What should work, don't work. What won't work, works.

Goes to show you never know what & how people think. Sprees shouldn't work, but they do (or did before US & China shopping companies took over.).

The idea of sprees shouldn't work because basically people pay first to a stranger without a product. Yet the idea worked for many years.

The potato idea shouldn't work, but it does (or did) for 3 months, earning the man US$33,000 & more.  Frankly, I don't know why he wants to sell the site.  It's so hard (close to impossible) to come up with a workable idea that will earn that amount of money in so short time. I've tried & have been stumped for months trawling the web for even a smidgen of an idea like that. And he just hit upon it so easily. Not even the mailman whom he got the idea from, thought of it.

Even a similar site started in 2014, didn't think of it. They mailed potatoes but with no messages. What a pity. Even so, they say, "We love the business we are in... no plans to sell... Even if we were offered 10 times what the numbers say it should sell for we still wouldn't budge.".

The potato man says he's selling the site because "my life has just become potatoes, potatoes, potatoes". Frankly, if it were me, I don't mind. Why sell a site that's making money right at its peak? Because revenue has fallen.

After selling the site, will he be able to come up with another "genius" idea next? What's next? If nothing else like this potato idea comes up again, he might regret selling the site.

Highest bid for the site is "currently US$10,000".  These days, a price like US$85,000 for one website isn't enough. Money is easily spent. US$10,000 or US$85,000 is not a lot.

The live auction is still ongoing. Bidding started at US$1. As of now, 73 bids at US$10,000.  When I was telling bro about the auction and talking about the potato idea, I didn't know the price.  But just before he left to go out just now, he said, "Why don't you buy it?".

Now looking at the US$10,000 price tag... Buy it??

Even if I could, I wouldn't want to buy someone's site or idea. I want my own.

Now the potato site, for some reason, suddenly has oranges. It's not yet sold, so it can't be a change by a new owner.  Previously, he had said that including other food would make the idea trite. So, why oranges? Also, the potatoes have changed. Why?

What's amazing is that the US postal service sends potatoes even without envelopes. In Singapore, I don't know if Singpost will still mail it but if a potato is brought to the counter, the staff will say to put it in an envelope.

Actually, the potato idea works because it's in the US. You need a quirky & creative sense of humor to be able to see the value in paying someone to send a potato with a message. Asians just don't have it in them to see anything beyond anything.

Potato man didn't even use Google Adsense or any direct advertising. Just plain old word of mouth (Instagram, Twitter posted by people who received potatoes). One potato leads to another.

I find it very interesting. It's very different from what I thought had to be done in order to launch a business. But here, he's not even using any kind of advertising.

I know Google Adsense don't work unless you pump in a lot of money somehow.  I've tried it & nothing happened, except that the ads don't show because supposedly the key words aren't correct & a lot of keywords are thrown out. Adsense takes money but does nothing.

Potato Parcel: Why Does it Work?

Thurs 20 Aug 2015 1:31 p.m.

I wouldn't say it's the dumbest idea. But ... why would it work? People can buy their own potatoes, write their own messages & mail them out themselves completely anonymously. Why pay someone else to do it?

Strange.

I just discovered the Yahoo news about this man who supposedly makes $10 000/month selling potatoes with messages that he writes with just a black pen & takes only a few seconds. But the potatoes cost plenty per potato.

This kind of odd crazy ideas only sell in western countries like the US. Maybe the people there are crazier due to the GMO food they eat & the pollution in their environment (nuclear waste etc...).

And apparently, there are also crazy people in the UK, Australia & Canada who buy the potato idea.

What's so hilarious about a potato in the mail?

But really, it's not such a dumb idea. Firstly, it's a potato.  Hard & can withstand the mail. It's food, can be eaten, so it's useful with the message. Yet non-perishable in the sense that it can last quite long without spoilage during transit. Perfect. But will people buy it?

As he has proved, they most certainly will.

London Gay Bars Wilt

This remark says it all: "Going online is cheaper and more convenient, you don't have to leave your house.".

If there is any doubt about whether such people should be tolerated, this is what they are about. Casual, loose & cheap.

And the guy who said it is already 41 (click on his remark below to read the article). Older don't mean wiser or better. Just lousier. And this truth also applies to such people in Singapore. Whether 16 or 31, I have talked to these people & they are the same.

The days of trawling of gay pubs for a date or sex are largely over too, with thousands of potential contacts available on dating apps.

"Going online is cheaper and more convenient, you don't have to leave your house," said IT trainer Mike Pettet, 41.

Psst. I have Ramune. Japanese Soda in a Bottle.

Buy it here. Limited. One each only. Leave a message here to purchase.

Banana Ramune is in a plastic bottle. Not glass.

Strawberry Ramune in glass bottle:

Watermelon Ramune in glass bottle:

Child Care Centres in Singapore

It's called legalized abandonment. Parents dumping their kids on strangers from morning till evening. Without parental love, guidance or even education. 

There is no education to be had in child care centers, particularly those that hire foreigners.  Parents don't know their kids cry, their minds blank as they wait aimlessly & endlessly to be picked up at night.

These kids feel abandoned.  Psychologically very damaging.

More hours are spent with strangers & foreigners than with family.

Wasted lives in the best years when these kids could have been educated the most. What can they learn being cooped up in small rooms with other abandoned kids & uneducated, unqualified women?  Trapped through no fault of their own except being born to such irresponsible & selfish parents.

Expect strangers to give & treat your child the best? Cook the best nutritional food & organic? Stand up for your kid when he/she is bullied?

No time & have to work, then don't have kids. Cannot brag that you can do both work & kids. What you mean is, you work & dump the kids elsewhere. Yourself comes first.

If only the kids can see what is being done to them. See the truth that in fact, their parents don't love them at all. Dumped & picked up, day after day.  I pity them.  The younger ones stand & stare out of the windows with their hands on the panes, their eyes listless as they cry. Prison.

It is not their fault they were born. After being born, their parents don't care for them. It's unfortunate.

I have seen a China child care woman yelling at the kids in her China Chinese. What right has she to even be there?

I have never seen the child care women teach the kids anything.  What child care? No lessons. No reading. No books. No writing. No higher learning. No music. No creative or outdoor play. Even though the kids are old enough to be taught & given much knowledge.

The days are passing but their ready & absorbent minds are empty. And are kept empty day after day.

Waste.