4 ms·

Why don't you buy candy directly from one or two Japanese suppliers rather than pay for the supermarket's margin? Although that wouldn't address your decline i

Why don't you buy candy directly from one or two Japanese suppliers rather than pay for the supermarket's margin? Although that wouldn't address your decline in subscriptions it would improve your bottom line.

bemmu 15y ago
I do get a bit of discount from them (5%). Mostly it's just really convenient since they save me a lot of time by doing the packaging on site. Maybe if I reached really big volume then it would start making sense. The price of product is only 23% of the cost even now. Shipping is the biggest one at 33%.
- BadCookie 15y ago
  Would it reduce your shipping costs if you shipped all candy to your US subscribers to one person in the US, who would then mail out the individual packages? Just a thought.
  - bemmu 15y ago
    Then I would become the importer and would need to pay for customs clearance of my bulk package too. I would need to start cooperating with the manufacturers to get them to help me with the necessary paperwork. At the scale I am in, I doubt anyone wants to talk with me since I'm only buying $1000 worth of their product (I cycle through different candy so don't buy that much from single manufacturers) as it is. Also not all of my subscribers are in the US, I have many in Canada, Germany and all over the place.
    - BadCookie 15y ago
      Ah, I didn't realize that about needing customs clearance. I know that not all of your subscribers are in the US. I was just using the US as an example. In that case, how about partnering with people in each country who live in large enough cities that they can acquire Japanese candy themselves (at the Japanese mall or whatever), and then ship to the subscribers in that country? As I think a few people have pointed out, the real benefit to a subscriber is if they live in a rural place with no access to Japanese candy. Again, I have no idea if this would reduce your shipping costs in the end, but I'm curious if it would. I think that there are not a lot of people who both (a) don't have access to Japanese candy themselves, and (b) are willing to pay $24 a month for it (since high earners tend to live in larger cities).
deleted 15y ago
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bemmu 15y ago

I do get a bit of discount from them (5%). Mostly it's just really convenient since they save me a lot of time by doing the packaging on site. Maybe if I reached really big volume then it would start making sense. The price of product is only 23% of the cost even now. Shipping is the biggest one at 33%.

BadCookie 15y ago
Would it reduce your shipping costs if you shipped all candy to your US subscribers to one person in the US, who would then mail out the individual packages? Just a thought.
- bemmu 15y ago
  Then I would become the importer and would need to pay for customs clearance of my bulk package too. I would need to start cooperating with the manufacturers to get them to help me with the necessary paperwork. At the scale I am in, I doubt anyone wants to talk with me since I'm only buying $1000 worth of their product (I cycle through different candy so don't buy that much from single manufacturers) as it is. Also not all of my subscribers are in the US, I have many in Canada, Germany and all over the place.
  - BadCookie 15y ago
    Ah, I didn't realize that about needing customs clearance. I know that not all of your subscribers are in the US. I was just using the US as an example. In that case, how about partnering with people in each country who live in large enough cities that they can acquire Japanese candy themselves (at the Japanese mall or whatever), and then ship to the subscribers in that country? As I think a few people have pointed out, the real benefit to a subscriber is if they live in a rural place with no access to Japanese candy. Again, I have no idea if this would reduce your shipping costs in the end, but I'm curious if it would. I think that there are not a lot of people who both (a) don't have access to Japanese candy themselves, and (b) are willing to pay $24 a month for it (since high earners tend to live in larger cities).

deleted 15y ago

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