What do you think the algorithm is for Bags of Crap selection?
The past few days have seen some discussion about bags of crap that made me wonder just how they choose who gets what. I'm pretty sure it's random, or at least pseudo-random, but I've actually given this some thought. While I don't hear of the amazing one off moments that I used to (such as a brand new fancy wide screen television), there are still pretty good items at about the same rate as in past.
There are always threads on the original BoC posts so that you can follow along to see what people got, and there are homage sites (my favorite is http://www.bagsofcrap.com/), which list the items, and the likelihood of winning the big prize.
by
shrdlu
asked a year ago
One of the things that is on the site I'd mentioned is an actual list:
http://www.bagsofcrap.com/boc_items/
Of course, lists are only as good as the participants make them, but it sounds like the kind of thing you'd expect to get in them. There's always Texas air, too, which certainly should have value.
I'm thinking that it may be a function of when the order goes through that determines what you get. You know, 100 orders get the standard package, 10 get extras, 10 others get different stuff completely, 1 gets something cool, and so on. I'm sure it's much more complex than that, but I rather like the idea of having it deterministic, according to when the order goes through.
From looking at that site, it looks like most of them got the same things, Recycled tote bag, sweat bands, and a few odds here and there. I'm sure it's really just a bunch of boxes sitting around and they say "okay, 3-5 items in each box" and people walk through with armfuls of stuff and drop it in. I doubt there is a big equation involved, but it would be nice to know the inner-workings of the most coveted woot item ever mentioned.
i think the algorithm is this guy @threepiecewoot
he apparently gets to pick what he wants in each bag. from a dump truck of excess stuff i guess
http://deals.woot.com/questions/details/5f35b265-a86e-49a0-b1c3-5062fd53d6de/what-is-the-best-or-worst-thing-you-have-ever-received-in-a-woot-bag-o-crap?page=2&sort=oldest
@w00tgurl: Interesting. I hadn't actually looked at any of the threads on this. Thanks for pointing it out.
@w00tgurl's right. @threepiecewoot's the guy to bless if you get good crap, to curse if you get crappy crap, or to thank if your crap is so crappy that it is actually good, which is what happened with my deal number 100,000 crap:
This post is obviously for reputation building...
there's a monkey in the warehouse who earns minimum wage to select random craps for each bag. Of course a monkey would have some favorite items, explaining why some items are in nearly every bag.
@w00tgurl: Interesting. I'd have guessed it was more or less completely random. Along the lines of what @shrdlu said, but like "this is the pile of crap we're going to give, we'll just take x items from the pile for each person" and then a few get something extra, blah blah direct quote. Sort of cool that it's actually selected though, you can tell whether or not woot staff likes you :P
dont' you think the BOC is just whatever was leftover that didn't sell very well? and still couldn't sell in the Woot-Off? plus a few random items they kept around that they couldn't part with? ...and then finally Hoarders psychologists came in and told them it was time to let it go? that's when that monkey back in and puts items in boxes until s/he runs out of crap and boxes.
I like to think of it as magic, and as such, don't ask about it.
I like to imagine 3P and a horde of monkey minions slaving around the clock to fill the BOCs and trying to get them shipped out as soon as possible, if for nothing more than to shut us all up.
For me, woot! crap is woot! crap and I am always happy to get it, no matter what it is (even my red marble sample tile).
@theoneill555: There were once a bunch of temporary offices next to the DFW airport that held architects, engineers, accountants and other professionals. They all came together to plan and build the new terminal at DFW. After it was built (I assume they gave each other high fives and then) all of the contents of this large temporary facility went up on the auction block. I attended that auction in 2007 to buy furniture for our new Woot headquarters. A couple years later, I was moving offices and transferring my Herman Miller filing cabinet (that I got a smoking deal on from that auction) when I heard a loud rattle. I opened up the bottom drawer to find that red and white tile.
@threepiecewoot: lol that's awesome
@threepiecewoot: i love stories. any more? what's the story behind the big TV and the 500 soldier men? anything good?
First they pick two things from the top shelf, then two from the bottom shelf, then one from the left, one from the right, one from the left, one from the right, and then finish it off with items that start with a B and an A.
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