Someone at loose screws has a screw loose
 

Okay mods, if this is out of line please let me know and kill the thread.

I have bought from the "loose screws" website a few times over the years to get random old bike parts, under their old management and (I think) under the current one. I like them. Or: I used to.

But the last time I looked there, earlier this week, it had become primarily a source for firearms. And I'm not into firearms. Not at all.

And worse, ever since I visited that site ONCE this week, I'm getting advertisements for firearms ask over the place, including on THIS site, yes, bike forums, on my mobile phone. I thought as a paid member I was immune to advertisements, but not any more.

Anyway, my advice for those who want to avoid advertisements for firearms, avoid Loose Screws.

That is all. Carry on.

Market decides.

Don't buy from them unless it suits you.

Seems really strange that they would change their business model without changing the site name, or starting a separate website for the firearms business...

On the other hand, I can't really fault the current owner of LS for diversifying his business. Gun sales are booming these days, much more growth in that industry than in bicycle parts.

Unfortunate.

Says something that is less than positive. imho

Well, at least https://www.biketoolsetc.com is still operating or at least their website is.

Well, let's not get political, that wasn't my intent. They can do what they want, and they should. I'm just annoyed that now I'm getting firearm advertisers on bike forums. That should have been preventable.

I must have missed the political part.

After they changed ownership, it seemed like the selection of inventory rapidly shrunk and he began trying to sell newer stuff. I get the impression he was probably selling stuff off to other vendors. Maybe he figured he could make some profit quicker that way, rather than maintaining the original business model of selling obscure cycling stuff, bit by bit.

The change to the new website was also another fail from my point of view. The old site was pretty intuitive and very easy to navigate. Now it seems like the only thing on the site is firearms and they changed the name of the site to reflect that. I have no problem with the gun business, but the site is obviously dead for cycling.

That might have been from a Google tracker on the site. Google is probably light years ahead of the NSA in tracking the online activity of people!

Clean the browser/system cache.

Cookies are not your friend.

Hard to avoid politics when firearms are mentioned. imho

Whoa that is really strange how the GUI is about the same as before when it was bike stuff but now it's 1911's and mags. :foo:

I had to check for myself... that *is* disappointing, @rhm.

I thought it was neat that he brought some new energy into LS and expanded the (bike) stuff into new directions, but this warrants a name change, in my opinion. :(

The bike part business wasn't working out for him, at least not from the website. He has a history in the gun business, feels the domain name has value, so has repurposed the domain name for gun parts.

I can't speak to the advertising and how it works. I've had the same sort of thing happen to me now and again.

Someone said it was Trump.

Are you disturbed by getting advertisements (in general) or are you disturbed because the ads are for firearms?


If it is advertisements, in general, it may not be Loose Screws who targeted you. The entire internet is constantly monitored now and the information gathered is purposefully sold/used to target ads at you. Personally, I despise this tactic and am repulsed by advertisers who use these methods.


If your objection stems from firearm advertisements, I'd say that, in itself, is a political statement. Firearms, like bicycles, are just machines - inanimate machine that do nothing on their own except corrode.


An alternative perspective - firearms in the hands of good people is good; the same exact firearms in the hands of bad people is bad. The discriminator isn't the firearm.


The above is just logic.

I'm mildly annoyed that advertisements get in my way, soak up my limited bandwidth, appear when I least expect them, etc. I understand why they are there, and that they help pay the bills, even if I thought I'd paid my bill already.
I'm more disturbed that I inadvertently visited a site that sells firearms, and therefore gave Googly the idea that I'm interested in that.
Something similar happened to me maybe a dozen years ago, after I visited www.tourdefrance.com (a porn site) I was inundated by porn for a while. I know, I know, nobody's fault but my own, but still annoying.

I don't get advertisements here ever...not sure why that would happen.

Same here.

Ad free.

Was surprised when I wandered there looking for 27" tires...
Saw on the front page what looked like a com

Insidious little bots, anyways. :)

I found that changing my settings to not accept 3rd party cookies mostly stopped those ads that follow you from web site to web site.

Guessing the domian name lapsed or was sold.

Will any of those suggestions work with the OP's MOBILE PHONE which is what he's talking about?

Cheers

I thought @rhm was still using rotary dial.

Report inappropriate ads to staff. Nobody is supposed to get ads not related to bikes or stuff like that if I recall right.