S08.E17: Toy Mail, Bitsbox, ēdn, Hotels By Day

[Amarsir]

4 hours ago, needschocolate said:

Whenever they do that "Decide right now, before you have heard the other offers, or I am out" crap I always think that the shark must feel that this is such a great idea that the other sharks are going to jump in with better offers.  

I do have to say that as much as Sacca annoys me, I respected his statement of "I'm very confident in my offer so I invite you to shop around."

[needschocolate]

3 hours ago, psychoticstate said:

I think the woman chose wrong - - she should have gone with Mark.  Why everyone falls all over themselves to get a deal with Lori is beyond me.  

Three little letters - QVC.  I think people go with Laurie because they think their product would do well on a shopping channel.  I have never bought anything from QVC or HSN (infomercials have sucked me in once or twice), and I don't know anyone who has.  I don't even know anyone who routinely watches those channels.  Frankly,  I am surprised that those channels are still around - I would think internet shopping has made them obsolete.  

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Shark Tank Experiences Technical Difficulties

Not every product is made better by sprinkling some high-tech pixie dust on it and calling it a day, as more than a few of the would-be entrepreneurs learn on this episode.

[Jersey Guy 87]

16 hours ago, needschocolate said:

Three little letters - QVC.  I think people go with Laurie because they think their product would do well on a shopping channel.  I have never bought anything from QVC or HSN (infomercials have sucked me in once or twice), and I don't know anyone who has.  I don't even know anyone who routinely watches those channels.  Frankly,  I am surprised that those channels are still around - I would think internet shopping has made them obsolete.  

QVC and HSN are for people who are afraid of the Internet.  Sort of like how America's Funniest Home Videos is for people who haven't figured out YouTube.

[bilgistic]

I think they both do healthy business online, though. I certainly don't know the numbers, but I've ordered a select few things online from QVC because they had a better deal or more exclusive sales than other places. They have health and beauty bundles, for example, that you can't find elsewhere.

Edited February 22, 2017 by bilgistic

[Katmai]

6 hours ago, Jersey Guy 87 said:

QVC and HSN are for people who are afraid of the Internet.  Sort of like how America's Funniest Home Videos is for people who haven't figured out YouTube.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! You hit it on the nose exactly why my 80-year-old mother constantly "shops" QVC and HSN. When she retired, from teaching school for 30 years, she had been using a computer in her 1st grade classroom. When I asked if she was going to get a computer for home, she yelled at me NO!! and just laughed. I didn't, and still don't, find that funny because she spends a fortune buying and returning tons of junk from those shopping channels. She keeps those channels on all day & night. More than once I have threatened to delete those channels out of her line-up and cut up her credit card. She's starting to slow down due to finally realizing it costs her a fortune with their high shipping fees, much less the high costs the Post Office charges to return that junk. But I truly believe if she had a computer, she'd have been killing it doing online shopping, too. No winning with her. ;)

[Madding crowd]

9 hours ago, Jersey Guy 87 said:

QVC and HSN are for people who are afraid of the Internet.  Sort of like how America's Funniest Home Videos is for people who haven't figured out YouTube.

Not really true. Most of QVC and HSN sales are through the Internet. I sometimes buy things because I get good deals, in some cases the things they offer are not available elsewhere. 

[Jersey Guy 87]

I'm referring to the fact that QVC and HSN are on every single cable system, apparently people watch them and buy through them.  If they have web sites as well that's fine, but a separate thing from their TV channels.

[theatremouse]

I don't watch those networks but I was under the impression people watch the show on the network and it flashes on the screen "call now or go online" and lists a phone number and a URL. So the TV is still in theory driving the purchase of the people watching, and since they seem to still do well, thus is Lori's appeal to certain especially demo-needing products.

[Madding crowd]

Yes, I only order off their website but I can also see the product on TV if I want. People can also call to order, but that accounts for a small percentage of their business. 

[Jamoche]

On 2/21/2017 at 7:16 AM, Jersey Guy 87 said:

Another option for frequent business travelers is to use the airline lounge, that's what I did when I was a frequent business traveler. 

I was reading a book written in the 70s and a line I'd ordinarily not have noticed hit me - the main character was flying from NYC to Zambia and had a 12 hour layover in London, so she "got a day room" to nap in between the flights. So this is hardly a new idea.

[Jamoche]

Not only is Toy Mail not a new thing, existing toys have had serious data breaches: https://www.troyhunt.com/data-from-connected-cloudpets-teddy-bears-leaked-and-ransomed-exposing-kids-voice-messages/

[LeGrandElephant]

On 2/18/2017 at 10:09 AM, starri said:

Let's be honest, people are going to use Edn to grow weed.

I've had an Aerogarden for years. I use it to grow flowers, but people who come over always make jokes about it growing weed. It already has a couple different settings for herbs vs flowers (amount of daylight hours). I didn't think the Edn guy explained WHAT his app does that makes it different than Aerogarden, did he? And Aerogarden's are a LOT cheaper. 

Edited March 1, 2017 by LeGrandElephant

[seacliffsal]

I will actually watch QVC every once in a while if the show is dedicated to something I'm interested in.  However, I have never watched Lori's show(s) nor ordered any of her items.  By watching the show, I get a full demonstration of the product along with specifications.  Sometimes it's just easier...

[Evangeline]

I don’t care who, but I wish SOMEONE would come up with a hotel by day concept. 4 years later and it’s still non-existent (to the entrepreneurs’ credit... though they clearly haven’t taken the market either). 

I’ve stayed in many hotels, and have only seen one hotel ever give you the option of a late check out at the time of booking. I currently have two hotel rooms booked for one night for an upcoming trip, because we are working remotely and can’t switch hotels midday. The last time I tried to get a late checkout the hotel wouldn’t let me ask until morning of, and the answer was no. One hotel in Vegas was advertising a 24-hour stay, which is cool. Not sure if they’re still doing that. 

For early check in, you’re at the hotel’s mercy. I don’t mind taking a red eye if I have a hotel room to go to when I land, but there’s no way to guarantee that. I’ve actually been extremely lucky with New York hotels. The only way to guarantee that you have a place to nap when you land from a red eye is to book a hotel for 2 nights, and then call the hotel to inform them you’re not checking in until the next morning. Surely there is a market for this. For all the competition hotels have, you’d think one would try to get an edge doing this. 
 

ETA: It seems most efficient to book rooms with 4-hour flexibility on check in/check out. And priced accordingly. When I check out of a room at 6 p.m. (which I did on my most recent hotel stay - again, working remotely so couldn’t leave midday) why leave it empty for that night? Same thing goes for booking an extra night just to guarantee early check-in. Plus, a lot of hotels don’t operate at 100% occupancy, so it’s win/win to sell half day rates. Though I suppose that scenario is why they don’t want to let you book a late checkout in advance. 

Anyway, I do believe there is a market there and their booking system is an obstacle. Perhaps not enough of a market to get over that obstacle. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Evangeline

[Bookish Jen]

On 2/19/2017 at 6:17 AM, cooksdelight said:

I never got it. I'm an artist, my brain doesn't function that way. :)

I was wondering if coding was too early for some ages.

I'm a writer, for me it was geometry.