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Seems HN users are familiar and even enthusiastic with Candy Japan. I'm not sure I understand, though. It's just a dude offering intermediary shipping, right?

Seems HN users are familiar and even enthusiastic with Candy Japan. I'm not sure I understand, though. It's just a dude offering intermediary shipping, right? Am I missing some interesting tech stuff here?

jdavis703 9y ago
Nope, no interesting tech AFAIK. Just someone applying the hacker mentality to their business.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- djrogers 9y ago
  https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fitting-of-japanese-candy https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fit... Nahh, nothing interesting to a bunch of hackers </sarc>
Eridrus 9y ago
No interesting tech stuff, but it's not just shipping, it's also curation. I subscribed to a similar service for over a year (Japan Crate) and the fact that I didn't have to go find these items myself is most of the point.
RepressedEmu 9y ago
He has been consistently posting in-depth articles about his code base and business for years. People like him and his wacky business the same way we like Levels.
- aparadja 9y ago
  Levels?
  - noodle 9y ago
    Levels is a digital nomad who has consistently posted in-depth articles about his businesses and codebases for years. People like him and his travel lifestyle the same way we like Patrick.
    - factsaresacred 9y ago
      Patrick?
      - tehlike 9y ago
        Patio11. Similar to levels. http://www.kalzumeus.com http://www.kalzumeus.com
      - aarondf 9y ago
        Patrick has been consistently posting in-depth articles about his code base and business for years. People like him and his rational advice the same way we like the Candy Japan guy.
        pieterhg 9y ago
        The Candy Japan guy?
        tonyztan 9y ago
        He has been consistently posting in-depth articles about his code base and business for years. People like him and his wacky business the same way we like Levels.
        Cthulhu_ 9y ago
        Levels? Exception in thread "main" java.lang.StackOverflowError at com.ycombinator.news.Comment.reply(Comment.java:480)
    - 9y ago
bemmu 9y ago
The service is simple, no fancy tech (it's just a bunch of Python). Possibly the initial appeal was that random-boxes-of-surprises services were rare, and my openness with the numbers.
- sharkweek 9y ago
  Here's what's fun about it - it's literally just a random box of interesting candy that shows up at the door like a little surprise. I love little surprises. Shit, I love when I order something on Amazon, even if it's boring, and getting the package delivered. This is 100x more exciting than that! Kudos to you, Bemmu, this is a very fun idea, and I hope you continue to see success from it.
- tunnuz 9y ago
  What is exciting for me is that you documented the whole process from the start and, notably, that you actually built it, it didn't stay just an idea. I find that inspiring.
- Razengan 9y ago
  You should expand the service (or start a new one) into other categories of physical goods: manga, novels, video games, figurines and other merchandise not found anywhere else outside of Japan. Let subscribers pick their preferred categories and allow them to choose the amount of money they want to pay each month + shipping costs, then you go out and buy random things from one or more of those categories (in order of user preference), and keep a record of which items you sent to each customer, to avoid duplicates. Social fluff: Let users post on-site reviews of the items they receive from you. Ideal outcome: People discover the uniqueness of Japan, share it with their friends and other users, and you help spread some joy and pocket the change.
  - LeonidasXIV 9y ago
    > You should expand the service (or start a new one) into other categories of physical goods: manga, novels, video games, figurines and other merchandise not found anywhere else outside of Japan. But then he'd be competing with established players like http://shop.j-subculture.com/ http://shop.j-subculture.com/
hkmurakami 9y ago
I think there's some curation by the business operator. It's pretty unlikely that overseas residents have a good grasp of the current market offerings. Also I think it's an interesting case study of the growth and evolution of a business that started very, very small, that's been documented closely by the operator. He even wrote about dealing with cc fraud.
Raphmedia 9y ago
I think that a lof of people fell in love after this made front-page : https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fitting-of-japanese-candy https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fit...
smegel 9y ago
No, you probably can't buy any of the stuff anywhere online that he packs into those boxes, from outside of Japan at least. He makes items available you simply would not be able to easily obtain otherwise.
_pmf_ 9y ago
Curation is a valuable service.
corobo 9y ago
Personally I enjoy seeing a candyjapan link because it doesn't fluff on the details. The write ups don't hide numbers and other information just for the sake of hiding them. On top of that the write-ups are interesting Not all geeky things are directly tech related, some of us are just geeks through and through :)

jdavis703 9y ago

Nope, no interesting tech AFAIK. Just someone applying the hacker mentality to their business.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
djrogers 9y ago
https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fitting-of-japanese-candy https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fit... Nahh, nothing interesting to a bunch of hackers </sarc>

Eridrus 9y ago

No interesting tech stuff, but it's not just shipping, it's also curation. I subscribed to a similar service for over a year (Japan Crate) and the fact that I didn't have to go find these items myself is most of the point.

RepressedEmu 9y ago

He has been consistently posting in-depth articles about his code base and business for years. People like him and his wacky business the same way we like Levels.

aparadja 9y ago
Levels?
- noodle 9y ago
  Levels is a digital nomad who has consistently posted in-depth articles about his businesses and codebases for years. People like him and his travel lifestyle the same way we like Patrick.
  - factsaresacred 9y ago
    Patrick?
    - tehlike 9y ago
      Patio11. Similar to levels. http://www.kalzumeus.com http://www.kalzumeus.com
    - aarondf 9y ago
      Patrick has been consistently posting in-depth articles about his code base and business for years. People like him and his rational advice the same way we like the Candy Japan guy.
      - pieterhg 9y ago
        The Candy Japan guy?
        tonyztan 9y ago
        He has been consistently posting in-depth articles about his code base and business for years. People like him and his wacky business the same way we like Levels.
        Cthulhu_ 9y ago
        Levels? Exception in thread "main" java.lang.StackOverflowError at com.ycombinator.news.Comment.reply(Comment.java:480)
  - 9y ago

bemmu 9y ago

The service is simple, no fancy tech (it's just a bunch of Python). Possibly the initial appeal was that random-boxes-of-surprises services were rare, and my openness with the numbers.

sharkweek 9y ago
Here's what's fun about it - it's literally just a random box of interesting candy that shows up at the door like a little surprise. I love little surprises. Shit, I love when I order something on Amazon, even if it's boring, and getting the package delivered. This is 100x more exciting than that! Kudos to you, Bemmu, this is a very fun idea, and I hope you continue to see success from it.
tunnuz 9y ago
What is exciting for me is that you documented the whole process from the start and, notably, that you actually built it, it didn't stay just an idea. I find that inspiring.
Razengan 9y ago
You should expand the service (or start a new one) into other categories of physical goods: manga, novels, video games, figurines and other merchandise not found anywhere else outside of Japan. Let subscribers pick their preferred categories and allow them to choose the amount of money they want to pay each month + shipping costs, then you go out and buy random things from one or more of those categories (in order of user preference), and keep a record of which items you sent to each customer, to avoid duplicates. Social fluff: Let users post on-site reviews of the items they receive from you. Ideal outcome: People discover the uniqueness of Japan, share it with their friends and other users, and you help spread some joy and pocket the change.
- LeonidasXIV 9y ago
  > You should expand the service (or start a new one) into other categories of physical goods: manga, novels, video games, figurines and other merchandise not found anywhere else outside of Japan. But then he'd be competing with established players like http://shop.j-subculture.com/ http://shop.j-subculture.com/

hkmurakami 9y ago

I think there's some curation by the business operator. It's pretty unlikely that overseas residents have a good grasp of the current market offerings. Also I think it's an interesting case study of the growth and evolution of a business that started very, very small, that's been documented closely by the operator. He even wrote about dealing with cc fraud.

Raphmedia 9y ago

I think that a lof of people fell in love after this made front-page : https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fitting-of-japanese-candy https://www.candyjapan.com/behind-the-scenes/algorithmic-fit...

smegel 9y ago

No, you probably can't buy any of the stuff anywhere online that he packs into those boxes, from outside of Japan at least. He makes items available you simply would not be able to easily obtain otherwise.

_pmf_ 9y ago

Curation is a valuable service.

corobo 9y ago

Personally I enjoy seeing a candyjapan link because it doesn't fluff on the details. The write ups don't hide numbers and other information just for the sake of hiding them. On top of that the write-ups are interesting Not all geeky things are directly tech related, some of us are just geeks through and through :)