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Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

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Re: Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

#41

Post by callmeed »

Video is great. App/service looks solid. But marketplaces are so tough that I feel you almost HAVE TO START IN A NICHE and take the bowling pin strategy [1].

Look at Yardsale–they're a YC company and doing essentiall the same as Sold. I haven't seen much press about growth or follow-on funding.

Poshmark, on the other hand, is niche-focused (women's fashion) and seems to be growing well. Raised $15.5M. [2]

[1] http://cdixon.org/2010/08/21/the-bowling-pin-strategy/

[2] http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/04/poshmark-nabs-12m-series-b-...

Re: Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

#42

Post by sharkweek »

thoughtcriminal wrote: post #38

I like the idea, I just can't picture someone like my Aunt Jeanne using the service.

I imagine my dad, a man so engrained in the craigslist marketplace, would really struggle with any sort of technological advancement in this system. He likes the "old-fashioned" way of posting the item himself at a price he wants to sell for then having someone come by to check it out.

Anything else is going to be too complicated for him.

Re: Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

#43

Post by tenpoundhammer »

I think the main problem most people(not people on hacker news) have is that they value their crap higher than anyone else values it. When they add in the actual cost of their time the end result is that most people would rather keep the item or give it to charity.

Re: Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

#46

Post by downandout »

The problem they are trying to solve is real. Many people don't know or want to know how to market things they don't want anymore. They just want to sell them. This is the same reason that Google now offers assistance with Adwords campaigns - many businesses don't want to have to become Internet marketing experts, but need customers.

I think that without a local presence where items are screened, fraud/product misrepresentation/stolen items will be a significant issue - perhaps enough to sink them. They are essentially saying "hey, use our eBay account to sell stuff and we'll send you money". They have serious logistical issues to deal with, but I wish them luck because they are solving a real problem with potentially massive rewards if they can get it right.

Re: Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

#47

Post by skybrian »

jarrett wrote: post #12
axxl wrote: post #6

Interesting idea, however I just don't think the issue with selling most items is the box. The post office has plenty of free boxes you can take, and if it's a bit too big you can usually pad it with newspaper. They specifically say they're only supporting small objects so that ruins any argument about something big. When the author says "As someone who hardly ever sells anything online in part because I never have t…

For me, the biggest hurdle to selling my personal items online is flaky and/or malicious buyers. On Craigslist, buyers tend to be extremely flaky. Every time I've sold something there, I've wasted substantial time with people who arrange meeting times and don't show up. This happens many times per item. It's also overrun with scammers, although those are easy to spot if you know the signs. (Bad grammar, being unreali…

Perhaps for small-ticket items, the rule should be that if there's any dispute, the money goes to a charity that was agreed on before the transaction. :-)

Re: Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

#48

Post by kevingibbon »

Domenic_S wrote: post #40
kriro wrote: post #34

Seems legit to me. I feel quite a bit of pain that can be solved. I usually just don't sell stuff because it's quite the hassle to go out, get a box, ship the stuff at the post office etc. If they can just solve that for some fee I'd be pretty happy already. Buyout from Ebay/Amazon is likely if this works. Basically I'd like my workflow to be: Put stuff on Amazon/Ebay...when it's bought the postman will come the next…

Hmm, that's the workflow already. If you're shipping at least one Priority package, the postman will pick up your packages for free. They'll deliver boxes to your door for free, too.

USPS only pickup somewhere between 10-2 M-S and its still a pain unless you do it a ton.

Don't mean to take anything away from sold (amazing product) but we are starting a company that takes care of the shipping, for anything. Check it out if interested http://shyp.co

Re: Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

#49

Post by sdfjkl »

I'd use that in a heartbeat. Here in the UK, there's only eBay and Gumtree where you can realistically sell used stuff and both are a total pain in the ass. eBay doesn't really want private sellers and lets you feel it, plus it forces you to use PayPal, which won't let you have your money for 21 days after you sold something. Gumtree is full of scammers and bullshitters and few buyers.

Please bring this to Europe, we need it too.

Re: Why 3 MIT Grads Want to Send You an Empty Box

#50

Post by orangethirty »

This is really interesting. I wonder how they will handle customer service, returns, etc. But its nice to see them try something new. Marketing/sales are quite challenging. Many great products have fled due to nor being marketed appropriately. Anyone interested in marketing as a service (Api based)?
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