3 ms·

Ask HN: How Do I Improve My Postcard Sending Service?

I posted this in a Show HN a few days ago: https://www.postperfect.co I'm not really sure if it's because of the quality of my product or because people aren't really interested in paying $2 to send a postcard to somebody, but I'd love some feedback here on why I haven't made too many sales. Obviously I haven't done much promotion of the product either. But in general would just love to hear your thoughts. The problem I'm trying to solve: many postcard sending services are really complicated and you need to bring your own photo. I wanted to make it incredibly simple to send a holiday card or general postcard from a short list of options on the site. I think it takes about 3 minutes to send a card this way if you have your address and credit card ready! Any feedback is appreciated! You can reach me on Twitter or Github at @zachfeldman. If you want to try the site out, use the code 10OFF for a 10% discount on a card (which is already only $2 domestically and $3 internationally). Special thanks to the new Lob API and the old standard, Stripe!

vyrotek 13y ago
I think people generally are interested in sending postcards. But I don't think people are interested in sending postcards with generic photos and printed text. There are really 3 parts to a postcard. The photo, the message, and the stamp (where it came from). What you've done is removed all traces of a human having been involved in making it which removes a bit of the charm from the postcard. Personally, for a postcard to have any value you must either hand-write the message or send a custom photo (of yourself, one you took, ect). Otherwise it basically goes into the trash next to the junk mail I already get that looks a lot like postcards. Right now at this stage of my life, the only time I would consider send a postcard would be during the holidays to share a family photo to my parents and siblings. I would probably say that the custom photo is even more important than the actual message too these days. Hope that helps!
- thebiglebrewski 13y ago
  Wow, that actually really does help. I guess I failed to realize the intrinsic value there in a postcard being customized! Thanks a ton for your suggestions.
27182818284 13y ago
I'm super super interested. My first thoughts were 1. Wow this loads super, super slow. 2. Missions-critical, I need to upload my own images for postcards. The images you use are complete shit. If you let me upload my own image tonight, I would have just thrown down my debit card. :-/
- thebiglebrewski 13y ago
  Regarding number 1, I started developing in Rails because that's what I'm used to and I used reveal.js which is technically a slide presenter. So I definitely have some work to do in optimizing things. I'm thinking of rebuilding with a Sinatra API and ember.js front-end for much better speed. Regarding number 2 - that seems to be the most requested feature! I will target it for the next release, absolutely. Thanks so much for your suggestions.
Casseres 13y ago
I just sent some postcards recently for the first time in my life. 3 weeks ago when I was in the Philippines, and 1 week ago in Singapore. I looked around for some postcards that represented the local culture rather than a beach or landscape. I also used the country's postal system (I had the option of sending it through the US Military's system) to get the country's postmark. It was humorous having to lick stamps. I haven't done that in over 15 years! :-) I've considered looking for a service that would allow me to send holiday cards to friends and family on my behalf while I'm at sea, but right now I've decided against it. Too impersonal. For me, it's not just about sending a message, it's about sending an experience. I don't think I'm your target customer, but I imagine your target customer is out there somewhere.

vyrotek 13y ago

I think people generally are interested in sending postcards. But I don't think people are interested in sending postcards with generic photos and printed text. There are really 3 parts to a postcard. The photo, the message, and the stamp (where it came from). What you've done is removed all traces of a human having been involved in making it which removes a bit of the charm from the postcard. Personally, for a postcard to have any value you must either hand-write the message or send a custom photo (of yourself, one you took, ect). Otherwise it basically goes into the trash next to the junk mail I already get that looks a lot like postcards. Right now at this stage of my life, the only time I would consider send a postcard would be during the holidays to share a family photo to my parents and siblings. I would probably say that the custom photo is even more important than the actual message too these days. Hope that helps!

thebiglebrewski 13y ago
Wow, that actually really does help. I guess I failed to realize the intrinsic value there in a postcard being customized! Thanks a ton for your suggestions.

27182818284 13y ago

I'm super super interested. My first thoughts were 1. Wow this loads super, super slow. 2. Missions-critical, I need to upload my own images for postcards. The images you use are complete shit. If you let me upload my own image tonight, I would have just thrown down my debit card. :-/

thebiglebrewski 13y ago
Regarding number 1, I started developing in Rails because that's what I'm used to and I used reveal.js which is technically a slide presenter. So I definitely have some work to do in optimizing things. I'm thinking of rebuilding with a Sinatra API and ember.js front-end for much better speed. Regarding number 2 - that seems to be the most requested feature! I will target it for the next release, absolutely. Thanks so much for your suggestions.

Casseres 13y ago

I just sent some postcards recently for the first time in my life. 3 weeks ago when I was in the Philippines, and 1 week ago in Singapore. I looked around for some postcards that represented the local culture rather than a beach or landscape. I also used the country's postal system (I had the option of sending it through the US Military's system) to get the country's postmark. It was humorous having to lick stamps. I haven't done that in over 15 years! :-) I've considered looking for a service that would allow me to send holiday cards to friends and family on my behalf while I'm at sea, but right now I've decided against it. Too impersonal. For me, it's not just about sending a message, it's about sending an experience. I don't think I'm your target customer, but I imagine your target customer is out there somewhere.