A Gadget Haul from the new Flip Social Shopping Platform

I’ve been exploring a new shopping platform called Flip (compensated affiliate link), which blends social media dynamics with e-commerce. At first glance, Flip resembles TikTok, but it operates within its own app, emphasizing video reviews and social interaction. The platform rewards video reviews of products with discounts, monetization and free products. You can see how it works and some of the stuff I’ve acquired so far in my latest review.

In full disclosure, Flip approached me, providing about $150 in seed money to explore their platform along with a small bonus for posting some video reviews. I later purchased $150 worth of items with my own funds to see how the free product offer works. More on that below.

Originally targeting the health and beauty sector, Flip has now expanded into gadgets. Users purchase items, review them, and earn monetization for their video reviews. This revenue stream lasts for 30 days, during which viewers’ engagement generates income. Additionally, users receive sales commissions for purchases made through their review videos.

After the initial purchase and review, users can obtain free items on subsequent orders, provided they continue reviewing products. This generous policy may not be sustainable long-term, but it currently offers significant benefits to consumers.

Flip’s interface presents reviews from other customers prominently. Each view increments a discount amount that can be applied to future purchases, potentially reaching up to 30% off. While Flip’s prices can sometimes exceed those on Amazon, the accumulated discounts will often keep Flip competitive. However, it’s essential to remain an educated consumer and ensure the discounted prices are genuinely a better deal.

Navigating Flip involves both browsing and searching, though the inventory is less extensive than other retailers. Categories and brand filters aid in locating specific items, but the platform’s design leans heavily toward browsing. When selecting items, users can see who else has purchased them and even message those users for insights.

A potential privacy concern arises from the open nature of the platform as users’ purchases are visible to others. While profiles can be made private, this limits the platform’s social benefits.

Upon adding items to the cart, users can select from a range of free products based on their spending if eligible. In my experience with a $150 order I received a Logitech HOTAS game controller valued at around $250. I also managed to pick up a $90 Mophie magsafe phone charger.

My third item, an HP monitor with a built in webcam, was out of stock. Flip canceled that free order and did not give me an option to select an alternative through the app. I have contacted customer service and they are working on manually sending me the additional item I was entitled to. Your mileage will vary.

To hit the $150 I purchased a “Big Sur” Polaroid instant camera and a ProtoArc Hub Mouse. The Polaroid camera, a collaboration between The Parks Project and Retrospekt, is a refurbished vintage Polaroid 600 Instant Camera. Flip didn’t sell the film so I had to pick up a pack on Amazon. But this is an actual vintage 80’s era Polaroid camera that was refurbished into a product that feels brand new.

The ProtoArc Hub Mouse looks like a standard desktop mouse but it has a little USB-C hub tucked in its rear end. The hub sports an HDMI output, a USB-A port, and a USB-C power passthrough.

From my initial subsidized order, I received a solar power bank, a Movo smartphone cage and a boom mic enclosure. You can see them all in the video linked above.

Flip’s social shopping extends to the Desire Wishlist feature, allowing users to gift items to each other. They have some fun games as part of this where users can guess who sent them the item or be completely anonymous in handing out their gifts.

It remains to be seen if Flip’s business model is sustainable in the tech space. Many other platforms have found that beauty and household products do better than tech which is more expensive and less prone to browsing. But in the meantime you may as well take advantage of the freebies while they last!

Chinese Influencer Censored Over a Tank Cake?

A few months ago on the Weekly Wrapup we talked about the growing trend of “Social Shopping.” The best way to think of it is as a modern version of the Home Shopping Network where an influencer talks about products live that are available to purchase. This is something I do on Amazon from time to time.

In the video I pointed viewers towards an excellent video from Bloomberg that shows just how big social shopping has become in China. There it’s an industry worth tens of billions of dollars.

One of the creators featured in that video, Austin Li Jiaqi, has been effectively taken off the air by the government after a guest presented him with a cake in the shape of a tank according to Vice News. The government wants to erase memories of this picture from the Tiananmen Square massacre:

AP Photo

The video happened to take place on the 33rd anniversary of the 1989 event. Jiaqi has not yet reappeared after the stream was suddenly shut down.