I just wanted to share an idea. I don't take any credit for it, and if you go ahead and develop it, I don't mind (a little credit would be nice, though ) Anyways, today I stumbled upon this website: http://www.somethingstore.com Basically, you pay $10 (with free shipping), and you get... something. You don't know what you're getting, you don't know anything until a box arrives to your house, and you see what you get. According to them, " Yours may be a cool gadget, rare book, table game, handmade necklace, reverse clock, box of gourmet chocolates, set of shiny shower curtains, popular video game, big-box retailer gift card, the latest version of a software, a set of kitchen knives, a pair of designer jeans, garden tool, kitchen appliance, unique home decor item, electronic equipment, magazine subscription, office supply item, or ... Your something will most likely be brand new, though it may also be refurbished or antique." According to their "something" tracker, the latest "somethings" have been stuff like RC cars, Starbucks gift boxes, speaker sets... Anyways, here are my thoughts on it as a business. The people who made this are clever in more than one or three ways. 1. They've got revenue from purchases. According to their site, there have been 7,309 "somethings" ordered. This means that, expenses aside, they have managed to bring $73,090. But that's not all... 2. They've got revenue from advertisers. The site itself has no ads, so how are they making money from advertisers? How did that Starbucks gift box get there? I'm guessing Starbucks paid them to do so as a way of advertisement. And probably Walmart sent the RC car, and paid them to make sure the person who gets it knows it was from Walmart. What if you get an Amazon gift certificate, for example, that would be a form of advertisement. In case they're not being paid a certain amount for including their products..., maybe the $73,090 in raw revenue were actually profits. If I was an advertiser, I would either pay the site to do what I described, or send the "something myself", thus, I (as an advertiser), cover all the costs, and the website (the publisher) makes all the money in net profits, because they don't pay anything. In whatever case, they make money. They have also found a way to make sales by playing with people's curiosity, and they have managed to make something potentially viral. It has few stumbles as of now, but all of them have thumbs up, and many of the stumblers bought "something". There's even one who says that "the excitement is worth the $10 " Now, how could this be ported on to the IM business. Simple. Do the same thing, but with the most popular products like the Problogger Book, a 2CO account, Mike Filsaime's latest guide, Liz Tomei's latest PLR product, or even free ad space. It's like a paid giveway. The same concept can be done: contact some famous internet marketer and ask him if he wants to contribute in exchange of a lead to his list, and expanding his recognition. After all, many marketers give away their paid products at contests, or even JV giveaways for the sake of growing their list. I don't have time to develop this now, but if I get the chance, I'll go for it. It should be fairly easy to do in terms of technology, there are many talented developers at Elance, GAF, or even here at DP. You just need the right contacts, and the enthusiasm, and you might just get $70,000+ in your bank account.
That's a cool idea. At first I thought it was just someone's clever way of getting rid of their old stuff, but it looks like all the inventory is new.
woot does the same thing some times. they would put up a random bag-o-crap and you never know whats its it
Im sure the actual companies arent paying them. It is most likely other small companies/website owners who buy it for them in exchange for a note that says their company/website. They make pure profit from the sales, minus the shipping.