Snow days are always tricky because when I'm cooped up indoors I tend to shop...online. Thanks to Office Supply Geek, I discovered this timesink of a website called Massdrop. This is basically a group-buying site. Members vote to for an item to get a "drop," i.e., be offered for sale. Once the drop is set up, the more people "join a drop" (i.e., buy an item), the lower the price gets. Popular drops can get up to 69% off retail price. They ship worldwide and I've seen buyers from Norway, Australia, and of course the Philippines. What I love is that a lot of drops are VERY relevant to my interests -- writing and hobby craft! For example, some drops I've joined:

Pilot FriXion Color Bundle - currently $25.99 - ends in 7 days

Note: In this drop, you’ll receive two packs of FriXion Erasable Gel Ink Pens (6-Pack of 0.5mm, 7-Pack of 0.7mm) and one pack of 3 Pilot FriXion Highlighter Pens. An upgraded metal FriXion LX pen can be added at checkout (+ $22).

Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen (2-Pack) - currently $22.99 - ends in 3 days

Note: On this drop you can choose the finish and nib size of both fountain pens. Gold Classic and Crocodile are available in Medium only. Silver Classic is not currently available in either nib size.

Rhodia Dot Grid Bundle - currently at $31.99 - ends in 2 days

Note: On this drop, you will receive two Wirebound Pads (No. 16 and No. 18) and three Staplebound Pads (No. 12, No. 16, and No. 18). All five notebooks will come in your choice of Orange or Black covers.

If the price is too expensive for you (like the FriXion pens up there), you can commit to joining a drop when a lower price is reached. Your commitment will count towards the "critical mass" headcount to get the target discount.



Lamy fountain pens seem to be very popular. There are also drops for several knives (Spyderco!), speakers, video cameras, and even lots of little things you never thought you'd need but are actually nice. Here's a sampling of the Writing category. ;)

As you can see, there is a deadline for each drop. You will have to sign up to view anything, but it's free and you don't have to provide any billing information until you join a drop. They do accept PayPal and Bitcoin. I joined way too many drops today, it's ridiculous. I also took advantage of the current price drops on Pilot Iroshizuku inks over at Amazon, which are going for as low as $14-23 (down from the usual $27-30).

Let me know if you join Massdrop -- full disclosure, that is a referral link from me. ;)