The Day Thousands Paid for Nothing (Literally)

 

2015. Black Friday. The internet is drowning in deals. Discounts. Deals upon deals.

And then this happened:

Pay $5. Get nothing. Literally.

That’s it. A one-day stunt. A blank page. A totally empty inbox.

The Setup

• CAH shut down their entire store on that day.
• The only thing you could buy was… nothing.
• There was a checkbox:
  “I understand I am paying Cards Against Humanity $5 and receiving nothing in return.”
• And people clicked. A lot.

The Data

• 11,248 people paid $5.
• 1,199 paid more ($10, $20, even $100).
• Total collected? $71,145.

No product. No shipping. All gross profit. Brilliant.

What They Did with It

• They divided the money among 17 employees, ~$4,185 each.
• Then, they posted what each person purchased:
  custom suit of armor, game consoles, liquid scotch, student loan payments, Lasik surgery, even a 24-carat gold vibrator for $3,120.
• And yes, some money went to charities. But they didn’t donate all of it this time.

Why It Worked (In a Nutshell)

• Anti-retail retail: Everyone else was selling something. CAH sold nothing, and stood out.
• Built-in absurdity: It was funny, bizarre, and immediately shareable.
• It trusted the audience: People got the joke. They bought into the premise, and kept buying more.
• It was on-brand: CAH is all about absurd humor, messing with expectations, and making a statement.

Some users applauded the stunt, others called it stale shock-comedy. But almost no one was indifferent.

In a world obsessed with product and consumerism, Cards Against Humanity flipped the script: a perfect day of selling nothing… and making everything happen.

 

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