Silly Washboard service shuts up shop after just a few weeks

Oh no! Remember Washboard? It was a web 2.0 service that would send American subscribers a bunch of coins every month for use in the laundrette. In exchange for slightly more money than the value of the quarters.

Yep, it was as stupid as it sounds, and now to the surprise of no one, it has emerged that the service has shut down. This means that it lasted something like two or three weeks before they gave up.

Washboard’s founder, Caleb Brown has posted a message on the official website explaining the reasons for the closure:

“Nearly 100% of the internet thought Washboard was an absolutely absurd concept. I had a very difficult time convincing people the service was even real but we did have customers that were excited for it. I apologize to those folks but we have decided to shut down Washboard. While I am sad to see it go so quickly, I’m excited to be focusing my energy on something ultimately more worthwhile.

Despite Washboard being completely legal, Washboard violated our payment processor’s terms of service. They graciously gave us 14 days to find someone else. Sadly, most payment processors had the same terms of service. I looked into payment processors that would accept us and even found a few (with shockingly decent rates!) but the truth is it would have taken significant time and energy to switch processors. While I do believe Washboard solved a real problem for real people, I didn’t think there was really an opportunity to grow Washboard beyond quarter delivery.”

RIP Washboard. Here’s a blues song played on a Washboard to commemorate your passing: