“Meh” About Woot? His Old Ghost Lives On Meh.com

Lonnie Brown
| Ledger columnist

It’s July 12, 2004 — almost 20 years ago — and Matt Rutledge has a website for you with an offer: a robotic lawn mower.

This was the only item offered on the website. And when he was gone, he was gone. If it wasn’t sold out, it was withdrawn at midnight and replaced with another item. But only one. And so on.

Since Rutledge was an electronics wholesaler, the item for sale was likely to be computer-related, like a keyboard, hard drive, or electronic gadget. Or a clearance item, like a T-shirt or a tool kit. And the everyday item always had a surprisingly low price—one that would make the item sell.

The accompanying text describing the item—which would normally be a sales pitch—was written in a light-hearted manner and usually had a lot of humor. It was one of the reasons Woot users came back day after day.

And shipping on any item was $5. Mattress or foam, it didn’t matter. $5.

Computer users who have been here for a while may recognize this site as Woot (www.woot.com).

Woot celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. While the site still exists, the site itself is barely recognizable compared to what it was in 2004.

This is because in 2010, Woot was acquired by Amazon. Amazon has many products it wants to sell. Hundreds of items are for sale today. And tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow.

The day I visited Woot, there were eight categories of items for sale, each containing dozens of items. The electronics category alone had 834 items for sale.

Part of the sale of Woot to Amazon involved Rutledge staying on as an advisor. But Amazon didn’t have the same approach to selling items that Woot did. Its descriptions of items for sale didn’t have the dynamism and snap that Woot had.

What happened next was succinctly explained in a D Magazine article published in 2014 and written by Tim Rogers: “In 2012, two years into his three-year contract with Amazon, Rutledge left. He won’t say how many millions it cost him to leave him early, but his deal with Amazon included a three-year non-competition from the date of sale, and he was watching the clock.”

When the clock struck three years, Rutledge sprung into action. He launched Meh.com. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “meh” first came into use in 1992 and likely comes from a Yiddish loanword meaning “so-so.”

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Why meh? Rutledge explained to Rogers, “The best, least exciting way to look at what I do is that I’m a jaded entrepreneur. You know, I sold my company, I didn’t like big corporations, and I’m just doing it again.”

As you can imagine, Meh has one deal a day. The day I visited this column, the item was Charlee Bear Beef and Sweet Potato Dog Food. The price was eight packs for $24. A little above that price was added: “$144 (for 8) AT AMAZON.”

And this is included in the description: “Of course, this all has to do with your dog’s healthy body and digestive system. But how, you may think, do I keep my dog’s mind healthy?

“It’s easy. Make sure they spend some time reading every day. And if your response is, “My dog can’t read!”, all we can say is that it probably seems that way because you don’t. Don’t give them books they can relate to and enjoy, but give them a classic book about dogs and it will be a completely different story. You know, something like:

“The Hound and the Fury

“Jane Airedale”

“Flight Over the Cockapoo Nest”

“Slobberhouse number five

“Yes, these puns are stupid. But these treats are not like that. They are actually very good. So you should buy some.”

So the Woot website turns 20. The spirit of Woot lives on too.

Perhaps you are satisfied. Or maybe just meh.

Lonnie Brown can be contacted at [email protected].