Selling numbered rocks, you get whatever's next in sequence
29 comments
·September 23, 2025chuckledog
alwahi
Are those pet rocks or wild rocks? Are they homebroken? Can they be a home rock as I won't be able to take them for walks daily.
Kerrick
Removing choice is fine, but people will want to know what number they'll get if they order right now. Even if you can't or won't show the next rock, show the next number.
windowshopping
That's actually kinda hard, no?
Say the server has a counter. When you load the page, it's at 57, so it displays that you would be ordering #57. While you're looking at this, someone else loads the page - what number do you show them? If you show 57, then whoever orders first gets it and the other person gets a message "Sorry, not available. Want 58 instead?" but the same thing could then happen to them with #58, too – "Sorry, not available. Want 59 instead?"
So maybe instead you show the 2nd person counter+1, i.e. 58. And you show the 3rd person counter+2, i.e. 59. But what if #59 purchases but 57 and 58 don't? What do you show the NEXT person, 57 or 60?
I'm not saying it's intractable but it merits thought.
inerte
The solution is to hide deep into the Terms of Service "Duplicate numbers may occur. You reserve the right to be sued if you complain."
crobertsbmw
Maybe just show the last purchased number? Then it’s a race to get your order in if you want the next sequential number.
cloudmanager
Exactly why we kept it simple. You find out your number when it ships.
firecall
Congrats on the launch!
Small suggestion - work on the semantic structure and SEO.
It's all H1 Tags as far as the eye can see!
3oil3
Are the rocks ethically sourced?
caust1c
~That's a good way to launder money.~
Err, tumble money. Err, that's a good internet gag.
Nevermark
It is great they are documenting each rock. I would hate to get a forgery.
hnaccountme
What kind of scam is this?
thomassmith65
Same kind as the Pet Rock, but worse because it's 2025.
ozten
Is this a commentary on NFTs?
waltbosz
It's funny you ask, I had this exact idea back during the NFT craze. I have an unlimited supply of rocks thanks to the creek in my back yard. Well not unlimited, but there are more rocks back there than people willing to buy them as a joke.
guide42
Like physical EtherRocks[0]. Do will also come with a digital certificate that can be transfered online?
cloudmanager
Physical version, no blockchain needed.
King-Aaron
$50 for a rock is outrageous. I would hope that it at least comes with a cool sticker, then I would be willing to accept it.
cloudmanager
$49.99
vunderba
I agree - even adjusting for inflation the original Pet Rock [1] wouldn't have cost more than about $25. /s
cyclotron3k
This will pair very well with my Anthropologie rock.
What stack are you running? How do you guarantee sequential consistency of order numbers across your app server regions, cache layers and data lakehouse?