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Google acquires BufferBox (YC S12)

business.financialpost.com

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Re: Google acquires BufferBox (YC S12)

#161

Post by huggah »

eik3_de wrote: post #54
revelation wrote: post #9

This is a german Packstation: http://images.computerwoche.de/images/computerwoche/bdb/1841... Welcome to the future, America. I'd be happy to see what a startup under Google can do, but the competition isn't exactly asleep.

How does the security of BufferBox/Amazon Locker compare to Packstation? To get your packet out of a Packstation, you need both the (magnetic strip) card that they send you on signup and a one-time PIN they send via SMS (not email). This might not sound "easy", but there has been a lot of abuse in the past years so that DHL was forced to step up security. How do the US systems compare? Have there been reports on abus…

I'm surprised no one has tried NFC for security.

Re: Google acquires BufferBox (YC S12)

#162

Post by uptown »

huggah wrote: post #160
uptown wrote: post #156

Here's my guess - Google will offer a service where you can have some or all of your mail forwarded to a BufferBox. That mail will be scanned by Google - applying the technology they honed from scanning books, and possibly also the technology they purchased with re-captcha. So now you've got mail in digital form, which they'll make available to you online for review - with the option to have things you want handled i…

Besides the legal and regulatory hurdles Google would have to overcome to make this work, I don't think Google wants to be in the business of making an industry more efficient when that industry doesn't need to exist in the future at all. That is to say, why scan mail when you can just convince people to use email? Packages, on the other hand, will still need to be delivered for the foreseeable future.

Mail will certainly decrease, but I don't think its ever going away. And there's already companies that provide a similar service. Anyway, maybe I'm wrong - but it'll be interesting to see what they do with their acquisition.

Re: Google acquires BufferBox (YC S12)

#163

Post by rapind »

RockyMcNuts wrote: post #159
rapind wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Different values? Maybe they're happy with what they've got and don't need to risk it all for a very small improvement in their already fantastic lifestyle? I'm not criticizing founders who decide to go for it all, but I definitely wouldn't look down on a small but successful business like their clueless. I personally find the profitable and sustainable business model way more attractive than the grow for the sake of…

Sometimes the only defensible market position is #1. it's a natural winner-take-all market with strong network effects. You could end up #1 in Germany against a #2 who is #1 in the rest of the EU - when by moving faster you could have been #1 in the entire EU.

Sure, this makes sense some times. Other times it may turn a profitable business into a spectacular and over-hyped failure.

Re: Google acquires BufferBox (YC S12)

#164

Post by snogglethorpe »

replax wrote: post #59
revelation wrote: post #9

This is a german Packstation: http://images.computerwoche.de/images/computerwoche/bdb/1841... Welcome to the future, America. I'd be happy to see what a startup under Google can do, but the competition isn't exactly asleep.

in japan, it is even more prevalent to some extend than in germany. e.g., amazon will ship to any convenience store for you to pick your parcel up. raktuen etc. as well! and there are way, way more convenience stores in japan than anything else (apart from vendin machines :))!

...and it seems an amazingly efficient service: no real infrastructure required (packages are on a shelf behind the counter), last-mile shipping done on the same trucks that restock the stores, uses the existing store computer systems, etc.

The "locker model" might be better for high-value goods and an untrustworthy workforce, but it seems to require a pretty huge investment to get any significant coverage...

Re: Google acquires BufferBox (YC S12)

#165

Post by aneth4 »

jarek wrote: post #123
aneth4 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most apartments do not have someone to sign for packages and missed deliveries are a pain. It's definitely worth paying $3 to avoid them m

Or just get things delivered by a sane service that stores your packages at a neighbourhood postal office rather than a warehouse in a distant suburb :)

That limits you to the United States Postal Service, since USPS does not accept packages from other carriers.

Re: Google acquires BufferBox (YC S12)

#166

Post by relix »

Nitramp wrote: post #151
relix wrote: post #58

Slightly offtopic tangent: So by now we're all aware that these are already ubiquitous in Europe. The question I have is why it took so long to reach the US? Why didn't the main shipping companies there like FedEx and UPS step up and use their existing infrastructure to build something like this, much more easily than a startup could do.

These services are in part an answer to relatively high labour cost for low/semi-skilled work, in particular outside normal working hours. That is, in European countries with strong labour laws and unions, it's relatively expensive to pay people to deliver packages when most people are at home (early evening hours). The obvious answer is something like the Packstation, replacing labour cost with machines. The US has…

Very good points. Thanks for the insights!

Re: Google acquires BufferBox (YC S12)

#167

Post by jarek »

aneth4 wrote: post #165
jarek wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or just get things delivered by a sane service that stores your packages at a neighbourhood postal office rather than a warehouse in a distant suburb :)

That limits you to the United States Postal Service, since USPS does not accept packages from other carriers.

Is USPS not a sane service? Sorry to hear.
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