keep your most precious ornaments safe and secure during the holiday season. An Elf from Chicago, Illinois, hopes to spread joy through his personalized digital business; while a husband-and-wife duo from Wallingford, Connecticut, are committed to making spirits bright with their magical product aimed at helping children communicate with the North Pole, on a special holiday episode. 

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In a "Shark Tank" update, cousins Kristy Moore, Jennifer Couch and Amberly Hall from Houston, Texas, update their investors Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran about Holibal, and how their giant inflatable ornaments are doing during the most wonderful time of the year.

The Sharks in this episode are Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner and Daymond John.

 

[KaveDweller]

For a holiday themed episode, I thought it was very not-uplifting.

I thought those kids were obnoxious. They never answered the question about their old business, and I agree with Barbara that their product was way too much money. 

Barbara has really never heard of a gnome? I can get being surprised people want to but little figurines, but she's never heard of them at all?

Glad the elf guy got a deal, although I'm not sure how much money that business is worth.

[NoThyme]

I disliked the Ornament Anchor family so much I fast forwarded through their presentation. I find it hard to buy something when the profit margin is ridiculously high. Lackluster Christmas show. Thought Mark was going to fall asleep he looked so bored.

Edited December 11, 2021 by NoThyme
Spelling

[mjc570]

  Loved the gnome woman - she was super smart, obviously a good businessperson and the gnome thing is really more than a seasonal business.   I liked her daughter, also.    I'm glad they got a deal.

Those kids and that family were obnoxious.  They were awful in so many ways, and the product was massively overpriced.  I assume they got a spot merely to provide a contrast with the next person, Tommy the Elf.

Tommy - I didn't quite understand his business (as a business) or even the deal he made with Barbara, but what a warm, creative, lovely person.  I hope he develops some kind of sponsorship model in which someone gives him money to cheer up cancer patients at hospitals.

There's no way that mailbox will be successful other than on-line, there just is no way of looking at it and seeing what it really does. (I think Daymond called this the Hanger Factor or something similar).  I also think it's pretty limited, a family may buy one and then use it for years while the kids are little.  The people were certainly nice, though.

Edited December 11, 2021 by mjc570

[TM101]

These Christmas episodes usually suck as this one did. Usually gimmicky products that obviously only have strong seasonality sales.

The ornament family might have been the most obnoxious family I have seen on the show. The mom also looked terribly nervous more so than anyone I have seen lately on the show. The two of those kids, my God, I will reserve my real judgement because they are well, just kids, but unwatchable..

[CrazyInAlabama]

I really don't like seasonal stuff, so call me Kevin.  I think only two are decent products, with a real market.   

 

1 Wendy's Gnome Shop-cute idea, great margins, Barbara makes the deal.    I think this would work year round for ordering presents, so not really a seasonal product.   

2 Ornament Anchor-There are cheaper ways to secure ornaments than this, no deal.   I thought they were very overpriced, and I was sick of the boys dominating everything.    

3 The Real Elf-adorable idea, online will really work, Barbara makes the deal, and a lot goes to the cancer charity of the Elf's choice (Elf is a survivor).

4 Santa's Enchanted Mailbox-I see no real market for this, especially at this price, no deal. 

Edited December 11, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[bilgistic]

My boyfriend calls me Scrooge because I "hate" Christmas, but it's actually because my childhood Christmases were incredibly stressful, being shuffled between my divorced parents' homes. There were screaming matches, and it was just bad and I hated it all.

So I think much of Christmas is cloying and twee. The gnomes...who wants dust-collecting quasi-dolls that are going to be left in a corner after a week?

The ornament kids were insufferable. The mother and daughter were barely allowed to speak a word because the "men of the family" trounced all over the pitch. Those boys are told how special they are pretty often, I gather.

I didn't understand the elf thing at all. And he's going to get sued by Elf on a Shelf for copyright infringement.

Surprisingly, I have no problem with the mailbox except for the overseas manufacturing.

[LittleIggy]

I didn’t understand what Tommy the Elf’s business was either.

Yeah, the ornament hangers were way too expensive. Just put the fragile ornaments up high where the pets can’t get to them or make sure they are hung securely.

Edited December 12, 2021 by LittleIggy

[seacliffsal]

Wow, I really remembered that family from their previous pitch and they did not change one thing (except the product).  I did not like them before and I did not like them now.  The same son dominated both times and the entire family seems like they want to argue back every point.  The sons both did that (and the one really did that in their previous appearance) and the mom did keep arguing back, but her son overspoke her.  I think it was Mark who hit it-their business is getting on t.v. to pitch a product.

I did not like the gnome product but I do understand the appeal (and I think they are supposed to keep the home safe and bring good luck to the home) and I do have a gnome in my garden (but doesn't look anything like hers did).  I think she has a nice little business so kudos to her.

I liked the couple with the Santa mail box and liked the product.  If the price point was lowered, I could see people buying it.  Hopefully they will get a better manufacturing deal and start selling them.

I liked Tommy the Real Elf but don't understand his business-is it like a Cameo (for $50!!!).  I think Barbara is going to lose her investment on this one.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 12/11/2021 at 6:43 PM, seacliffsal said:

I liked Tommy the Real Elf but don't understand his business-is it like a Cameo (for $50!!!).  I think Barbara is going to lose her investment on this one.

I think Barbara wants to change the Real Elf to online greetings.    Cameo does pretty well with personalized greetings, so it might be a better investment than we think it is.   I wouldn't pay for that, but maybe other people will, after the Shark Tank publicity.   

If I never see the Ornament family again, I'll be happy.    They were very irritating, and their product was over-priced.    Their previous product Kudo Banz (or something like that), didn't get a deal either.   

Edited December 18, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[eel21788]

22 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I didn’t understand what Tommy the Elf’s business was either.

It's a good way for him to pick up some extra income around Christmas time; however, it really isn't a business.

18 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I liked Tommy the Real Elf but don't understand his business-is it like a Cameo (for $50!!!).  I think Barbara is going to lose her investment on this one.

I think she sees it as a charitable write-off.

[eel21788]

On 12/10/2021 at 8:21 PM, KaveDweller said:

Barbara has really never heard of a gnome? I can get being surprised people want to but little figurines, but she's never heard of them at all?

I certainly know what garden gnomes are, but I had no idea people decorate their houses with them, too (or why)!

Obviously, Barbara has never watched a season of The Amazing Race or a commercial with the Travelocity gnome. Has she said before that she doesn't have a TV or am I imagining that?

[eel21788]

On 12/11/2021 at 9:06 AM, bilgistic said:

The ornament kids were insufferable. The mother and daughter were barely allowed to speak a word because the "men of the family" trounced all over the pitch. Those boys are told how special they are pretty often, I gather.

I've said it before, but I think it bares saying again because of them and some of the other pitchers on this episode:

Some people have a business and think, "How can I get it on Snark Tank?"

Other people think, "I want to get on Snark Tank. What kind of business can I come up with?"

[eel21788]

On 12/10/2021 at 8:42 PM, mjc570 said:

There's no way that mailbox will be successful other than on-line, there just is no way of looking at it and seeing what it really does. (I think Daymond called this the Hanger Factor or something similar).  I also think it's pretty limited, a family may buy one and then use it for years while the kids are little.  The people were certainly nice, though.

They didn't explain what happens when you put the flag back down, and the compartment that is holding the letter that is supposed to have been "sent" reappears. Do you just snatch it out of the kid's hands before he has a chance to play with it further or does it have some type of child-proof lock on it?

How many letters do kids write to Santa in a given year? (I've never celebrated Christmas, so I don't have a clue what the protocol is). If you have 3 kids, and they each write one letter then the box only gets used 3 times a year, probably for a total of 10 minutes. Is that worth dragging it out of storage every year?

[eel21788]

On 12/11/2021 at 9:06 AM, bilgistic said:

The ornament kids were insufferable. . . Those boys are told how special they are pretty often, I gather.

They have created bracelets for that very reason!!!!

[dogdays2]

I don’t understand why they do a Christmas/ holiday show that features holiday products and then treat us to the sharks complaining about the seasonal nature of the products.  

When I assume there are many people trying to get on Shark Tank, I also don’t understand why some people get more than one shot, especially when their products suck.  It’s almost as if the producers put them on for some sort of sick humor.    

[KaveDweller]

4 hours ago, eel21788 said:

How many letters do kids write to Santa in a given year? (I've never celebrated Christmas, so I don't have a clue what the protocol is). If you have 3 kids, and they each write one letter then the box only gets used 3 times a year, probably for a total of 10 minutes. Is that worth dragging it out of storage every year?

One letter (at most) is pretty typical, I think. I don't think my brother and I ever wrote letters to Santa. We went to see him at the mall and said what we wanted.

But I can see families who do write letters dragging the mailbox out of storage just for a ten minute ritual. People make a big deal out of Christmas and pull tons of stuff out of storage. You would probably use it as part of your decorations and take it out with all your stuff for the tree. It seemed like a lot of money though.

[mjc570]

My kid are older (like, ADULT older), but I would have gotten the mailbox if it encouraged them to write letters.  In fact, maybe Santa would like daily letters, not all of them asking for gifts of course but chatting about what good girls and boys have been doing.

[LittleIggy]

Wouldn’t kids today send emails to Santa?

[Vermicious Knid]

I despise the entire concept of Elf on a Shelf (yes, let's surveil and terrorize your children) so I would have told Tommy to turn around and march himself right out.

[seacliffsal]

The ornament anchor is really just a fancy rubber band (which can probably be bought for about $3.00 for a hundred)-it's the same concept and would work in a similar manner (yes, I was just looking at my Christmas tree and was thinking about it...).  I was actually also thinking about the older son who presented this product as well as their other one and felt bad for him because if he's this pushy and all-knowing in real life he may be a bit of an outsider with other kids.  There are future potential issues when some parents reinforce their childrens' special snowflake status too much to the point of the children always thinking they are right and everyone needs to always listen to them.

[eel21788]

13 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

I despise the entire concept of Elf on a Shelf (yes, let's surveil and terrorize your children) so I would have told Tommy to turn around and march himself right out.

I completely agree with you! If Santa knows when you're awake and when you're sleeping and sees when you've been bad or good, why does anyone need Elf on a Shelf? Do we even know for sure if The Elf is even affiliated with Santa? It could just be a communist plot to determine if what we post on our social media accounts is an accurate representation of what is really going on behind closed doors in our houses! Once The Elf has reported back to his higher-ups, maybe you should be expecting the Internet Police to come knocking on your door! (As I said above, I've never celebrated Christmas, so I may be more skeptical (or less gullible) than most)!

[Vermicious Knid]

There's an even more niche version of this, as also seen on Shark Tank, because some people are driven to keep pitting Hanukkah against Christmas, the Mensch on a Bench. Except it really has nothing to do with Hanukkah, which is actually a minor holiday. As Jews keep having to remind the Christian majority in this country, Hanukkah is not Jewish Christmas.

[LuvMyShows]

On 12/10/2021 at 10:21 PM, KaveDweller said:

I thought those kids were obnoxious. They never answered the question about their old business, and I agree with Barbara that their product was way too much money. 

My husband briefly walked past while watching the kids talk to Lori, and said, "At their age, they should be calling her Miss Lori", and I agree, or Miss Greiner.  The particular way that they called the sharks by their first name irked me for some reason, in a manner as though they were considering the sharks to be their peers, which I think is part of what contributed to their obnoxiousness.

[eel21788]

19 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

There's an even more niche version of this, as also seen on Shark Tank, because some people are driven to keep pitting Hanukkah against Christmas, the Mensch on a Bench. Except it really has nothing to do with Hanukkah, which is actually a minor holiday. As Jews keep having to remind the Christian majority in this country, Hanukkah is not Jewish Christmas.

Chanukah actually isn't a holiday. It's a festival. It has been blown way out of proportion just so Jewish children can get presents at Christmastime. 

The way Jews celebrate Christmas is: we hold hands around the cash register and sing, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

[KaveDweller]

On 12/15/2021 at 1:43 PM, eel21788 said:

I completely agree with you! If Santa knows when you're awake and when you're sleeping and sees when you've been bad or good, why does anyone need Elf on a Shelf? Do we even know for sure if The Elf is even affiliated with Santa? It could just be a communist plot to determine if what we post on our social media accounts is an accurate representation of what is really going on behind closed doors in our houses! Once The Elf has reported back to his higher-ups, maybe you should be expecting the Internet Police to come knocking on your door! (As I said above, I've never celebrated Christmas, so I may be more skeptical (or less gullible) than most)!

I was a kid way before Elf on a Shelf, so I don't know what his deal is, but when I was a kid I remember hearing that Santa knew what we were doing because he has elves helping him watch all the kids. So if my brother or I didn't want to go to bed or something, my parents would say they could see an elf outside and we better do what they say.

I don't think the idea of having an elf in your house is that different, it is just monetizing on it. I think the whole idea of Santa Claus was always partially to blackmail your kids into behaving.

[Vermicious Knid]

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The way Jews celebrate Christmas is: we hold hands around the cash register and sing, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."

And then go out for Chinese :).

[CrazyInAlabama]

The ornament anchors were about $25 a set, and are now less than $20.   I still think they're useless.    

The gnome shop is sold out of the Shark gnome.     

Edited December 21, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama