Here is MerchMan Dan’s first unboxing video, where you can see one of the lego items that the bot found on the web… a tiny Mona Lisa on a lego 2×2 plate.
If you are interested and have the time, check out all his unboxing videos as the bot only bought him legos (which was his only keyword).
Want to get items like this? Update your profile with these keywords: lego.
This adorable bear shaped sandwich cutter was bought by the bot earlier this year for Heather who writes for the blog Shades of Tangerine. She writes “Now this is adorable. I will absolutely be saving this to make sweet little sammies for my niece!”. It certainly does look adorable.
Want to get items like this? Update your profile with these keywords: fun, bear, cute.
A fast moving bot brings largely anonymous merchants together with subscribers from all over the world to deliver unanticipated and perhaps unwanted surprise packages. Some might call it pointless. But this experiment has so far brought joy and laughs to enough people that I think we will keep it going.
I am thankful for everyone who is part of this project… the bot, although surely it does not care. The subscribers, who have a good sense of humor. The merchants, although they have no idea that they are participating. The team behind the project, which has been making sure the bot does not go off the rails.
If you are in the US, I hope you found some turkey today. If you somehow missed it on the homepage, check out the unboxing compilation I put together for YouTube a few days ago.
Thanks to @RyanSonofnectar for the above roboturkey picture.
Take a look at this delightful little figure the bot sent to Tasha, who posted these images on twitter.
@BobcatInABox Sheep in wolf clothing! I love it! pic.twitter.com/5TgC04Zyu5
— Tasha (@CrochetCh1ck) November 24, 2015
The bot is using it’s feedback database to gradually improve the packages it buys. As we get ready to launch Bobcat In A Box 2.0, I just wanted to highlight this short article on how the bot handles feedback on products from subscribers.
We have run a few experiments with using feedback data from subscribers to pick new products. This week this capability will be rolled out to everyone. The exciting part is that the bot is learning from the packages it sent to find better, more interesting ones. Given the volume of packages ordered, the bot might be able to quickly get a quite refines sense of what the most surprising and delightful small products are on the internet.
Be assured that we are not sharing any of this data. Re-targeting can be creepy and that is not what this is about. We are simply improving the bot over time using feedback data.
Questions? Email me at alexander@bobcatinabox.com
A piece of jewelry ordered by the bot for under $1, with free shipping. This is a colorful red/gold bracelet.
Keywords: red, bracelet, jewelry
It looks like something of a flat swiss army knife. This is an image of an item one of the bot’s subscribers recently received.
Keywords: unique, tool
Minions assemble! -McDonalds Happy Meal Toy
keywords: odd, funny, comic
“the variety of items had been astounding. Heck fur lined handcuffs :)”, wrote one of the bot’s subscribers by email, attaching the below picture.
This item shipped by the bought really stuck out. A litmus testing kit!!
The bot was searching using the keyword “paper” but usually that pulls up paper decorations or stationary. This is more in the original XKCD spirit of Bobcat In A Box.
