Comments on: Young Pirates Evicted From Festival For Giving Out Free Waffles

By: Breasts.

Breasts. — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:35:00 +0000

It would be a more apt parallel if the entrepreneurs featured in the article had bought a waffle from one of their competitors, had somehow cloned that waffle a couple hundred thousand times and started passing the cloned waffles out for free, then had stuck a few billboards in front of their waffle stand and sold the ad space. Suddenly they would kind of seem like dicks, wouldn’t they?

By: Janelle

Janelle — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 18:09:00 +0000

This is a really interesting concept, one I quite like actually. It really makes you think.

It would be the same thing as Tim Hortons, or Starbucks calling the police because McDonalds is giving away their coffee for free (which they do from time to time), and stealing their customers. Well that would be rediculous, wouldn’t you say?

Many businesses give away free product for promotional means, like giving away free cake when you come to their booth. You wouldn’t see a bake sale at the same place calling the police. What if that business wasn’t giving away food, lets say they were giving away a promotional frisbee with their logo on it. Do you think a booth that sells beach things would then ask the managers of the convention to ask them to leave? Of course not!

When it comes to businesses you either adapt, change your business model, or suffer financially. That is why many business fail. Take the restaurant business, which has a high failure rate. If another restaurant opens across the street and takes your business away, because they offer cheaper food, you can’t call the police. You have to increase your advertising, whether that is giving a product for free, or doing some sort of deal (buy one get one free).

This is how the world truly works.

Now if you are going to suggest I’m some sort of young person living in my parents basement, let me assure you I am 30 year old female, highly educated Health care professional, who is single and owns her own house and car.

By: Validemail

Validemail — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 05:46:00 +0000

Holy fuckshit, fuck you. Capitalism is about producing the best product for the least amount of money. “Free” is the least amount of money. If those assholes can’t compete, fuck them. They don’t deserve a job, they’re a bunch of anticapitalist bastard assholes, just like you.

By: None

None — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:46:00 +0000

Pretty clear case of waffle infringement.

By: gbsr

gbsr — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 10:56:00 +0000

i bet your pardon?

“remote parts of a frozen country the size of a shoebox on the Arctic Circle.”

my country is neither frozen, nor the size of a shoebox in the arctic circle.

By: Louis

Louis — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 01:27:00 +0000

I once worked a bus company that pretty much (and still do) have the monopoly on public transport all across our area. However, a while back a small company saw a whole in their route system and decided to start operating a service. Within a week or two, our boss added a route and deliberately informed us drivers to undercharge the other company and because we had so many vehicles it was not long before the small company gave up because it became a non-cost effective exercise. As soon as they gave up our boss saw that there was a need for the service to continue because it was proven that there was a market for the route but naturally put the prices straight up to a much higher level than they or the small company had been charging before. Those people that used that bus did gain a service but they did lose a much friendlier and cheaper service by taking the short term cheap option and therefore the monopoly was contained.

I just wonder if one day we will see the same thing happen with the large supermarkets eventually making it virtually impossible for the small shop owner to continue. We are already seeing the large supermarkets bringing in smaller express stores that mimic the corner shops but with cheaper prices. Once all the small fry are eliminated then the big supermarkets then turn on one another and then what?

By: Someone

Someone — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:05:00 +0000

Asdf – Are you kidding me? It says in the article that they were handing them out as an attraction. I have no doubts that it was just a way to get attention for their association and maybe get new members. Groups do that sort of thing all the time in order to get attention and make you actually stop and take a look at a booth. I doubt they were aware beforehand they would be directly across from the waffle sellers.

By: tetridae

tetridae — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:54:00 +0000

That is just the same issue that all the worlds restaurants are having when people cook their food at home. How can you compete with free?? Clearly they should have police spying into peoples kitchen to protect the interests of the restaurants, riight? I mean hobby cooking clearly hurts the income of professional restaurants and fast food services!

By: annon

annon — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 02:02:00 +0000

well the disclaimers at the start of films seem to suggest that if someone doesn’t live at your address then it is a criminal offence and that schools can’t show DVDs to classes of children even if it is for education purposes.

By: annon

annon — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 01:58:00 +0000

why should they be forced to charge to give away something they have made just because some corporations don’t like it, I wonder if RIAA and MPAA and other bodies will tell people they need to charge charity shops before donating cds and movies?