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Interesting enough concept, the question is how it scales up if a drop-off location gets busy what do I do if the slots are already full? The other point is there is a lot of competition in this space starting with this post http://jonathanwichmann.com/my-l... but also the potential rise of Uber being the complete pickup and delivery option makes things more interesting.
Also I admit Alice is a much better packer than me... :)
@davidiwanow Definitely quite a lot of factors and challenges at play in last mile delivery; you're very correct. We're still in the infancy of a tech face-lift in this space. However, we have solved most of the moving pieces already. We are also more and more accurately able to predict when a given Swapbox will be full far enough in advance so that we can actually either expand the size of the Swapbox in the field (if the real estate permits) or install another one nearby. We also always provide a convenient solution for receiving your item for particularly anomalous volumes.
Even with the changing number of options out there, the last mile delivery issue is growing and we believe that Swapbox provides a scalable solution that not only we can use but can also be used to make the Uber delivery solution, or the eBay one, or even the Amazon one more effective.
@neelmurthy@davidiwanow I think this has potential if you're able to fix the broken USPS system. They have what's called "General Delivery" which lets you send mail to just about any Zip Code, and then you can pick it up at the post office that is the hub for that Zip with a photo ID matching the name on the package. This is broken because there is no way to tell which post office location is responsible for receiving/holding the mail for a given zip code, so you have to call them -- and even the CSR who you speak to doesn't always know the right answer (or that the service even exists!). Borked!
So if you could fix that, plus lay out a plan to scale it and offer an international solution, I think you'd have something viable. You could sell the service to the digital nomads of the world to start. Check reddit: /r/digitalnomad Right now their solution is to book a hotel or AirBnB and have the mail sent there. But that requires timing everything just right so you're there when the mail arrives, which isn't always easy once you factor in customs agents in other countries.
Point being: there is certainly a problem here to be fixed! Good luck!
@sixside@davidiwanow Interesting! We'll definitely check out that subreddit. We've seen that use case come up every so often thus far.
Thanks, we'll try our best to fix as much of the problem as we can. I actually think most of the postal ecosystem works pretty well it's just the first and last mile that haven't met the new demands put on the outdated infrastructure. The nice thing is while we scale for last mile, we're building a network of Swapboxes that can already send packages anywhere the postal system will take it (we released international shipping a couple months back).
This is a great idea, the redbox of mail delivery lol. I like how startups are starting to fix the problem of the post office. I wish you guys the best of success and hope to see you one year in Atlanta.
@cmwilson15 Thanks for the vote of confidence. Coincidentally, the former CEO of RedBox is one of our advisors, so maybe there's something to it :)
We'll definitely let you know when we're in ATL, you can request a specific zipcode here: swapbox.com/swapboxes/request
We use that list as one of our top data points for where to expand to next.
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Maker
Hi everyone, we're excited to be on ProductHunt! Neel & I hope Swapbox can help make sure you get your package(s) & save you time at the post office. Also, Swapbox supports international shipping now (simple customs declaration, etc on the kiosk). Let us know what you think!
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Hunter
Swapbox allows customers to send and receive packages without waiting in line at the post office.
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