Jump to content

Woot: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→‎Sales model: Revised shipping model to describe difference in shipping for shirt.woot.
No edit summary
Line 5: Line 5:
company_logo = [[Image:wootlogo.gif]] |
company_logo = [[Image:wootlogo.gif]] |
company_type = [[Private company|Private]]|
company_type = [[Private company|Private]]|
company_slogan = One Day, One Deal |
foundation = 2004|
foundation = 2004|
location = [[Carrollton, Texas|Carrollton, TX]]|
location = [[Carrollton, Texas|Carrollton, TX]]|
key_people = Matt Rutledge, Founder & CEO|
key_people = Matt Rutledge, Founder & CEO|
industry = [[Retail]]|
industry = [[Retail]]|
num_employees = 30+ |
products = Electronics, Household Goods, etc.|
num_employees = 30+ <ref>http://www.woot.com/Jobs.aspx, "Work for Woot"</ref> |
homepage = [http://www.woot.com/ www.woot.com]|
}}
}}
'''Woot''' is an [[Internet]] [[retailer]] based in the [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] suburb of [[Carrollton, Texas]]. It was founded by electronics [[wholesaler]] Matt Rutledge and debuted on [[July 12]] [[2004]]<ref>[http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=2584 The Blog - July 12, 2007 - Random Crap]</ref>. Woot was the pioneer of the "[[One deal a day]]" business model on the internet. Woot offers one discounted product each day on its web site, woot.com. The product is available for 24 hours; it "expires" at midnight ([[Central Standard Time Zone|US Central time]]) and is replaced by a different product for the next day. For the first several months of operation, the site only offered a new item from Monday to Friday, with Friday's item carrying over until Monday at 12:00 a.m [[Central Time Zone (North America)|(CST)]], or until all items were sold. In 2005, Woot began offering products seven days a week.
'''Woot''' is an [[Internet]] [[retailer]] based in the [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] suburb of [[Carrollton, Texas]]. It was founded by electronics [[wholesaler]] Matt Rutledge and debuted on [[July 12]] [[2004]]<ref>[http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=2584 The Blog - July 12, 2007 - Random Crap]</ref>. Woot offers one discounted product each day on its web site, woot.com. The product is available for 24 hours; it "expires" at midnight ([[Central Standard Time Zone|US Central time]]) and is replaced by a different product for the next day. Products offered vary but tend to emphasize computer components and electronic gadgets. Woot takes its name from the widely-used online interjection "[[w00t]]", which was Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Year" in 2007. Each product sold is referred to as a "woot". Woot also stands for Want One of Those.


== Competitors ==
Woot has a community of customers who share their opinions on the site's forums. Products vary but tend to emphasize computer components and electronic gadgets.


* [http://www.splooze.com/ Splooze]
Woot takes its name from the widely-used online interjection "[[w00t]]", which was Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Year" in 2007. Each product sold is referred to as a "woot". Woot also stands for Want One of Those.
* [http://www.yugster.com/ Yugster]
* [http://www.midnightbox.com MidnightBox]
* [http://www.steepandcheap.com Steep and Cheap]
* [http://www.dealsquared.com Deal Squared]
* [http://www.goingtoday.com GoingToday]
* [http://www.maczot.com/ MacZOT!]
* [http://www.bitsdujour.com/ Bits du Jour]
* [http://www.shnoop.com/ Shnoop]
* [http://www.fruper.com/ Fruper]
* [http://www.rush41.com/ Rush41]


==Sales model==
Woot's [[tagline]] is "One Day, One Deal." Generally, Woot offers one product per day until its stock of that item is sold out or the product is replaced at midnight [[Central Time zone|Central Time]] with the next offering. If a product sells out during its run, the next item still does not appear until midnight, except during [[Woot#Woot-Off|Woot-Offs]]. Products are never announced beforehand and can easily sell out in a few hours or even minutes of frenzied buying. In contrast to a market characterized by ever-expanding consumer choice, the Woot approach relies on the elements of simplicity and surprise.

Customers may typically buy up to three of the day's item, although the site has been known to limit product quantity to one per customer on occasion. Woot does not reveal how many units remain available in a given sale, but animates the "I Want One" button when 10 percent or less remains. If the product sells out, the site lists how many were sold.

Woot mainly uses [[FedEx]] and ships only to addresses within the [[continental United States]]. Beginning in June 2007, Woot started using FedEx SmartPost, a service that uses the US Postal Service for delivery, for some smaller items. <ref>http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=2577</ref>For orders from the primary, wine, and sellout sites, the company charges a shipping fee of $5.00 per order regardless of quantity of items purchased, shipping weight, or shipping destination. Orders from shirt.woot are shipped for free via SmartPost unless the customer pays $5 for overnight FedEx shipping.<ref>http://shirt.woot.com/WhatIsWoot.aspx</ref>

==Marketing style==
{{Lquote|We are Woot.com

Our tiny profit is lost.

Haiku ads don't work.|Google ad}}The company's marketing style is irreverent. Product descriptions often mock the product, the customer, or Woot itself. Product drawbacks are preemptively acknowledged and buyers are advised to beware. Community users often do their own research and post their opinions &mdash; positive, negative, or indifferent &mdash; on the user [[internet forum|forums]]. The Woot staff identifies "Quality Posts," or quality excerpts from posts, and features them at the top of the forum. They tend to feature not just positive comments about the item, but also helpful negative comments and reviews, as well as competitive pricing links that users have posted.

==Special events==
===Woot-Off===
The site will occasionally deviate from the one-product-per-day model for a "Woot-Off", where a succession of products are available for a period of unannounced length, usually 24-72 hours. This mode is indicated by rotating lights and a bar indicating the usually undisclosed amount of product remaining.

During an average two day Woot-Off, Woot's sales typically exceed one million dollars.<ref>http://www.adeptconsult.net/ap07wootoff.html</ref>

===Bag O' Crap===
In lieu of typical product sales, Woot occasionally offers a [[fukubukuro]]-like blind grab bag called "Bag O' [[Crap]]" ("BOC", although it ships inside a box). This includes [[dollar store]] items and may also randomly include (significantly) more expensive electronics items <ref>http://www.woot.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=333781, Customer receives 61" DLP TV as part of "BOC" purchase</ref>. Customers may buy up to three "craps" for $1.00 each. Shipping costs $5 regardless of the number of "craps" &mdash; 1, 2, or 3 &mdash; ordered. Customers normally purchase in quantities of three to both minimize the percentage cost of shipping as well as increase the chances to get a high-value item. The "BOC" typically sells out within minutes of furious ordering, overloading Woot's servers in the process as potential buyers frantically try to reload the ordering pages. This is considered to be part of the fun by most Woot forum members, but leaves many people angry and frustrated.

Officially, the Bag O' Crap is sold under the title of "Random Crap."

Since "BOCs" are often referenced in the Woot forums, Woot's forum software filters the text to spell out [[tongue-in-cheek]] phrases with the same initials, such as "Blinged-out cabbage", "[[Braille]] on Cookies", "Bandolier of Carrots", "Big old Cooter", "Bathysphere of Curmudgeons", "Boot of Coal", "Barrage of Chastains" and others. Sometimes, other common phrases in the forums are replaced as well. For the [[June 1]], [[2007]] BOC, the lone word "crap" was replaced with the phrase, "crizznap, foo." On [[July 12]], [[2007]], "WTF" was replaced with "Where's the Feet?".

On [[April 1]], [[2007]] as an [[April Fools' Day|April Fools']] joke, the Bag O' Crap was offered for the price of $1,000,001.00 with the regular price of $5.00 for shipping. A coupon code ("please") was discovered in the product image and utilized by Woot users to receive a $1,000,000 discount on the BOC, thus reducing the price to the standard one dollar.

===Product launches===
On a few occasions, beginning with the "Gamma" Launch of the [[Neuros Technology|Neuros MPEG 4 Recorder]], Woot has partnered with another company to launch a new product on its website. This "Launch Event," designated by an animated [[rocket ship]], indicates Woot is the first and only place (as of that day) that has an available quantity of the sale product. The icon representing the rocket is not clear to some users, and is often referred to as the "[[Pope hat]]".<ref>http://www.woot.com/WhatIsWoot.aspx#q17</ref>

===2-for-Tuesday===
Since [[January 10]], [[2006]], Woot has offered two-packs of products every Tuesday. These products have ranged from TV games to keyboard and mouse combos to toasters. A customer can purchase up to three two-packs, for a total of six items bought. Woot also uses this day to offer larger quantities, such as a 10-pack of keyboards, a "3 for Tu3sday" offering FM transmitters or a "4-for-Fuesday" offering of lighted USB cables.

==Woot Wine==
Woot began [[beta testing]] ''Woot Wine'' ([[List of acronyms and initialisms: A#AK|aka]] wine.woot!) on [[May 22]], [[2006]], and officially launched the spin-off on [[October 2]], [[2006]]. The slogan is "One Week, One Wine". They provide identical statistics to the main site, as well as the "percentage of sales per day". The week begins on Monday.

On [[December 4]], [[2006]], Woot began selling their own private label on ''Woot Wine''. The name of the wine is Monkey Prize and it is described as a Woot Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. A half case of the wine has been sold for $59.99 and received an 89+ review from [[Gary Vaynerchuk]] in [http://tv.winelibrary.com/2006/11/30/woot-wine-tasting-yes-woot-episode-137/ Episode 137 of WineLibrary.tv], a video podcast wine tasting.

===Labrats===
Beginning the week of [[October 7]], [[2007]], wine.woot began a new practice dubbed "Labrat". According to woot: if you make a winery purchase through Wine.Woot by 10 a.m. Central time Monday, AND you're one of the lucky ones, you will automatically receive an additional bottle or more of that week's offer overnight, in addition to your regular order. If fate bestows this wine to you, you must taste the wine and post what you think on the wine.woot forums that week. You can simply give a thumbs up or thumbs down, or create tasting notes to your hearts desire. You can say "eh, didn't like it" or "Notes of horse underbelly sweat and squid ink mingle with newly-cut clover atop the majestic Alps on an early April morning. No, wait, more like a late March morning." Whatever. "Labrats" must register for this privilege.

===Cheese===
On Thursday, [[November 1]], [[2007]], Woot first offered cheese with its wine on the wine.woot site. Actually, the cheese was offered following the sellout of the week's wine offering, though it was clearly planned ahead as they had already announced the wine would be available until Thursday, at which time there would be a surprise offering. The cheese offered was [http://wine.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=3231 Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese - 3 Lb. Wheel] for $29.99. Whether this is a one-time offering, occasional special event, or regular practice for wine.woot, remains to be seen.

===Gift week===
Beginning with the week of [[December 3]], [[2007]], Woot offered a first ever gift week where wine related gifts were offered for that week starting with a [http://wine.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=3473 Six year old Juniper Bonsai] for $24.99. In short, Woot promises that the week will be a classier, weirder version of Woot.

==Woot Shirts==
Also known as ''shirt.woot!'', the site sold their first shirt on [[July 20]], 2007 after a short beta test. The website began by offering one new T-shirt design every weekday. Beginning on [[September 1]], 2007, shirts are also offered on Saturday and Sunday. All shirts cost $10 on the day they are introduced ''(but see also '''''Second Chance''''' below)''. Unlike Woot's other sites, shipping is free via [[FedEx]] SmartPost, although an overnight shipping option is available for $5. The first shirt sold was a "Woot Launch" shirt to celebrate the launch of the site, modeled after the rocket ship, or "Pope hat" icon associated with new product launches.

==== Process ====
Woot shirts are silk-screened onsite in Woot's Carrollton, Texas facility. Shirt design submissions are reviewed and selected by an editor in the St. Louis, Mo. offices of Woot. Most designs are from established artists, but Woot also conducts a weekly internet design submission contest (see '''Shirt Design Derby''' below).

Prints are made on blank t-shirts purchased from [[American Apparel]]. The base shirt color is chosen by the designer; to date, a large array of color selections have all been used, ranging from black to white, and from pastels to bright colors.

==== Shirt Design Derby ====
Each week, Woot Shirts accepts design submissions from the public via their website. A Derby theme is announced each Thursday at noon. Design submissions are accepted beginning on Friday at noon. Submissions must adhere to Woot guidelines (strictly enforced). Accepted designs are posted in the contest blog as they are received, and users vote on their favorite(s) throughout the week. The shirt design with the greatest number of votes is offered for sale on the following Friday. The 2nd place design is offered on Saturday, and the 3rd place design is offered on Sunday. During the voting period, the number of votes received for each design is updated and displayed, except for the top 4 candidates. To minimize vote padding, votes totals are hidden for the top 4 - Woot calls this process the 'Fog of War'. Design winners receive an award payment and percentage of future sales. You must be a registered Woot user and have made at least one purchase to vote in the Derby.

==== Second Chance ====
Primarily to accommodate friends and family of the artists who may want a shirt but could not order on the original offer date, Woot shirts has modified the 'one day one deal' approach of the parent site. They currently offer shirts on a '2nd chance' basis. Shirts that sell out, or were simply missed, may still be purchased, but for $5 more after the original offer date. There is no restriction on who can order a 2nd chance shirt.

Other than a weekly "Day of Reckoning" blog with details on shirts subject to the '''RECKONING''' process (''see below)'', Shirt.woot does not publicize a direct way to find historical links to 2nd chance offerings. Until late 2007, user 'Cherrypicker' has maintained a daily blog entry tracking every shirt offered since the inception of Shirt.woot. This entry lists all shirts available for purchase, and a historical listing of those no longer offered. ''(Cherrypicker also introduced the acronyms '''''RSVP, RIP''''' and '''''MRI''''' - see discussion in '''''RECKONING''''' below).''

After/concurrent with the mysterious disappearance of Cherrypicker, the website Shirts on Sale created the only consistently up-to-date [http://www.shirtsonsale.info/2007/10/shirtwoot-15-tees-friends-links-updated_9704.html text-based] and [http://www.shirtsonsale.info/2007/10/visual-shirtwoot-back-catalog_01.html visual] catalog of all available Shirt.Woot designs. They do not currently offer an historical list of all reckoned designs.

==== "Reckoning" ====
Beginning on Monday [[August 20]], [[2007]], Woot shirts introduced the 'Reckoning' process for determining which shirts would remain available on a '''SECOND CHANCE''' basis. By compiling the sales statistics on shirts that are in demand after each shirt's initial launch day, Woot staffers eliminate weekly all but the 20 top selling shirts from the Second Chance pool. These shirts are then designated '''RSVP''' (''Reckoning Survivors Very Purchaseable''). Shirts offered in the current week and in the prior week are 'exempt' and thus not initially 'Reckoned'. However, these shirts begin accumulating 2nd chance sales statistics immediately for use in 'Reckoning' beginning in their third week. Shirts no longer available become '''RIP''' (''Reckoned Into Perpetuity'').

Woot has frequently updated the rules regarding Reckoning. Originally, only 10 shirts (other than the 'exempt' group) were retained as '''RSVP'''. Effective [[September 21]], 2007 this number was increased to 15. And on [[November 12]], [[2007]], the RSVP total was further increased to 20.

As a result of 'Reckoning', the total number of different shirts available for purchase at any time will vary. The greatest number will be available just prior to the weekly Reckoning. The '''Reckoning Pool''' is announced on Friday, usually with a plea to 'save' the shirts with the lowest totals by purchasing them. This pool is designated '''MRI''' ''(Monday Reckoning Imminent)''. Weekly reckoning results are then announced midday on Mondays, with a final chance to purchase that week's 'Reckoned' shirts until midnight. On Tuesday, the '''RSVP''' pool is fixed at 20 shirts for the remainder of the week.

Until further notice, Woot intends to continue the availability of the "Woot Launch" shirt, and will not subject it to the 'reckoning' review.

==== "Random Shirts" ====
Beginning on Monday [[November 26]], [[2007]], shirt.woot held its first [http://shirt.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=3441 Random Shirt] offering for the asking price of $6.66. The deal, similar to the occasional Random Crap offering at the main site, allowed users to buy up to three previously reckoned shirts for less than $20.00. Three shirts on the day of their debut sell for a total of $30, while three second chance shirts cost $45.

==Woot Sellout==
On [[September 12]], [[2007]], Woot entered into a partnership with [[Yahoo!]] and created a new site, sellout.woot.com. <ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=2892 | title = Woot Sells Out! | work = Woot | accessdate = September 12 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref> All product offers and fulfillment are managed by Woot; however, one can only access the site through Yahoo! Shopping's front page. New products appear at the same time as other Woot sites, seven days a week. The use of the word sellout is a [[double entendre]] referring to the implication that woot.com "[[sold out]]" by associating with Yahoo, and also refers to the goal of each woot offering which is to sell out their entire stock of inventory or that it is sold outside of the normal woot website.

==Photoshop contests==
Woot also offers [[Adobe Photoshop|Photoshop]] contests every weekend, with cash prizes going to the top 3 entries. There are also several honorable mention winners, each of which get free shipping on an order. One off-topic or poorly edited entry is awarded a Monkey Prize, which is typically a random monkey-related item of little or no value. Often, users will create an intentionally poor entry<ref>http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=2620</ref>, inverting the typical goal of achieving the first, second or third prizes.

Certain images recur in contest entries. "Brave Woman," the name of one such image, is a woman who originally appeared in conjunction with the [[Oct 22]], [[2004]] Woot-Off,<ref>http://www.ocforums.com/archive/index.php/t-337922.html </ref> which began with sale of the "Ab Tilt Abdominal Exerciser with Backrest"<ref>http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=48541</ref> and culminated with the sale of item titled “Brave Woman Adventure Kit”.<ref>http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=48541&page=103</ref><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20041023032935/http://woot.com/</ref>

==Statistics==
===2007===
As of [[July 20]], [[2007]], Woot states that it has "over 800,000 registered members".<ref>http://shirt.woot.com/WhatIsWoot.aspx</ref> Woot says that it sold its 1,000,000th item, a 4GB micro hard drive, on [[February 5]], 2007.<ref>http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=2077</ref> According to Woot's Jason Toon, woot member "cchillman" has received his item as the prize and Woot has refunded his money.

===September 2005===
On [[September 20]], [[2005]], [http://www.woot.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=282050 a post in the Woot Blog] provided several statistics about Woot sales, including the following:
* On average, 62% of customers buy 1 of an item, 14% buy 2, and 24% buy 3.
* On average, 27% of sales occur in the first hour. The next highest sales (8%) occur at 7 am Central time.
* The top 5 states ranked by woots purchased per capita are:
# [[Nevada]] — 1:637
# [[Washington]] — 1:828
# [[Maryland]] — 1:865
# [[California]] — 1:876
# [[Utah]] — 1:893<ref>http://www.woot.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=282050 20 September 2005 statistics post</ref>

===July 2005===
On [[July 26]], 2005, [http://www.woot.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=87332 a post in the Woot Blog] provided several statistics about Woot customers, including the following:
* One wooter has purchased 338 products from 114 different woots.
* The top spender (a different user) has spent $16,285.62.<ref>http://www.woot.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=87332 26 July 2005 statistics post</ref>

===During a sale===
During a sale, clicking on the "Product Stats" tab, or reading the first post in the product's forum page, will reveal:
* the "first sucker" to purchase the woot
* the "speed to first woot" purchase
* a quantity breakdown, how large a percentage of users bought one, two or three items
* the percentage of woot sold during each hour
* the purchaser seniority, how long they've been a woot member
* the purchase experience, how many woots each buyer has purchased previously.
* "Quality posts" — insightful comments or questions posted by Wooters about the product. (forum only)
* the purchaser experience for the particular .woot, how many woots each buyer has previously purchased from the particular domain
*There will be frequent competitions on the product forum for the first post.
* the first post on the page will most often be from the "Wootalyzer" C++ tracker program.

===After a sale===
After a sale, the item's page in the Woot's forum will usually list the above statistics plus:
* item quantity
* last order time
* "Woot Member to blame for sellout" or last purchaser in the event of a non-sellout (user who purchased the last item)
* order pace
* "Woot Wage" (a calculation of how much revenue Woot made per hour based on the order pace)

==Podcasts==
On every weekday, at the same time as products are announced, Woot.com also publishes a [[podcast]]. This podcast briefly describes the item up for sale, and features an often-humorous song or skit relating to the product up for sale. These podcasts are recorded by Matthew Shultz.

===Songs/skits of note===
There are several "special" podcast songs/skits that recur periodically. These include:

====Podcast Mailbag====
Occasionally, instead of the usual song or skit, the podcast features a "Podcast Mailbag" segment, where Matthew reads and replies to a piece of e-mail submitted to Woot.com. Both the listener's mail itself as well as Matthew's reply to it are often humorous and/or sarcastic in nature. These readings are accompanied by a piano melody, and previously ended with the sentence: "E-mails not answered on the air will probably not be answered at all; therefore, if you have an emergency, do not e-mail podcast@woot.com; instead, dial [[9-1-1]]."<ref>http://www.woot.com/Files/20070308-BIJ4P1.mp3 An example Mail Bag Podcast</ref>

With the advent of SayNow, the Woot Podcast Mailbag has consisted of voicemails left by users using the SayNow system. Matthew plays the voicemails on the podcast, often with derisive and humorous comments. The podcast mailbag ending line has now become: "E-mail your comments or questions to podcast@woot.com, or click the [[goldenrod]] phone icon on the main page at woot.com for instructions on using SayNow to listen and reply to podcasts on your mobile telephone."

====Sonic trivia quiz====
A semi-periodic woot podcast where the podcast team "squish" together various sound clips so they are not to be readily identifiable. Then there is a competition to correctly identify each clip and what they all have in common. The winner gets a heartfelt congratulation and a prize of little or no monetary value. As of now, the 37th and final Sonic Trivia Quiz aired Thursday [[June 21]], 2007.

====Random Crap song====
On days when Bags of Random Crap are being sold (except during Woot-offs), the podcast features a "Random Crap" theme song.

===="Woot-off Song" or "Theme for Wooting-Off"====
While a Woot-off is running, a podcast featuring the "Woot-off Song" is run.

====Thump-THUMP====
Whenever a heart related product is sold (blood pressure or heart rate monitor, etc.) the song features a thump-THUMP rhythm and is sung in a recurring style.

====Bluetooth the Pirate====
Whenever a product related to the [[Bluetooth]] wireless technology is sold (Bluetooth USB adapters, cell phone headsets, etc.), a special song is featured. Sung by the crew of a pirate ship, this song tells the tale of "Bluetooth, the most fearsome [[pirate]] on the [[Seven Seas]]" and his many nefarious deeds. During the middle part of these songs, a lone voice of dissent among the crew speaks out, complaining that Bluetooth is a technology, and has nothing to do with pirates. The Captain always comes back with a smart rebuke.

====Ferdinand Magellan====
Whenever a product related to the [[Magellan]] company is sold (mainly GPS devices), a special song is featured. It always begins with the lyrics "Ferdinand Magellan, the Circumnavigator, He crossed the danged Meridians, He crossed the danged Equator..." One notable listener mailbag consisted of a teacher writing in to ask for the chords of the song, so that he could use it in his class.

==Related services and applications==
Community members have contributed back to the site by offering Woot-related services. A collection of alert services can be found [http://woot.wikia.com/wiki/Woot-Off_Checkers here], which alert when the next Woot product is listed. Others include a forum, [http://www.wootswap.com wootswap], to swap Woot-purchased items, an Apple Dashboard [[Dashboard (software)|widget]], a Vista gadget, and an [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]] bot that spits out the product name.

Woot's success has also spawned multiple competitors and similar businesses. Woot's [[One deal a day|One Deal a Day]] business model continues to be copied by sites such as Zazz and MidnightBox. Woot's only known offshoot sales sites are Woot Wine, Woot Shirts, and Woot Sellout.

==Criticisms==
===Customer service===
Woot does not have a satisfaction guaranteed return policy, and only accepts returns of defective products. "If you buy something you don't end up liking or you have what marketing people call 'buyer's remorse,' sell it on eBay. It's likely you'll make money doing this and save everyone a hassle. If the item doesn't work, find out what you're doing wrong. Yes, we know you think the item is bad, but it's probably your fault. Google your problem, or come back to that product discussion in our community and ask other people if they know. Try to call the manufacturer and ask if they know."<ref>http://www.woot.com/WhatIsWoot.aspx "What is Woot"</ref>

===Woot Wine's business model===
As of August 2006, various state laws only allow delivery to thirty-two states (and [[Washington, D.C.|DC]]) while Woot only ships to the lower 48 states in normal cases.<ref>[http://wine.woot.com/WhatIsWoot.aspx#qw13 wine.woot.com - "What states can you ship to?"]</ref>

Woot, like all internet wine sellers, must be in compliance with state tax and liquor laws and therefore the wines are shipped directly by wineries to individuals.

===Slow delivery===
To save costs, Woot is now using [[FedEx#Operating units and logos|FedEx Smartpost]] shipping for some small and light items. This shipping method hands off the package to USPS before delivery. shirt.woot.com offers overnight shipping for an extra $5, but no expedited solution has been provided for the main site as of yet.

===Woot's e-commerce servers===
During a Woot Off! or Bag Of Crap sale, Woot's servers can get bogged down. Many customers complain that Woot should upgrade their servers to handle this load even though it only lasts a few minutes.{{Fact|date=November 2007}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
===General===
===General===
* [http://www.woot.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.woot.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=2595 If you don't know Woot by now] - Informative blog post
* [http://wine.woot.com/ Woot Wine]
* [http://shirt.woot.com/ Woot Shirt]
* [http://sellout.woot.com/ Woot Sellout (Together with Yahoo Shopping)]
* [http://woot.wikia.com Woot Wiki]


===Reviews===
===Reviews===
Line 221: Line 44:
* [http://www.involvemag.com/features/woot.php ''Involve Magazine'' article on Dave Rutledge]
* [http://www.involvemag.com/features/woot.php ''Involve Magazine'' article on Dave Rutledge]



[[Category:Internet culture]]
[[Category:Internet forums]]
[[Category:Online retail companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Online retail companies of the United States]]

Revision as of 02:01, 3 February 2008

This article is about the company. For the internet slang term, see W00t on wiktionary.
Woot, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded2004
HeadquartersCarrollton, TX
Key people
Matt Rutledge, Founder & CEO
Number of employees
30+

Woot is an Internet retailer based in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, Texas. It was founded by electronics wholesaler Matt Rutledge and debuted on July 12 2004[1]. Woot offers one discounted product each day on its web site, woot.com. The product is available for 24 hours; it "expires" at midnight (US Central time) and is replaced by a different product for the next day. Products offered vary but tend to emphasize computer components and electronic gadgets. Woot takes its name from the widely-used online interjection "w00t", which was Merriam-Webster's "Word of the Year" in 2007. Each product sold is referred to as a "woot". Woot also stands for Want One of Those.

Competitors


General

Reviews

References

  1. ^ The Blog - July 12, 2007 - Random Crap
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Woot&oldid=188716254"