4 ms·

Send local goods to foreign subscribers in monthly surprise shipments.

by bemmu 12y ago

veb 12y ago
Nice to see you around Bemmu! How is CandayJapan going? you still owe me a free shipment for endorsing you ;-) In seriousness though, this is excellent advice - have a taste of something that's just not local. I know a well known YC company founder wanted to do something similar with whiskey... but ran into way too much overhead and administration issues with customs - costs, legality, shipping and way too much to list. Great wee idea if executed perfectly.
- bemmu 12y ago
  Thanks it's doing great, I was planning on writing an updated post about it. Well, here's rough early draft: http://piratepad.net/bchs9UaK6A http://piratepad.net/bchs9UaK6A I wasn't sure if you were joking about promising a free shipment or not, so I sent you a gift card over email just to be sure :)
  - K2h 12y ago
    very nice use of piratepad.net so we can watch and contribute to the draft.
    - js7 12y ago
      Except it is limited to 16 people
      - K2h 12y ago
        that is an issue. i did not see that problem a few minutes ago. I actually lost a few comments there as was bumped.
  - SNACKeR99 12y ago
    I love your idea and will probably subscribe soon. I couldn't find a Twitter account on your home page - this would be a great thing to do. I would follow the account even before subscribing to candy delivery, and seeing posts from you would keep it top of mind so I would remember to subscribe. And of course make it easier for me to publicize your great idea. :)
riffraff 12y ago
ah! meant to do this for years (mostly cause I'd want the service), nice to know it has been tried and it works :)
js7 12y ago
That's a good idea. I guess I'd have to look into shipping food and other products
Scoundreller 12y ago
Just a thought to represent how creative one could be and probably still make a viable business: I've also been looking online for various toothpastes I bought in Croatia. They have these nice herbal flavours that make me feel like I brushed my teeth with a Ricola cough candy. Everything in North America is mint or cinnamon, and many of the interesting esoteric flavours are fluoride-free :( edit: removed joke offer of ketchup chips from Canada.
- eitland 12y ago
  I'm on holiday in southern Europe and we got caught off-guard by ketchup chips. :-\
- fredophile 12y ago
  Skip the ketchup chips. Go for the all dressed chips instead.
psychometry 12y ago
Has that been profitable? I've worked on a few "subscription box" startups and found that churn always surpasses customer acquisition at a certain point.
gadders 12y ago
Out of interest, what would people want shipped from England? As a native I have no idea what people overseas would go for.
- JohnMunsch 12y ago
  Off hand I'd say native candies/foods (for example, I saw Kinder Surprise on a podcast the other day but I've never seen them in America) and Doctor Who stuff. Some merchandise makes its way to the US but it can be pricy and I'm sure just scratches the surface of what's seen over there. Similarly I'd pick out other things which have niche interest here (soccer clubs for example) but which are hugely popular in the UK.
  - caw 12y ago
    The Kinder eggs are considered an adulterated foodstuff and are banned from import into the US, so you do have to be careful about exports.
- mattmanser 12y ago
  http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+food+do+you+miss+from+england http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+food+do+you+miss+from+england
  - gadders 12y ago
    Ha ha. Touché! I expect it is mostly Marmite and Branston Pickle.
vishalzone2002 12y ago
me and my friend tried it with sweet submarine. Basically chocolates and candy boxes from around the world. Tried raising on indiegogo as well but didnt really worked out.

Send local goods to foreign subscribers in monthly surprise shipments.

by bemmu 12y ago

Send local goods to foreign subscribers in monthly surprise shipments.

veb 12y ago

Nice to see you around Bemmu! How is CandayJapan going? you still owe me a free shipment for endorsing you ;-) In seriousness though, this is excellent advice - have a taste of something that's just not local. I know a well known YC company founder wanted to do something similar with whiskey... but ran into way too much overhead and administration issues with customs - costs, legality, shipping and way too much to list. Great wee idea if executed perfectly.

bemmu 12y ago
Thanks it's doing great, I was planning on writing an updated post about it. Well, here's rough early draft: http://piratepad.net/bchs9UaK6A http://piratepad.net/bchs9UaK6A I wasn't sure if you were joking about promising a free shipment or not, so I sent you a gift card over email just to be sure :)
- K2h 12y ago
  very nice use of piratepad.net so we can watch and contribute to the draft.
  - js7 12y ago
    Except it is limited to 16 people
    - K2h 12y ago
      that is an issue. i did not see that problem a few minutes ago. I actually lost a few comments there as was bumped.
- SNACKeR99 12y ago
  I love your idea and will probably subscribe soon. I couldn't find a Twitter account on your home page - this would be a great thing to do. I would follow the account even before subscribing to candy delivery, and seeing posts from you would keep it top of mind so I would remember to subscribe. And of course make it easier for me to publicize your great idea. :)

riffraff 12y ago

ah! meant to do this for years (mostly cause I'd want the service), nice to know it has been tried and it works :)

js7 12y ago

That's a good idea. I guess I'd have to look into shipping food and other products

Scoundreller 12y ago

Just a thought to represent how creative one could be and probably still make a viable business: I've also been looking online for various toothpastes I bought in Croatia. They have these nice herbal flavours that make me feel like I brushed my teeth with a Ricola cough candy. Everything in North America is mint or cinnamon, and many of the interesting esoteric flavours are fluoride-free :( edit: removed joke offer of ketchup chips from Canada.

eitland 12y ago
I'm on holiday in southern Europe and we got caught off-guard by ketchup chips. :-\
fredophile 12y ago
Skip the ketchup chips. Go for the all dressed chips instead.

psychometry 12y ago

Has that been profitable? I've worked on a few "subscription box" startups and found that churn always surpasses customer acquisition at a certain point.

gadders 12y ago

Out of interest, what would people want shipped from England? As a native I have no idea what people overseas would go for.

JohnMunsch 12y ago
Off hand I'd say native candies/foods (for example, I saw Kinder Surprise on a podcast the other day but I've never seen them in America) and Doctor Who stuff. Some merchandise makes its way to the US but it can be pricy and I'm sure just scratches the surface of what's seen over there. Similarly I'd pick out other things which have niche interest here (soccer clubs for example) but which are hugely popular in the UK.
- caw 12y ago
  The Kinder eggs are considered an adulterated foodstuff and are banned from import into the US, so you do have to be careful about exports.
mattmanser 12y ago
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+food+do+you+miss+from+england http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+food+do+you+miss+from+england
- gadders 12y ago
  Ha ha. Touché! I expect it is mostly Marmite and Branston Pickle.

vishalzone2002 12y ago

me and my friend tried it with sweet submarine. Basically chocolates and candy boxes from around the world. Tried raising on indiegogo as well but didnt really worked out.