6 ms·

BufferBox: We're Joining Google

128 points by paulgb 14y ago

josh2600 14y ago
Kickass idea, great execution. Personally, I think the paint scheme had a lot to do with the success :). Great to see startups have success with tangible technology.
jobeirne 14y ago
The "Locations" page looks broken somehow: it's telling me that the nearest Bufferbox to NYC is in Toronto. Is that actually the case?
- ry0ohki 14y ago
  I think they were only in Toronto: http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/16/sorry-we-missed-you-yc-backed-bufferbox-solves-the-problem-of-missing-packages/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/16/sorry-we-missed-you-yc-back...
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- Permit 14y ago
  That is actually the case. It's a Canadian startup that is rolling out their boxes in Toronto to start, and scaling out to other cities in the future.
buster 14y ago
I'm wondering.. It sounds exactly like what the german post service offers. You order something, it get's delivered to some automated station where you can pick up the package at any time.. Is this not common in other countries?
- alexsb92 14y ago
  Nope. The common option in the US and Canada is to get DHL or its equivalent to come to your door and deliver it. The problem comes when you are not home and they require a signature. In this case they usually attempt again. If none of the attempts work, they store it in their warehouses for a bit, and if no one comes and picks it up, it's returned to sender.
  - buster 14y ago
    That's the normal procedure in germany as well. But the "package station" offer is also available, plus if you have one nearby sometimes they send it there instead of the next post office. Unfortunately they closed my "package station"..
    - henrikschroder 14y ago
      In Sweden, the Swedish Post partners with thousands of grocery stores and corner shops and similar that act as package stations. So when I order something, the default is that I get an SMS notification when I can pick it up at my local grocery store whenever I want, not that someone tries to deliver it to me while I'm not at home.
      - serge2k 14y ago
        same here in Canada... which is why I find it odd this service was started in Canada. My post office is 5 minutes from my house. Open late. Purolator/UPS, Fedex, and DHL are a bit more painful though. Close at 5, only open monday-friday.
        pokoleo 14y ago
        To be honest, the options for Waterloo students is scarce. Mail delivered on campus has been known to be delayed for > 4 days (sigh), and it's a great problem to solve.
    - ack 14y ago
      In the Netherlands, most package delivery companies, including TNT Post, will attempt (after you're discovered to not be home) to deliver to the neighbors. After another attempt at your home, you have go pick it up at their office. TNT Post has "offices" located in many local stores so that's pretty easy.
- NinetyNine 14y ago
  There's no automated service, but you can have the post office hold any package for you for a week or so. These guys look like they're going after the online retailer distribution market though, similar to Amazon's upcoming "lockers" platform.
  - r00fus 14y ago
    Combined with the recent price war, perhaps Google is recognizing that Amazon is gettin' all up in their business with Kindle Fire - ie, the best selling Android tablet prior to the Nexus7. I would love to see this getting major traction.
  - graeme 14y ago
    In Canada the post will hold it, but couriers won't, and the post office won't accept delivery by UPS. I found a way around: get to know the UPS deliveryman, have him deliver my package's to the (neighbour's) back door when I'm not home. Mostly books, so nothing I would miss if it got taken.
- finspin 14y ago
  Same thing works in Finland. You can send and receive packages at the SmartPost points. Here is some more information http://www.posti.fi/smartpost/english/introduction/ http://www.posti.fi/smartpost/english/introduction/.
- rossf7 14y ago
  In the UK there is a service called ByBox. They started out as lockers that field engineers could use to pick up spare parts. But they now also handle consumer deliveries.
- jsolson 14y ago
  Nope. It's uncommon enough in the US that Amazon is experimenting with this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200689010 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=... They'll ship your items from Amazon to, effectively, Amazon, just closer to you.
ukd1 14y ago
Congratulations guys :-)
piyush_soni 14y ago
Wow. What would Google do with this? I mean, if I understand correctly, it's just a warehouse which emails you when your package gets delivered there. Free for now(for publicity), and paid from next year. Couldn't Google just open their own spare warehouses?
- fudged71 14y ago
  Picture this: BufferBox driverless cars - Automated mailmen. They can meet you at your house (notify your phone), or they can intercept with your driverless car while you're in transit to work.
irollboozers 14y ago
On the plus side, I can't wait to order my Nexus 4 off Amazon, and have a choice of picking it up from my closest Bufferbox vs. Locker. I just imagined 7/11's everywhere having both Bufferbox's and Locker's right next to them. One of them should do a deal with Starbucks.
ardakara 14y ago
Congrats guys!
dpcan 14y ago
Is this because Google suspects it will need to find a way to compete with the Amazon lockers? http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200689010 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=... On a LOL side-note: The last line of the video on their site got awkward. "Let us handle your package". Gutter brain.
- mikeevans 14y ago
  You'd think they would try to focus on a functional checkout process before worrying about delivery/pickup.
squarecat 14y ago
I suspect the catalyst for this acquisition was due to one thing: their blog has an easily identified link to their product site. Startups should take note of this oft overlooked detail.
- squarecat 14y ago
  WTF? Fuck "engaging in the conversation". What a crock of shit. You make a demonstrably valid point and fuck it, who cares...
  - rpm4321 14y ago
    I didn't downvote you, but I think whoever did assumed that you were mocking Bufferbox or being sarcastic. I'm not sure how prominently linking to your site from your blog, while generally good advice, would directly lead to an acquisition.
gcb 14y ago
This is plain dumb, you would still not have delivery per se. you have to drive to a 'store' just that store would not employ anyone. I used to live in a building that had a bunch of bigger mailboxes. The mailman would put your stuff there, and the key inside your mailbox. when you unlocked it the key remained locked there until the mailman key could lock again and release the user key for another delivery to you or somebody else. worked fine and was a true delivery.
oh_sigh 14y ago
Did bufferbox have any patents or other enforceable IP?
webjunkie 14y ago
Please please please do not make links with just the word "here" linked. That's usability and SEO horror.
tintor 14y ago
What would happen to my package if BufferBox would happen to be full at the time of delivery? :)
- michaelt 14y ago
  The courier doesn't deliver directly to the box, they deliver to BufferBox's warehouse (where there's someone to sign for your parcel) then it's taken to the box. If the box is full, they hold your parcel until there's space. Presumably they could offer to deliver to a nearby alternative box if it came to that.
brackin 14y ago
It's a little bit of a shame in my eyes. They could've built out a network and been bought for a lot by Amazon, Rakuten, eBay, Best Buy, etc or have built a big company. They obviously saw value in joining Google as they were still early on.
- fraserharris 14y ago
  It gives them significantly more resources to fund expansion and educate online shoppers about BufferBox. Based on some other Google acquisitions, there is likely significant upside if they execute on their vision.
moe 14y ago
This has been available in germany for over 10 years by DHL; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packstation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packstation I'm a bit confused what their strategy is (was?). Competing with the established logistics multi-nationals, especially when at least one of them already has the exact same product, seems a rather bold plan.
rpm4321 14y ago
Just curious if anyone has heard about the acquisition price? Not sure if that sort of thing is verboten on HN for a YC co., so apologies if that's the case. Also, is this the new launch-to-acquisition record for YC?
- gsmaverick 14y ago
  Depends on what you count as launch but BufferBox has been running at the University of Waterloo for a couple of years already.
  - rpm4321 14y ago
    Oh, I didn't know that. I saw YC S12 and assumed they had just launched.
tyang 14y ago
Congrats. You guys were great at Demo Day but my wiser elder angel friends did not invest so I did not pursue. Oops. Unrelated: I can't believe Google is branching out to this kind of thing. Competing with Amazon and Apple? Nexus, Glass, etc. Google is adding a lot of hardware to its portfolio of products and services.
- justincormack 14y ago
  Not hardware per se but bridges between real and virtual. Streetview is in that category too for example.

128 points by paulgb 14y ago

Kickass idea, great execution. Personally, I think the paint scheme had a lot to do with the success :). Great to see startups have success with tangible technology.

jobeirne 14y ago

The "Locations" page looks broken somehow: it's telling me that the nearest Bufferbox to NYC is in Toronto. Is that actually the case?

ry0ohki 14y ago
I think they were only in Toronto: http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/16/sorry-we-missed-you-yc-backed-bufferbox-solves-the-problem-of-missing-packages/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/16/sorry-we-missed-you-yc-back...
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
Permit 14y ago
That is actually the case. It's a Canadian startup that is rolling out their boxes in Toronto to start, and scaling out to other cities in the future.

buster 14y ago

I'm wondering.. It sounds exactly like what the german post service offers. You order something, it get's delivered to some automated station where you can pick up the package at any time.. Is this not common in other countries?

alexsb92 14y ago
Nope. The common option in the US and Canada is to get DHL or its equivalent to come to your door and deliver it. The problem comes when you are not home and they require a signature. In this case they usually attempt again. If none of the attempts work, they store it in their warehouses for a bit, and if no one comes and picks it up, it's returned to sender.
- buster 14y ago
  That's the normal procedure in germany as well. But the "package station" offer is also available, plus if you have one nearby sometimes they send it there instead of the next post office. Unfortunately they closed my "package station"..
  - henrikschroder 14y ago
    In Sweden, the Swedish Post partners with thousands of grocery stores and corner shops and similar that act as package stations. So when I order something, the default is that I get an SMS notification when I can pick it up at my local grocery store whenever I want, not that someone tries to deliver it to me while I'm not at home.
    - serge2k 14y ago
      same here in Canada... which is why I find it odd this service was started in Canada. My post office is 5 minutes from my house. Open late. Purolator/UPS, Fedex, and DHL are a bit more painful though. Close at 5, only open monday-friday.
      - pokoleo 14y ago
        To be honest, the options for Waterloo students is scarce. Mail delivered on campus has been known to be delayed for > 4 days (sigh), and it's a great problem to solve.
  - ack 14y ago
    In the Netherlands, most package delivery companies, including TNT Post, will attempt (after you're discovered to not be home) to deliver to the neighbors. After another attempt at your home, you have go pick it up at their office. TNT Post has "offices" located in many local stores so that's pretty easy.
NinetyNine 14y ago
There's no automated service, but you can have the post office hold any package for you for a week or so. These guys look like they're going after the online retailer distribution market though, similar to Amazon's upcoming "lockers" platform.
- r00fus 14y ago
  Combined with the recent price war, perhaps Google is recognizing that Amazon is gettin' all up in their business with Kindle Fire - ie, the best selling Android tablet prior to the Nexus7. I would love to see this getting major traction.
- graeme 14y ago
  In Canada the post will hold it, but couriers won't, and the post office won't accept delivery by UPS. I found a way around: get to know the UPS deliveryman, have him deliver my package's to the (neighbour's) back door when I'm not home. Mostly books, so nothing I would miss if it got taken.
finspin 14y ago
Same thing works in Finland. You can send and receive packages at the SmartPost points. Here is some more information http://www.posti.fi/smartpost/english/introduction/ http://www.posti.fi/smartpost/english/introduction/.
rossf7 14y ago
In the UK there is a service called ByBox. They started out as lockers that field engineers could use to pick up spare parts. But they now also handle consumer deliveries.
jsolson 14y ago
Nope. It's uncommon enough in the US that Amazon is experimenting with this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200689010 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=... They'll ship your items from Amazon to, effectively, Amazon, just closer to you.

ukd1 14y ago

Congratulations guys :-)

piyush_soni 14y ago

Wow. What would Google do with this? I mean, if I understand correctly, it's just a warehouse which emails you when your package gets delivered there. Free for now(for publicity), and paid from next year. Couldn't Google just open their own spare warehouses?

fudged71 14y ago
Picture this: BufferBox driverless cars - Automated mailmen. They can meet you at your house (notify your phone), or they can intercept with your driverless car while you're in transit to work.

irollboozers 14y ago

On the plus side, I can't wait to order my Nexus 4 off Amazon, and have a choice of picking it up from my closest Bufferbox vs. Locker. I just imagined 7/11's everywhere having both Bufferbox's and Locker's right next to them. One of them should do a deal with Starbucks.

ardakara 14y ago

Congrats guys!

dpcan 14y ago

Is this because Google suspects it will need to find a way to compete with the Amazon lockers? http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200689010 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=... On a LOL side-note: The last line of the video on their site got awkward. "Let us handle your package". Gutter brain.

mikeevans 14y ago
You'd think they would try to focus on a functional checkout process before worrying about delivery/pickup.

squarecat 14y ago

I suspect the catalyst for this acquisition was due to one thing: their blog has an easily identified link to their product site. Startups should take note of this oft overlooked detail.

squarecat 14y ago
WTF? Fuck "engaging in the conversation". What a crock of shit. You make a demonstrably valid point and fuck it, who cares...
- rpm4321 14y ago
  I didn't downvote you, but I think whoever did assumed that you were mocking Bufferbox or being sarcastic. I'm not sure how prominently linking to your site from your blog, while generally good advice, would directly lead to an acquisition.

gcb 14y ago

This is plain dumb, you would still not have delivery per se. you have to drive to a 'store' just that store would not employ anyone. I used to live in a building that had a bunch of bigger mailboxes. The mailman would put your stuff there, and the key inside your mailbox. when you unlocked it the key remained locked there until the mailman key could lock again and release the user key for another delivery to you or somebody else. worked fine and was a true delivery.

oh_sigh 14y ago

Did bufferbox have any patents or other enforceable IP?

webjunkie 14y ago

Please please please do not make links with just the word "here" linked. That's usability and SEO horror.

tintor 14y ago

What would happen to my package if BufferBox would happen to be full at the time of delivery? :)

michaelt 14y ago
The courier doesn't deliver directly to the box, they deliver to BufferBox's warehouse (where there's someone to sign for your parcel) then it's taken to the box. If the box is full, they hold your parcel until there's space. Presumably they could offer to deliver to a nearby alternative box if it came to that.

brackin 14y ago

It's a little bit of a shame in my eyes. They could've built out a network and been bought for a lot by Amazon, Rakuten, eBay, Best Buy, etc or have built a big company. They obviously saw value in joining Google as they were still early on.

fraserharris 14y ago
It gives them significantly more resources to fund expansion and educate online shoppers about BufferBox. Based on some other Google acquisitions, there is likely significant upside if they execute on their vision.

moe 14y ago

This has been available in germany for over 10 years by DHL; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packstation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packstation I'm a bit confused what their strategy is (was?). Competing with the established logistics multi-nationals, especially when at least one of them already has the exact same product, seems a rather bold plan.

rpm4321 14y ago

Just curious if anyone has heard about the acquisition price? Not sure if that sort of thing is verboten on HN for a YC co., so apologies if that's the case. Also, is this the new launch-to-acquisition record for YC?

gsmaverick 14y ago
Depends on what you count as launch but BufferBox has been running at the University of Waterloo for a couple of years already.
- rpm4321 14y ago
  Oh, I didn't know that. I saw YC S12 and assumed they had just launched.

tyang 14y ago

Congrats. You guys were great at Demo Day but my wiser elder angel friends did not invest so I did not pursue. Oops. Unrelated: I can't believe Google is branching out to this kind of thing. Competing with Amazon and Apple? Nexus, Glass, etc. Google is adding a lot of hardware to its portfolio of products and services.

justincormack 14y ago
Not hardware per se but bridges between real and virtual. Streetview is in that category too for example.