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I didn't see this as being a business service at all, it seems completely aimed at a consumer and maybe hobbyist market. The comparison to Amazon is just about

I didn't see this as being a business service at all, it seems completely aimed at a consumer and maybe hobbyist market. The comparison to Amazon is just about bringing the convenience, not the scale. I've had to ship a few things here and there, and it's always been annoying. Even when Seagate sent me all the necessary packaging when I needed to RMA a hard drive, I still ended up having to drive over to the UPS location to drop it off. Finding an appropriately sized box and getting a hold of just enough packaging to fill the gaps is not something I want to waste time on when shipping something, especially if the item itself is <$100 to begin with. Whether regular people will start shipping enough stuff to make this company profitable is another matter, but I would certainly love to have this option around next time I need to ship something.

larrys 12y ago
"I didn't see this as being a business service at all" They could handle returns and repair logistics for companies once the network is built. Cases where a bad item needs to be picked up and there is either no packing material or it's the type that needs to be repacked. Or it's a 27" Imac and the owner is a person that can't pack it properly and get it back to Apple (I've seen where Apple will dispatch a tech to a home to fix a problem in a Mac Pro so they send out a tech (to a home). Here they could issue a pickup (non business, non critical of course). Less costly. Pickup and repair at the "depot". Or say I have a rack server that I want retrieved and shipped somewhere and I don't want to trust that the colo people derack and ship properly. (This would tech specialized staff for sure but that's my point. There are many places you can go with this). There are already logistics companies that do similar things (contracting with businesses) for delivery of home appliances, exercise equipment etc. This is in a sense the reverse of that. Not to mention that a company like this is a total acquisition target by a major shipper once the network is built.
bunderbunder 12y ago
Add to it that I suspect self-shipping tends to end up being more expensive than it needs to be for individuals, too. The selection boxes offered at retail shipping locations is limited, so you almost invariably end up paying to ship a bigger box than is necessary. Maybe if you're the kind of person to save boxes you can often find one that fits well in your basement, but for the urban markets they're looking to serve most people will be living in smaller residences without a lot of space for packratting cardboard.
- dllthomas 12y ago
  Not to mention that packratting cardboard can be bad for pests and fires. Or rather, good for those things and thereby bad for people.

larrys 12y ago

"I didn't see this as being a business service at all" They could handle returns and repair logistics for companies once the network is built. Cases where a bad item needs to be picked up and there is either no packing material or it's the type that needs to be repacked. Or it's a 27" Imac and the owner is a person that can't pack it properly and get it back to Apple (I've seen where Apple will dispatch a tech to a home to fix a problem in a Mac Pro so they send out a tech (to a home). Here they could issue a pickup (non business, non critical of course). Less costly. Pickup and repair at the "depot". Or say I have a rack server that I want retrieved and shipped somewhere and I don't want to trust that the colo people derack and ship properly. (This would tech specialized staff for sure but that's my point. There are many places you can go with this). There are already logistics companies that do similar things (contracting with businesses) for delivery of home appliances, exercise equipment etc. This is in a sense the reverse of that. Not to mention that a company like this is a total acquisition target by a major shipper once the network is built.

bunderbunder 12y ago

Add to it that I suspect self-shipping tends to end up being more expensive than it needs to be for individuals, too. The selection boxes offered at retail shipping locations is limited, so you almost invariably end up paying to ship a bigger box than is necessary. Maybe if you're the kind of person to save boxes you can often find one that fits well in your basement, but for the urban markets they're looking to serve most people will be living in smaller residences without a lot of space for packratting cardboard.

dllthomas 12y ago
Not to mention that packratting cardboard can be bad for pests and fires. Or rather, good for those things and thereby bad for people.