‘Shark Tank’ review: Bambooee, ZipIt Bedding, Buzzy, and Cheek’d

Tonight’s “Shark Tank” had a variety of products, but we cannot really say that we are in love with any of them. The latter two are certainly better than the ones that started off this episode, but let’s be honest here: Unless you really want an alternative to paper towels or want to reduce the pain of getting a shot, you are probably not going to be that interested in them.

What we really missed tonight were the products that had to do with filling some sort of need out there, or that had some sort of creative spirit behind them. We would have even taken some guy with a crazy phone app over some of what we have below. (You can click on any of the product names to learn more about them.)

Cheek’d – There is a ton of money in internet dating. A TON of money. The vast majority of people in the world do want to have someone in their life, and there is one interesting idea in here: Having a code that you can give to people you meet, who can then go and find your profile. The site is therefore personal, and also private so that not everyone online can see it.

Here’s the problem, and Robert Herjavec is right here: Most people who do online dating do so because they don’t know how to meet people, and are too shy to introduce themselves randomly. Therefore, this isn’t really isn’t going to work. While we do think that there should be better privacy standards in this field, this is not the product for it. The best part of this whole pitch was Barbara Corcoran’s story about her flower business, and how she should use that as inspiration to let this business go, and move on to something else. No deal.

ZipIt Bedding – To Mark Cuban, the biggest plus of this product was that if he was a kid, he could fart in the bed and trap it for his brother. We really don’t get the product at all. It’s a bed that doesn’t fill a need. Just either get a sleeping bed, or teach your kid to make the bed. We really think that there is really a certain value that comes along with teaching kids to make their beds.

The problem the sharks had with this was more along the lines of the fact they loved their product too much, and actually turned away a halfway decent licensing deal just because they want to build their own brand. They also weren’t really that interested in what the sharks had to tell them. No deal.

Bambooee (asking for $200,000 for 10%) – First of all, let’s not act like Bambooee is complete original, given that we have seen similar bamboo products on “Dragon’s Den.” The difference is that they had quite possibly the most excited pitchman in human history. This guy needs to be at every infomercial or trade show in America.

The biggest issue that we see with this is just that most Americans are lazy, and will freak out immediately after seeing the high price for a roll of these, even if they are reusable and environmentally-friendly. You may be making a bigger impact overall, but you are still using your washing machine for them. The talent of these two business owners are really what got them a deal, and with the perfect shark in tow. Lori Greiner gives them exactly what they asked for.

Buzzy (asking for $500,000 for 5%) – We’re not really that interested in the product itself, even if we understand that a fear of needles is a real thing, and this product could be useful for making that process easier. But, we are still concerned that some parents are going to find a different way to help their kids cope with a needle then trying to seek this out and pay over $40 including tax. The real market we see here for this would be for diabetics or older people with a fear who have not been able to conquer it, and they may want something sleeker and more adult.

Also, the valuation is completely bonkers, especially for someone as intelligent as a doctor. She turned down a pretty spectacular offer from Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec, and then did the same thing with Mark Cuban. We feel that this was a mistake, and while we don’t know for sure what was in our head, we feel like this was more of a case of someone looking for TV exposure more than a shark. Episode Grade: C+ (mostly because the products bored us).

Are there any products tonight that you would want to pick up? Share your thoughts below, and also visit the link here if you want to see some other highlights from this season.

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Photo: ABC