Should gadget sites sell wildlife stuff?

[~T~]

While browsing this site to get ideas for virtual goods for the site I work for (teen/tween avatar social network thingy) I noticed they had some wildlife stuff. This bee home looked quite cool (if stupidly expensive and probably not that practical)

Bee Station - buy at Firebox.com

Then I spotted this silly item, ok it made me laugh but it looks just like budgie seed and probably wouldn't be of much use.

Bungee Birdfeeder - buy at Firebox.com

This frog home would probably be ok though.

Frogitat - buy at Firebox.com

Then there's this...surely this borders on cruelty. It says it's waterproof but really I think rain would be the least of it's problems.

Cardboard Birdhouse - buy at Firebox.com

[solus]

I suppose it depends how many gullible folk are out there to waste their money on such gimmicks!

Looks a bit like that stuff that is in those cheaply-produced "catalogues" that come in the middle of the TV listings mags. - you know, the "how can I possibly have lived this long without having a .... " gadget. I think elderly people are the main customers - I know my late Mum was taken in by some of them. For example: she had a long-handled magnet-on-a-stick thingy for (apparently) picking up dropped pins and paper clips from the floor. BUT... she'd never have seen where she'd dropped 'em in the first place and even if she had been able to pick them up with said gadget, the magnet was so strong she would never have been able to pick the offending pin off it!

To be honest, if you really want to buy bird food, bee houses or whatever, there are enough specialist websites (RSPB, CJ, Jacobi Jayne to name just 3.)

I'd be surprised if the cardboard nest box is really weatherproof and wonder if the birds themselves would be foolish enough to use it? Any passing predators would have an easy time breaking into that one!

[King Edward]

Why on earth do people buy all this rubbish? £10 for a cardboard bird box when you can get a decent wooden one for half the price? I've no idea if the cardboard one will withstand the weather sufficiently, but it doesn't look very predator-proof. Perhaps they could market it as a combined bird box & squirrel feeder.

As for the rest, I can't see any harm in them but they're overpriced and probably pretty useless for their intended purpose. Seriously, who would pay £40 for a stupid white dome that's unlikely to be occupied by bees anyway. Besides, I think bees are generally doing pretty well in gardens (no thanks to novelty bee houses) - it's in the wider countryside that they are declining and I can't see the average farmer scattering many of these around his fields. And where did they get the claim that "they could be extinct in the UK within 10 years"?

[N0z]

Originally Posted by ~T~

While browsing this site to get ideas for virtual goods for the site I work for (teen/tween avatar social network thingy) I noticed they had some wildlife stuff. This bee home looked quite cool (if stupidly expensive and probably not that practical)

Bee Station - buy at Firebox.com

Then I spotted this silly item, ok it made me laugh but it looks just like budgie seed and probably wouldn't be of much use.

Bungee Birdfeeder - buy at Firebox.com

This frog home would probably be ok though.

Frogitat - buy at Firebox.com

Then there's this...surely this borders on cruelty. It says it's waterproof but really I think rain would be the least of it's problems.

Cardboard Birdhouse - buy at Firebox.com

That stuff makes me laugh lol... and the prices are even funnier xD

[fairplay]

I expect the cardboard bird boxes come with a notice saying "If goods are damaged in transit, don't call us, simply use the plastic/paper wrapping to make the bird boxes instead - it's so simple !"

Neil.

[Brocakat]

Forgeting as to the correct months issue of the Consumer Magazine
' Gardening Which ? ' -- they did a survey of how successful all these "Wildlife Gardening" gadgets were in attacting / sustaining wildlife.



Almost without exception - all tested were v poor.

[Farplace]

The Bungee Birdfeeder is bordering on Voodoo. All you need is a few pins....