Amazon buys Woot.com then Sells 4,968 $149-Kindles in 9 Hours ($259 two weeks ago!)

Amazon Sells 4,968 Kindles in 9 Hours on Woot - mediabistro.com: eBookNewser:

"Amazon has sold out of Kindles on Woot!

This morning we reported that yesterday Amazon acquired Woot, an online vendor that only sells one item per day and along with it the company began offering a $149 Kindle--a dramatic drop from the already dramatically dropped price $189.

In nine hours, Amazon sold 4,968 Kindles. It's not surprising, when you consider that two weeks ago they cost $259 each. Wonder what Barnes & Noble plans to do about this. Check out all the stats below..."

I hope that the purchase of Woot by Amazon means that Woot will start accepting orders from Canada. Even though they do not ship to Canada I have gone back to the site again and again just to read the advertising copy. Its some of the funniest stuff out there. For example, today's Kindle sale was described thusly:

Step Into The Trunk Of My Car
Yeah, yeah, that’s the real price for a real Kindle. It’s not a typo or a knockoff or some Russian credit-card scam – just a Woot exclusive deal. But, y’know, hurry it up, willya?

We’re kind of, shall we say, operating in a grey area here so the quicker we get this deal done, the better for everybody, OK? No muss, no fuss, that’s what we always say. Well, when we’re not saying “What seems to be the trouble, officer?”

So yeah, a bonafide Amazon Kindle at a Woot-exclusive price, the iconic device that wrote the next chapter in the publishing story – listen, you want cheap puns or a cheap Kindle? We ain’t got all day here and we don’t like the look of that guy over there. How long has he been standing there? Is he watching us? OK, time to decide, pal.

Besides, there’s this bar we really need to get to. I don’t know about the drinks but they’ve got the best lost-and-found in town.

... and the sale of Woot to Amazon:

Amazon Buys World's Biggest Bag O' Crap, And It's Called Woot

Batten down your hatches and stock up on bottled water, because we're about to hit you with a category-5 newsicane: Woot has been acquired by Amazon! This partnership with the 800-lb. gorilla of ecommerce is huge news for us, but probably won't change

Woot : Sony Digital Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300)

Today Woot is selling a Refurbished Sony Digital Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300) for $109.99 + $5 shipping. Its about $35 cheaper than you can find elsewhere in the internets,

I visit the Woot site every once in a while even though I am in Canada. The ads that are written for their deal of the day are often very very funny and this one is no exception. Where else can you  read ad copy for an e-book reader that includes the phrase "poop in a chamber pot"?

Here's the entire ad:

Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM): "Looks Like We Got Ourselves a Pocket Reader

The book of the future is here! Let’s flip to the end and find out how humanity becomes extinct.


Time was, when someone saw you reading a book on a plane and asked “what’s it about?” you could say “oh, about three hundred and fifty pages,” and it would be hilarious. Sadly, Sony’s Pocket Edition Digital Reader puts an end to that era. Now you’ll have to say “oh, five hundred and twelve megs.” It’s not as funny.

That’s the only downside we can see, though. In every other way, electronic books represent a bold stride over the rotting carcasses of yesterday’s plant-matter paper volumes and into a brighter tomorrow. No more funky, damp, used bookstore smell in our carry-on luggage! We’re going digital! That’s assuming the future even has carry-on luggage. We wouldn’t be surprised if Star Trek style Transporters are just around the corner. After all, we’re reading e-books already."

Slender, lightweight, and easy to tote in your jacket pocket, purse or sporran, this Pocket Edition Digital Reader uses E Ink Vizplex technology for minimal eyestrain and maximal readability—even in direct sunlight, not that the typical Wooter needs to worry about such a thing.

Plus, with a Sony Digital Reader, no one can tell what you’re reading, so you don’t have to be embarrassed about being seen in public with a TWILIGHT novel, and you can stop making those blank dust jacket covers out of old grocery bags.

Of course there will always be those technophobic, progress-averse Luddites who’ll whine about how you never have to worry about battery life with an olde-fashioned book of pulped and bound tree flesh. But you know something, Grandpa? You never have to worry about a sewage clog when you poop in a chamber pot, either. Does that make it better than our fancy, newfangled indoor plumbing?

No, it most certainly does not.