5000% Increase in the sale of baseball bats on Amazon.co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/movers-and-shakers/sports/

by nwest • 15 years ago

470 148 15 years ago

amazon.co.uk

I would expect Amazon to make a statement saying they wont ship them, now this has hit the press.

EDIT judging from hullo's comment above they have pulled all these products. Not sure why this comment is getting so many downvotes, it is a PR issue not a law enforcement issue, if the press are calling the company over this and it is going to be in the papers they will do this.

mtogo• 15 years ago

Yes, it would make perfect sense for Amazon to cancel thousands of orders because they could be involved in some kind of ongoing riot. Great idea. /s

Alex39172• 15 years ago

This isn't thousands, it's only a few hundred. Remember, the British don't play much baseball so they would normally only be selling a handful of any given bat per day.

burgerbrain5• 15 years ago

And the a few days later we get to read a story about a family who had their bat order canceled getting beat near to death in their own home. Brilliant.

pointyhat• 15 years ago

That's hilarious.

itg• 15 years ago

Are the rioters buying these or the people and shop owners who want to protect their property?

Robin_Message• 15 years ago

Surely rioters? I find it hard to believe a shop owner is seriously going to try and hold the line by themselves against a mob. Also, a baseball bat is a classic disguised weapon but a shopkeeper will have no justification in having one so it is probably an offensive weapon in UK law.

I've heard it said that D-cell Maglite torches are used by security guards not because they necessarily need a torch (a headtorch is generally more useful anyway), but because it can be carried and justified legally.

srgseg3• 15 years ago

I find it hard to believe a shop owner is seriously going to try and hold the line by themselves against a mob

Groups of shop owners are defending themselves. See this video http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2011/aug/09/london-riots-...

troels• 15 years ago

I find it quite believable that a poor immigrant whos entire economic security depends on his shop is going to defend it with is life.

wisty• 15 years ago

A rioter caught carrying a baseball bad would be in serious trouble. A bat is hard to conceal on a person. Anyone carrying one will become a target to the police, as they will know the rioter is a trouble maker.

A shopkeeper can hide it under the counter.

parallel• 15 years ago

I've also heard this about large maglites. In fact they are often carried by being held near the globe end with the body of the torch resting on the shoulder. This allows the torch to be swung down onto a victim's collarbone breaking it and disabling that arm. (Apologies for the gruesome detail.)

indrax• 15 years ago

They don't have to be stronger than the mob, they just just to be stronger than the next shop.

tristanperry• 15 years ago

(UK poster here - living away from the riots though, thankfully)

There was apparently a decently large group of Turkish business owners in London last night who got together with baseball bats to protect their businesses (which apparently worked).

I'd say it's a bit of both.

hugh36• 15 years ago

Rioters don't buy things, they steal them.

Groxx2• 15 years ago

Everyone has to start from somewhere though, and stealing a bat from someone who's rioting doesn't seem like the best option when Amazon is perfectly willing to send one to you.

inovica• 15 years ago

I suspect many of these will be for home owners in these affected areas. Remember that whilst the shops are being targeted, that there are often many people cowering behind locked doors hoping that this will come to an end. This is a just a means of protection for them, should they need it. In the UK people are not allowed to own fire arms, but baseball bats are a different thing altogether.

arethuza2• 15 years ago

"In the UK people are not allowed to own fire arms"

That isn't strictly true - just that the licensing schemes are very strict and licenses will only be given for certain types of guns (e.g. shotguns) for certain reasons (hunting or work).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_King...

ArbitraryLimits• 15 years ago

After seeing Korean shopowners in action during the LA riots in 1991, I'd always been curious how this scenario would play out in a country with gun control laws.

caf• 15 years ago

On a possibly related note, there don't seem to have been any reports of deaths yet (apart from the original suspect shot by police that seems to have been the spark in the powderkeg).

mortenjorck2• 15 years ago

I would guess that many, if not a majority of the rioters lack a credit card, and quite possibly a registered permanent address for deliveries. These are people on the farthest margins of society, often with very little to lose.

MrScruff3• 15 years ago

Do you have any evidence that would suggest that?

jlmendezbonini• 15 years ago

Shatter patellas (what are patellas anyways?), skulls...this can't be a real review:

"Cuts looters off at the knees, 9 Aug 2011 This bat is perfectly weighted and will suit any UK shop-owner looking to protect their property.

Thanks to the ergonomic handle, one easy swing should be enough to shatter patellas, skulls or any other bone on your targeted looter. Personally, I would recommend also investing in some fingerless gloves for extra grip."

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/member-reviews/ATYCJGIRKTZTS/...

portman• 15 years ago

patella = kneecap

rberdeen• 15 years ago

4000% increate in the sale of Coleman PefectFlow 1-Burner Stoves on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/gp/movers-and-shakers/sporting-goods

It must be significant.

norswap• 15 years ago

Well people in England are burning cars. Also they're poor. Surely they must have US-based backers ?

amitparikh• 15 years ago

No, you picked an outlier. OP pointed out a trend -- 8/10 of the top "Movers and Shakers" are bats/batons. That is significant.

yid2• 15 years ago

With the ease with which the burner can be turned into a bomb, it's portability (like a large Molotov), and the $15 price tag, I would be really surprised if it were genuinely an outlier (in the sense of being a chance correlation with current events).

patio11• 15 years ago

27,000% percent increase in flashlights in Japan. Clearly the rioters threaten our power plants.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/movers-and-shakers/378-9075017-80...

dpapathanasiou2• 15 years ago

Awful; neither funny nor relevant, and disrespectful to boot.

guelo• 15 years ago

That doesn't make sense, by the time you get the bat the riots should be over. Are the local sporting good stores all sold out?

DrCatbox• 15 years ago

Need is mother of all invention.

Pick apart a leg from your kitchen table and defend your properties.

knowtheory• 15 years ago

Doesn't Amazon run a shipping hub out of London? If so they may do same day delivery.

Either way, you're hedging the cost of a bat vs the chance that riots are going to go on for multiple days, or spring up outside of your shop?

corin_• 15 years ago

Next day delivery if ordered before a certain time (5pm I think, might be 7pm). I'd place money on the riots still being around by the time an order placed today arrived.

gwern• 15 years ago

And what about future riots?

mnutt• 15 years ago

People are more likely to buy umbrellas online on days when it's raining.

Though it will certainly rain again, whereas hopefully we won't see that many riots over our lifetimes.

TeMPOraL• 15 years ago

I have no way to check it, but I think that they just delayed delivery of this product on purpose because of the riots.

TillE2• 15 years ago

In Germany, 1-2 day shipping is the norm. There are cheaper, slower options, but standard package service is very often next-day. I imagine it's the same in an even smaller country like England.

panacea• 15 years ago

If this is shopkeepers buying baseball bats it could be because faith in the UK Police to protect businesses was severely damaged over the last few days.

Summer's not over, and it could get worse. Get a bat on standing order for the future?

netrus• 15 years ago

Might become a Business Ethics Class classic. From my point of view, Amazon should not deliver. It is obvious the bats are intended to be used as weapons, which is illegal at least in Germany, no matter what circumstances.

ctdonath• 15 years ago

Ah, so upstanding citizens should have no tools for defending themselves, loved ones, homes & businesses?

Business Ethics Class classic indeed, and with no clear-cut answer.

I'd contend that anyone ordering such products online under such circumstances is not part of the criminal element (who would instead just raid a sporting-goods store, or pick up any comparable object) ... and thus Amazon would do customers well to provide free overnight or same-day shipping.

grecy• 15 years ago

We should sell them AK-47s and grenades. Probably higher profit margins.

jfruh2• 15 years ago

These loathsome people have no respect for Britain's glorious history or traditions. Real British patriots use cricket bats on their looting spree.

dpapathanasiou2• 15 years ago

I admit I laughed, but this comment belongs more on reddit than here.

TheFunkyMonk• 15 years ago

As a recent Reddit convert who would like to follow the rules, why?

mkr-hn4• 15 years ago

Memes are the culprit, not genuinely humorous jokes. The pun and joke tangents on Reddit are the best thing on the Internet.

felipemnoa2• 15 years ago

Well, they are supposed to be immigrants or descendants of 1st generation immigrants so your comment may not apply.

jfruh2• 15 years ago

Pish, the only people who love cricket more than the Brits are the people in the ex-colonies. It's huge in the Caribbean and South Asia.

hugh36• 15 years ago

Well if anything, immigrants, who choose to move their whole lives to Britain, should love Britain and its traditions even more than random British folks who happen to be born there.

jsmcgd• 15 years ago

I can assure you that this issue is not specific to immigrants or immigrant communities. The problem is much more general. Multiculturalism, I believe, is a good thing but there also needs to be a positive common culture. Unfortunately there isn't one to speak of. Britain is full of parallel societies and recently the main divide, that is being that is being highlighted recently, is the divide between normal citizens and those that happily and deliberately choose themselves above others. This is merely a dramatic and serious symptom of a problem that has been growing for some time.

arethuza2• 15 years ago

I would expect a degree of local variation in the choice of ad-hoc melee weapons. Here in Scotland I would expect golf clubs to be more popular, perhaps shinty sticks in the Highlands.

As for myself I have a rather nasty looking ice-axe somewhere...

sliverstorm• 15 years ago

An ice-axe? You are aware, aren't you, that there is a difference between bludgeoning someone and brutally murdering them? Because with an ice-axe, you're going to have a hard time not engaging in the latter.

RobPfeifer• 15 years ago

Reminded me of trainspotting:

"Ah wonder if anybody this side of the Atlantic has ever bought a baseball bat with playing baseball in mind. Sick Boy, "Blowing It: Deid Dugs" (Chapter 4, Story 3)"

yid2• 15 years ago

Actually, the entire situation reads eerily like the Trainspotting novel. Looks like all the Francis Begbies are out in force.

chriserin• 15 years ago

UKers, just make sure you get ash bats, not maple. A shattered bat on the ball field is embarrassing. A shattered bat on the streets is dangerous. Likely there will be no bat boy to hand you a replacement.

hugh36• 15 years ago

Surely aluminium is the way to go?

NathanKP3• 15 years ago

An aluminum bat to the head would greatly increase the chance that the person will be killed rather than just knocked out. I certainly disapprove of the looters and rioters, but I don't think they deserve to die.

jtbigwoo• 15 years ago

Metal bats are long lasting, but ash bats can last a long time, too, especially if you can avoid getting jammed (hitting something with the thin part of the bat just above where your hands go.) I have a child-size ash bat that's just starting to crack after being used by three generations of my family. The parent is probably referring to maple bats which are used by about half of major league baseball players. According to conventional wisdom, maple is harder and tends to shatter more easily.

Or you could try to track down a Tidal Wave softball bat. The Tidal Wave was a metal bat with a cap in the handle so you could fill it partially with water. The momentum and non-compressibility of the water made those bats crazy-powerful. (And illegal in any semi-organized game.)

roc• 15 years ago

Until you miss the looter and hit a door-frame, wall, rack of goods, etc.

After that, as your aluminum bat is likely rolling around on the ground, it will seem like a bad idea.

hullo• 15 years ago

At least one of the items (the only explicitly martial one) appears to have been pulled, #2 as of my viewing, "Military Police Telescopic Tonfa - 21" was up 4,291% to #136, now 404s and doesn't return from search either. Doesn't seem to be the case of just being out of stock, as another one of the bats in the top 10 just shows as unavailable/out of stock.

srgseg3• 15 years ago

Just to balance out the nightmarish images of London, here is a video of the community rallying together to clean up the mess the day after http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz7WGzsaHQE

ChuckMcM2• 15 years ago

Hmm, no offense but that looks a bit staged (or perhaps its just near the end of the cleanup) a few people sweeping with brooms, most people milling about and watching them.

A sad thing for me is when I start to tell a young person about a riot that I experienced and they think its 'cool.' There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, 'cool' about a riot. You can read about mob dynamics, you can imagine heroic acts of protest or defense, but nobody seems to capture the pure evil that seems to permeate the air when rule of law loses its grip for a moment.

The veil of civilized behavior, and the relative safety that brings with it, is quickly dropped by a few. Those few cause pain quite disproportionally to their number.

srgseg3• 15 years ago

I think it's the result of people wanting to do something to show that the community cares, and realising that actually the local councils had already done a good cleanup job overnight.

Nevertheless, I thought it was a heart warming gesture.

petenixey• 15 years ago

It wasn't staged, it was happening all over London - people were out in Clapham, Peckham and Tottenham too. There were a lot of people out making a lot of difference both literally and psychologically

gburt• 15 years ago

> rule of law loses its grip for a moment.

Really? You're a non-violent, non-rioting good person because of the law? I think you meant "civility loses its grip for a moment."

majmun• 15 years ago

this is nice gesture but ultimativlly moronic, because it can ruin evidence.

figital• 15 years ago

"Movers and Shakers in Sports & Leisure"

int3rnaut• 15 years ago

Props to the original poster--I've never thought about looking at a situation from this perspective before, and while it's not scientific, it's an interesting and unique way to look at a situation and certainly adds a new layer of dialogue.

randomdrake• 15 years ago

As of now, there's 7000% increase in the sales of military police telescopic tonfas.

Apparently they're out of stock of them and the link is no longer working on their site.

The original link to the item is here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Military-Police-Telescopic-Tonfa-21/...

You can search for the link in Google to check out a cached copy.

ralfd• 15 years ago

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CLBieou...

ojilles• 15 years ago

The 2nd in the list has: "Usually dispatched within 4 to 6 weeks"

That's no good, at least not for the implied use case!

ashishgandhi• 15 years ago

Aren't we considering Amazon goofed up their arithmetic? There are a lot of things which are selling way more as per their numbers.

artursapek• 15 years ago

50,000% increase on a riot baton with no name but five stars? It's a broken link. I think Amazon is acting on this.

Silhouette• 15 years ago

Probably a smart move, since various acts including importing and selling such equipment are probably illegal in the UK, and carrying that sort of kit in a public place would be as well (other than for police officers and the like, obviously).

superchink• 15 years ago

Apparently CNN has picked up on this and has a story pointing this out as well:

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/09/technology/amazon_riot/

startupfounder• 15 years ago

Looks like the interesting discussion is happening here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/forum/cd/discussion.html/ref=cm_c...

CoryMathews• 15 years ago

On of the comments on the aluminum bat: "This bat is perfectly weighted and will suit any UK shop-owner looking to protect their property."

Eliezer• 15 years ago

Baseballs are up 2500%. I am not sure these stats mean quite what you think they do.

jonknee• 15 years ago

If you're buying a baseball bat for the once every couple decade riots, you might as well see what it's all about.

polshaw• 15 years ago

I believe there is law that states that a baseball bat with no ball can be considered an offensive weapon.

sebastianavina• 15 years ago

that's why "Baden Baseballs (Pack of 3)" are up to 3000%

sthulbourn• 15 years ago

That's because people assume you have to buy a ball to go with the bat, to make it seem legit.

stcredzero• 15 years ago

Funny, but I live in Texas, and I was just pricing aluminum baseball bats on Amazon yesterday.

super-serial• 15 years ago

Was there a beer shortage?

My theory has always been that if there was no beer, everyone would slowly realize "man, baseball is f-ing boring."

billpg• 15 years ago

I'm glad to see baseballs in that list too.

po• 15 years ago

This reminds me of the recent video floating around the web (which I now can't find) of korean americans defending their stores in the LA Riots with guns and ad-hoc militias.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots#Riots_an...

The sometimes we take the idea of "law and order" as provided by government for granted.

CamperBob• 15 years ago

Also a 4500% increase in sales of four-man tents...? Not sure these statistics indicate anything.

epaga• 15 years ago

Note the 125000% jump in shovel sales though. That's a bit more hopeful.

5000% Increase in the sale of baseball bats on Amazon.co.uk

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