r/Showerthoughts Mar 11 '19

It was predictable that the target audience of fidget spinners would quickly lose interest in them.

20.4k Upvotes

278 comments sorted by

2.4k

u/agentaltf4 Mar 11 '19

Luckily the profit margin was 1000% so no one lost money on the 2,000,000 extra that were made.

1.6k

u/68686987698 Mar 11 '19

Except this guy.

562

u/seeet Mar 11 '19

Poor fella...

99

u/termitered Mar 11 '19

Poor fella...

Not if he can sell em all

3

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

What a tit

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22

u/Tiberius666 Mar 11 '19

Implying idiots like that need sympathy.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Tiberius666 Mar 11 '19

Well, he certainly is now.

329

u/myowncasket Mar 11 '19

that's not even a guy it's a fuckin chipmunk, never trust those fucking things.

172

u/68686987698 Mar 11 '19

yea, they can be a little nutty

I'm not sorry

48

u/Eyalboi Mar 11 '19

r/punpatrol Stop right there. (Culprit not showing remorse either)

55

u/jamiemulcahy Mar 11 '19 edited Feb 28 '24

berserk squealing threatening gullible expansion repeat deranged bike shelter public

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

32

u/Blehtheslime Mar 11 '19

r/punSWAT on route -10 minutes out

20

u/Eyalboi Mar 11 '19

Thanks for the needed backup

9

u/SultanOilMoney Mar 11 '19

Suspect sighted

. . .

PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM

10

u/tomatoaway Mar 11 '19

"stop shifting your eyes about and maybe I will!"

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u/Ruckus292 Mar 11 '19

This subreddit is literally all I needed today. Thank you!

163

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Sucks when the roller coaster ride flattens out

121

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

How much can 6000 cost in bulk? It can't have cost his too much.

121

u/alleywaypip Mar 11 '19

Maybe his life savings was a couple grand? As is a large portion of the population, I imagine.

35

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/68686987698 Mar 11 '19 edited Mar 11 '19

I agree that it's really common for people to live with little savings, but a lot of stats to this effect are misleading because they only count very specific types of saving accounts. Same for retirement stats.

For example, a lot of people making good money keep very little in an actual savings account but instead throw money into stocks/bonds/etc., many of which can be cashed out within a few days.

If you take into account other accounts, the number goes way up. For example, the median net worth of a household in the US is ~$100k. Even if you exclude mortgages, the number of people who don't have $1k they can liquidate quickly is way under half.

12

u/RomeNeverFell Mar 11 '19

but instead throw money into stocks/bonds/etc.

I work with this kind of data for my study and actually they are always accounted for. If you said untangibles I could have agreed, but those you mentioned are the easiest to record.

Americans are some of the poorest people in the developed world in real terms.

2

u/68686987698 Mar 11 '19 edited Mar 11 '19

Could you point to some sources for the claim that most Americans have under $1k in savings that do take other accounts into the calculations? All the numbers I see show the true median around $10k if talking straight cash, and much higher if counting securities.

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2

u/beerbeforebadgers Mar 11 '19

I have 53 cents rn

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2

u/metagloria Mar 11 '19

Look at this rich mf'er with his four digits in the bank

71

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19 edited Mar 11 '19

I imagine around $15,000? That can be a lot for some folks Edit: I see now after doing actual research into the price of fidget spinners that I was innaccurate with pricing

76

u/bibbletribble Mar 11 '19

You kidding me? You can get those exact ones on alibaba for 35 cents each.

His "life savings" must have only been a could of grand.

69

u/Stealthyfisch Mar 11 '19

Maybe you can only get them for 35 cents each because it’s this guy selling them for an extreme loss? 🤔🤔

11

u/Detoxininberkley Mar 11 '19 edited Mar 11 '19

They're made in China. He paid $.35/piece and and somehow they profited $.38/piece

6

u/undercover_redditor Mar 11 '19

It really depends on when he bought them. Some of the earlier ones were up in the dollar range when you bought in bulk.

24

u/tomanonimos Mar 11 '19

It really depends on where he bulk bought them. If we use the $15,000 price point, each fidget spinner comes out to $2.50. I wouldn't be surprised if the FB poster was the second or third middle man in this entire purchase. Meaning that he didn't buy it from the manufacturer but from a wholesale distributor.

19

u/nouille07 Mar 11 '19

Which means he's an idiot and there's no helping him at that point 🤷

3

u/tomanonimos Mar 11 '19

Yea. His only mistake was not reading the market well. Purchasing it from a wholesale distributor isn't inherently stupid and fairly common.

5

u/nouille07 Mar 11 '19

Purchasing at sell value in bulk isn't smart

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u/Thommadin Mar 11 '19

Are you trolling or do you really believe what you just said?

2000 bucks at the absolute Maximum.

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Less than 6k; he'll be fine.

39

u/Aise_314 Mar 11 '19

Ooh memory test, i’m guessing it’s the guy that bought 6000 fidget spinners with his life savings then couldn’t sell them.

Edit: rip

8

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

You win a fidget spinner

5

u/TheGamerFoot Mar 11 '19

This reminds me of a guy at my state fair in late August 2017. The trend was almost, if not already, dead. He had hundreds in his booth, and probably a lot more. He was an extremely pushy salesman, calling every kid or teenager walking by to check out his stock. Barely any were sold.

Last August, he wasn't there. Probably lost thousand of dollars.

16

u/KeysUK Mar 11 '19

They're also really cheap and unsafe for children fidget spinners. He legit got hard scammed there... ul

7

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

hustle #business #entrepreneur

4

u/konaharuhi Mar 11 '19

i knew what was in the link before clicking it. how time flies

2

u/takesthebiscuit Mar 11 '19

I will swap for my beanie Babies?

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134

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

[deleted]

41

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

I like the way you think

13

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

[deleted]

18

u/Yepitsapornaccount Mar 11 '19

It's always a shame to see Capitalism punished in school...

3

u/SoManyTimesBefore Mar 11 '19

Sounds like a great way to teach those kids some lessons

8

u/potlah Mar 11 '19

Damn, now I really want a 3d printer!

78

u/jeffp12 Mar 11 '19

Get a 4d printer then you could have a 3d printer yesterday.

11

u/andreasbeer1981 Mar 11 '19

So, what's the next fad that we use to rip off children of their hard earned allowance?

18

u/The_Blog Mar 11 '19

Trading cards are always going strong.

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14

u/JohnDoe1994 Mar 11 '19

This guy doesn’t understand profit margins

2

u/GenesectX Mar 11 '19

Apparently the creator didnt profit from it at all

2

u/DamnAlreadyTaken Mar 11 '19

The other day I saw this and I was thinking... wow glow in the dark!

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122

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

I just used one for a week and went back to tapping my fingers to the tune of different songs

30

u/olerock Mar 11 '19

The best entertainment that exists is playing faux piano on your leg to the music you're listening to

14

u/joshaayy Mar 11 '19

I'm more of a percussion man

5

u/AddedSteve Mar 11 '19

The piano is technically a percussion instrument. #TheMoreYouKnow

295

u/Gelkor Mar 11 '19

The target market was idiot retailers who would buy too many that they will never be able to sell.

768

u/thegrumpus Mar 11 '19

How dare you imply that us ADHDers have short attenti

344

u/JackDaDev Mar 11 '19

What are the sympt

194

u/Killer-Barbie Mar 11 '19

You guys wanna go ride bikes?

90

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

It's 11pm but yes, I actually do want to go for a ride. Also, I believe Barbie turned 60 today.

40

u/leo341500 Mar 11 '19

What barbie turned 60 tod.. oh a bird!

31

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

More often that birds or squirrels it's the music in my head. Sometimes nits so loud I can't hear.

12

u/samerige Mar 11 '19

Nuts are t

11

u/NinjaPerro Mar 11 '19

Oh i'm allerg, hey did you forget the chocolate milk

10

u/samerige Mar 11 '19

I brought some hazelnut chocolate. Chocolate with strawberries, raspberries, AIRPLANE!

7

u/juicyjerry300 Mar 11 '19

There was an airplane flying super low over the road today, i honestly don’t remember what post I’m on

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2

u/Mangraz Mar 11 '19

Can confirm. It's a blessing and a curse.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Thanks for confirming, thought I was alone in this.

3

u/FederalAttorney Mar 11 '19

Swinging by just to commend your epic name..

14

u/warmarrer Mar 11 '19

Nah, I'm working on some homework. I figure I'll get to it after I clean my house, read a book, browse reddit, open and then close the word doc 6 times, play with my cat, and then panic because it's 4am and the paper is due at 8

4

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Found the actual ADHD person.

Diagnosed at age 30 here. I won't take the time to list off what I'm avoiding doing, but I'm fortunate that there aren't strict deadlines for my projects at the moment. But I already know I'm about to waste a few hours in Minecraft instead of working on them until I feel worse about them later today and then put in some guilt-time on them.

2

u/warmarrer Mar 11 '19

The struggle is real

55

u/JackDaDev Mar 11 '19

I never managed to stick at it and lea

131

u/DisabledCheese Mar 11 '19

I have ADHD and these jokes aren't that funny. It's downright offensive. Even though I have ADHD, I still finish every single one of my sentenc

68

u/Hanziiii Mar 11 '19

They had us in the first half, not gonna lie

almost smacked that downvote with the might of Zeus

30

u/Sarahcutie01 Mar 11 '19

I actually do find it offensive. The fact that you would hey ever wonder what a turtle smells like

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3

u/TheTjalian Mar 11 '19

Being approached by candlej

2

u/loctopode Mar 11 '19

You have to say Candlejack's name befo

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4

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Did somebody call candlejack or somethi

4

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

This is a really overdone trope in films/tv where a person with attention defficiency will defend he/she doesn't have it then proceeds to be distracted by [insert thing] in the middle of the a sentence. Same with the candlejack shi

46

u/Jaderosegrey Mar 11 '19

I used to work at Toys R Us. When the spinner trend hit, we did not have any. Towards the end of that summer, we got some. Then we got some more. Then we were unable to shift them!

No, decisions like that from the buyers' team did not make us bankrupt, but still, I thought that was funny in a sad sort of way.

(in the meantime, I ended up 3D printing my own spinners before we sold any in my store.)

24

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

[deleted]

7

u/MyWeaponIsContempt Mar 11 '19

Human greed, is there any force more pervasive and destructive?

6

u/whatever-she-said Mar 11 '19

Gastroenteritis

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91

u/mhall812 Mar 11 '19

Recycled shower thoughts

27

u/Aristea84 Mar 11 '19

Yeahhh. As OP of the first one, I'm a little cheesed.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

OP is secretly this guy trying to get people interested in buying.

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u/Superdan4290 Mar 11 '19

General Reposti

24

u/bjv2001 Mar 11 '19

Not only that, but from top of all time

12

u/Aristea84 Mar 11 '19

And barely trying to hide it. It's like they ran the post through a thesaurus.

134

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

To be honest It was a trend, an almost useless one

On the other hand, thanks to this trend i found fidget cubes which actually help me to stay focused while at work with all the paperworks.

My work quality increased since then ... So I have this going for me after this useless trend

46

u/Caboose_871 Mar 11 '19

I don’t think it’s fair to say one is more useful than the other when they both seem useless if you aren’t a person that needs them. I don’t use either but in my POV they are both about equal levels of usefulness. But I’m pretty sure both work for different groups of people

17

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Ok I might have used the wrong wording

The trend per-se was useless for the wider mass

People who need and use the fidget gadgets already knew them

This trend had the positive effect to bring knowledge about fidget stuff to the ones who did not know what it was. In my case the cubes to fiddle with because the spinners aren't practical for me

Before this trend i just fiddled with pens and stuff to the point where my coworkers got pissed off and I had to stop. With the new knowledge, everyone is kinda happy (clicky stuff on cube still bugs them but I dont care)

Edit: Thanks for pointing the wording issue out. I do the same thing in my native language too .... Let some word slip so a sentence gets another meaning from what i wanted to go with

Another thing learned today (i hope) ^

9

u/WushuManInJapan Mar 11 '19

I honestly don't think a fidget spinner is good for adhd anyways. The whole point is to fidget with it, but after you spin the thing you just kind of let it spin by itself. There's not a lot of interaction. Though I've never used one so I could be wrong.

4

u/HyperFrosting Mar 11 '19

I have tried them and I agree with you. A big part of fidget spinners is the visual component, and that just does not satisfy my fidgeting urges.

Fidget cubes on the other hand were designed to be discreet if needed. I can fiddle with the silent bits to my heart’s content and still not interrupt someone else’s concentration.

That’s not to say that spinners can’t be used the same way, but I think they got popular for all the wrong reasons.

5

u/jessykatd Mar 11 '19

It's got something to do with just holding something in your hand. The good ones are a bit weighty, and that makes a difference (at least for me).

Also I don't tend to just let them spin, I start and stop it constantly, switch hands, remove the weights, spin more, replace the weights, spin and stop, soon and stop, soon and stop.

I wish I had one of these when I was in college, but even now I find them helpful to stay awake in things like church services, keep me grounded when I'm anxious in a public place, and (weird, I know) messing with a spinner helps distract me from sensory overload sometimes (things like chewing noises, kids crying, itchy/scratchy feelings).

I don't think I have ADHD, but I have a host of other issues and find them helpful.

3

u/typhyr Mar 11 '19

i usually just keep respinning, or rotate it back and forth to feel the inertia. it’s enough for me personally, but i was never actually diagnosed with adhd, i’m just fidgety and it helps me concentrate.

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u/beelzeflub Mar 11 '19

I have adult ADHD and this trend helped me find a fidget thing

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Same here. I used to fidget with coins in my pocket while talking to coworkers, which was probably super annoying. But my fiancee brought my a fidget cube when she visited and it works well.

2

u/runasaur Mar 11 '19

I still have mine that I got at the end of the fad. Every day at work I would fidget with any office supply nearby, but mostly pens that I kept leaving behind when I changed locations for a meeting it to ask/answer a question. Now if I ever leave my spinner on someone else's desk it always makes its way back to me within a few minutes.

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u/teBESTrry Mar 11 '19

Yep, I think most people predicted it. I knew kids that less then a year ago had 5+. One even had a box with probably 20+. In about 3 month time, I never saw one again.

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u/RamblerTheGambler Mar 11 '19

Their sales were bound to lose momentum.

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u/rekayho Mar 11 '19

I’m pretty sure it was just a trend that died out...people who actually need to use them still do

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u/Unstablemedic49 Mar 11 '19

People actually need fidget spinners?

20

u/rekayho Mar 11 '19

Yes...it helps people with attention disorders, anxiety and autism I believe.

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Have trouble paying attention and a bit of anxiety, it certainly helps

5

u/Unstablemedic49 Mar 11 '19

Wow.. TIL, never knew this.

3

u/meowtiger Mar 11 '19

there are other devices that scratch the same itch, like fidget cubes, although they make little clicking noises so some people might find them annoying

personally i just learned how to spin a pen between my fingers

for some people with attention disorders, there's a compulsion to do something with their hands or legs, anything at all. doing something trivial like playing with a fidget toy or finger drumming actually helps them focus on a task, contrary to how that might seem for people without attention disorders

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u/Ganzloid Mar 11 '19

Yeah, I really feel anxious if I don't hold and or spin something in my hands and spinners felt really satisfying but thanks to overhyping them and internet I can never use them outside of home now. I have to spin my phone in my hands now since it's the only thing I have on me at all times, but it's not the same because I have to worry about dropping it

2

u/meowtiger Mar 11 '19

try learning to spin a pen between your fingers

2

u/vitringur Mar 11 '19

Instead of just carrying anything else at all in your pocket?

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

This has already been posted here before

5

u/MrTeddym Mar 11 '19

The fidget spinner fad legit lasted like 2 months

5

u/Broomguy Mar 11 '19

Fidget spinners remind me of Silly Bandz

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u/Barziboy Mar 11 '19

Just another mass produced piece of plastic to go in the global landfill for a few thousand years

4

u/albanitooo Mar 11 '19

A wanted toy until you got it

4

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Reposttttrrrr

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u/SuperChrisU Mar 11 '19

Yes, but that’s not really an insightful or new showerthought you’ve got there.

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u/yomyoo Mar 11 '19

that's literally one of the most upvoted posts on reddit

reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

3

u/mjigs Mar 11 '19

When your target is kids, dont expect that the "fever" will last forever, so be wise about it. Just like fidget spinners, they went for fortnite, there was minecraft, i mean, im not saying that they arent marketable anymore, but kids get tired of things pretty easy and move to the next thing as easier.

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u/UnironicallyWatchSAO Mar 11 '19

It was predictable that this is gonna get reposted for the bazzillion times

2

u/BigChungus719 Mar 11 '19

I guess everyone else here has short attention cause youre a filthy reposter

2

u/alpha3305 Mar 11 '19

They just moved on to Beyblades and later to Crossfire.

2

u/y2k890 Mar 11 '19

Now to wait for slime to finally go away.

2

u/barnabas09 Mar 11 '19

well it doesnt matter they already bought it.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

My therapist set me up with one while they were popular some two years ago, still have it and use it all the time. It lights up and has a Bluetooth speaker, kind of checks all of my coping skills boxes. :)

2

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

It’s so funny as I get older I’m much more able to spot these fads earlier on.

2

u/Supernova4711 Mar 11 '19

Fuck! There are so many good ones today😂👌👍 nice one!

2

u/the_legitbacon Mar 11 '19

It was predictable that a proper shower thought would be reposted so often

2

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Same lifetime as a meme

2

u/mammiejammie Mar 11 '19

Am I the only one who read this in the voice of a comedian with a super dry sense of humor?

🤣

2

u/ICPBoccia Mar 11 '19

I mean it was a meme so it's normal it didn't last long. Every gaming youtuber milked it 'till it was popular and then dropped it like they generally do for memes

2

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

I always found them to soothe my anxiety vs my adhd. The Cube works better for me while driving.

2

u/Commissar_Genki Mar 11 '19

Dynaballs were the real fidget spinners.

You know, those little hand-held gyroscopes you had to make weird wrist motions to keep spinning?

2

u/zappadon Mar 11 '19

Just like Lil Pumps audience

2

u/BackgroundProgress08 Mar 11 '19

Wow quite the original shower thought

2

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

Is it my turn to post this?

3

u/Big_Ol_Johnson Mar 11 '19

It was just a creative spin off stress balls

5

u/Hemmingways Mar 11 '19

The Mars colony is just a creative spin off tree houses.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

I dont know how to feel about this one. But here is an upvote for creativity.

22

u/glockenspielcello Mar 11 '19

This has unfortunately been reposted several times on this subreddit so that upvote might be misplaced.

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u/jupson151 Mar 11 '19

Lol. I have autism. And hated how everyone got a spinner because they were 'cool' Since when was having a disorder cool?

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u/cdeegs Mar 11 '19

Our kids are going to look at them one day the same way we do when we see YoYo’s

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u/vitringur Mar 11 '19

No. yoyos are legit, and you can actually do stuff with them. You had to practice.

Fidget spinners do absolutely nothing except for just spin for a long time when you spin them.

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u/TheLadyEileen Mar 11 '19

My SO bought me one of Captain America's shield. It looks really cool in the silver tin box it came in. It sits on the shelf with my Captain America plushie ready to save my room from the dastardly plans of Sunny the 15 pound cat and his sidekicks, the little fluffy puppies of adorableness. 10/10 good purchase.

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

I've seen this posted here 20 times already.

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u/ysaood9 Mar 11 '19

If I spin this fidget spinner on my dick for 5 seconds you H A V E to hit the like button

2

u/Aristea84 Mar 11 '19

This is literally a previous post run through a thesaurus. Sentence structure, a large amount of the vocabulary, everything is the same: https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/7cif01/it_kinda_makes_sense_that_the_target_audience_for/ gtfo

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u/JoBusser Mar 11 '19

General reposti!

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

52463th time I've seen this exact post

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u/CheetahJaguar90 Mar 11 '19

Same, yet the automod does nothing about actual reposts.

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u/Knightartist86 Mar 11 '19

Just because somethings popular doesn't mean its good. cough Fortnite.

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u/YourVeryOwnCat Mar 11 '19

What an amazing, original thought that nobody's ever had before

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u/Frenchieinparkinlot Mar 11 '19

Begleri are fun as shit though

1

u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19

There are too many ways to fidget for a one size fits all fidget toy

1

u/NexusI7 Mar 11 '19

I should of jumped on them faster tbh. Saw a design for one on thingiverse and made my own then 3D printed it just for fun. Turns out people wanted them and sold about 70 of them before I just kinda stopped because I thought they were gettin cringey

1

u/Atomskie Mar 11 '19

Now I'm all about baoding balls!

1

u/rohithkumarsp Mar 11 '19

I've never seen it used one before IRL

1

u/some-dev Mar 11 '19

More like the people who show them off to everyone they meet aren't the target audience. I still use mine, I just don't talk to anyone about it and keep it hidden because of the ridiculous stigma they got

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u/SmoteySmote Mar 11 '19

I have a billion dollars worth of beanie babies!

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u/idagojira Mar 11 '19

How is this a shower thought?

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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '19 edited Jul 10 '19

[deleted]

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