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Those are totally valid concerns, and I appreciate the feedback! > have some actual shots of the bags/coffee rather than a dynamic image. It might not add actu

Those are totally valid concerns, and I appreciate the feedback! > have some actual shots of the bags/coffee rather than a dynamic image. It might not add actual authenticity to the coffee, but it makes it feel less fake. I completely agree. The images right now are a stop-gap to get running and I plan to take actual photos within the coming week. In part, I wanted to keep a low barrier to entry for starting this and grow it as I get customers, so I started with the cheapest option. > Add more information about where the coffee is coming from. I see that some descriptions have the farm of origin, but honestly, you could write whatever. How do you know it's sourced ethically? How do you know it comes from those farms? Again, you can't sell guarantees, probably, but how you present yourself makes a big difference. Great input. I'm planning a site re-design soon that will allow me to have a few tab options within the product to detail more information in a clean way, and I'll plan to have more of that in too. For the purpose of this comment here and now, green beans are hand-selected directly from each farm after traveling there to sample and source. > Ultimately, for all I know, you are just reselling 5$ coffee for 20$ with a new "hacker" label. If you want to incentivize me to buy, your job is to somehow show me this is not the case. Aside from the mentions you've made, do you have other suggestions on gaining trust? When I think of other major roasters, most of the time I've heard from them through word of mouth and I don't particularly think twice about fact-checking, but I'm also a sample size of one. Hearing the process of how others choose their coffee to buy would help.

csw-001 4y ago
> For the purpose of this comment here and now, green beans are hand-selected directly from each farm after traveling there to sample and source. This is critical value add. I looked for an “about” section or a blog to describe the selection process. I realize “About Us” or “blog” pages are too often drafted mostly for SEO, but I use them a lot to make buying decisions. I’m not in a position to visit coffee farms - lucky you! - but for $16+ a pound I’m buying the story and the selection and roasting process, not just the (really nicely executed) nerd dad jokes. That said, I’ve still bookmarked this for holiday stocking stuffers for my programming friends…
- hacker-brews 4y ago
  Great point, I overlook(ed) an about section because I am in the same boat in thinking it's mostly just SEO, but it's a good data point that people actually do look at it, especially when choosing to buy. Edit: Thanks to your recommendation, I added a preliminary about-us page. https://hackerbrews.com/pages/about-us https://hackerbrews.com/pages/about-us
duiker101 4y ago
> green beans are hand-selected directly from each farm after traveling there to sample and source This is a major, major point that you should absolutely highlight! We are hackers, we love the behind the scenes. You should try to show what this process of selection works. You are right that word of mouth is important, but if I were to see something advertised (e.g. this post) how do I get to the step of believing that you are a legit seller? Show don't tell. Show me how you chose the coffee, how you roast it, how you brew it etc... Alternatively, I think there is absolutely value is selling coffee with novelty bags, but the price-point needs to reflect that and there is no need for (possibly very expensive) claims.
- hacker-brews 4y ago
  Thanks! I've gotten a start at that with an about-us page: https://hackerbrews.com/pages/about-us https://hackerbrews.com/pages/about-us Not much "show" yet but at least some more detail. > Alternatively, I think there is absolutely value is selling coffee with novelty bags, but the price-point needs to reflect that and there is no need for (possibly very expensive) claims. Can you explain the "possible very expensive claims"? I'm somewhat toeing the line of novelty bags but also at the same time delivering actually good coffee (I understand I need to figure out how to explain that better). The price point is because the cost of the coffee (and shipping) is high, I'm not making a super margin on this. That's not exactly something you just advertise out, so I need to learn ways to instill confidence in the quality/price.
  - duiker101 4y ago
    RE: "possible very expensive claims" I think that if you claim you are ethically sourced and high quality, you need to back it up, and that can be expensive. E.G. trips to farms, process to check on them, constant quality control etc... But if you are upfront and just say "this is a random coffee we slapped a funny sticker on lol" then, you could do without all those--but the price should reflect that.

csw-001 4y ago

> For the purpose of this comment here and now, green beans are hand-selected directly from each farm after traveling there to sample and source. This is critical value add. I looked for an “about” section or a blog to describe the selection process. I realize “About Us” or “blog” pages are too often drafted mostly for SEO, but I use them a lot to make buying decisions. I’m not in a position to visit coffee farms - lucky you! - but for $16+ a pound I’m buying the story and the selection and roasting process, not just the (really nicely executed) nerd dad jokes. That said, I’ve still bookmarked this for holiday stocking stuffers for my programming friends…

hacker-brews 4y ago
Great point, I overlook(ed) an about section because I am in the same boat in thinking it's mostly just SEO, but it's a good data point that people actually do look at it, especially when choosing to buy. Edit: Thanks to your recommendation, I added a preliminary about-us page. https://hackerbrews.com/pages/about-us https://hackerbrews.com/pages/about-us

duiker101 4y ago

> green beans are hand-selected directly from each farm after traveling there to sample and source This is a major, major point that you should absolutely highlight! We are hackers, we love the behind the scenes. You should try to show what this process of selection works. You are right that word of mouth is important, but if I were to see something advertised (e.g. this post) how do I get to the step of believing that you are a legit seller? Show don't tell. Show me how you chose the coffee, how you roast it, how you brew it etc... Alternatively, I think there is absolutely value is selling coffee with novelty bags, but the price-point needs to reflect that and there is no need for (possibly very expensive) claims.

hacker-brews 4y ago
Thanks! I've gotten a start at that with an about-us page: https://hackerbrews.com/pages/about-us https://hackerbrews.com/pages/about-us Not much "show" yet but at least some more detail. > Alternatively, I think there is absolutely value is selling coffee with novelty bags, but the price-point needs to reflect that and there is no need for (possibly very expensive) claims. Can you explain the "possible very expensive claims"? I'm somewhat toeing the line of novelty bags but also at the same time delivering actually good coffee (I understand I need to figure out how to explain that better). The price point is because the cost of the coffee (and shipping) is high, I'm not making a super margin on this. That's not exactly something you just advertise out, so I need to learn ways to instill confidence in the quality/price.
- duiker101 4y ago
  RE: "possible very expensive claims" I think that if you claim you are ethically sourced and high quality, you need to back it up, and that can be expensive. E.G. trips to farms, process to check on them, constant quality control etc... But if you are upfront and just say "this is a random coffee we slapped a funny sticker on lol" then, you could do without all those--but the price should reflect that.