Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
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Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#2My name is Kwadwo, one of the cofounders of Shypmate. Shypmate is a way for people in Nigeria and Ghana to buy items and goods from the US and get it delivered through a traveler heading to one of those countries. We pay the travelers, the shoppers get their item at an affordable shipping price, and everyone is mostly happy. Perry Ogwuche, another cofounder, immigrated from Nigeria to the US for school and as a student had a pretty hard time finding an affordable way to send things back home. He often would wait until a friend was traveling back before sending things. So we started Shypmate to facilitate that behavior and process.
We'd love your thoughts on feedback on the idea and process. People can make orders through the website, WhatsApp number, or email. We only deliver items that have been purchased through Shypmate and never let travelers carry items that Shypmate does not buy directly. On the other end, shoppers can meet travelers at the airport or pay an extra fee for local delivery. Our goal is to make international shopping and shipping affordable and fast in countries where UPS, Fedex, and DHL charge too much.
Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#3Normally I wouldn't note a startup's name for being similar to others.
But Shypmate, in the same industry as Shyp and Postmates (personal couriers), might receive some objection.
Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#4My name is Kwadwo, one of the cofounders of Shypmate. Shypmate is a way for people in Nigeria and Ghana to buy items and goods from the US and get it delivered through a traveler heading to one of those countries. We pay the travelers, the shoppers get their item at an affordable shipping price, and everyone is mostly happy. Perry Ogwuche, another cofounder, immigrated from Nigeria to the US for school and as a stude…
How do you deal with import duties and taxes? Who gets burnt if the buyer fails to collect and pay duties and taxes?
How will you deal with courier blaming you for any contraband they knowingly or unknowingly import? E.g. knowingly, but inserted in the package provided by you or unknowingly if the vendor provides the contraband in the package?
Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#5From the FAQ:
>When you reach your travel destination, the shopper will come pick up the product from the Airport and we will pay you (the traveler) as soon as the shopper receives and confirms that they have the product.
This seems like it introduces a lot of risk for the traveler. What happens if the shopper receives an item, but doesn't confirm it with Shypmate?
Further, as somebody that travels internationally fairly often, I'm not sure I'd be willing to do this. How are import/customs duties and declaration of goods handled? I can't find any information on the site. Further, given that this more or less looks like a scheme to skirt normal channels for importation of goods, what's going to stop the local customs authorities in Ghana or Nigeria from detaining travelers for participating in (what appears to be, though may not actually be) an illegal imports business?
Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#6My name is Kwadwo, one of the cofounders of Shypmate. Shypmate is a way for people in Nigeria and Ghana to buy items and goods from the US and get it delivered through a traveler heading to one of those countries. We pay the travelers, the shoppers get their item at an affordable shipping price, and everyone is mostly happy. Perry Ogwuche, another cofounder, immigrated from Nigeria to the US for school and as a stude…
How do you deal with import duties and taxes? Who gets burnt if the buyer fails to collect and pay duties and taxes? How will you deal with courier blaming you for any contraband they knowingly or unknowingly import? E.g. knowingly, but inserted in the package provided by you or unknowingly if the vendor provides the contraband in the package?
If the item being delivered is over a certain value we'd have the shoppers (in Ghana or Nigeria) cover duties and taxes.
We do hope to iterate and make the process more seamless but right now we package and seal the items in Shypmate packaging when we send it to the traveler. It is a very valid issue with preventing any contraband and making sure the traveler is safe. The couriers are also vetted before we allow them to carry packages for us. There is a certain amount of trust on both ends that is required for this to be a seamless process.
Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#7My name is Kwadwo, one of the cofounders of Shypmate. Shypmate is a way for people in Nigeria and Ghana to buy items and goods from the US and get it delivered through a traveler heading to one of those countries. We pay the travelers, the shoppers get their item at an affordable shipping price, and everyone is mostly happy. Perry Ogwuche, another cofounder, immigrated from Nigeria to the US for school and as a stude…
How do you deal with import duties and taxes? Who gets burnt if the buyer fails to collect and pay duties and taxes? How will you deal with courier blaming you for any contraband they knowingly or unknowingly import? E.g. knowingly, but inserted in the package provided by you or unknowingly if the vendor provides the contraband in the package?
Aside from what you're asking, I'm also wondering how a traveler/courier would avoid a shakedown/arrest by local authorities for participating in what appears to be a pretty overt scheme to bypass normal importing processes and restrictions.
Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#8From the FAQ: >When you reach your travel destination, the shopper will come pick up the product from the Airport and we will pay you (the traveler) as soon as the shopper receives and confirms that they have the product. This seems like it introduces a lot of risk for the traveler. What happens if the shopper receives an item, but doesn't confirm it with Shypmate? Further, as somebody that travels internationally fa…
We do ask the shopper to confirm receipt of the item but we also do follow up with the traveler. In future we may have the traveler take a photo documenting delivery of the item so that a shopper who has received an item doesn't deny that that they have in fact received it.
That is a very valid question and one we are currently working on coming up with a good solution for. The fee for duties is something we'd include in the shopper's fee but there are many cases that we'd expect to have to take on that cost initially as we iterate and refine the process. There are many questions still to be answered but we are looking to work with local authorities in Ghana and Nigeria as well.
Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you deal with import duties and taxes? Who gets burnt if the buyer fails to collect and pay duties and taxes? How will you deal with courier blaming you for any contraband they knowingly or unknowingly import? E.g. knowingly, but inserted in the package provided by you or unknowingly if the vendor provides the contraband in the package?
Aside from what you're asking, I'm also wondering how a traveler/courier would avoid a shakedown/arrest by local authorities for participating in what appears to be a pretty overt scheme to bypass normal importing processes and restrictions.
The process of buying items in the US and carrying it back home to Ghana or Nigeria is one that is already pretty common. It is true that occasionally people are detained however. Any lost goods would most likely need to be replaced or money will be refunded to shoppers until we can work out a fair and sensible agreement with local authorities. This will be a pretty big issue for us to address.
Re: Shypmate (YC W16) Pays Travelers To Bring Products To Ghana And Nigeria
#10From the FAQ: >When you reach your travel destination, the shopper will come pick up the product from the Airport and we will pay you (the traveler) as soon as the shopper receives and confirms that they have the product. This seems like it introduces a lot of risk for the traveler. What happens if the shopper receives an item, but doesn't confirm it with Shypmate? Further, as somebody that travels internationally fa…
We do ask the shopper to confirm receipt of the item but we also do follow up with the traveler. In future we may have the traveler take a photo documenting delivery of the item so that a shopper who has received an item doesn't deny that that they have in fact received it. That is a very valid question and one we are currently working on coming up with a good solution for. The fee for duties is something we'd includ…
In addition to many other issues, I would never agree to pay import duties and taxes out of pocket as a courier. Either you give me the cash to pay for it or I'd tell customs to keep the parcel and let the buyer sort it out.
Now, even assuming I'd be as silly as to pay duties and taxes out of pocket, I sure as hell wouldn't hand over a parcel before being paid in full for my services and any and all taxes and duties.