Patti O'Shea's Blog

Welcome to the new look for my blog. It matches my new website and I think it turned out great! And I can say that because I’m not the person who did it.

This week, there was a Woot-off on Woot.com. I can’t remember how I found out about this site, but usually they do one deal a day. Every couple of months, though, they hold a Woot-off and then it’s item after item until whatever they put up sells out. Woot-offs normally last two days, but occasionally go three.

Some of it takes a long time to go because it’s, well, junk. The used DVDs of three incredibly lame comedies are one item that came up today that I thought were never going to sell out! Other items are just things most people will never need. There’s a lot of tech stuff, like HD video cards. Great if you’re someone who likes to assemble your own system, not so great for those of us who aren’t. There’s a lot of refurbished stuff and then there are some really good deals.

Today, I wooted and bought coffee! Five 1 pound bags. It was actually a good deal if you happen to like the expensive coffee, and thanks to a friend of mine, I’m now hooked on the stuff.

But the highlight of every Woot-off is the Bag of Crap. Yep, Bag of Crap.

When I first got on Woot, I ignored them. I imagined that it would be some pretty lame stuff that they couldn’t sell. Like the mini kites or the bag of charades game. Then I was told, no, it’s not always junk. Sometimes it includes good things like televisions or other electronics.

Well, heck, if there was a chance to get something that might actually be useful, I had to try, right? It’s like buying the occasional lottery ticket–you just might get lucky.

So I tried and tried on earlier Woot-offs to get a Bag of Crap, but I had no luck. One time, they put it up while I was driving home from work. The others? Well, I just couldn’t get through. The server would crash and by the time I got back on Woot, some other item would be up.

I didn’t think today would be any different. For one thing, I was on my laptop which is four years old and is hooked to the internet via a wireless router. Not exactly as fast as if I were on my newish desktop hooked directly into the cable modem. And then the item that was up sold out and I kept pressing F5. And I saw the picture for a Bag of Crap!

Immediately, I hit the “I want one” button, and while it was slow, I actually got to the order screen. Nervously, sure that it would sell out before I could get through, I typed my password. Wrong. I had to backup and retype it. I’m going to be too late now, I knew it. I hit the button that all my information was right. And waited.

And waited.

I was getting more nervous. Bags of Crap sell out in less than a minute. I didn’t want to be sitting on this screen while it sold out. Then the order button screen showed up. My hands were nearly shaking as I clicked to submit my order. Again, I waited.

Would I be thwarted this close to my goal?

Then I got it, the screen that said they’d reserved my Bag of Crap and were processing my order. If I wanted to make sure it went through, I could wait till the confirmation screen came up. Like I was going to click away without that! So I waited, but my email came through first–I had successfully wooted my first ever Bag of Crap!

Whoo hooo!!!

Like a hunter bringing down the woolly mammoth, I had succeeded in bagging the prize!

So now I wait for my Bag of Crap to arrive and hope that I get something I can use and not three used DVDs of some lame comedies or a mini kite.