Consoomers / Consoomer Culture - Because if it has a recogniseable brand on it, I’d buy it!

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moocow said:
The best part is when the inevitable shutdown came (even consoomers aren't this fucking stupid -- Soylent at least doesn't require a god damn $400 machine and mandatory subscription) they actually offered a 100% refund for anyone who returned the units themselves because they were sold way under cost and were worth more than the sale price just for their internals and whatever materials could be salvaged from them. If you watch the linked video for the teardown, you'll see it's an astonishingly (competently) over-engineered machine.
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The Juicero guy is like a walking golem of Silicon Valley culture and I can't stand him, but he did explain what the hell went down when he was on Rich Roll's podcast.

The reason why it was overengineered and why it had DRM was for insurance purposes because apparently the underwriters didn't trust people to not drink expired juice or stick their fingers in the fucking thing. Shit was just a comedy of errors on multiple levels.
 
std::string said:
The reason why it was overengineered and why it had DRM was for insurance purposes because apparently the underwriters didn't trust people to not drink expired juice or stick their fingers in the fucking thing. Shit was just a comedy of errors on multiple levels.
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That sounds like bullshit deflecting the blame.
 
trent said:
The dumbest thing about this is that if you give people more money they can just buy their own fucking pizza.
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It's concrete vs abstract rewards. Extra money is nice but because everything is digital the money just gets quietly added to your account and you don't feel that dopamine or really recognize it as a reward becuase it gets mixed in with your regular pay. Meanwhile pizza is immediate and concrete so you get the dopamine from the treat and recognize it immediately as a reward because it is different.

Feliformia said:
We need a wagie hellscape thread for that kind of stuff, imo.
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Given the horror story of Amazon warehouses I'm shocked we don't already. But then again those kinds of posts tend to get added to the other threads that discuss lazy commie types.
 
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A horrifyingly relevant article for the thread:
Adults are buying toys for themselves, and it’s the biggest source of growth for the industry
There are two things keeping the toy industry afloat right now: inflation and a consumer group known as “kidults.”

These kids at heart are responsible for one-fourth of all toy sales annually, around $9 billion worth, and are the biggest driver of growth throughout the industry, according to data from the NPD Group.
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“The definition of adulthood has definitely evolved,” said Jeremy Padawer, chief brand officer at toy company Jazwares. “What it used to mean, to be an adult, was to be a very upstanding, serious member of society. And to do that you had to demonstrate it intellectually, emotionally, in every other single way.”

“Now we feel a lot more free to express our fandom as a part of our adulthood,” he said.
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“At the time, the intended recipient was almost all kids,” he explained. “But those children that were born in the ’70s and ’80s were really the first generation that had this much licensing and this much product that was available for them to demonstrably attached to. And it’s not a big surprise, then that those kids in their 30s and 40s, that they continue to demonstrate that.”

Toy manufacturers such as Lego embraced these consumers and created lines, often tied to nostalgic entertainment properties, just for this cohort. Hasbro’s Black Series for action figures, is a prime example of this, tapping into the desire for high-quality Star Wars and Marvel collectibles. Even Mattel has lines from Barbie and Hot Wheels that are designed specifically for this group of buyers.

Toy companies have even begun creating their own television and movie content in order to support toy lines. Mattel launched its own internal movie company and is set to release “Barbie” in July 2023 and Hasbro bought eOne and will set “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” in theaters in March.

These films are not designed for young kids, instead catering to this older group of toy-loving consumers.

Other brands, such as Funko, have always catered toward adult collectors who are in tune with their inner kid.
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NoReturn said:
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Like what? Funkos?
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I assume they’re talking about stuff like Collector Edition Barbie dolls, which are more expensive and slightly higher quality than the regular ones because they’re aimed at adults to display on a shelf.
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Something similar exists for Hot Wheels, with more-detailed-than-usual replicas of cars.
 
Any sort of toyline that has a rare, limited, or special edition tends to be aimed more toward the adult market as well. You'll still find it in the normal toy isle (if it isn't immediately sold out online and in person from speculators and adult toy hoarders), but they know who is actually buying it.
 
std::string said:
The reason why it was overengineered and why it had DRM was for insurance purposes because apparently the underwriters didn't trust people to not drink expired juice or stick their fingers in the fucking thing.
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That reeks of bullshit. VC's fund all sorts of silly consumer goods with injury potential all the time, and there are more fly-by-night "health food" and "dietary supplement" products funded by VC's every year than I can count.

Just look at Soylent. You think anyone there gives a damn whether people drink that crap past its shelf life?
 
moocow said:
That reeks of bullshit. VC's fund all sorts of silly consumer goods with injury potential all the time, and there are more fly-by-night "health food" and "dietary supplement" products funded by VC's every year than I can count.
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The guy was undoubtedly trying to save face, what most likely happened was they built a shitty slapdash prototype that didn't work very well, and then went to an actual machine shop to build something better. The shop then realized quickly that these people had no idea what they were doing and took Juicero for a ride.
 
Sleazy Car Salesman said:
The guy was undoubtedly trying to save face, what most likely happened was they built a shitty slapdash prototype that didn't work very well, and then went to an actual machine shop to build something better. The shop then realized quickly that these people had no idea what they were doing and took Juicero for a ride.
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He's a Kickstarter lolcow in his own right jf you ask me. After Juicero had been a trainwreck, I think he moved on to kickstarting something dumb like "raw water" which is pretty much untreated/unfiltered water.
 
The
Staffy said:
He's a Kickstarter lolcow in his own right jf you ask me. After Juicero had been a trainwreck, I think he moved on to kickstarting something dumb like "raw water" which is pretty much untreated/unfiltered water.
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The man was a raw food vegan, which makes normal vegans look like paragons of reason and sanity in comparison.

Here's a pretty good video on the juciero.
 
Road Work Ahead said:
The

The man was a raw food vegan, which makes normal vegans look like paragons of reason and sanity in comparison.

Here's a pretty good video on the juciero.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-x_cjPxfrVg
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Back in the day when I said, "eat the rich", this is who I was talking about, but these days the skilless underemployed gender studies people are looking at my family and our property like we're assholes. Gweneth Paltrow and the methhead turning tricks in her tent by the drainage ditch are the same person as far as human value goes.

Fucking raw water. So basically steal water from good sources and slap a high price tag on it because stupid people of a certain class and a fear of mortality will buy it.
 
Lady Bizness said:
Fucking raw water. So basically steal water from good sources and slap a high price tag on it because stupid people of a certain class and a fear of mortality will buy it.
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He has some kind of biohacking/life extension/self-improvement podcast with his wife now and that seems like a pretty good grift if you can get it.

Silicon Valley tech workers with absurd amounts of disposable income who are terrified of the fact that they'll die some day while wondering what their life was all about? Juicero guy is gonna get their ducats.
 
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