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'Shark Tank': BusyBox slammed for $299 price, fans would rather post 'a handwritten note on the door'

'Shark Tank' fans say they'd rather write BUSY on a piece of paper and scotch tape it to the office door for $0 instead of BusyBox's $299 price point

Working from home can be challenging, thanks to all the distractions and interruptions. When Steve Skillings found himself being constantly interrupted by his wife and daughter while he was attending video calls, he realized that he had to do something about it. He wanted to put a sign that said "Busy" the way radio stations had "on-air" signs in the studios. So when he began looking for it, he was surprised to realize that there was no such product on the market. This prompted him to create one, and thus BusyBoxSign was born.

This cool wireless digital signboard with customizable signs managed to keep all the unwanted interruptions at bay, whenever he placed it outside his door with the word "busy" flashing on it. Motivated by his successful invention, Steve decided to pitch it on ABC's 'Shark Tank'. He walked into the tank seeking $200K for a 20% stake in his company from the Sharks- Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, and Robert Herjavec. But when he revealed that each unit of the BusyBox was priced at $299, all the Sharks were taken aback. The Sharks were curious as to why he was charging such a steep price for a simple digital signboard.

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Steve explained that he was looking to steadily expand the Busybox brand by adding more products and services from the wellness and productivity sector, so he wanted to have the capital and resources for it. Thus he was charging the premium price. The Sharks weren't entirely convinced with his explanation, so they all backed out from making a deal with him. Just like the Sharks, even 'Shark Tank' fans were put off by the hefty price tag. 

A fan tweeted, "Cool gimmick but a little bit too pricey for my taste. #SharkTank." Another fan wrote, "The high price point and lack of focus hurt them. #SharkTank @BusyBoxSign." "Busy box, I agree it's too high of a price, great people #SharkTank," added a fan.

Many fans also pointed out how a simple hand-written note could perform the same job as the BusyBox while slamming the product's high price point. A fan shared, "Honestly if it was cheaper I think the sharks would have taken the bait but 299 for that? When you could just put a sign up? #SharkTank." "You can buy a ream of paper for like $6.50 at Staples. That amounts to like 12 cents/sheet of paper. I can pay 12 cents plus ink and write "Busy" on it and save myself $300. Why in the world would I pay $300 for #busybox when I can achieve the same thing for 12 cents? #SharkTank," seconded a fan. "$299 I’ll just put a handwritten note on the door #SharkTank," declared a fan. "This is a dumb product. Why cant you write DO NOT DISTURB on a piece of paper and tape it on the door? Problem solved #SharkTank," pointed out a fan. "$299! I can write BUSY on a piece of paper and scotch tape it to my office door for $0 #SharkTank," echoed a fan.

'Shark Tank' Season 13 airs every Friday at 8/7c on ABC.

Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.

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