[steve8918]

I saw this site last week or maybe the week before, and to be honest, I was put-off by the obnoxiousness of trying to get people to buy the "least popular" t-shirt. To me, it came across as you trying to unload your shittiest product through some clever trick. It had a Zynga-esque feel to it, and I didn't like it at all. The fact you give a clue like "this was the worst selling t-shirt in the last hour" makes me feel like you're tricking me, and I'd rather do business with someone else than risk getting played or ripped off. Sorry, but that's the feeling I get when I see this site.

If you want some additional feedback:

Instead of the gimmicky "you lose I win", I think you need to make it some sort of win-win type gimmick. Like the price goes down the more people buy it, and whoever buys it earlier will get some money back on their next purchase.

You need to make the "game" shorter, I don't have patience to wait a week until I know if I "won".

$25 is something I would pay if the t-shirts were good quality, like American Apparel, but you didn't list the manufacturer.

You need a lot more designs. I was looking for the button for additional designs, but I finally figured out you only have those 5. If I hate all 5 of them, then I won't likely remember your site, and won't come back.

[bryans]

I think you are over thinking, overreacting, and being excessively negative, and I don't at all agree with the logic that led you to interpret this as a scam. You're looking at it from the perspective of buying a design that you don't like in order to win one that you do, but it doesn't make any sense to buy something that you won't use (entirely negating its value) to win something of equal value. Why wouldn't you just buy the product that you want in the first place? You're paying for the shirt you want either way.

In reality, the concept is very simple. You are buying a shirt, with a chance of getting a shirt for free depending on how the sales go. That's all there is to it. Is it a perfectly designed and executed marketing gimmick? Probably not, but any perceived deception is a result of your personal paranoia.

You may feel that paranoia is too strong of a word, but I find it quite appropriate to describe a fear of "getting ripped off" by purchasing a product at its advertised price.

A few other things. The price is $19 not $25. The brands are listed. The sale is 3 days, not a week. There are no previous sales displayed on the site, so I'm not even sure how you came to the conclusion that there will only ever be 5 designs.

[morsch]

Getting a shirt for free essentially halves the price for both shirts. So you're not looking at 5 equal shirts, you're looking at 5 shirts and one of them is half price. You just don't know which. This made me try to figure out which one people are least likely to buy (made easier with that star) and then evaluate whether the decreased appeal is worth the price reduction.

I guess that's the idea, but it's not a very positive experience for me. That's a lot of time thinking about the least appealing design.

[citricsquid]

> A few other things. The price is $19 not $25.

The OP has been changing the pricing around, it was $25 earlier :)

[drharris]

But least popular does not at all mean "shittiest". Least popular means the fewest sales; if people were buying only because of the shirt they wanted, then you would indeed be getting the worst shirt. However, some people are buying based on what they think will be the least popular shirt, which changes up the mechanics quite a bit. In the end, the only good strategy is to pick the shirt you want to have, but not everyone will think that way. Some will settle for a less desired shirt in order to perhaps win the freebie. I don't see the same negativity in the concept you do.

[steve8918]

The "intention" may not be "shittiest", but that's the impression I get. It feels like a trick or a game of 3-card monte in order for him to move his worst product. Possibly others might get the same impression as well.

In general, retailers discount the product that doesn't move, and raise or maintain the prices on the things that are popular. So, this is something that would appear to try to artificially increase demand on their worst selling product. Again, I'm not saying he that's his intention, but that's the general impression someone could get.

That's why I suggested changing the mechanics to something more win-win. I suggested something like the most popular t-shirt gets a progressive discount, and early adopters get a discount on their next purchase. This feels more win-win, and you have to do less mental calculations to try to figure out if you're getting scammed or not.

[seekely]

Below in the comments, I mention I am very curious to find out if people will take buying the least popular t-shirt as a positive (I'm unique) or negative (Why would I want a trash shirt). You clearly fall in the latter category, which is very reasonable. I am very open to tweaking the game mechanics so it is perceived as a win win by everybody while still a sustainable site.

The shirt and printing style are of high quality. I need to do a better job on the site emphasizing that.

Sorry you did not like this week's designs. Maybe next week (or not based on your comment =p)

[steve8918]

The fact that you only reveal the last hourly sales, which really has zero relevance to total sales and whether or not you "win", makes it feel like a game of 3-card monte, as I mentioned in another comment.

Maybe you need to be more transparent and show the total sales or the ranking. This might help show you're not trying to scam anyone. Then, it turns into something more where people can decide "do I want to buy this t-shirt in a 2-for-1 sale" since they get the next shirt free.

[mst]

Except that the changes you propose would take all of the fun out of the game for those of us who -do- like the idea.

Though in fact, if there was UK shipping I have a feeling I might've bought the Graphic Love T-shirt just because it's clever.

However, it seems to me very much like you really don't find the concept entertaining and thereby end up feeling like it's trying to rip you off rather than entertain you; I don't think the site's owner can solve that without destroying the things that make it potentially interesting to other people.

[thowar2]

I think its just a matter of redoing the copy. At first I didnt realize it was a competition between the 5 shirts, I thought it was just an incentive deal to offload some inventory. I would walk through the process first, and bring up the least popular shirt part last.

[AnthonBerg]

No need to tweak the mechanics!