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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

#81

Post by mietek »

sdfjkl wrote: post #49

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…

This is so true. I can't believe how bad the online auction space is right now, and it's been like that for years!

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

#83

Post by MichaelApproved »

georgemcbay wrote: post #52
downandout wrote: post #46

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 misrep…

"The problem they are trying to solve is real." It is absolutely real for me. I've got like two closets full of older but perfectly fine stuff (like the laptop I replaced with the laptop I bought this year) that I would feel bad throwing away but I don't want to bother selling through normal means (and none of my immediate friends is interested in having). I would absolutely use this service to get rid of the stuff e…

Please find a charity you want to support and donate the laptop and other items in your closet. You'll get a tax write off which will give you the marginal return. You'll get two closets back. You'll support a cause you like. If it's a small charity, you could make a major impact. Do it before things depreciate more.

The non-profit will be very thankful and you won't have to keep wondering what to do with those closets.

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

#84

Post by kevingibbon »

Domenic_S wrote: post #71
kevingibbon wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

You can leave the package on your porch, and they pickup sometime that mail day, same effect as taking it to the post office. Takes about 4 clicks to request the pickup. It's a pain if you don't have boxes and tape and whatever, that's true -- looks like your service handles that for you which is pretty sweet.

Thanks! Agreed about the porch but that only works for items of small value.

Another huge thing people don't realize is box size. In most cases you can save up to 50% off the shipping price if you can fit your item in the tightest box possible. There are only a few sizes USPS provides for free using priority mail.

We have about 20 different box sizes to take advantage of this.

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

#85

Post by earh »

jlgreco wrote: post #24

Irrelevant nitpick, but including punctuation in their trademark makes their marketing materials pretty hard to read: "Not only are Sold. boxes free, but they come pre-paid, pre-labeled, pre-insured, tracked, and filled with bubble wrap" Reading this stuff requires two passes for me. Anyway, neat company. Unfortunately I don't think I have anything they would be willing to sell. This is something I would be intereste…

Yahoo! had similar problems

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

#86

Post by [deleted] »

jlgreco wrote: post #24

Irrelevant nitpick, but including punctuation in their trademark makes their marketing materials pretty hard to read: "Not only are Sold. boxes free, but they come pre-paid, pre-labeled, pre-insured, tracked, and filled with bubble wrap" Reading this stuff requires two passes for me. Anyway, neat company. Unfortunately I don't think I have anything they would be willing to sell. This is something I would be intereste…

[deleted]

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

#87

Post by earh »

eru wrote: post #69
jroseattle wrote: post #56

Interesting concept, but I question how defensible this service would be. It seems both Amazon and Ebay could simply offer this as an add-on service, and really...who is going to be better positioned to develop recommendation algorithms for marketing products?

Customer service will make a huge difference. So that could be their moat.

Maybe when the founders are unemployed and give love to each transaction. After they grow, that's like saying "charging below cost is their moat". Amazon and eBay to CS cheaper per transaction than a small startup.

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

#88

Post by Duhck »

MichaelApproved wrote: post #83
georgemcbay wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The problem they are trying to solve is real." It is absolutely real for me. I've got like two closets full of older but perfectly fine stuff (like the laptop I replaced with the laptop I bought this year) that I would feel bad throwing away but I don't want to bother selling through normal means (and none of my immediate friends is interested in having). I would absolutely use this service to get rid of the stuff e…

Please find a charity you want to support and donate the laptop and other items in your closet. You'll get a tax write off which will give you the marginal return. You'll get two closets back. You'll support a cause you like. If it's a small charity, you could make a major impact. Do it before things depreciate more. The non-profit will be very thankful and you won't have to keep wondering what to do with those close…

But whats the point of having 2 closets if I cant fill it with all my crap!?

Seriously, this is totally a real problem and perhaps if they had an option to donate proceeds to charity people would tick that checkbox..

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

#89

Post by jroseattle »

eru wrote: post #69
jroseattle wrote: post #56

Interesting concept, but I question how defensible this service would be. It seems both Amazon and Ebay could simply offer this as an add-on service, and really...who is going to be better positioned to develop recommendation algorithms for marketing products?

Customer service will make a huge difference. So that could be their moat.

I'm not sure I would expect customer service to be the difference maker in terms of separation from the competition. With Amazon, you're talking about existing world-class customer service. And doing customer service well at scale is a capital-intensive business.

The separation from competition that I would see as valuable are the two other aspects of the service: algorithmic sales and logistical support.

Great ideas from these guys, but in terms of the resources to work with, all things considered I'd rather be in the position of the incumbents than the scrappy startup.

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