The Best One Yet - 🎊 “The end of sneaky fee fees” — California’s fee ban. Teens’ 5 fave products. Reebok’s Chief Shaq Officer.

Episode Date: October 13, 2023

You know that extra fee you’re stuck pay at the end when you’re buying concert tickets or a hotel room? California just banned them (starting in June) — Because time is money, a ban on fees saves us $1B.Reebok was huge in basketball when Shaq and Iverson played, so Reebok just hired them — Their corporate job? Influence the influencers.We just got the best survey there is on what teens spend their money on — So we found 5 surprising trends you need to know (spoiler: Buy New Balance, eat Goldfish, and never Venmo).$LIVE $NIKE $AMZN $SQSubscribe to our newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletterWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Jack. You see what I did there? More on that in a second, Marnies, more on that in a second. In the meantime, this is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday, October 13th. And today's pod, it is the best one yet. It's a T-boy.

It's a T-boy. First story, what do we got for the show, Jack? We just got our hands on the most comprehensive report on team spending in America. Yadies, we found the five shocking spending trends of the young of Gen Z. For our second story, California just banned. The worst kind of fee that we hate the most. What's that fee, Jack?

The fee fee fee, $20% delivery fee for a digital concert ticket. This is great news, Yeti's. Hidden fees are on their way out. End of the fee fee fee. For our third and final story, two legendary basketball players are taking over the Reebok brand. Shaquille O'Neill isn't sponsoring Reebok. He's running the earnings call.

But Yeties, before we hit that fantastic, It's just a wonderful mix of stories, Jack. Today's pod is actually the worst one yet. It's not a T-boy. It's a T-1. Yeah, because today is the perfect day to be less than perfect. It's a fantastic day to be a failure. Because Yetis, today is the National Day of Failure. National Failure Day, October 13th, 24 hours dedicated to defeat. What a great holiday. Failure Day was actually invented over in Finland. It's a Finnish holiday for faulty and frustrating fails. Yeti Lloyd Brotman first informed us about this finished tradition. And now it's an annual T-Boy tradition.

But Nick, four years ago, do you remember, we forgot National Failure Day? We did. We forgot National Failure Day. Which is actually the best way to honor National Failure Day. We failed Failure Day. If so facto, that was Failure Day. We honored Failure Day. We failed to celebrate, but that's the perfect way. Because Yeti's failure is a crucial ingredient to eventual success. We can't move ahead without making mistakes first.

Because when you fail, you get feedback. Which is actually feed forward. You were wrong about that. I think I just failed on the feedback. So, Yeties, if you're Birkenstock stock just flip-flopped and then dropped. That's okay. If your sourdough starter, never got started. That's okay.

If you sat down, stood up, and then fell back down on your face again. That's okay, too. Sometimes we trip up on a takeaway. But the next pod is going to be a T-boy. It's going to be the best one yet. So Yeties, happy day of failing. We mean happy day of failing. failure. Celebrate the wins today. By celebrating the losses. Now let's hit those two

stories. We mean three stories. Oh sure. Exactly. 15 years before this song, two boys from the northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one. 50% that's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know you know because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. For our first story, we just got the ultimate report on what U.S. teenagers are obsessed with right now. And this matters because what teens are buying today will all probably be buying tomorrow. Funny thing, Yeties.

Every year, the middle-aged consultants over at the company Piper Sandler do something strange. They go out into the world and they try to spend some time with random teenagers. Hey, you want to play a video game? For the 23rd straight year, Piper Sandler just did it again. They interviewed 9,000 teenagers across America. average age, 15.7 years. 15 and a half year olds. That's who they asked 9,000 people to take surveys.

And these are pretty detailed questions, aren't they, Jack? They ask teens about their money habits, their favorite brands, what they watch, what they wear. Favorite mascara? They want to know. They're going to ask you that. This is valuable consumer information. And the overall surprise Nick and I noticed this year, spending among teens has dropped.

For the first time in years, teen spending, according to the survey, fell by 1% across America. This is mostly because parents are giving out less allowance. We know who to blame on this thing, Jack. Yeah, because only one third of the teen surveyed had a job. The rest of the money came from mom or dad. Apparently, the bank of mom and dad is fiscally conservative right now, Jack. But what wasn't a surprise, the most popular brands among these teens. And Nike is the most popular brand for apparel, Elf's the most popular brand for beauty and chick filet is the most popular brand for eating food. The real reason Nick and I jump into this report every six months. that it comes out is the surprises. And that's why every company is paying attention to this report

for the surprises about teens. Here are the five surprise spending habits from teens in 2023. Jack, it sounds like you're kicking off a TikTok video over there. I was actually trying to. A little bit of Snapchat. Panash. First, according to the survey, 87% of US teens own and use an iPhone. That's right, 87% of teams. Jack, could you sprinkle on a little more context here? The overall average for the US is only 50%. Now you can see Eddie's why it's hard to be that kid in middle school who send in green text messages. The second surprise from this report, teens use cash app nearly twice as much as they use Venmo. Don't even think about dropping a Venmo emoji on your little cousin.

Cash apps marketing and hip-hop sponsorships, they seem to have paid off. The third surprise among teenagers in this report, 31% of teens own a virtual reality headset. We only know one person who has a VR headset. And that's our buddy Timmy. It's our buddy Timmy, yeah, it's our buddy Timmy, yeah. But here's the interesting thing. use of VR headsets was down by 29%. So a surprising percentage of teenagers

have virtual reality headsets, but their usage of those headsets has dropped. It suggests that those who have VR headsets don't like them. Not a good sign for Zach. Number four on the list, the number of teens willing to try plant-based meat just hit an all-time low. Genzi is not into pea protein.

No, they're not. That's not a good sign for a new industry when your youngest generation won't even bite. Those are four surprises about U.S. teen spending from this survey. But Jack, didn't we say we had five surprises? The fifth is our takeaway. Oh, yeah, it is. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone who's a teenager? Introducing Benjamin Button brands.

Some brands age in reverse. Yeties, the final surprise we found in this teen report was the number of old brands that are new again. For example, the number one snack among teens is not some TikTok viral college and protein bar. No, the number one snack among teens is goldfish crackers. The 65-year-old processed cheddar icon that your mom's mom ate. And teens aren't just into goldfish crackers these days. The fastest growing shoe among teens, it's new balance. The most popular skin cleanser is cerevay.

That's not even our favorite part. Jack, you want to whip up this final one? The favorite male celebrity among teens from this survey is Adam Sandler. Adam Sandler. What year did Billy Madison come out again? 1995, before these kids were born. Oh, happy, Gilmore. 96 also before they were born.

So this isn't nostalgia. Teens are too young to be nostalgic about these brands. What this is, besties, is a reminder that brands, they don't age like humans. Any brand can be like Benjamin Button. They can age in reverse. For our second story, California, just signed into law a ban on surprise fees. We're talking a ban on junk fees, fee fees, a ban on hidden fees everywhere. Rejoice.

Rejoice. This is a wonderful news. and it will save us consumers 50 million hours and a billion dollars every year. Now, Yetis, before we jump into those numbers, sometimes we begin with the story. This time, Jack, let's begin with a little personal news. So Alex and I want to see Noah Khan in Boston next summer. He's a rare Vermont folk singer who's going nationwide. A lot of maple syrup songs, like duets with cows, kind of a thing.

Stick season. You've heard them on the radio. I haven't, but I trust your judgment on this. But here's the ticket-buying process that I experienced yesterday on StubHub. Are you ready? Kick us off. Take us man, jump at T-Boy style. First, they showed me a map of Fenway Park, and I saw that the lowest price ticket available is $485 a ticket.

Okay, so I assume it asked you to pick a seat, then you pushed, continue. Exactly. And then they said, is this the seat? And then you clicked, continue. And then they asked me to enter my email address. Continue. And then they asked me to enter my past link. Continue.

And then they showed me the price, which I already knew. Continue. And then they said, please enter your credit card in me. I mean, I'm just going to say continue. And then they said, here's the total price, complete purchase. I mean, Jack, we got the whiteboard here. I'm adding it up. You clicked six continues, and then only then did they show me the final fee,

which was a fulfillment and service fee of $136. Sit down, stand up, and give us your credit card info. I clicked continues six times, and I was so desperate to end the transaction. I almost missed that $136 fee for one ticket. Yeties Jack's personal drum right now is an example of one of the worst type of fees, Not just a fee fee, the mandatory fee. It's the most frustrating thing about being a consumer in America today. Now, Yetis, let's define the business model of fees here.

A fee is supposed to be for add-ons, things that you don't need, but you could upgrade to. For example, getting your passport processed is $130. Or you can pay a $60 expedited shipping fee in order to get it faster. That is optional. But with modern ticketing websites and modern hotel booking, fees are not optional. Fees are mandatory. and they sneak them right there at the end for you. Jack, could you whip up some examples for us over there?

$49.99 a month. But here's the thing. You can't watch that thing unless you pay the $19.99 a broadcast fee. Oh, your hotel room? That'll be $200 a night, sir. Unfortunately, you can't check in unless you pay the mandatory $50 a day per a person resort fee. So in certain sneaky industries, the price that we consumers see, it's really the fake price. Yeah, the fee is actually the main.

in product or service, even though they say it's a fee. And you only see that real price when it's too late to back out of the transaction. Yeah, it is we declare on this here podcast, if a fee is a mandatory fee, it is not a fee, but it is part of the price. Yeah, it's an oxymoron. A mandatory fee is not a fee. It's just the price. Well, hear ye, hear ye, here's the news.

California just signed that exact rule into law yesterday. It's wonderful news. Effective June of next year in the state of California. California, no company can sneak a mandatory fee at the very end of the transaction. Besties, the only extra cost at the end of a transaction you're allowed to see is a government-imposed one like a sales tax. Oh, you want to charge me a $136 convenience fee stub hub? Convenience fee. You got to show me up front instead of sneakily after six continue buttons. Yeties, this could be the end of the mandatory fee fee. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies

who are everyone buying things. Time is money, and this ban will save consumers both. Interesting thing, Yetis, on Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission proposed that exact same fee rule nationwide. The final price must be shown up front. It's happening in California next summer. It looks like it's happening nationwide. This means hidden fees are going extinct.

No more final fee fee on that final page of the transaction. And that's going to save us consumers time. It means you wouldn't have to click continue six times. in order to get the final price. The FTC estimates Americans will save 50 million hours a year just in the hotel and ticketing purchases. But it's not just time saving, it's also money saving. If companies show you the upfront price clearly,

then it's easier as a consumer to comparison shop. And the FTC thinks that'll save us a billion dollars a year. So the ban on sneaky fees, it's going to save us 50 million hours and a billion dollars every year. Bestie's time is money. And this ban on the mandatory. Fifi, it saves consumers both. Rejoice.

For our third and final story before the weekend, Reebok, the shoe brand is back and it's got a bold new plan we have not seen before. Reebok just hired Shaquille O'Neal and Alan Iverson to work corporate jobs at Reebok headquarters. Shaq and AI are clocking in. Jack, let's go back to 1992. Great year. What were you doing?

What was the highlight that year? I was just learning how to go to the bathroom by myself because I was four. Big year. Big year. Critical skill. Big year. But yet he's that same year, Shaquille O'Neill was drafted number one in the NBA draft. A big man signed a big deal for some big shoes.

He signed a deal with Reebok. The 22-year-old was wearing size 22 Reebok sneakers. Reebok, actually a British footwear company and one of the oldest ones out there. Reebok, it's like Converse if it had a Harry Potter accent. Jumpiest, dunkiest. Founded in 1900, Reebok is actually named after the super nimble African antelope known as the Reebok. And a century later in 2006, Adidas acquired Reebok stock for $5 billion. But a couple years ago, in 2021, Adidas sold Reebok to authentic brands for $2.5 billion.

Well, funny thing, Jack. Who happens to be the second largest shareholder of Reebok? Shaquille O'Neal. Yeah, that's Shaquille O'Neal. basically owns Reebok. Which leads to this news. Reebok just added Shaquille O'Neill and Alan Iverson to the corporate payroll. Shaq and Alan Iverson are getting W-2s over a Reebok.

Yeah, both Alan Iverson and Chikil O'Neill wore Reebok sneakers during their peak basketball playing years. Reebok came out with the answer and the question sneakers. They were like the top-selling basketball shoes in the 2000s. They were both based on Alan Iverson. I had a pair. My chubby little calves ended up in a pair of Reebok shoes because of Al-Ivok. Yeah, but you could jump like five feet because of the injection.

You could barely slip a piece of paper under there. Now, yet he's here's the key. They didn't just bring out these two players from retirement to play. They brought them out to work. Shaq has a corporate role at Reebok, president of Reebok basketball. Yeah, like, Shaq has a desk job with like a corner office. It's going to be a huge desk. You're going to see Shaq at the water cooler wearing khakis.

Biggest chair you've ever seen. And it's not just Shaq, because Alan Iverson is Reebok's VP. of basketball. So Shaq is literally Alan Iverson's new boss at a corporate job at Reebok Rebock headquarters. Like Carol from accounting is going to see these two and say, hey, I got some feedback on your TPS report spreadsheets. And then if Carol from accounting wants a coffee, she can tell Shaq to get it for her. And then Shaq can delegate that coffee assignment to Alan Iverson because he's his subordinator. This feels like a reality show. Someone should be filming this, Jack. Now, our first thought was this is all a PR move. Our first thought is how

authentic really is this Reebok. Signing Shaquille, Anil and Neil and Averson, great way to get buzz, although there's no substance behind. But Reebok insists these are real jobs, and both players are going to work in an office and attend HR trading and be part of the company. Again, they filled out their W-2s. Now, here's the problem, Yeties. Jack and I are looking at this situation here, and Shaq is 51 years old. Iverson is 48. They've been out of the league for years. Will shoe-buying customers care that a washed-up basketball player is 51 works at Reebok? But that's besides the point.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies running around over at Reebok? Reebok's strategy is to influence the influencers. Influence the influencers. Yet he's Reebok didn't just hire too old, retired dudes to sell shoes to today's teens. Kids today never saw Shaquille O'Neill or Allen Arverson play ball. They have no connection to these two former stars. Here's the deal. Reebok hired Shaq to influence current NBA players who influence?

today's teens. Because the average NBA player today, he's 26 years old. So he was eight when Alan Iverson won the MVP and Shaquille O'Neal won his fourth NBA title. Today's NBA players are huge fans of Shaq and Alan Iverson when they were kids. So all Shaq has to do is get today's 26-year-old NBA studs who are huge fans of Shaq to sign with Reebok. And then that 26-year-old NBA stud can get a 16-year-old kid to buy Reebok. Reebok is not influencing shoe buyers directly. No.

It's influencing shoe buyers, influencers. It's a clever new strategy we've never seen before. Influence the influencers. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the Real Friday? The U.S. teen spending report provides valuable insights about emerging trends. And we notice that brands can be like Benjamin Button. They can age in reverse. For our second story, on Saturday, California's,

his governor signed a law that bans hidden fees. Time is money. And the ban on sneaky mandatory fees saves consumers both. And our third and final story is Reebok. Their new president of basketball is Shaq. And the new VP of basketball is Alan Iverson. Shaq's too old to influence today's kids. But he can influence the influencers.

But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the latest victim of the Hamas terror attack, it's Palestinians. The UN predicts a humanitarian disaster is coming to Gaza. Israel has called up 300,000 reservists in preparation for a massive military mobilization. And second, the United Auto Workers Union has expanded its strike against Ford. 8,700 more Ford workers walked off the job at their most lucrative truck and SUV plant. And finally, the heaviest pumpkin ever was just grown in the great state of Minnesota.

This big orange thing is 2,749. pounds. Nick, that's enough to make five million pumpkin spice lattes. Give or take a million. Actually, infinity, because I'm pretty sure those are all made with artificial ingredients. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me, and because it's International Failure Day, we wanted to share with you a couple failures. You know this one already.

Oh, this one's good. I know what you're going to say. For about six months, I thought that Cevice was just... I can't even say it. I thought that Cevice was sashimi. even get started on the Nagiri Omikaze. What's your failure next? Okay, that was a good one.

I'm glad we now know the rice versus the fish, versus Peruvian versus sushi. That was good. I don't fully know yet. But go on. Well, first, when I applied to business school, I didn't get in anywhere the first time I applied. True.

I remember that. But then you got in the second time. Yeah, because you always got to try again. That's failure. The other failure is that I lost my iguana, scaly-whaly-whaling. He ran away from me. Did he run away or did you lose him?

I left him outside and that was a mistake. You failed to protect your animal. Central Park is no place. for a reptile check. The happy ending here is he's produced a bunch of offspring in the Bronx Zoo. Scaly, if you're out there, I'm on the Upper East Side. Yeties, you look fantastic. If you have your own failure you want to share, hit us up at T-BoyPod.

And if you want to read a couple more failures of ours, we listed them out in today's T-boy email newsletter. Sign up at T-boypod.com slash newsletter. Yeties, you looked fantastic all week. Jack, what should you do this weekend instead of celebrating the wins? Fail to get tickets to the Taylor Swift concert movie. Celebrate that loss. Jack and I will see you Monday.

And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti, Marine Malik, who has a birthday in Edmonton, Canada, but she's not celebrating there, is she, Jack? No, she is not, because she's going to celebrate that birthday on a cruise. That's right, this is a surprise. A surprise cruise. And congratulations to Sean Tipner, who took the leap. and left his job for entrepreneurship. He just started his own therapy practice down in Rockaway.

And Bon Voyage to Brandon Caffhammer, who's on the ferry to Nantucket right now for the most delightful job assignment, you can imagine. Must be nice. And Daniel and Katie and their Kat Chiquita have an anniversary down in lovely Los Angeles. Congratulations to Kat Tillman and Matt Compton. We're getting married today in Duluth, Minnesota.

And Rina and Noah met in college, but they're getting married this weekend. at a lovely ceremony in D.C. And happy birthday to Adriana Alvarez, who seems to be a great friend. Yeah, she's flying her five friends to Las Vegas for facials, massages, and finger food. We would love to join. You can make it seven. Can I be one of your friends, Adriana?

We're in. And Jay Sparker, happy fifth birthday, celebrate that win down in Boise, Idaho. And happy 12th birthday to Braden Dossimo in Louisville, Kentucky. And Maximilian Duvra is celebrating that birthday by smoking a brist. Get down in Maryland. Happy birthday to Chris Duda, who's celebrating by taking his kids camping in Disney World. That sounds amazing. And Ali Iqbal is turning three years old in New Jersey with the Spider-Man Piniata.

Ali Iqbal, we shouted out his second birthday and his first birthday two years ago and one year ago. Let's make it four. And Rachel Plutzig, the mom of Luna and Bobby, has a birthday down in Brooklyn. Happy 29th birthday to Jess Mantle, who's celebrating down in Guatemala with her mama. And Jonathan Darvus is turning 25. his girlfriend planned a special surprise weekend. Guys, keep us updated. We want to see picks.

And a big shout out to John the basketball card guy in Connecticut, who's got an incredible collection. And a birthday. And a happy birthday to Michaela Wechelowski down in Pittsburgh, Jack. Alice Gute, some goodstack. And a happy 12th birthday to Arav Tup, down in Georgia, who's been a Yeti for three years. And his favorite episode was episode 579.

Do you remember that one? Smart But. It's about the smart toilet. That was a good one. It was the best one yet at the time. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, and I bought stock of Nike

for Nick Sun's 529 college savings account. Maxi has Nike. There, Max. Here we go. I forgot to push record. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

That was mean. I was trying to make a national failure joke. I should not have done that. I'm sorry. That was mean. Failed to record. I mean... Yeah. That was stupid. I shouldn't have done that.

I lost two beats of heart. We're going to do one less T-boy episode in life because I... You just lost a day in my life. So you just cut an episode out of the show check. I'm sorry to do that.