One Man’s Junk…

I've covered online shopping once already. But today I achieved the pinnacle in online shopping.

One of my favorite sites is Woot.com. But they're one of those sites that you have to know what you're getting into. They do one item a day. That's it. When it hits the next day or it sells out, whichever comes first, it's gone. Sometimes there are great deals, I've gotten two Bluetooth headsets (Blueteeth?) for only $5 shipping, among some of my best buys. And sometimes they're a little...let's say, esoteric (as of this writing, today's deal is a sewing machine for $150).

But every now and again, about once a month, there's the coveted "Woot-off". Here's how the Woot-off works...they rotate a select quantity of items in rapid succession. If you see something you want, you better grab it quick. As usual, sometimes they're great deals you gotta grab, other times they're the dreaded "woot-off killers", like a $1,000 laptop that obviously nobody not in the market for a new laptop is going to buy. The motivation to buy up the current item is to move on to the next item as quickly as possible. You never know how long a woot-off will last...could be a few hours, could be a few days. But woot-offs always have one thing in common...

The coveted Bag of Crap.

You read that right, a Bag of Crap.

Here's how the "BoC" (for those in the know) works...it's always the same price, $3 plus $5 shipping. And you don't know what you're going to get. Could be a pen, a koosh ball, and a pack of post-it notes, or it could be a pen, a koosh ball, and a brand new iPad. So hey, for $8 what do you have to lose?

Now here's the trick, "Wooters", as the regulars are called, foam at the mouth, drop everything they are doing, and shut out the outside world when the recognizable green question mark shows up. The website's servers are bombarded with potential orders and web browsers across the country lock up in sheer terror.

No joke, I have been "wooting" for years and have been trying to score a BoC just as long.

A few weeks ago, I did it...I couldn't believe it when the order information page actually came up.

I got my Bag of Crap.

I followed the tracking information like one of those shoppers who was waiting for Target to open when those funny zig zag clothes came out a few weeks ago. I got to work today and there it was, waiting at my door. I could hardly contain my glee.

Honestly, I've never had great luck with contests. But you know how it goes (and it's a good theory to keep in mind when trying to win on WOBM, folks!) if you don't play, you can't win. I wasn't expecting an iPad, but the package definitely had some heft to it.

So I tore into it.

So here's what I got...one 5 piece Lock & Lock Food to Go Set (which Woot was actually selling a couple weeks ago for $5 + shipping), 4 Breo Skin watches (which go for about $10 each on Amazon...funny enough they were all yellow), and an orange tote bag with a flower on it. So let's go ahead and say the general retail value was about $45 for my $8 investment.

But ya know what, like playing contests with us on the air, most of the fun was playing the game. I may not have gotten an iPad, but I really can't complain about my first Bag of Crap experience.

Here's Joanne modeling one of the watches: