A whole bunch of you never went to quirky toy shops as a kid where this was the norm. They know EXACTLY what these are. The whole story and mystery is just to excite kids into buying a 5¢ piece of plastic. It’s even hinted at in the story(they make a funny noise). Someone did correctly point out that these are just a musical instrument, played by swinging them around.
But but they said they honestly didn’t know…
We need to get rid of them, they cost us nothing, we have thousands. But we can’t make them free or give them to children. = Capitalism
That’s not even capitalism. That’s just dumb greed. Capitalism is ruled by supply and demand. They have an oversupply with no demand. If they have thousands taking up valuable storage space, they should be free or they should be incurring the lesser expense of disposing them in the local landfill/recycling center.
Or its a lie and the discount price really has a healthy profit in it
Oh thank god.
Crazy how it probably never even crossed their minds
You’re probably right, but there are reasons why one might list a nominal price, but not actually collect payment.
I’ve listed things on Craiglist for a small price but not collected the money. With free items, “buyers” can be more flaky, and I don’t want to deal with that — but by placing a small price, people seemed better at showing up to pick stuff up on time, etc. So, list a price, and then reverse bait and switch when they arrive to pick up item and give it away.
For these, I could imagine wanting them to go to a good home. With no price, you may get frat house pranks, etc., so a small price gets people who are actually interested.
Or…yeah, you’re probably right.
Plus they only kill 5 minutes yet cost $2!? What kind of swanky neighborhood is this in, that people can afford to prolly give their kids cancer for $2 (EACH!), without at least dulling the hunger sensation for 5 minutes first?
Yup, seems like dumb shit my wife would buy for the kids. I’m sure she’d even pay double that.
This is
A) they’re whirly tubes.
B) it’s likely a brushing scam [happens with many platforms, not just Amazon].
Never knew about brushing scam before. I had something similar happen at a place I worked. Our regular supplier did a delivery but it had a bunch of stuff we didn’t order. We called the supplier and they said “we’re just trying to get rid of that junk.” Oh thanks, guess I’ll throw it out for you!
giant bendy straws that connect to each other, end-to-end? you could make an interesting art piece out of them. find some multi-point joint pieces or 3d print them… the possibilities are as endless as their apparent supply.
Even though I rarely shopped there, it was a nice Classic Austin ® vibe to have the ole ToyJoy there on Guadalupe. Ohh well… nothing is forever.
I didn’t know Toy Joy closed. Damn.
I’ve been away from austin for over a decade, sad news indeed
