4 ms·

What I find interesting about InstaAds is that whatever product you find advertised is likely garbage... whether it is or isn’t you can find it (at the same or

by kurthr 7y ago

What I find interesting about InstaAds is that whatever product you find advertised is likely garbage... whether it is or isn’t you can find it (at the same or higher quality) for 50% off by searching eBay/Alibaba. It’s almost a joke now. Maybe I should make a meme and post it to the Gram.

organsnyder 7y ago
My favorite is a fancy "plug strip" that is comprised of a metal junction box and a couple of standard outlets. Sure, the junction box is painted, and the cord is braided, but they're selling it for ~$100.
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  Shinola? https://www.shinola.com/power-supply-5-port-usb.html https://www.shinola.com/power-supply-5-port-usb.html - $185 power supply
  - organsnyder 7y ago
    Close. Though this one at least looks somewhat custom-manufactured (that's not a standard junction box, nor are those standard outlets). If you have to consider a payment plan for a plug strip, you might want to question your priorities...
volkk 7y ago
I've noticed this as well! I think there are tons of dropship companies that are run by a single person looking to make a quick buck selling rebranded low quality alibaba products. It's endless on my instagram, and I now ignore every single one of them because I know that it's essentially nothing more than spam. My gf ordered a few things that took AGES to arrive (probably because its shipping straight from China), with 0 customer support (primarily because it's likely run by a single person that couldn't care less about the actual customer who probably subscribes to /r/entrepreneur or /r/juststart). And the final product was as you put it, garbage.
- gumby 7y ago
  > My gf ordered a few things that took AGES to arrive (probably because its shipping straight from China) Probably they waited until they had enough orders to fill a container (or a single pallet in someone else's container!) to save money.
  - eloff 7y ago
    Maybe, but often they may be shipping single units from China mail via boat, which take about a 4-6 weeks to arrive (from order placement to arrival at your door.)
robk 7y ago
I kinda like this. Makes me aware of cool stuff I can source directly at better quality
catblast 7y ago
It’s literally just the comtemporary version of As Seen On TV
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  Does anyone know the appeal that "As Seen on TV" was supposed to have? A lot of products are being advertised on TV (anything from clothing brands to cars to health insurance) and don't use that fact as a selling point. Why was the fact that it's "seen on TV" used as the only differentiating marker on the product?
  - cgriswald 7y ago
    I think it's mostly marketing at this point, but for awhile it used to differential products that were previously only available through mail-order. I remember in the 90's there was an "As Seen on TV" store in the Mall of America that only offered such products. See the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_seen_on_TV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_seen_on_TV
    - Stratoscope 7y ago
      There is still one at Oakridge Mall in San Jose. Probably a bunch more in other malls. https://www.westfield.com/oakridge/stores/all-stores/as-seen-on-tv/19532 https://www.westfield.com/oakridge/stores/all-stores/as-seen...
  - ralusek 7y ago
    I imagine it's just to assure the consumer that "this is likely that very product you saw cut the skin off a grape in that infomercial that impressed you."
  - VHRanger 7y ago
    Having multiple different types touchpoints increases likelihood of conversion. If you see something on TV, then overhear people talking about it on the street, then see it on FB, you're much more likely to buy it. Even though each signal is weak and unreliable (and even together they still probably don't mean much) the connection in your brain is more robust.
adrr 7y ago
Not exactly true. Some stuff of the stuff isn’t bad. I have bought Vuori shorts, Marine Layer shirts and a Cotopaxi jacket which I would rank higher than incumbent brands in terms of quality and value. Discover of these products I made though Instagram advertisements. There’s complete garbage like supplements on there. Just do your research and make sure the brand has a decent refund policy.
Nextgrid 7y ago
This is one of my problems regarding advertising. Turns out for most good products you'd either already have them or would hear about them from word of mouth or by searching online, so they don't need significant advertising anymore. Which means the only ads left go to garbage products.

by kurthr 7y ago

organsnyder 7y ago

My favorite is a fancy "plug strip" that is comprised of a metal junction box and a couple of standard outlets. Sure, the junction box is painted, and the cord is braided, but they're selling it for ~$100.

FireBeyond 7y ago
Shinola? https://www.shinola.com/power-supply-5-port-usb.html https://www.shinola.com/power-supply-5-port-usb.html - $185 power supply
- organsnyder 7y ago
  Close. Though this one at least looks somewhat custom-manufactured (that's not a standard junction box, nor are those standard outlets). If you have to consider a payment plan for a plug strip, you might want to question your priorities...

volkk 7y ago

I've noticed this as well! I think there are tons of dropship companies that are run by a single person looking to make a quick buck selling rebranded low quality alibaba products. It's endless on my instagram, and I now ignore every single one of them because I know that it's essentially nothing more than spam. My gf ordered a few things that took AGES to arrive (probably because its shipping straight from China), with 0 customer support (primarily because it's likely run by a single person that couldn't care less about the actual customer who probably subscribes to /r/entrepreneur or /r/juststart). And the final product was as you put it, garbage.

gumby 7y ago
> My gf ordered a few things that took AGES to arrive (probably because its shipping straight from China) Probably they waited until they had enough orders to fill a container (or a single pallet in someone else's container!) to save money.
- eloff 7y ago
  Maybe, but often they may be shipping single units from China mail via boat, which take about a 4-6 weeks to arrive (from order placement to arrival at your door.)

robk 7y ago

I kinda like this. Makes me aware of cool stuff I can source directly at better quality

catblast 7y ago

It’s literally just the comtemporary version of As Seen On TV

Nextgrid 7y ago
Does anyone know the appeal that "As Seen on TV" was supposed to have? A lot of products are being advertised on TV (anything from clothing brands to cars to health insurance) and don't use that fact as a selling point. Why was the fact that it's "seen on TV" used as the only differentiating marker on the product?
- cgriswald 7y ago
  I think it's mostly marketing at this point, but for awhile it used to differential products that were previously only available through mail-order. I remember in the 90's there was an "As Seen on TV" store in the Mall of America that only offered such products. See the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_seen_on_TV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_seen_on_TV
  - Stratoscope 7y ago
    There is still one at Oakridge Mall in San Jose. Probably a bunch more in other malls. https://www.westfield.com/oakridge/stores/all-stores/as-seen-on-tv/19532 https://www.westfield.com/oakridge/stores/all-stores/as-seen...
- ralusek 7y ago
  I imagine it's just to assure the consumer that "this is likely that very product you saw cut the skin off a grape in that infomercial that impressed you."
- VHRanger 7y ago
  Having multiple different types touchpoints increases likelihood of conversion. If you see something on TV, then overhear people talking about it on the street, then see it on FB, you're much more likely to buy it. Even though each signal is weak and unreliable (and even together they still probably don't mean much) the connection in your brain is more robust.

adrr 7y ago

Not exactly true. Some stuff of the stuff isn’t bad. I have bought Vuori shorts, Marine Layer shirts and a Cotopaxi jacket which I would rank higher than incumbent brands in terms of quality and value. Discover of these products I made though Instagram advertisements. There’s complete garbage like supplements on there. Just do your research and make sure the brand has a decent refund policy.

Nextgrid 7y ago

This is one of my problems regarding advertising. Turns out for most good products you'd either already have them or would hear about them from word of mouth or by searching online, so they don't need significant advertising anymore. Which means the only ads left go to garbage products.