Sunday, January 08, 2006

Why do I keep coming back to Woot!?


Woot! is a highly addictive website that features one item for sale a day, usually some electonic gizmo, at sometimes outrageously low prices.

They don't hide too much that they sort of suck - products often misrepresented, they double, triple, or quadruple bill people for orders, and their site can be embarrasingly glitchy. While they may be honest, I often question why I return as a customer. The answer, however, is simple: great product descriptions.

For example, right now they have a Roomba on sale for $119. Its refurbished, so I'll steer clear. However, check out part of the their product description:

Simply punch the appropriate buttons on the Roomba's exoskeleton or the included remote control. Then gaze placidly on while your new mecha-maid greedily slurps up all the crud, soil, and filth generated by your unsavory lifestyle. Dorito crumbs, short curly hairs, stray granules of cocaine: all vanish into the Roomba Discovery's voracious maw, and still it begs for more...


In the meantime, if you're as obsessed with customer service and good deals on crap as I am, take a gander at The Consumerist, a new blog from the Gawker media folks.