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Dustin Curtis's new web app

snail.dustincurtis.com

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Re: Dustin Curtis's new web app

#11

Post by bokonist »

dcurtis wrote: post #7
RiderOfGiraffes wrote: post #5

I suppose if the service gets popular you'll have to find some way to make it pay, otherwise it will cost you a fortune in stamps. Any plans? Or is it "Wait and see.." ??

Well, the dollar breaks down like this: * 10c to paypal * 44c to stamp * 40c for envelope and paper I make about 6c on each letter.

Dude, raise your price! The difference between $1 and $2 is immaterial to the buyer (heck, it costs me $1 in lost wages just in the time it takes to fill out the order form). Yet raising the price on your end will result in 1500% increase in bottom line profits. That's a no-brainer. You may even want to go as high as $4.

Re: Dustin Curtis's new web app

#14

Post by gcheong »

dcurtis wrote: post #7
RiderOfGiraffes wrote: post #5

I suppose if the service gets popular you'll have to find some way to make it pay, otherwise it will cost you a fortune in stamps. Any plans? Or is it "Wait and see.." ??

Well, the dollar breaks down like this: * 10c to paypal * 44c to stamp * 40c for envelope and paper I make about 6c on each letter.

How fast can you fold, stuff and seal an envelope?

Re: Dustin Curtis's new web app

#15

Post by bprater »

Build a API dude. This type of service can be useful to some of us who need to send snail mail to customers when they sign-up, cancel, etc. And I agree with everyone else about the prices. Eventually 6c won't cut it and then you'll have to jerk the price up. $1 sounds sexy, but you need to eat.

Re: Dustin Curtis's new web app

#17

Post by jeremymcanally »

dcurtis wrote: post #3
SlyShy wrote: post #2

Interesting. I wonder if dcurtis would mind describing some details of the operation. Is the postage being printed too, or are stamps being affixed some other way? And I guess someone is still delivering the mail to a box or post office--would that get annoying?

I had a beagleboard (beagleboard.org) sitting around in my closet, so I figured I should do something with it. When you create a letter on Snail, the beagleboard pulls from the heroku database, formats the letter, prints it, and then sends me an email saying it's ready to be stuffed into an envelope. (Well... sort of. In a perfect world, that is what would happen. Unfortunately, there are some bugs that I am still tr…

You should invest in a cheap trifold folder and an envelope/postage printer (or envelope tray for your existing, presumably laser, printer). That would cut down your operations time a lot if it gets popular.

Though, I think big, sooo probably not worth the cash.

Re: Dustin Curtis's new web app

#18

Post by dcurtis »

bprater wrote: post #15

Build a API dude. This type of service can be useful to some of us who need to send snail mail to customers when they sign-up, cancel, etc. And I agree with everyone else about the prices. Eventually 6c won't cut it and then you'll have to jerk the price up. $1 sounds sexy, but you need to eat.

Well I just built this for fun, and I will definitely end up in the red overall.

How many people would use a physical mailing service like this, if it had an API and lots of options for paper and envelopes?

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