Sellout.Woot In partnership with Yahoo Deals

Sellout.Woot

I’m totally lost. Is there a door greeter around? Where am I? What’s my name? How did I get here?

Easy, now. You’ll be OK. You’re among friends. You’ve arrived at Sellout.Woot via our sponsor, Yahoo! Click here to return to Yahoo! Shopping, if you want to go back there. To learn what you need to know to be a full-fledged wooter, come in and inhale the freshness that is Woot. Only about a million people beat you here.

How does this store work?

As on the other sites run by Woot, only one product will be for sale at any given time. A new deal will debut at midnight Central time every day, in limited quantities at a discounted price. You buy it by clicking the big orange "I WANT ONE" button. This deal will be available until it sells out or until the next midnight, then it’s gone. For real. No backorders, no rainchecks. Maybe it'll come back sometime. Maybe not.

So who or what is Woot?

Woot is an expression of excitement and the name of our company. It’s also shorthand for our single daily product offering, exclusively sourced, transacted, and shipped by Woot – in other words, every day Woot sells a new woot. The Woot experience is part entertainment, part community, and part deal center. A free Woot member account enables you to participate in our forums and purchase any woots that may strike your fancy. It all started at Woot.com, and then expanded to include wine and t-shirt stores, too. Along the way, we've accumulated a community of passionate, opinionated, testy but loyal members. We call them wooters. Learn these lessons well and we'll call you one, too.

What if I have a question about the product, or I own one and love it, or I own one and hate it, or I know of a better product that does the same thing?

Then please, shoot your mouth off in the forum discussion for that day. If you have a question, chances are somebody will know the answer. If you have an opinion, or you researched the product on the web and found something interesting that we overlooked, you owe it to your fellow wooters to share it. Seriously, let it rip. Just keep it PG-13 and relevant to the product; otherwise, no holds are barred. Of course, that means you should be ready to have your opinions challenged. Wooters are always ready for a tussle. Make sure you're wearing your emotional kevlar.

If I know somewhere to get the day's product cheaper, can I tell everybody in the forums?

Please do. We like to think our price is the lowest you'll find for a given item on a given day. Prove us wrong. Hunt down a better deal. Shout it from the rooftops. Hell, if the price you find is low enough, we might buy some ourselves.

Hey, your product description is bizarre, confusing, or negative about the product. Did your site get hacked or something?

Nope, that's how we talk around here. Unlike a lot of boring old sales copy, our product descriptions strive for entertainment and honesty. The entertainment part is simple: we want to keep you laughing, and keep you coming back. As for the honesty, it would take a web-savvy shopper about ten seconds to find every bad review a product has ever gotten. So we don't pretend every single woot is God's gift to the American consumer. It's right for some of you, it's wrong for others. And that's OK. If you read our description, follow the forum discussion, and decide not to buy today's product, we've done our jobs.

I bought something from you, and now I just don't want it anymore. Will you take it back?

No. See, figuring out whether you want a product is your job. We lay out the specs, open up the forum to opinions and reviews, and encourage every wooter to do as much research as possible. If you do all that and make a bad decision, we recommend selling your unwanted woot on eBay. You'll probably wind up making a profit on the deal. Of course, if your product is broken, or not what you ordered, contact us and we'll take care of you. But our cold, hard hearts have no sympathy for victims of buyer's remorse.

How does Sellout.Woot fit into all this?

Sellout.Woot is an offshoot of Woot.com sponsored by Yahoo! We decided to enslave ourselves to the corporate beast so we can offer woot members a selection unencumbered by the demands of our flagship store. With a concept store like this, we can stretch our capabilities, experiment in new product areas, and reach new demographics, without messing up what we’ve already got going on. Basically, we can try things here that wouldn’t work anywhere else in our vast empire. As with the other dot.woots, you’ll recognize the same store, blog, and community features that together make up the Woot experience. We hope that you’ll enjoy the fruits of sellout.woot at least as much as our wallets do. Selling out has never been this easy.

Why can’t I just type in "sellout.woot.com" to get to your front page?

Because our “front page” is Yahoo! Shopping. You gotta go through them if you want to get to us. That’s one of the benefits Yahoo! gets for sponsoring this whole thing. Also, Yahoo! now owns the souls of our firstborn male children. Price of doing business, you know?

You guys are a bunch of sell-out shark-jumping corporate stooges! Lapdogs! Prostitutes! Traitors! You’ve betrayed all that is holy and you must be destroyed!

Hey, you sound like a wooter already. Welcome home.

How can I pursue studies in advanced Wootology?

See what others have to say about us at the Woot Wikipedia article. And see what we say about ourselves in the following entries reproduced verbatim from our main Woot.com FAQ, which has been developing since our launch way back in 2004.

General Woot Stuff

What is Woot and who's behind it?

Woot.com is an online store and community that focuses on selling cool stuff cheap. It started as an employee-store slash market-testing type of place for an electronics distributor, but it's taken on a life of its own. We anticipate profitability by 2043 – by then we should be retired; someone smarter might take over and jack up the prices. Until then, we're still the lovable scamps we've always been. But don't take our word for it: see what the online community has to say at this Wikipedia article.

I see only one item, do you sell anything else?

No. We sell one item per day until it is sold out or until 11:59pm central time when it is replaced (see next entry for details). However, each item we sell is in stock and typically ships within 2-3 business days.

What is the schedule for new items?

The short answer: we offer a new item every single day. The details: a new product is released every morning at 12am central time, seven days a week. (If you're not a morning person, this can be described as every night at midnight. Better?) If a product sells out during its run, a new item will not appear until the next release time. You will know if a product is sold out, because the main page says "SOLD OUT" instead of "I want one". (Clever, eh?)

I missed yesterday's item, can I still get one?

No. Each woot.com product is discontinued at 11:59pm central time. That's that. Period. We may get more at a later date if we're lucky, but we offer no guarantees, we allow no backorders, and we have no waiting/notification lists. Too bad.

I want to talk to a live person there, can I call you?

No. We are busy sourcing new products and shipping orders. You can post a comment to our community board, but we don't guarantee we'll respond. You should Google for the manufacturer contact to get product answers – we suggest a dating service, magic 8 ball, or ouija board for general life solutions.

Will I receive customer support like I'm used to?

No. Well, not really. 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. If you give up and must return it to us, then follow on to the next FAQ entry.

How do I return a defective product?

Unless we specifically tell you not to, call the manufacturer of the product you bought. You will likely get a replacement of a new model or better item from them. If we still haven't dissuaded you, email rma@woot.com with your woot order number, the name of the product you are returning, and the detailed problem with the item. We will respond with return authorization by the next business day. Because we aren't likely to have a replacement in stock, you should be prepared for a refund-only option if that's all we can do. Know that return freight will be at your expense. Again, you will probably get a better deal from the manufacturer, or whoever else handling member service for that product.

Can Woot start listing sale prices in the blog entries?

No, not any time soon. Certain portions of our database have been seized by INTERPOL as part of an ongoing investigation into bootleg cigarette trafficking. Or, possibly, the Russian mafia has hacked our blog and disabled the price-listing function because it was somehow interfering with their spam operation. Or maybe we just don't feel like it. In any case, the answer is no.

Will Woot ever tell us how many units remain available in a given sale?

No. That would spoil the fun. But we will give you one hint, which brings us to...

Why is the "I Want One" button bouncing around?

Ah, that means we're in Urgent Mode. Act fast - a sellout is approaching! The bouncing button is like a nutty old prophet guy on the street wearing a signboard that says "THE END IS NIGH," only cleaner, less crazy, and more orange.

I see some orange flashing lights on the main page – what do they mean?

No, you aren't seeing a side effect from your allergy medication. You have found a Woot-Off, a short term frenzied mutation of our product posting procedure. In Woot-Off mode, a new product is launched immediately after the sellout of the previous deal. There is a half-Woot-life of 12 hours maximum on any product within a Woot-Off that does not sell out. The number of Woot-Off items, sequence, and quantity will not be announced. When Woot-Off mode is over, the orange lights will disappear and our normal schedule will resume. Depending on its success, this may be a mode we would go into once or twice a month for a relatively short duration of time (24-72 hours generally.)

Does Woot offer an RSS feed? Hey, what's an RSS feed anyway?

To answer your first question, yes. Simply subscribe to http://www.woot.com/blog/rss.aspx in your RSS reader to receive updates of all of our new items and new blog posts. Your life will immediately, measurably improve in ways you never thought possible.

To answer your second question: if you don't know what RSS is, how'd you ask the first question? Never mind; RSS is a way to receive headlines and article links whenever your favorite blogs and news sites update their content. All the cool kids are using it. To join in, you need to download and install an RSS reader – download your choice from this handy guide and follow the installation instructions. Once that's rolling, subscribe to http://www.woot.com/blog/rss.aspx. You'll never miss a Woot again, unless you do something foolish like fall asleep.

Ordering

How do I create a Woot account?

Scroll up to the top of this page where it says "Hi. Are you new?" Click "Start here." You will need to supply a valid email address, a password of your choice, and a unique community nickname by which you will be known. Then click on the "woot me" button and your account is ready for buying products and using the forums. If you plan to buy, you can add your credit card and shipping info to your account here. You can also add or change it later by clicking on "My Account." Only one account per email address and credit card number is allowed.

What payment options do I have?

You can pay for your orders using VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or Paypal. We do not accept checks, money orders, uncut gemstones, or broken promises.

What are my shipping options?

Currently, your shipping options are limited. An item can ship if you order it, or not ship if you don't. We will ship by common carrier and try to stick with the same service for most items. Right now, we are making Fed-Ex happy, but depending on a particular item, we could change to save cost.

How can I track my order?

Regardless of shipping method, you will get a tracking email once your order ships. You can check your order status by logging in and clicking the “My Account” tab at the top of the page. Your account page will list all your previous orders. Click on the order number to view tracking information for that order. Do not email us the next day asking when your item will ship. Take a breath. Have a cup of coffee. Patience in all things, grasshopper.

Why isn't my state/country/province listed; do you ship internationally?

No, we do not ship outside of the continental United States at this time. We do not ship to Canada, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, nor to Maggie's Nipples, Wyoming or Assinippi, Massachusetts at this time.

I'll take them all, what is my discount?

There is a maximum of 3 units purchased per order with 1 order per account each day. The shipping charge is only charged once so you'll save a slight amount on 2 or 3. You can't have them all. You have to share with the other boys and girls.

I'm a wholesaler/retailer/Bill Gates; can I buy from you in bulk?

No. You can buy a maximum of 3. Please don't ask again or we'll sprinkle some nasty microbes on your next order. Jeez, some people…

LAUNCH EVENTS

I see some kind of weird-looking pope hat on the main page. What's that about?

A Pope hat? Oh, that. It's supposed to be a rocket ship. In any case, that's our LAUNCH EVENT indicator! And boy, are you a lucky cuss. Spying the LAUNCH EVENT indicator is like catching sight of a leprechaun, or the elusive white whale. When you see it next to a Woot item, that item is available on Woot and nowhere else! Woot is the first and only place you can get such a doo-dad!

What do you mean “the first and only place?” Everything is attainable.

True, but assuming you're not a cat burglar, or an industrial spy, or the manufacturer's mistress, you won't have had an opportunity to pick up a Woot LAUNCH EVENT item before you see it here.

How come? Where do “LAUNCH EVENT” items come from?

It could be that you're looking at the item's initial market launch. Or it could be a special sneak preview just for Wooters. It could be that legislation banning the item has just expired. It could be that the item uses totally new technology bestowed upon us by a benevolent race of visiting aliens. (Overwhelmingly, it will be one of those first two.)

If this LAUNCH EVENT item isn't available anywhere else, how am I supposed to shop around and make comparisons?

Yeah, it sort of seems like you can't.

Why do you keep putting LAUNCH EVENT in all caps?

To fully convey its majesty.

Maybe I'll just wait until this item becomes more widely available, so I know what other users think of it.

If that's how you want to live your life, sure. Fine. There are those who would say that your type will inherit the earth. Until then, though, the rest of us will have all the coolest gizmos.

Community

What is the Community?

The community section of Woot features four public forums. “Woots” is where we encourage everyone to post their comments, opinions, experiences, and share technical knowledge about each of our items. Does one of the items suck so bad that they should all be ritualistically burned en masse? Or perhaps a product rocks SO hard that everyone should sell their house, forget their past life, and buy a few of these up? You get the idea. “News” will carry announcements of new developments within the company, links to media pieces about Woot, that sort of thing. “Contests” is where our weekly contests will live, logically enough. And “Everything Else” is wide-open. This will be the only forum where users can start new topic discussions.

What's with the Blog?

Here, in the popular web log format, you'll find our daily items along with articles and links of interest to all our special little Wooters out there. Look for this section of the site to turn into quite the content carnival over the coming weeks. If you click on “comments” below a blog entry, you'll wind up at the forum discussion topic for that post.

How do I use the message board?

First, you will need a keyboard. Then you need a Woot account, which you can easily create by clicking “Start Here” or “My Account.” Once you're all logged in, simply go to “The Community,” click on the forum and topic in question, and then click on “Reply” or (in the Everything Else forum) “Post.” Feel free to let it fly, just keep it PG-13.

Which Woot staff people use the message boards?

We'll tell you, but you have to promise not to stalk us. As indicated by the fetching "Woot Staff Member" forum avatar, Snapster, Dave Bug, Luke Duff, Big D, Jason Toon, Solais, and Agnew are the real live Woot employees that you can rub e-shoulders with on the community boards. We've also recruited a few volunteer moderators and tagged them with a similar graphic. And any post by Administrator is official Woot bidness, too. Beware anybody else who seems to speak for us.

What is not allowed in the community?

First, the usual disclaimer – we're not responsible for the content of any user- submitted post in our community. In practice, we'll try to enforce some simple guidelines below. We want good and bad feedback and will not defend ourselves by means of censorship.

1. Do not post personal information such as addresses, phone numbers, etc.
2. Do not post any advertising to which you are related or stand to profit from the referral. (This means any reference to another site must be on topic, such as a lower price found, a product review, articles of particular interest to Wooters, etc.)
3. Do not post fake reviews (good or bad) of a product you have not physically used or seen used firsthand. Feel free to post what you've heard, just try to be clear and upfront about it.
4. Do not post anything that isn't safe for work, or safe for kids. Again, think PG-13. We're sure you're aware that there are plenty of forums on the web that would love to have your smut. This is not one of them, and we'll enforce it. Complain about it too much and we'll tell your grandma what a sicko you are.
5. Do not include any graphics in your signature that are larger than 5K in filesize, or in any other way obnoxious.
6. We know spamming and forum vandalism when we see it. We will enjoy ruthlessly destroying it. So bring it, chumps! Bring it!

The Podcast

What is this "podcast" you speak of?

It's an audio broadcast in mp3 form - basically an RSS feed that talks. The deal is, you use podcast software to subscribe to the podcasts you want to hear (more on that in a moment). Every time that podcast releases a new mp3 "episode", your software automatically downloads it for your listening pleasure. But seeing as how that's a pretty big hassle, we also let you directly download individual podcasts by clicking on the exclamation-point graphic to the left of the podcast title. And you can hit the "play" button on the little player just below the title to listen to a streaming version. All of these controls can be found on the front page of the site, and in the first post in that day's forum discussion. (Yes, past podcasts are still available for download through their respective forum discussions, hopefully forever.)

Why would I want to hear the Woot podcast?

Our podcast will pop up every weekday at midnight, to tell you about the new woot for the day, and to deliver an original song, skit, or other chunk of Woot-grade humor. They're all created by Matthew, one of the guys responsible for writing the famous Woot product descriptions.

So, the podcast is just somebody reading the product description from the site?

No, no no! Let us say it again: it will deliver an original song, skit, or other chunk of Woot-grade humor, five days a week. The sensibility will be the same, but the gags will all be fresh and exclusive.

I'm convinced. How can I subscribe to the Woot podcast?

If you want to use iTunes, click here and iTunes will start the process, all automatic-like. If you're hip to the game and you want to manually paste the URL of our podcast feed into iTunes or another podcast client, use http://www.woot.com/blog/rss.aspx, the same as our RSS feed. Our wise, witty, wonderful podcasts will begin appearing in your library every night like magical elves of pure sound. Enjoy.

Do I have to use an iPod or iTunes?

No. Don't be fooled by the name – podcasting is not just an Apple thing. The open-source partisans among you can use iPodder to download your podcasts, then play them however you play mp3s: on your computer's media software, your portable digital music player, whatevs. Just follow iPodder's instructions for subscribing. Or you can Google "podcast client" and see what you come up with. The point is, don't write off podcasting just because you're not down with the Jobs crew.

Can I hear the Woot podcast without going through the subscription process?

Why, yes. As we said above, you can also manually download an individual podcast mp3 by clicking the button next to the podcast title, or you can hear a streaming version by clicking the play button on the player. And both of those options are available on either Woot's front page and in the first post in that item's forum discussion. It's so easy, the only acceptable excuse for not listening is "I am a total lameoid who hates fun."

The Company

Where are you guys located?

In the hearts of gadget-loving skinflints everywhere, which happens to be just outside Dallas, Texas. A statistically insignificant few of us are based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Do you have a privacy policy? Is it a secret?

Yes, we do, and no, it's not a secret. Read it in full.

Can I work for Woot?

We don't know – can you? Check out our job listings and you tell us. We're not a huge operation, but we do have need of a few good homos sapiens from time to time. Repeatedly applying for jobs you are clearly not qualified for is a good way to wind up in our never-hire file.