7 ms·

Show HN: Rent camping gear and get it delivered up to 1 hour before the trip

29 points by jmzbond 12y ago

wayanon 12y ago
I like it, my thoughts while using the site: 1. How about a shopping cart or something to show what's in your order across the top? 2. Something that gives an idea of cost much earlier on for each item, even if it's just suggested. 3. How do you manage hygiene?, e.g. if a sleeping is delivered and it's musty/whatever - what happens, do I still have to pay? How are things cleaned after use? Is there a deposit? 4. Other items for sale as well as hire, like charged power packs, a magazine or two? 5. Random game/sport items - frisbee, inflatable beach ball etc. 6. Jerky?
- jmzbond 12y ago
  1) This is part of our big design UX/UI challenge and we're still thinking about how to fix it. So this could be part of it. Thanks for the suggestion! 2) This one is hard. Ultimately we have a pay what you want model, so I worry that having suggested prices up front turn people away before they get to the final page and realize it's pay what you want. Will test further 3) There's no deposit because we want as a side goal to not hinder access, and deposits do that (especially for our gear, since it can be quite high). That said if you return something in bad condition, you are liable for repair and/or replacement cost, depending on how bad it is. We will have BIG warnings up for Burning Man =) (and may do deposits then...) Generally speaking for hygiene, all of our gear that you might actually have an "inner" part of your body up against is well shielded. For example: sleeping bags we have liners that we can wash. For snowsports gloves, we only carry the kinds that have liners and outer layers. 4) We actually include this whenever you rent something that needs it! For example, the grill has a propane, the headlamps have batteries 5) Yes definitely! We want to start with bigger ticket items first and then hopefully expand to lots of other goods even in other categories. Right now these items are too "cheap" for many people to consider renting. As in, they'll feel awkward renting it. 6) Like... free jerky for every rental? We do surprise some customers randomly with free chocolate =) But jerky might be too limiting since there might be vegetarians. (I guess, sorry vegans about the chocolate)
27182818284 12y ago
I like this idea, it is too bad you're not in my area, I would have tried it.
- therobot24 12y ago
  Yea they shouldn't have the user wait till the order form to find out that they're only in SF.
  - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
    To be fair... it is in the FAQ right there on the front page.
    - therobot24 12y ago
      Yea i only briefly glanced at the FAQ - wouldn't necessarily classify it as a 'wall of text', but it was bunched together enough to make me not want to read through each line
  - jmzbond 12y ago
    That's a fair comment. We can certainly do a better job communicating up front where our geographic region is.
- georgehotelling 12y ago
  I once heard someone say "Being in San Francisco is like having good cell reception, except for apps." Every time I see something like this that's what I think of.
  - jmzbond 12y ago
    Haha, I also heard someone say "Living in SF is like living in the future." Ironically I'll personally say that there are plus sides and down sides to this "app for everything culture." But it's as bit long and philosophical, so I'll point you to a couple of posts I wrote: "Stop making an app for everything" = https://medium.com/@bsemaj/stop-making-an-app-for-everything-d26076047a17 https://medium.com/@bsemaj/stop-making-an-app-for-everything... "Innovation: the virtuous cycle of efficiency and the vicious cycle of laziness" = https://medium.com/p/64d6b091c455 https://medium.com/p/64d6b091c455
jack-r-abbit 12y ago
I've seen a few people running this type of thing (in a much smaller scale) via Airbnb. They seem to mostly cater to people visiting the area that want to camp in Yosemite or similar but don't want to travel with all their own gear. I've thought about doing that since my gear sits in a closet most of the time. Of course this is different. I like the idea. Good luck.
- jmzbond 12y ago
  That's right travelers are a segment of our users! The majority though, are folks who are not very outdoorsy but going for the first time and not interested in spending a ton of money upfront. I know there are a lot of businesses sprouting in this arena, many of which are focused on the p2p aspect. One of the reasons we've so shied away from that is because we're worried that the very underlying behavior we're incentivizing is buying more stuff--once you figure out you can monetize it and make a profit. Not everyone can buy an apartment as an income generating property, but everyone can buy a tent. At some point it might equilibriate out and have a net impact of lower consumption anyway, but it's harder to go this route when our mission is purely focused on reducing unnecessary consumption and changing cultural perception of need to buy. Thanks for your thoughts!
ngoel36 12y ago
Site is down for me
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Sorry about that, I just tried it and it works, can you try again?
RokStdy 12y ago
Design nitpick: The alert every time you add something to your cart is really annoying. What if I want to add 4 backpacks and 3 water purifiers, etc... I click add, get a pop-up, click ok, then add again, rinse repeat.... Maybe instead just use a floating div to appear, say xyz has been added, and then fade away after a second.
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Great point, we had added that as a stop gap measure, because not all users realized they had to scroll down to checkout the cart. From an overall design perspective we kind of need to revamp the entire first part of the flow, so this is great feedback. Thanks!
  - weaksauce 12y ago
    Instead of an alert popup use a on screen popup in the upper right corner that shows that something was added and then fades away after a few seconds.
    - jmzbond 12y ago
      This is exactly what we're thinking! A little thingy that floats up and fades away. Almost like... points in a game. The only thing is we're thinking of doing it over the item, so you know that item has been added. Upper right corner, people's eyes may not see (though the movement will probably catch). Something to test!
      - weaksauce 12y ago
        I think peripheral vision responds better to movement. (Evolution of our ancestors making the peripheral vision less detailed but quicker acting to be quick acting for possible attacks. I could be mistaken though)
        jmzbond 12y ago
        Ooooh... nice, I will definitely look into that
VLM 12y ago
Might I humbly suggest recreational items like fishing rod? In CA something that dangerous might have a seven day waiting period or need a permit so donno.
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Great suggestion thanks! People are always fishing out on the piers here. Yes we want to expand in other categories, for outdoors gear and even beyond! Our vision is to make renting anything as viable as buying it, in order to try to reduce unnecessary consumption and make our lives less cluttered.
Thrymr 12y ago
> Q: If I wait until the last minute, will you have items available? > A: It's never happened yet! I don't think that says what you mean it to say.
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Oh my you're totally right. Supposed to say, "We've never run out of items yet, because we are a last minute business and having inventory is our job." Something like that. I'm always hesitant to make 100% promises on stuff like this because if a big corporate event happens then literally we might run out regardless of what back-ups we have in place.
  - fleitz 12y ago
    Sometimes it's better to make promises and run out of inventory than not make promises and not run out of inventory. Promising unlimited internet certainly never put most ISPs out of business, and having a business so wildly successful that you're out of stock is a great way to attract investment.
    - jmzbond 12y ago
      Well said!
  - djloche 12y ago
    Make a 100% guarantee. Something like "we'll have the gear you want, delivered when you want, or your money back AND we'll give you credit to rent the gear on us at a later point to make up for it." Internally, make it your policy to go above and beyond to make sure even if there's a huge corporate event, that you still have the necessary gear for everyone else that has paid. Your job is to deliver and have the gear. Making it happen in unusual circumstances is part of the business.
    - jmzbond 12y ago
      You're totally right, you and the gentleperson below. Done!
jpetersonmn 12y ago
As others have mentioned the UI needs some work. Pop-up messages, not knowing what stuff costs as I'm adding, etc... Honestly if I was in the market for something like this (overall I like the idea) I wouldn't use this service since the UI is clunky. I would think if their website is this clunky, how clunky is the overall service going to be. Is my stuff going to be on time, will the order be correct, etc... IMO, building the website should be the simplest part of the operation overall. Nice idea, keep working on it. :)
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Totally fair and we're working on it. I think part of the challenge for us is that we're not really an e-commerce business in the traditional sense. And so, while we may want to preserve some of those elements (pricing, pop up messages, etc.), we're also trying to do it in the context of optimizing for, very fast requests (no sign up, no sign in, <60 seconds to request something... last minute business and all), pay what you want model, etc. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask, do you think having customer testimonials eases some of your fears of clunkiness? Or do you tend to think, well anyone can "make up" a testimonial? I ask because what you're pointing out is a very real concern of mine. Once people have tried our service, they LOVE it (we have near perfect 10s on NPS across the board), but there is a bit of hesitancy at the beginning, which could be caused by many different factors I'm trying to isolate.
  - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
    Having been tasked (in a former life) with adding questionable "customer" testimonials to a company site, I now place exactly ZERO faith in customer testimonials on sites. YMMV
    - jmzbond 12y ago
      Gross! So sorry to hear that... But good feedback for us. We have a limited social media presence and no Yelp (because for whatever reason the Yelp gods hate us and there seems to be no way to talk to a real person there), but I know this will help, especially Facebook reviews. Will work on nurturing that. Thanks!
joelhaus 12y ago
Loved shopping at Campmor growing up, but definitely appreciate this concept. Scouting trips were typically once a year, but need reduced over time as did camping trips. May also want to check out growth opportunities with other charities. Used to participate in an annual event called Kayak for a Cause with a couple of hundred people. 85% of them needed a kayak for one day... not exactly something everyone is going to purchase. Good luck!
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Wow have definitely never heard of outdoor events for a cause but that's a great partnership model. Will definitely look into it, thanks! Re: kayaks, if we expand there, we're loving this folding kayak http://www.orukayak.com/ http://www.orukayak.com/ (no affiliation in any way, and we're not getting kick backs! =P)
kstrauser 12y ago
Like most campers, I already have an REI account. If I'm leaving town, I have a car lined up that I can drive to REI to pick up rental gear. Why should I choose you? (I think this is a really cool idea! You're going to be asked the above, though, so this might be a good time to practice your answer among friends.)
- anonbanker 12y ago
  Leave this stuff on reddit. Many of us initially came to HN to avoid things like this.
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Get this question all the time (same deal with Sports Basement). 3 things: 1) Would you rather spend an extra 60 minutes renting gear from REI or having gear arrive at your place when all your friends do and then leave all together? 2) We're cheaper than REI 3) REI is not open 24/7 like we are. This is actually why we're so focused on being a last minute business, because people today are really really last minute. There are numerous instances where this happens: Coworker A: "Hey really psyched about Tahoe trip this weekend!" Coworker B: "Oh crap, can't go, and forgot to tell you earlier, I'm the worst!" Coworker A: "What?! We're leaving in 2 hours!!" Coworker B: "Yeah, don't worry I'll find my replacement, hey Coworker C, want to go on this trip? It'll be super fun and I already paid!" Coworker C: "Yeah sure!" Coworker C: ~oh... don't have any gear~ Also, if you're calling yourself a "camper" already and have an REI account, we're probably not right for you because you probably go frequently enough to make buying gear worth it. Check out this calculator we built on that: www.lastmingear.com/protips/buy_vs_rent
  - kstrauser 12y ago
    1) Good point (although 60 minutes at REI seems a bit on the long side). 2) Make your pricing model more obvious. When I can't see prices before checkout, and you're heavily marketing last minute delivery, I assume I'm about to be sticker shocked. 3) That's a great point! You should emphasize that up front, because that use case hadn't occurred to me. My first thought was "they cater to poor planners", not "they'll help me be the spontaneous guy I want to be!"
davidw 12y ago
You might consider having packages like "family of 4 with two kids package", which includes the tents, sleeping bags, and everything else.
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Great point! We will test this concept in the future, some people want the convenience of a total package, others want to customize so they can "make do" and shave off some money somewhere.
  - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
    Maybe make it so that adding the package to your cart actually just adds all the items. Customization then takes place by deciding which of those items to remove from the cart. It might work as a good "upsell" as people realize they need more things than they first thought. Edit: Case in point. I was looking to get a Sparkfun Kit[1] but they were out of one item that made the whole "kit" out of stock. Down at the bottom they have a link to a "wish list"[2] that lists all the individual items in the kit. And a big button at the bottom of that page that says "add it all." [1]: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12060 https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12060 [2]: https://www.sparkfun.com/wish_lists/96686 https://www.sparkfun.com/wish_lists/96686
    - jmzbond 12y ago
      That's a really good idea, thanks! And definitely thanks for the example!
mbrownnyc 12y ago
But will it work in the zombie apocalypse?
- jmzbond 12y ago
  =D
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
jhwhite 12y ago
It seems like there's customization options that should be present. Like for backpacks, there's different sizes. What if I'm going out for a 3 day trip as oppose to a week long trip? And for sleeping bags, different bags are rated to different temperatures. I've got two bags, one for warm weather camping and one for cold weather camping. Is all of this suppose to go in Optional Specifications?
- jmzbond 12y ago
  At the moment yes. Most of our customers are new to outdoor sports and don't know what specifications they want. They're also generally going car camping and only in the summer, so it's usually not a big deal at all. Putting it up front will freak them out and make choosing harder. The way it works now, if you are experienced enough to know exactly what you want, you can tell us. I do agree though that this part of the flow isn't perfect, so we'll work on this. Perhaps for different items, giving examples of what optional specifications people COULD write in? E.g., temperature for sleeping bags, capacity for backpacks, etc.
  - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
    In some ways you do want to freak people out a little. There are people that are a danger to themselves because they haven't the first clue what they are doing. They don't know that they need a good cold weather sleeping bag and not just some "sleepover sack" from Walmart. People can die when they don't know what they are doing or what they need. The stories I've heard from a couple SAR friends of mine... shudder
    - jmzbond 12y ago
      A well balanced freak out certainly =)
yellowapple 12y ago
Three things: First, the pop-up dialogs are annoying. Just show the number next to the + button (and add '-' and 'x' buttons to decrement and delete, respectively), and update it whenever I + or -. That's all the feedback I need. Second, there's mention of product images, but they're not showing up for me on the latest Firefox. Third, there should be a price estimate for each product I add in the product selection screen.
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Thanks! Re your first point, do you think it would be annoying to you to see some items with an increment of 1 and others with an increment of 0? I.e., is it better to have separation between items that you can select vs. which specific items you have selected? Hmm... will test the images problem. Third point is one we're thinking about how to address in the context of our pay what you want model.

29 points by jmzbond 12y ago

I like it, my thoughts while using the site: 1. How about a shopping cart or something to show what's in your order across the top? 2. Something that gives an idea of cost much earlier on for each item, even if it's just suggested. 3. How do you manage hygiene?, e.g. if a sleeping is delivered and it's musty/whatever - what happens, do I still have to pay? How are things cleaned after use? Is there a deposit? 4. Other items for sale as well as hire, like charged power packs, a magazine or two? 5. Random game/sport items - frisbee, inflatable beach ball etc. 6. Jerky?

jmzbond 12y ago
1) This is part of our big design UX/UI challenge and we're still thinking about how to fix it. So this could be part of it. Thanks for the suggestion! 2) This one is hard. Ultimately we have a pay what you want model, so I worry that having suggested prices up front turn people away before they get to the final page and realize it's pay what you want. Will test further 3) There's no deposit because we want as a side goal to not hinder access, and deposits do that (especially for our gear, since it can be quite high). That said if you return something in bad condition, you are liable for repair and/or replacement cost, depending on how bad it is. We will have BIG warnings up for Burning Man =) (and may do deposits then...) Generally speaking for hygiene, all of our gear that you might actually have an "inner" part of your body up against is well shielded. For example: sleeping bags we have liners that we can wash. For snowsports gloves, we only carry the kinds that have liners and outer layers. 4) We actually include this whenever you rent something that needs it! For example, the grill has a propane, the headlamps have batteries 5) Yes definitely! We want to start with bigger ticket items first and then hopefully expand to lots of other goods even in other categories. Right now these items are too "cheap" for many people to consider renting. As in, they'll feel awkward renting it. 6) Like... free jerky for every rental? We do surprise some customers randomly with free chocolate =) But jerky might be too limiting since there might be vegetarians. (I guess, sorry vegans about the chocolate)

27182818284 12y ago

I like this idea, it is too bad you're not in my area, I would have tried it.

therobot24 12y ago
Yea they shouldn't have the user wait till the order form to find out that they're only in SF.
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  To be fair... it is in the FAQ right there on the front page.
  - therobot24 12y ago
    Yea i only briefly glanced at the FAQ - wouldn't necessarily classify it as a 'wall of text', but it was bunched together enough to make me not want to read through each line
- jmzbond 12y ago
  That's a fair comment. We can certainly do a better job communicating up front where our geographic region is.
georgehotelling 12y ago
I once heard someone say "Being in San Francisco is like having good cell reception, except for apps." Every time I see something like this that's what I think of.
- jmzbond 12y ago
  Haha, I also heard someone say "Living in SF is like living in the future." Ironically I'll personally say that there are plus sides and down sides to this "app for everything culture." But it's as bit long and philosophical, so I'll point you to a couple of posts I wrote: "Stop making an app for everything" = https://medium.com/@bsemaj/stop-making-an-app-for-everything-d26076047a17 https://medium.com/@bsemaj/stop-making-an-app-for-everything... "Innovation: the virtuous cycle of efficiency and the vicious cycle of laziness" = https://medium.com/p/64d6b091c455 https://medium.com/p/64d6b091c455

jack-r-abbit 12y ago

I've seen a few people running this type of thing (in a much smaller scale) via Airbnb. They seem to mostly cater to people visiting the area that want to camp in Yosemite or similar but don't want to travel with all their own gear. I've thought about doing that since my gear sits in a closet most of the time. Of course this is different. I like the idea. Good luck.

jmzbond 12y ago
That's right travelers are a segment of our users! The majority though, are folks who are not very outdoorsy but going for the first time and not interested in spending a ton of money upfront. I know there are a lot of businesses sprouting in this arena, many of which are focused on the p2p aspect. One of the reasons we've so shied away from that is because we're worried that the very underlying behavior we're incentivizing is buying more stuff--once you figure out you can monetize it and make a profit. Not everyone can buy an apartment as an income generating property, but everyone can buy a tent. At some point it might equilibriate out and have a net impact of lower consumption anyway, but it's harder to go this route when our mission is purely focused on reducing unnecessary consumption and changing cultural perception of need to buy. Thanks for your thoughts!

ngoel36 12y ago

Site is down for me

jmzbond 12y ago
Sorry about that, I just tried it and it works, can you try again?

RokStdy 12y ago

Design nitpick: The alert every time you add something to your cart is really annoying. What if I want to add 4 backpacks and 3 water purifiers, etc... I click add, get a pop-up, click ok, then add again, rinse repeat.... Maybe instead just use a floating div to appear, say xyz has been added, and then fade away after a second.

jmzbond 12y ago
Great point, we had added that as a stop gap measure, because not all users realized they had to scroll down to checkout the cart. From an overall design perspective we kind of need to revamp the entire first part of the flow, so this is great feedback. Thanks!
- weaksauce 12y ago
  Instead of an alert popup use a on screen popup in the upper right corner that shows that something was added and then fades away after a few seconds.
  - jmzbond 12y ago
    This is exactly what we're thinking! A little thingy that floats up and fades away. Almost like... points in a game. The only thing is we're thinking of doing it over the item, so you know that item has been added. Upper right corner, people's eyes may not see (though the movement will probably catch). Something to test!
    - weaksauce 12y ago
      I think peripheral vision responds better to movement. (Evolution of our ancestors making the peripheral vision less detailed but quicker acting to be quick acting for possible attacks. I could be mistaken though)
      - jmzbond 12y ago
        Ooooh... nice, I will definitely look into that

VLM 12y ago

Might I humbly suggest recreational items like fishing rod? In CA something that dangerous might have a seven day waiting period or need a permit so donno.

jmzbond 12y ago
Great suggestion thanks! People are always fishing out on the piers here. Yes we want to expand in other categories, for outdoors gear and even beyond! Our vision is to make renting anything as viable as buying it, in order to try to reduce unnecessary consumption and make our lives less cluttered.

Thrymr 12y ago

> Q: If I wait until the last minute, will you have items available? > A: It's never happened yet! I don't think that says what you mean it to say.

jmzbond 12y ago
Oh my you're totally right. Supposed to say, "We've never run out of items yet, because we are a last minute business and having inventory is our job." Something like that. I'm always hesitant to make 100% promises on stuff like this because if a big corporate event happens then literally we might run out regardless of what back-ups we have in place.
- fleitz 12y ago
  Sometimes it's better to make promises and run out of inventory than not make promises and not run out of inventory. Promising unlimited internet certainly never put most ISPs out of business, and having a business so wildly successful that you're out of stock is a great way to attract investment.
  - jmzbond 12y ago
    Well said!
- djloche 12y ago
  Make a 100% guarantee. Something like "we'll have the gear you want, delivered when you want, or your money back AND we'll give you credit to rent the gear on us at a later point to make up for it." Internally, make it your policy to go above and beyond to make sure even if there's a huge corporate event, that you still have the necessary gear for everyone else that has paid. Your job is to deliver and have the gear. Making it happen in unusual circumstances is part of the business.
  - jmzbond 12y ago
    You're totally right, you and the gentleperson below. Done!

jpetersonmn 12y ago

As others have mentioned the UI needs some work. Pop-up messages, not knowing what stuff costs as I'm adding, etc... Honestly if I was in the market for something like this (overall I like the idea) I wouldn't use this service since the UI is clunky. I would think if their website is this clunky, how clunky is the overall service going to be. Is my stuff going to be on time, will the order be correct, etc... IMO, building the website should be the simplest part of the operation overall. Nice idea, keep working on it. :)

jmzbond 12y ago
Totally fair and we're working on it. I think part of the challenge for us is that we're not really an e-commerce business in the traditional sense. And so, while we may want to preserve some of those elements (pricing, pop up messages, etc.), we're also trying to do it in the context of optimizing for, very fast requests (no sign up, no sign in, <60 seconds to request something... last minute business and all), pay what you want model, etc. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask, do you think having customer testimonials eases some of your fears of clunkiness? Or do you tend to think, well anyone can "make up" a testimonial? I ask because what you're pointing out is a very real concern of mine. Once people have tried our service, they LOVE it (we have near perfect 10s on NPS across the board), but there is a bit of hesitancy at the beginning, which could be caused by many different factors I'm trying to isolate.
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  Having been tasked (in a former life) with adding questionable "customer" testimonials to a company site, I now place exactly ZERO faith in customer testimonials on sites. YMMV
  - jmzbond 12y ago
    Gross! So sorry to hear that... But good feedback for us. We have a limited social media presence and no Yelp (because for whatever reason the Yelp gods hate us and there seems to be no way to talk to a real person there), but I know this will help, especially Facebook reviews. Will work on nurturing that. Thanks!

joelhaus 12y ago

Loved shopping at Campmor growing up, but definitely appreciate this concept. Scouting trips were typically once a year, but need reduced over time as did camping trips. May also want to check out growth opportunities with other charities. Used to participate in an annual event called Kayak for a Cause with a couple of hundred people. 85% of them needed a kayak for one day... not exactly something everyone is going to purchase. Good luck!

jmzbond 12y ago
Wow have definitely never heard of outdoor events for a cause but that's a great partnership model. Will definitely look into it, thanks! Re: kayaks, if we expand there, we're loving this folding kayak http://www.orukayak.com/ http://www.orukayak.com/ (no affiliation in any way, and we're not getting kick backs! =P)

kstrauser 12y ago

Like most campers, I already have an REI account. If I'm leaving town, I have a car lined up that I can drive to REI to pick up rental gear. Why should I choose you? (I think this is a really cool idea! You're going to be asked the above, though, so this might be a good time to practice your answer among friends.)

anonbanker 12y ago
Leave this stuff on reddit. Many of us initially came to HN to avoid things like this.
jmzbond 12y ago
Get this question all the time (same deal with Sports Basement). 3 things: 1) Would you rather spend an extra 60 minutes renting gear from REI or having gear arrive at your place when all your friends do and then leave all together? 2) We're cheaper than REI 3) REI is not open 24/7 like we are. This is actually why we're so focused on being a last minute business, because people today are really really last minute. There are numerous instances where this happens: Coworker A: "Hey really psyched about Tahoe trip this weekend!" Coworker B: "Oh crap, can't go, and forgot to tell you earlier, I'm the worst!" Coworker A: "What?! We're leaving in 2 hours!!" Coworker B: "Yeah, don't worry I'll find my replacement, hey Coworker C, want to go on this trip? It'll be super fun and I already paid!" Coworker C: "Yeah sure!" Coworker C: ~oh... don't have any gear~ Also, if you're calling yourself a "camper" already and have an REI account, we're probably not right for you because you probably go frequently enough to make buying gear worth it. Check out this calculator we built on that: www.lastmingear.com/protips/buy_vs_rent
- kstrauser 12y ago
  1) Good point (although 60 minutes at REI seems a bit on the long side). 2) Make your pricing model more obvious. When I can't see prices before checkout, and you're heavily marketing last minute delivery, I assume I'm about to be sticker shocked. 3) That's a great point! You should emphasize that up front, because that use case hadn't occurred to me. My first thought was "they cater to poor planners", not "they'll help me be the spontaneous guy I want to be!"

davidw 12y ago

You might consider having packages like "family of 4 with two kids package", which includes the tents, sleeping bags, and everything else.

jmzbond 12y ago
Great point! We will test this concept in the future, some people want the convenience of a total package, others want to customize so they can "make do" and shave off some money somewhere.
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  Maybe make it so that adding the package to your cart actually just adds all the items. Customization then takes place by deciding which of those items to remove from the cart. It might work as a good "upsell" as people realize they need more things than they first thought. Edit: Case in point. I was looking to get a Sparkfun Kit[1] but they were out of one item that made the whole "kit" out of stock. Down at the bottom they have a link to a "wish list"[2] that lists all the individual items in the kit. And a big button at the bottom of that page that says "add it all." [1]: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12060 https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12060 [2]: https://www.sparkfun.com/wish_lists/96686 https://www.sparkfun.com/wish_lists/96686
  - jmzbond 12y ago
    That's a really good idea, thanks! And definitely thanks for the example!

mbrownnyc 12y ago

But will it work in the zombie apocalypse?

jmzbond 12y ago
=D

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

jhwhite 12y ago

It seems like there's customization options that should be present. Like for backpacks, there's different sizes. What if I'm going out for a 3 day trip as oppose to a week long trip? And for sleeping bags, different bags are rated to different temperatures. I've got two bags, one for warm weather camping and one for cold weather camping. Is all of this suppose to go in Optional Specifications?

jmzbond 12y ago
At the moment yes. Most of our customers are new to outdoor sports and don't know what specifications they want. They're also generally going car camping and only in the summer, so it's usually not a big deal at all. Putting it up front will freak them out and make choosing harder. The way it works now, if you are experienced enough to know exactly what you want, you can tell us. I do agree though that this part of the flow isn't perfect, so we'll work on this. Perhaps for different items, giving examples of what optional specifications people COULD write in? E.g., temperature for sleeping bags, capacity for backpacks, etc.
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  In some ways you do want to freak people out a little. There are people that are a danger to themselves because they haven't the first clue what they are doing. They don't know that they need a good cold weather sleeping bag and not just some "sleepover sack" from Walmart. People can die when they don't know what they are doing or what they need. The stories I've heard from a couple SAR friends of mine... shudder
  - jmzbond 12y ago
    A well balanced freak out certainly =)

yellowapple 12y ago

Three things: First, the pop-up dialogs are annoying. Just show the number next to the + button (and add '-' and 'x' buttons to decrement and delete, respectively), and update it whenever I + or -. That's all the feedback I need. Second, there's mention of product images, but they're not showing up for me on the latest Firefox. Third, there should be a price estimate for each product I add in the product selection screen.

jmzbond 12y ago
Thanks! Re your first point, do you think it would be annoying to you to see some items with an increment of 1 and others with an increment of 0? I.e., is it better to have separation between items that you can select vs. which specific items you have selected? Hmm... will test the images problem. Third point is one we're thinking about how to address in the context of our pay what you want model.