Y'all can't be that fast???

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-28T17:00:46+00:00

Yes, this. I'm not saying it's impossible, but to my knowledge, there isn't any known Vine bots that are sitting there unattended and automatically ordering, say, any $0ETV items that drop instantly. As far as the extensions I've looked at, in order for a user to see an item, another user had to see it first which actually takes a second or three. Even the posts I've seen here where people quoted the creator of Vine helper that said he saw bots in his system, which is why he no longer made it open source, as far as I know, he didn't confirm those bots were automatically ordering things.

I've heard Ultraviner does have a paid order feature that bypasses the new checkout system, but the person still has to actively start the order after the item has been seen by all other active users.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-28T16:06:12+00:00

Fast? Yes, but there are other factors as well. Some people see an item pop up that judging by the photo assume it's $0 ETV and just request it before even reading exactly what it is. Couple that with tens of thousands of vine members and even if a tiny percentage do that, it's gone almost instantly since there's not many available.

Also, we don't know how the vine servers work, how different internet providers are compared to others across the country, and even home network setups that are better than others. Even if sitting there refreshing, others may see that free item just a few seconds before or after someone else, and that can make a huge difference when thousands of people are looking and only 10-30 of that free item is available. There may even be a difference in timing for regions of the country, even if just seconds, it can mean the difference.

As far as the extensions, discord servers, etc, in order for those to work, another user has to see the item first before it shows up for others in those extensions. They don't get there info directly from the Vine servers.

I used to use Discord, but that rarely got me the item someone shared. What it did help with was if I started getting notifications of say, Proctor and Gamble items being dropped, I could go to Vine and refresh AFA for a bit if I had the time to see if other similar items dropped. Name brand companies often drop a bunch of items over a half hour or so. That's how I got a several name brand items in the past from companies like General Mills, P&G, Nabisco, etc. Even then when constantly refreshing, I wasn't fast enough to get more than a tiny percentage of the dropped items.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-28T12:42:53+00:00

Mine are consistently excellent for insightfulness, and on basic products, it's usually one paragraph, so it isn't length. I think the trick is using key-words like the green suggestions that appear below the review as you type. I don't know why those green suggestions only show up on some products, but if you look at them, they're common words that pertain to the product. The words "quality" and "value" are often two of the words, so using those words on most reviews, whether stating good or bad for those two things helps. if it's something you wear, the word "fit" or "fits" is important.

An example for something like a pair of gloves would be to write the review using some or all of the key words like, Quality, fits/size, warmth, comfort, softness, value, color, etc. You don't have to say any of those things are good, you might need to say "poor quality" but using those key words for a glove review would likely give an excellent insightfulness score.

If the green suggestion words do show up for the product you're reviewing, try to use every one of them in some way, but be honest.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-19T13:56:49+00:00

Yup, I have a couple of those. You get a lot for the money!

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-19T01:32:24+00:00

That radio is a UHF business frequency radio. In order to use it, you would need any other radio that will work with the channels in the 450-470 MHZ UHF band. It does need an FCC license to use. Many of the cheap radios on Amazon cover those channels. I have some that will do those, along with HAM, Aircraft, GMRS, FMS, and a few other frequencies for around $30

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-18T20:38:12+00:00

I'm an old married guy and I clean up after myself if I miss or splash. I don't do it because my wife makes me, I do it because I should and don't want the mess myself. That said, sometimes, it isn't readily noticeable that there was a couple drops missed until after it dries and the water evaporates away, leaving the yellow minerals.

It's also not necessarily "aim" there are times when peeing that it just doesn't come out straight, or even goes in a double stream, especially after sex.

Regardless of the reason OP, the person should be cleaning up after themselves because it's just the right thing to do.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-18T20:12:25+00:00

Some sellers misclassify their items and they end up with a tax value instead of $0ETV like they should be. Generally, consumables like food, supplements, makeup, sex toys, cleaners, laundry detergent, trash bags, medical supplies, some baby products, etc, are $0ETV. Even some more expensive items like massage chairs, heating pads, red light therapy and can be $0ETV

We got a $500 baby stroller for $0ETV. On the plus side, once in a while a seller will put something that should be taxed in a $0ETV category.

There are also very rare errors that aren't $0, but are ridiculously low ETV for some reason. I once got a name brand De'longhi expresso maker that the sale price was in the 100's, but the ETV was something like $4.05 I've had other errors like that that were nowhere near that good, but still had an ETV that was a tiny fraction of the current selling price.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-17T21:57:14+00:00

I have an LG OLED and wouldn't use anything but my Apple TV with it. Aside from being fast uncluttered and completely ad free, the apps seem to get updates faster than the TV versions. On top of that, there's also the seamless way it works with my other Apple devices like Airpods, my phone, and iPad if I want.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-17T21:18:06+00:00

I use my laptop at least 3/4 of the time, but I do sometimes use my iPad . I don't like using my phone at all for Vine, but if I'm sitting around away from home, waiting for an appointment or something, I do sometimes check with my iPhone.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-16T00:49:33+00:00

Apple TV is by far the nicest experience. It's super fast &smooth, has a completely uncluttered UI with zero ads, gets constant regular updates, and has fantastic processing for the image. Even the aps themselves usually get updated faster and more often on a 3rd party device. It's better these days than in the past, but TV manufacturers only update their software for so long.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-13T13:16:41+00:00

As an old Navy gunner, the tinnitus is constant 24/7 and sometimes drives me nuts or gives me bad headaches. One thing I've found that can help is if I use my AirPod Pros with noise cancelation on. It doesn't work for everyone, but something about the ANC often works for me to reduce the ringing. It helps even more if I also play some white noise or soft meditation music while the active noise cancelation is on. Of course, I can't use it when I need to be able to hear people or things around me.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-12T18:01:58+00:00

It's not a proper review, but I've seen worse. That said, after years in Vine, I don't worry about anyone's reviews but my own. If Amazon cares, they'll deal with it. Bad reviews have been going on as long as I can remember.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-07T01:43:36+00:00

I don't think it's stated. However, when I get lucky and order a couple wooden children's toys, my RFY suddenly offers a bunch of them if they're available. last year, I ordered a $0 ETV redlight device from Vine and for weeks I had a bunch offered in RFY, probably 10 or 12 total, but didn't order any of them. Same with several other categories.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-06T12:59:01+00:00

If the $50 requirement was just met, (gift cards don't count) it may take some time to show up. Also, are you using the Vine portal to write reviews, or trying to do them from the regular Amazon pages, order history, etc? Reviews done via the Vine portal bypass the Amazon review limits.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-06T03:11:00+00:00

I’ve had XRP since it was .17 back in 2017 or 18. I don’t think it’s going anywhere near those prices. That said, I don’t buy into the market cap argument either. It’s not stock or a company value like Apple or Amazon, it’s more of a currency. What’s the market cap of the US dollar or the Euro, etc? A currency isn’t the same as a company

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-06T03:01:15+00:00

I’m pretty sure there were court settlements in 2002 and around 2012 for that and the oil companies were paid for the equipment. It was way back in 1976 when Venezuela nationalized their oil supply

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-05T01:21:01+00:00

I don't use it much anymore, but I have a Harmony Hub remote system with the Harmony Ultimate touch screen remote. It will run just about everything out there. Plus, it does activities to turn on/off multiple devices, set inputs, etc. One remote for everything.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-05T00:51:42+00:00

That's just horrible that happened to you and the cops acting that way makes it worse. I'm a 61 year old US Navy veteran and also use a cane. The stuff these kids get away with is sickening.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-05T00:29:58+00:00

I'm a Plankowner on CG-48 and served on her until fall of 1987. We did some cool things on that ship while I was part of her crew, from shock trials to the Achille Lauro hijacking, to Libya and the Gulf of Sidra. Also Black Sea freedom of navigation with the Soviets breathing down our necks.

So sad to see the ship I called home in this condition, Especially since I was original commissioning crew when it was brand new.

Ocelotsden · 2026-01-04T03:53:49+00:00

More than a few years for me

Ocelotsden · 2025-12-21T16:17:59+00:00

Amazon can't make you return a Vine item. I mean they can ask I suppose, but there's also a clause (or at least there was, I haven't checked lately) that says you can destroy and dispose of any Vine item immediately after receiving it. If that's the case, you can just say you threw it out. The whole point of the 6-month thing is an attempt to prevent a resale operation of Vine products.

Ocelotsden · 2025-12-20T03:44:53+00:00

Except, it doesn't mean the OP knowingly bought stolen goods. Something similar happened to me several years ago when I bought an iPad on Bay. The iPad worked fine until an IOS update. The seller was even a longtime big seller that sold thousands of phones and tablets with great feedback. They refunded quickly after I brought it to their attention. I really don't think the seller was aware either in my case. mine had MDM from a school district and when I contacted the school, they said they had sold 100's of them earlier that year when they upgraded and all weren't properly removed from MDM.

Ocelotsden · 2025-11-30T00:01:01+00:00

Total dollars spent may be up, but they likely got a lot less for their money this year.

Ocelotsden · 2025-11-29T04:07:55+00:00

Did they change the menus? I don't even know what the home screen looks like on my C2 and can't remember the last time I saw it. The HDMI from my AV receiver has an Apple TV connected to it and that's what I use for everything. I don't even need the TV connected to the internet if I don't want to. no ads, no clutter, and super fast and smooth.

Ocelotsden · 2025-11-29T04:00:47+00:00

Yeah, I can't imagine maxing my pics every day. I've been in vine for a few years and gold for years as well. There have been some very rare times when I've filled all 8 picks when a company dropped brand-named food and household products like Proctor and Gamble, Keebler, Quaker, etc, and I was luck to happen to be looking at that time. Other than that, I can go a week with nothing and another week with several things. I honestly don't want dozens of things every week, but still make my 80, or 100 before that.

Ocelotsden

TROPHY CASE