Man, who doesn’t have a Stack store these days?
I’m going to use the code BB99OFF just to see what happens.
Can we get an affiliate link system going?
Gotta say this is a let down. I was actually kind of happy to see BB putting up a store of its own with BB curated stuff that presumably would have more selection than the “just stuff BB posters can find Amazon or Stack Social Affiliate links for” in the regular posts, but to find it is just a re badged Stack Social storefront? Groan. And, I’m frankly disappointed that BB can’t just be upfront and note that this is Stack Social - a criticism I also apply to another of my favorite sites, Tech Dirt, and their Stack Social store. Even though I’m not a Stack Social fan, I also don’t see a problem with contracting out a store front to an org with it’s own specialized expertise and resources - but given the nature of Stack Social, I think it would be better to just be upfront about who actually runs the store.
Well thank goodness. The one problem with this site is not enough merchandise.
Huh? I thought you already had a store?
We posted this 45 minutes ago. I was expecting you to complain much faster than that. You are not on your game this morning, Skeptic. 
Hey, given that you already know what I was going to say doesn’t that mean that you could have anticipated my criticism and, you know, just said, “Today, we launched the Boing Boing Storefront for Stack Social! It’s packed with great deals …” ? Surely your prescience can be used for good 
Coincidentally, this announcement happened today just after I spent some time browsing GizMag’s store, and I noticed it was identical to the LifeHacker store, and the Gizmodo store, and the Laughing Squid store, and the…
I just hadn’t realized until today how quickly Stack Social had spread. And how it was exactly identical on all these sites.
So, suffice to say, because of the happenstance of timing I was also fairly disappointed, though not surprised, that BoingBoing was just yet another Stack Social customer, all of them offering that exact same tiny drone all the damn time.
It makes perfect sense for BB to have a store that it can monetize from, but I hope they’ll recognize that, when their target demographic probably visits 6 or 8 other sites a day which all have the exact same store, the chance of getting custom is much smaller than it would be for some hand-curated store, like a simple continuation of the affliate-link-supported Christmas list that BB has.
I have the “SKEYE Nano Drone” pictured there, though I think mine was packaged with a different name.
It’s not stable at all, requires a very light touch on the controls (and likes to zip around and throw itself at things anyway), adjusting the trim is kind of a lost cause, there is no optional prop guard, and the props bend and get carpet fibers stuck in them. It’s fun anyway – but think of it as kind of a crazy toy, not as a way to practice for that DJI Phantom you really wanted.
I got one of those, and an impact knocked out power to one of the motors within about three minutes.
Yeah, I thought so, too…
This one of those times when it would behoove you expound upon the nature of Stack Social, and stand by your meaning, rather than innuendo, which is what you just did there.
I have no idea, but I am not likely to be swayed away by innuendo.
Forgive my ignorance - what is Stack Social? Why aren’t you a fan of it?
(genuine question - I’d never heard of it until this thread)
Had not heard of it either. I assume I have not been visiting stores on other sites given the comments above.
@daneel and @AcerPlatanoides
I don’t think I aimed to sway either of you away from Stack Social. As to the nature of Stack Social, it is an affiliate marketing company that, unlike Amazon and contrary to FTC guidelines, doesn’t, as best as I can determine, require any disclosure of the financial interest affiliates have in the undisclosed affiliate links. That isn’t so much a problem for a store front as BB has just implemented, where a financial interest is implied, but rather for posts like the one where a Boinger touted a cheap price on a multi-year subscription to a VPN service, one that some readers thought was not a good recommendation and that turned out not to be refundable, even if it doesn’t work on your device. Knowing that the poster had a financial interest in the recommended deal would have been something that should have been disclosed.
As to “the nature of” Stack Social storefronts, as SamSam noted, they are virtually ubiquitous. The pay must be good because even another site I respect for its stance on openness and transparency (as I generally do BB with certain notable exceptions) touts “its” store without noting that it is just an affiliate, feeding customers to Stack Social. I’m in favor of transparency, and Stack Social affiliate links and store fronts are not always transparent. The new “Boing Boing” store is one such example.
Now, however, I do specifically suggest that people be wary of Stack Social. Stack Social offers some good deals on cool stuff. But customer service? Not so much. I clicked on each of the links in the quoted text (the quote function doesn’t include the hyperlinks) and on the first item in the link. Each and every one of them:
When I buy stuff at a discount on Amazon it is still returnable (YMMV). Stack Social, not so much. Now, I’m not saying that “All sales final” terms are never worth the risk, but I do say that such terms are a significant trade off and that I’m wary of companies that rely on such terms as a matter of course. Does BB really want to brand a 3d party store filled with consumer unfriendly “all sales final” terms as its own? According to this announcement, the answer is, “yes.”
More confusingly, http://shop.boingboing.net/ still exists, too.
Totally different. That’s a shop, the new thing is a store. See? Totally different. 
The old “BoingBoing” shop is a store front for
The new “BoingBoing” store is a store front for
Stating these relationships clearly would be a good idea.
Thank you, daneel! That’s what I was thinking of.
IMHO, it’s a much more interesting store. But hey - if other people buying from Stack Social helps keep Boing Boing going, great!
