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Show HN: Shipping made purposeful

4 points by _qiwi 4y ago

_qiwi 4y ago
Hi everybody, [name redacted]'s purpose is to change the way we ship goods. To start, we wanted to shift the paradigm by which packages are addressed; specifically, delivering to an individual or entity through their terms — without the need of a physical address. This is done quite simply by the sender using the intended recipient's username instead of an address. In doing so, this allows users on either end of the spectrum to gain more control over what packages are shipped to them and how packages are shipped. The implementation at the moment is fairly crude, but the way I envision it is an extra layer on top of the preexisting shipping carriers' infrastructure (similar to PayPal or Venmo and banking institutions). At the moment, we are only servicing the Greater Austin area, but are looking to expand in time. Thank you for reading, and this may go without saying, but we would love any feedback from you all. Please also ask us any questions you may have!
russdpale 4y ago
This is a really neat idea. The most important issue was probably the shipping cost which you seem to have solved with a flat rate. One issue I think you might run into and might want to think about, is what happens when a customer needs to cancel a shipment or make a change of address? It might be worth it to figure out a system of notifications with easy routing for customers to engage customer support with the carriers. Im also curious as to what carriers you are supporting? Is it carrier agnostic, so to speak? It sounds like it could be abstracted away from the carriers altogether through an API that merchants would connect to? FYI, I work for a UPS on internal applications, but while going through school worked in operations so I have a pretty broad spectrum and understanding of package movement.
- _qiwi 4y ago
  Thanks Russ! I agree on your first point, those are concerns that can be difficult to address. I like your idea on the system of notifications and support through carriers. Ideally yes, carrier agnostic. I totally agree, could be entirely abstracted and allow simple connectivity for merchants and other third parties to use. That's awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to look and comment.
easytiger 4y ago
Feedback 1. Basically blank single page hello world website. 2. Called [name redacted] but single character logo is "Y". 3. No indication of area of service or scope of service. 4. Nearly impossible to determine what service or product is provided. 5. No indication or confidence that its a real company. 6. Links 401. Not even clear its real let alone of utility.
- _qiwi 4y ago
  Fair, thanks! It's really bare-bones at the moment, so will be working on making it better solving all of those progressively. Some comments in response: 1. Agreed, will need to buff this out. 2. Logo is suppose to represent upsilon — understandably it will be confusing at first. 3. You are correct, that should be highlighted on the home page. It's talked about further within the application, but if you're not aware beforehand that could lead to disappointment. The last few harken back to the bare-bones aspect so I left those unanswered. Thank you so much for taking a look!

4 points by _qiwi 4y ago

Hi everybody, [name redacted]'s purpose is to change the way we ship goods. To start, we wanted to shift the paradigm by which packages are addressed; specifically, delivering to an individual or entity through their terms — without the need of a physical address. This is done quite simply by the sender using the intended recipient's username instead of an address. In doing so, this allows users on either end of the spectrum to gain more control over what packages are shipped to them and how packages are shipped. The implementation at the moment is fairly crude, but the way I envision it is an extra layer on top of the preexisting shipping carriers' infrastructure (similar to PayPal or Venmo and banking institutions). At the moment, we are only servicing the Greater Austin area, but are looking to expand in time. Thank you for reading, and this may go without saying, but we would love any feedback from you all. Please also ask us any questions you may have!

russdpale 4y ago

This is a really neat idea. The most important issue was probably the shipping cost which you seem to have solved with a flat rate. One issue I think you might run into and might want to think about, is what happens when a customer needs to cancel a shipment or make a change of address? It might be worth it to figure out a system of notifications with easy routing for customers to engage customer support with the carriers. Im also curious as to what carriers you are supporting? Is it carrier agnostic, so to speak? It sounds like it could be abstracted away from the carriers altogether through an API that merchants would connect to? FYI, I work for a UPS on internal applications, but while going through school worked in operations so I have a pretty broad spectrum and understanding of package movement.

_qiwi 4y ago
Thanks Russ! I agree on your first point, those are concerns that can be difficult to address. I like your idea on the system of notifications and support through carriers. Ideally yes, carrier agnostic. I totally agree, could be entirely abstracted and allow simple connectivity for merchants and other third parties to use. That's awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to look and comment.

easytiger 4y ago

Feedback 1. Basically blank single page hello world website. 2. Called [name redacted] but single character logo is "Y". 3. No indication of area of service or scope of service. 4. Nearly impossible to determine what service or product is provided. 5. No indication or confidence that its a real company. 6. Links 401. Not even clear its real let alone of utility.

_qiwi 4y ago
Fair, thanks! It's really bare-bones at the moment, so will be working on making it better solving all of those progressively. Some comments in response: 1. Agreed, will need to buff this out. 2. Logo is suppose to represent upsilon — understandably it will be confusing at first. 3. You are correct, that should be highlighted on the home page. It's talked about further within the application, but if you're not aware beforehand that could lead to disappointment. The last few harken back to the bare-bones aspect so I left those unanswered. Thank you so much for taking a look!