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Magic

getmagicnow.com

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Re: Magic

#421

Post by icebraining »

everyone wrote: post #353
scrollaway wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All this is well and good, and I agree with it, but it doesn't really have anything to do with this service. > Services like this encourage not knowing where your food, water, clothing etc. is coming from You don't know where those products are coming from. The ingredients in the food you're ordering have been gathered industrially, processed industrially, probably moved between four different countries, ended up at…

Yes, I completely agree. Ordering a take away pizza yourself, buying a frozen one, ordering one at a restaurant, making your own using bought ingredients, they are all steps along that path. My point doesnt really belong here. In my last post I used the word "triggered" because that is what reading about this service did. I was witness to yet another small step being added to that path. At times like this maybe we ca…

Both my grandmothers grew up in a time and place where you had to grow your own food, and one of them still grows her own veggies and raises chickens. Frankly, a system where you're forced to do so, sucks, and they certainly don't miss the long hours, the hunger that comes from the inefficiency of the production, etc.

You say this system is wasteful, but I disagree - probably much less human effort was wasted achieving the basic need of feeding that person than what was needed before - which is well shown by the fact that it cost much less (even with the Magic fee) than it did back then.

I don't agree that merely having more layers makes it necessarily more wasteful - if they're the result of specialization, it isn't.

You have a point about the disconnection and unmindfulness that comes from having these layers, but it reverting to the previous processes is akin to burning your eyes so that you can better understand and empathize with the blind. That would be waste, and I think better ways of maintaining that connection are possible.

Re: Magic

#423

Post by jboggan »

codygman wrote: post #308
jboggan wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you visit this link, they can pay you $5,000: https://magic.bettir.com/?p=-500000

Whoa, seriously? I'm going to guess you're joking since they probably implemented "customer order of amount x".

Edit: they've fixed this now.

I'm not joking, click on it and try to pay. It shows an invoice of ($5,000), a.k.a. $5000 negative dollars. I didn't enter real payment information to see what happens next because of really idiotic interpretations of what constitutes "hacking", but it is a really bad design choice on their part that took me about half a second to find.

Founder, if you're reading this: was this an in-house build or did you outsource this?

Re: Magic

#424

Post by totony »

A joke I always had was that startups always have the "we do it so you don't have to" headline. Applies so perfectly here!

Still, looks like a very nice idea, might try it if I ever need something :)

Re: Magic

#425

Post by throwawaymsft »

CPLX wrote: post #349
exogen wrote: post #137

I just decided to try this out in Seattle. Here's how it went! http://brianbeck.com/images/magic.png (the minimum was from the sushi place, not Magic)

This is horrible compared to my daily experience using Seamless. Why would a person craving sushi want to exchange 8 text messages and then click on a web link and get sushi 2+ hours later?

Because it's seamless when you want takeout. And instacart when you want groceries. And something else when you want office supplies. And a fourth thing to make dinner reservations...

Re: Magic

#426

Post by CPLX »

fastball wrote: post #389
CPLX wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is horrible compared to my daily experience using Seamless. Why would a person craving sushi want to exchange 8 text messages and then click on a web link and get sushi 2+ hours later?

They had to click a web link because it was their first time using the service so they had to add their credit card. How else are they supposed to charge you?

Well right. But my description of the experience still stands. It doesn't seem like an improvement.

Re: Magic

#427

Post by berberous »

MichaelGG wrote: post #417
stutsmansoft wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whoa, I've never used my concierge benefit and didn't even think about it on hard to get items like console launches. How did that go? Do they just find you a scalper and you pay the overcharge, or do they find you one at retail price on launch day?

In general it was fairly reasonable. On the console, they managed to find a store not too far away that had stock and reserved it for me. No fee. Their travel agency also seemed pretty useful. Best concierge thing was going to a packed restaurant, told it'd take a long time without reservations, making a call and turning around to "right this way". No fee from Amex. They really wanna sell the flattery/status idea to…

Curious -- what card do you have and what restaurant was this? I'm wondering how often this works.

Re: Magic

#428

Post by dkfmn »

nezumi wrote: post #315
bgodlove88 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're happy to call ATT on your behalf :) Try us out!

The last time I had a problem with ATT I had to make multiple calls and spent over an hour in total on hold. How would you charge for that? I'd have gladly paid for someone to take that pain away. There's probably a viable business model in there somewhere if someone can independently put a competent customer service layer in front of companies like ATT.

There's a service that will negotiate with them to reduce your bill. I remember reading about them last year, it's some Berkeley MBA who likes to practice negotiation, he might handle this too:

https://www.cabletipster.com/

Re: Magic

#429

Post by monochromatic »

freehunter wrote: post #217
zaroth wrote: post #85

I love the idea, and the execution, but just one nit -- you say "no hidden fees", but I think bundling the fee into the total price is the definition of a hidden fee . If your examples itemized the fee it would be a different story. Other comments here express a similar anxiety, e.g. how much [extra] am I actually paying for this? Also, I know you're busy, but FYI CA state law requires you have a Privacy Policy. I wo…

Well it's not hidden because they tell you up front, before the order is placed, how much it will cost. If they told you $20 and asked for $25 when they got there, that would be a hidden fee. Like AT&T saying you can get cable for $20/mo, but your cable bill always ends up being $32.88.

The fact that there is a fee is hidden though.

Re: Magic

#430

Post by brianliou91 »

Has our society really come to simply throwing money on paying two separate third parties to order FOOD? I use Magic, to use Postmates, to get Chipotle?! No offense but I feel like this is the most first world solution I've ever encountered. Congrats on the success and traffic though and best of luck on executing.
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