i’ve built a few web apps. the closest to a “vending machine” is https://Transcript.New – dead simple, transactional, zero outages in 14 months, and almost no support emails (maybe 2 in the past year).
A vending machine, on the internet
81–90 of 92 posts
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#82> ...if it needs to remember you, it should do so with tokens and one-time links, not user accounts or forgotten-password flows...
Not for me, thanks. I've skipped submitting job apps because of the Oracle HRM platform and having to visit my email an enter a six-digit code EACH time I wanted to submit an app, which required re-uploading a resume and re-correcting any parsing errors.
I will 100% skip your website if you rely upon cookies/OTP and don't let users create accounts (if they need one).
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#83> The machine was jammed. It wasn’t a big deal. I shrugged and moved on to buy my groceries. I resonate with the sentiment, but this is very far from my experience selling cheap software products. I had multiple people reach out to me because a software upgrade they paid $2 for 8 years ago stopped working. And they were, like, pissed about it.
I run a free website with a monthly active user count in the 100k range. When something breaks - even if it's a really niche feature or a compatibility issue with an outdated browser - I get an army of furious users contacting me however they can. I can't imagine what would happen to me if the site completely broke or went down for more than a few hours.
Charge for support emails. $1 (or whatever) to fill out a form and have a support email delivered to you. All other support emails (presumably to old addresses) will be ignored.
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
ha, onionman here : ) I also wrote an essay similar to this vending machine analogy... simple minds think alike I guess https://www.deepsouthventures.com/building-things-that-do-ju...
I love your website, and thank you for your writeups. I was sad to see that many of the domains in your "getting started" page are not up and running. www.kobebeef.com being dead hit me hard :'( I feel oddly inspired, and my wife will probably be sending you hate mail in the near future :p
thank you Y.. I was just a spectator on the KobeBeef.com auction (never owned it)... it was simply a name that popped up once I began paying attention. But agree, a very neat one that was tempting. Not sure who owns it now.
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#85Rock on man. The contrarian attitude reminds me of the “I Sell Onions on the Internet” guy https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-inter...
Thanks for the link, I loved reading it. When you spend all day building software with sometimes unclear and questionable purpose, the straightforward approach of "just" selling a produce when in season seems deeply appealing. Greener grass, I suppose.
I find it very relaxing to leave the computer behind and hang out all day in the Vidalia fields. We even started our own YouTube channel to film each years crop (ha) https://www.youtube.com/@vidaliaonion
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#86Rock on man. The contrarian attitude reminds me of the “I Sell Onions on the Internet” guy https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-inter...
> They’re classified as a sweet onion, and because of their mild flavor (they don’t make your eyes tear up) The WHAT. Did I seriously go my entire life without knowing there's a better type of onion?!
yes! most of my customers eat Vidalias like an Apple. But they still have a touch of zing, but the fumes have never hit me before. They're very versatile to cook with. Just ensure you're buying authentic vidalias, cause nefarious sellers try to pawn regular yellow onions off as Vidalia (it's illegal and there are fines for those who are caught doing it)
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems the App Store link isn’t working for me (in Spain). Would love to give it a try!
Mm, please see previous comments on dealing with the respective app stores. In this case Apple have de-listed me from the various EU app stores while they verify my 'trader information' - the requirement to publish my name and home address on the app store, next to my app.
Just rent one of the business address, either mailboxes or virtual office one.
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#88OP is in for a nasty surprise when they discover that the customers who complain the loudest are those that pay the least, and that it is difficult to turn a profit on a low-priced service due to the cost of acquiring customers. Edit: And credit card fraud. A $5 price combined with a Stripe payment process is very attractive to people who want to test stolen credit card numbers.
What's the solution for bad actors using your product to test stolen credit cards?
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#89OP is in for a nasty surprise when they discover that the customers who complain the loudest are those that pay the least, and that it is difficult to turn a profit on a low-priced service due to the cost of acquiring customers. Edit: And credit card fraud. A $5 price combined with a Stripe payment process is very attractive to people who want to test stolen credit card numbers.
What's the solution for bad actors using your product to test stolen credit cards?
Why should you even care? You're not responsible for those cards.
Re: A vending machine, on the internet
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the solution for bad actors using your product to test stolen credit cards?
Why should you even care? You're not responsible for those cards.
When stripe charged you $10 for a chargeback on those transactions, unless stripe has changed its policy recently