A vending machine, on the internet
threekindwords.com
threekindwords.com
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-inter...
Would it be less contrarian if it was apples?
The WHAT. Did I seriously go my entire life without knowing there's a better type of onion?!
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.
Unfortunately, that is becoming increasingly harder.
https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/manage-co...
Before the inevitable victim blaming of “don’t do business with that platform/jurisdiction/whatever”, please remember to be empathetic and that not everyone has the same choices you do. I’m in no way defending this, just pointing out the state of affairs.
One thing about the vending machine model is that the transaction is done. You don't require any continued interaction from the vendor to enjoy what you bought.
For that reason I made it:
- a native app so it didn't require a server once downloaded
- offline first, using WatermelonDb to sync with a server if available
- all data bundled, so my server doesn't need to exist when downloading
The hardest elements have actually been complying with the various app store requirements. Google Play now requires developers to have 20 users test your app for 14 days. I've been stuck with 4x 14 day cycles for the Catalan version with no specific feedback as to how to satisfy their desire that it has been sufficiently tested.
Interestingly with Google Play, if you want to make an up-front paid app, your testers must pay for the app too. If you make the app free, such that your testers can download it, you can't make it paid again afterwards. You can add in app purchases later, though.
If anyone wants to check it out, it's available for Spanish and Catalan for now: https://learnthewords.app/
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.
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.
"The stakes should be low. Whatever you’re selling, it’s gotta be cheap. And if things go awry? No one’s going to launch a chargeback crusade. Just like a reliable vending machine, if it jams, it’ll return your coins."
Not sure which one of my points you are refuting with that quote.
The stakes don't matter if you're testing credit card number. Just that the service tells you if it works or not. And low amounts are good, since you're not wasting the card's limit.
I was commenting on the reality of his current site. He has a purchase form, where you purchase for $5, connected to Stripe.
In more detail:
A bad actor with a large quantity of stolen credit card info who finds this site (and eventually, someone always does) will use it to test whether each card works. Small-dollar-amount payment forms accessible without going through a sign-up-and-verify process attract these bad actors.
The point I was trying to make is that this won’t be the low-hassle, easy-to-run product that OP wants it to be.
Which sucks. It really does. The bad actors ruin this stuff.
(I write from the experience of running a pay-once B2C desktop app for 10 years and a B2B SaaS for 8 years.)
(Paraphrasing TFA for anyone confused)
But you didn't even lose two quarters. Shrug and move on.
I know someone that has made quite a bit of money, from vending machines, and he’s … um … “connected.” I generally don’t really deal with him too much. We run in different social circles.
Wiseguys like cash-heavy businesses. Maybe if they become cashless systems, that could change. I encounter vending machines that accept Apple Pay, fairly frequently, in more upscale venues.
The costs you mention are essentially fixed costs. The marginal cost of a sale is then zero (ignoring the cost of the item itself).
With Stripe the marginal cost is 21c or 42%. You can increase sales ad infinitum and Stripe will still take 42%...
It's about low friction (you don't have to sign up, sign it and the process of buying is very simple) and selling cheap stuff so the customer is tempted to buy without having safeguards (an account, customer support).
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/csh-coke-machine-info/
https://github.blog/news-insights/the-internet-coke-machine-...
Looks like it got the Rust treatment a few years ago: https://github.com/ComputerScienceHouse/bubbler
Generally speaking, kagi is not an internet vending machine. You have an account, you get billed monthly or whatever. Very much a normal SaaS in that regard. But the privacy system they've come up with fits quite well with the internet vending machine idea. You put a token in, you get a search result out.
I think it's got a lot of upside if you're trying to get paid to make software that isn't trying to manipulate its users. I hope to do something similar one day.
1. You look at a preview, buy it, get a PDF emailed to you. No account needed.
2. You look at a preview, you make an account, you buy, you get told your browser isn’t supported. You get told a PDF costs extra. You get told you can only try to print it once so be careful. You get told you have 24 hours to complete this.
As a developer the second one was incredibly offensive. As if business types who do not comprehend technology beyond smacking rocks together thought they actually could lock down and police consumption of the sheet music. I printed to PDF and then never came back.
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).
Also I’ve seen some people go mad over a vending machine taking their money and not spitting anything out, over the principle of it.
Just depends on the person and how they see vending machines.
How does the postcard logistics work? I.e. is there a platform that offers sub $5 drop shipping with three different templates and on demand print? Or is the author sending the postcards themselves?
Vending machine suggests automation, so the former; but I looked at some drop shipping options and couldn’t find anything like this.
The platform for printing postcards looks cool but I’m from the EU and it sadly doesn’t work for EU addresses. I’ll search again I guess, maybe there’s something similar here too.
https://nakamotoinstitute.org/library/the-idea-of-smart-cont...
[0]: https://csh.rit.edu/about/projects.html
Full disclosure: I was involved in a hardware overhaul on all those machines, about 15-20 years ago.
vending machine noun : a coin-operated machine for selling merchandise
Coin is currency. This website sells merchandise. If they wanna call it a vending machine, then why not?
Either way, silly hill to die on. The post does explore our understanding of a vending no machine and maybe how we may approach online versions.
> There’s no customer support, chatbot, or extensive documentation.
I've seen many vending machines with customer support channels. If the machine takes the money but merchandise is not delivered, people will complain.
After enough complaints they might remove the machine from their property or compel the owner of the vending machine to maintain it, but the fact that some amount of fraud happens via vending machines isn't an ideal that we should try to replicate on the internet, especially not because it's easier for the people who make webpages.
"I didn't know I was ripping people off because I decided it would be easier if I never checked and also decided not to give any of the people I stole from a channel to tell me about it." won't hold up very well.
I also got some bad vibes from :
> The stakes should be low. Whatever you’re selling, it’s gotta be cheap. And if things go awry? No one’s going to launch a chargeback crusade
"I hoped that because I was taking such a small amount of money that nobody would bother to do anything about it" isn't a good look either.
The most pessimistic reading of this post is "why shouldn't I provide a service as shitty and fraudulent as lazy vending machine owners do only on a far more massive scale"
That said, I really do agree that people can over complicate things and there's a lot to be gained by not allowing account creation, not asking for more data than you absolutely need, and not keeping data around any longer than absolutely necessary. Just please don't think you can get away with not providing any customer service or not keeping an eye on things to make sure customers are getting what they pay for.