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Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

marvina.com

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Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#31

Post by rfrank »

dpieri wrote: post #18
rfrank wrote: post #16

Why is this any better than just calling a delivery service that already exists? You get to maintain direct control over the strains you get that way as well. And you don't get any of the promotions from a physical dispensary. Ex. Magnolia Wellness in Oakland does a $25 3.5g with a donation of $35 or more on Saturday, and 4.5g eighths on Sunday, both of which beat the price per gram of this service.

We created Marvina for people who don't enjoy picking strains each month. Unless you are fairly knowledgable choosing from the hundreds of strains on the market can be overwhelming. If you know exactly what strains you want then Marvina probably isn't for you.

It may be worth considering putting the Goldstar menu on your site so users know what options are available to them. Could even include Leafly reviews so people can have a bit more info on what they're getting each month.

Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#32

Post by dpieri »

[deleted] wrote: post #24
dpieri wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We created Marvina for people who don't enjoy picking strains each month. Unless you are fairly knowledgable choosing from the hundreds of strains on the market can be overwhelming. If you know exactly what strains you want then Marvina probably isn't for you.

[deleted]

Well that's certainly a concern. We hope that everything about the experience will make people want to stick with it. Even if you are educated about marijuana strains its a better customer experience than going to a dispensary or using traditional delivery.

Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#34

Post by chc »

psykovsky wrote: post #25
dpieri wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes cash-only for now. We've considered Bitcoin but unfortunately all of the popular Bitcoin payments companies don't work with marijuana businesses.

Why do you need a Bitcoin payment processor? Bitcoin, BYOB.* ;) * Be Your Own Bank

You need a way to turn the Bitcoins into spending money.

Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#35

Post by chc »

rosser wrote: post #22
notastartup wrote: post #2

how difficult is it to become a medial marijuana user in SF? it seems pretty tough in BC with the classic "stress/anxiety disorder".

Trivially difficult. There are MMJ "clinics" that are basically rubber stamps: pay the fee, get your card. The apocryphal story is of a friend of a friend going to the clinic and saying, "So I have this problem, Doc. I can't seem to get enough pot," and being given a card. It's perhaps not that easy, but it's within delta of that.

There are lots of jokes along those lines, but honestly, the marijuana doctors' actions seem pretty rational to me.

The thing is, marijuana is thought possibly to be beneficial for a huge swath of conditions, many of which are primarily self-reported like insomnia and migraines. A normal doctor would probably not give you the third degree you before suggesting a treatment for these conditions either. And since marijuana is largely benign even when it doesn't help, this is not really irresponsible on the marijuana doctors' part. My doctor was advocating a riskier course of treatment when he told me to take ibuprofen!

Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#36

Post by djtidau »

I too don't understand such negative responses here. As far as how it looks the site seems just fine to me. Not being too familiar with this market I'm unsure of the feasibility of the business but the idea seems sound.

Is there any reason why you are cash only at the moment? You really should look into adding some kind of online payment integration (Stripe is very easy to get up and running if the allow it for this market).

Just a heads up, on Chrome/OSX your example boxes popup is created three times, one on top of the other.

Good luck!

Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#37

Post by jack-r-abbit »

[deleted] wrote: post #24
dpieri wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We created Marvina for people who don't enjoy picking strains each month. Unless you are fairly knowledgable choosing from the hundreds of strains on the market can be overwhelming. If you know exactly what strains you want then Marvina probably isn't for you.

[deleted]

It seems to work alright for "Wine of the Month" clubs.

Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#38

Post by dpieri »

djtidau wrote: post #36

I too don't understand such negative responses here. As far as how it looks the site seems just fine to me. Not being too familiar with this market I'm unsure of the feasibility of the business but the idea seems sound. Is there any reason why you are cash only at the moment? You really should look into adding some kind of online payment integration (Stripe is very easy to get up and running if the allow it for this…

Thanks for the encouragement!

If only we could use Stripe! Unfortunately marijuana is specifically mentioned in their list of prohibited businesses: https://stripe.com/us/prohibited-businesses

Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#39

Post by anigbrowl »

dpieri wrote: post #18
rfrank wrote: post #16

Why is this any better than just calling a delivery service that already exists? You get to maintain direct control over the strains you get that way as well. And you don't get any of the promotions from a physical dispensary. Ex. Magnolia Wellness in Oakland does a $25 3.5g with a donation of $35 or more on Saturday, and 4.5g eighths on Sunday, both of which beat the price per gram of this service.

We created Marvina for people who don't enjoy picking strains each month. Unless you are fairly knowledgable choosing from the hundreds of strains on the market can be overwhelming. If you know exactly what strains you want then Marvina probably isn't for you.

You don't have to pick out a different strain every month (or however often you purchase). Once someone finds 2 or 3 that they like they just keep buying those. People are already faced with a huge number of choices for alcohol and numerous other consumable products, but have little difficulty identifying their favorites even if they're not not connoisseurs of any particular product.

Re: Show HN: Premium Medical Marijuana Subscription – SF Only

#40

Post by stockkid »

lanaius wrote: post #14
dpieri wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the Marvina brand we wanted to stay away from traditional marijuana stereotypes. We want to create something more inclusive than the vibe that most current marijuana businesses give off. Our two branding rules right now are: 1. No green 2. No puns

> rules right now are: 1. No green What's your long term plan if you don't want to make any money?

I think he means no green in the color scheme.
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