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Even if the machine was $50, I don't think many people would want to spend that much for the privilege of being locked in to Juicero proprietary juice packs, le

Even if the machine was $50, I don't think many people would want to spend that much for the privilege of being locked in to Juicero proprietary juice packs, letalone spend kitchen counter space to a dedicated juice squeezer machine. And everyone who did now has an exquisitely engineered $700 paperweight.

rrdharan 9y ago
Apparently as per the article they're at least offering refunds to some subset of their customers. Also, I think at $50 a lot more people would consider it. Keurig coffee makers seem to have done pretty well and I'm sure the $100 cost was a big part of that (as opposed to charging say > $200).
hwillis 9y ago
Ultra expensive juicers aren't new[1]. Even "normal" juicers are quite expensive[2]. Juicero was just trying to jump on a fairly well-established gravy train catering to the juice woo crowd. [1]: https://www.acemart.com/equipment/beverage/juicers/zumex-essential-pro-essential-pro-juicer/ZUXESSENTIALPRO https://www.acemart.com/equipment/beverage/juicers/zumex-ess... [2]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EXF4PLC/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EXF4PLC/
- dingo_bat 9y ago
  Has there ever been a juicer before this that has forced you to buy all your fruits from one company? I think that's the key. People are ready to pay big bucks for premium appliances, but lock-in is another matter.
  - hwillis 9y ago
    People love being locked in. Applying the keurig model to the juicing trend was a very solid business idea- it rocketed keurig to the top of all coffee makers, and juice fanatics make coffee fanatics look positively sane. I'm pretty cynical about it, but it is still a real and good thing. A half second of convenience makes you feel good and selecting, storing, washing and prepping produce is not trivial. A few extra clicks in one area of UI makes it a terrible design. The same thing translates into the real world, although at extreme cost (to the environment, primarily). Negative press, overengineering, the smaller market group, and underdelivering convenience (the bags are just way too big compared to coffee) killed juicero. It was such a high-profile and brutal lambasting that it will be a scarlet letter for quite a while, but the core idea is solid enough that I wouldn't be surprised to see the idea re-emerge in 2-3 years. I still can't get over how much people viscerally hate the idea. You'd think apple, google and microsoft had partnered to make a juice press because of how much juicero represented silicon valley-ness.
    - dingo_bat 9y ago
      > People love being locked in. Are you serious? I think Keurig succeeded because it was able to offset the lock-in with genuine convenience and better coffee than most people were drinking. If the idea will re-emerge, I'm sure it will be more focused on customer convenience rather than lock-in. Literally every single "feature" of juicero was there to enforce the lock-in. The camera, qr codes, always-on wifi, proprietary bags. It's a miracle the company lasted this long.
- EpicEng 9y ago
  'normal' juicers aren't anywhere near as expensive because you can buy your produce at the grocery store.

rrdharan 9y ago

Apparently as per the article they're at least offering refunds to some subset of their customers. Also, I think at $50 a lot more people would consider it. Keurig coffee makers seem to have done pretty well and I'm sure the $100 cost was a big part of that (as opposed to charging say > $200).

hwillis 9y ago

Ultra expensive juicers aren't new[1]. Even "normal" juicers are quite expensive[2]. Juicero was just trying to jump on a fairly well-established gravy train catering to the juice woo crowd. [1]: https://www.acemart.com/equipment/beverage/juicers/zumex-essential-pro-essential-pro-juicer/ZUXESSENTIALPRO https://www.acemart.com/equipment/beverage/juicers/zumex-ess... [2]: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EXF4PLC/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EXF4PLC/

dingo_bat 9y ago
Has there ever been a juicer before this that has forced you to buy all your fruits from one company? I think that's the key. People are ready to pay big bucks for premium appliances, but lock-in is another matter.
- hwillis 9y ago
  People love being locked in. Applying the keurig model to the juicing trend was a very solid business idea- it rocketed keurig to the top of all coffee makers, and juice fanatics make coffee fanatics look positively sane. I'm pretty cynical about it, but it is still a real and good thing. A half second of convenience makes you feel good and selecting, storing, washing and prepping produce is not trivial. A few extra clicks in one area of UI makes it a terrible design. The same thing translates into the real world, although at extreme cost (to the environment, primarily). Negative press, overengineering, the smaller market group, and underdelivering convenience (the bags are just way too big compared to coffee) killed juicero. It was such a high-profile and brutal lambasting that it will be a scarlet letter for quite a while, but the core idea is solid enough that I wouldn't be surprised to see the idea re-emerge in 2-3 years. I still can't get over how much people viscerally hate the idea. You'd think apple, google and microsoft had partnered to make a juice press because of how much juicero represented silicon valley-ness.
  - dingo_bat 9y ago
    > People love being locked in. Are you serious? I think Keurig succeeded because it was able to offset the lock-in with genuine convenience and better coffee than most people were drinking. If the idea will re-emerge, I'm sure it will be more focused on customer convenience rather than lock-in. Literally every single "feature" of juicero was there to enforce the lock-in. The camera, qr codes, always-on wifi, proprietary bags. It's a miracle the company lasted this long.
EpicEng 9y ago
'normal' juicers aren't anywhere near as expensive because you can buy your produce at the grocery store.