Online shoppers go nuts for bags of crap

Despite being in the midst of a global financial crisis, people are still buying bags of crap from online websites.

Yesterday’s Bag of Crap sale on 1-day.co.nz seems has renewed interest in the e-store.

The promotion has now gone viral on the internet.

It offered shoppers a chance to buy a “bag of crap” for $11. Each bag contains mystery products that could be valued anywhere between $11 and $500.

In 2008 the site sold thousands of Bags of Crap for $10, and this year shoppers have come back for more bags – now priced at $11.

Some users experienced frustration yesterday as when the number of bidders overloaded the servers and slowed the site down.

One user, University of Auckland law student Jacinda Budge, says she likes the element of surprise about the sale, “and the potential of getting more for my money – although it’s highly unlikely”.

“Last year I got a box of 24 vege crisps, and my boyfriend got a cap,” she says.

Another user, 22-year-old Cathy Boyes, has subscribed to the 1-day website for the past six months, and was excited for this year’s Bag of Crap sale after hearing about it last year.

“Last time my friends got really stupid things like a sports DVD and rechargeable batteries,” she says.

“It’s only 11 bucks so I thought I may as well do it this time.”

According to a 2002 report by User Interface Engineering, a company researching product usability, impulse purchases make up almost 40 per cent of all money spent on e-commerce sites.

Even so, Boyes says she does not usually buy online on impulse, but finds 1-day useful as she only uses the site to buy what she needs.

“Except for a foosball table I bought from there,” she says.

“That was an impulse buy because it was going for cheap. I just wanted it because it was cool.”

The UIE report claims the design elements of a website can drive shoppers to make the impulse purchases.

Also, the competitive nature of buying products from websites, and beating other users to win the final products, engages potential customers emotionally.

1-day is New Zealand’s most popular “daily deals” website with three random products being auctioned off at discounts every day. Subscribers to the site get updates on what will be on offer.

The e-store is the brainchild of New Zealand entrepreneur Luke Howard-Willis, who decided to take stock dumped by companies and sell it at marked-down prices.

Howard-Willis is also the director of Torpedo7, a Hamilton-based online company selling bikes and cycling equipment.