BufferBox now available in San Francisco | Hacker News Reader

BufferBox now available in San Francisco

googlecommerce.blogspot.com

38 pointsmmccauley11 comments

Hmm... You know, they could pre-deliver popular items to local BufferBoxes. And then, as they've got those items already in the space, they could let people look at them to help them decide if they want to buy them right there.

Except shipping packaging (even when pared down by Amazon) is rarely designed to show off the object in question and such boxes (unless specifically designed for certain objects) would have quite a bit of wasted space in the storage units.

Further, you're basically operating a vending machine at that point, but with limited inventory, space losses, undesirable packaging and an undesirable location. (low foot traffic)

The obvious improvement is to just make a proper "redbox for things" vending machine, designed around a few optimized packaging dimensions and start leasing more-visible/accessible spaces to host it.

But what is that, if not just a (small) robotic convenience store? If you could pull off such a machine, why not just build a larger version and outright compete with 7-11?

The robotic 7-11 was how Redbox got started, if you recall:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/525037492/Redbox-kiosks-c...

"They also said that while the DVD rentals also did a brisk business, it was rare to see anyone buying the other items"

At least they pivoted successfully!

Interesting; I didn't know that. (Or knew and forgot)

I guess that calls for a re-examination of what Amazon/Google's most frequently ordered items even look like and whether there's much/any cross-over between that and what people walk into a 7-11 to buy.

Though the picture immediately suggests that such a kiosk would have to support asynchronous browsing and order compilation. So that one is not stuck behind a person trying to choose between two candy bars and then 3 bags of snack mix and then... Luckily in 2013, most everyone has a reasonably powerful and competent mobile device in their pocket.

A couple Swedish online computer retailers now have storefronts in the countries largest cities where you can opt to pick up your orders to avoid paying the shipping fee (the storefronts have nothing to browse, just a window to pick up/pay for orders), and they do this with the most common stock.

Similar service in Europe: SmartPost (Estonia & Finland) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SmartPost

This is a good idea if they have a ton of locations. I could also see a product potential for home models, if that isn't a thing already.

The one aspect that I'm a not a huge fan of is that this ads a whole new layer on top of the delivery process.

It tends to add another week of package receipt delay in my experience. Maybe the location I use is just crowded.

This is how the standard postal service works in Sweden (except you pick up the package from an employee who checks ID instead of an unmanned box), and why I always avoid sites that ship via FedEx/DHL/UPS. It just makes so much more sense.

Neat. I'd seen the one lurking in the back of Coffee Bar for a few months now, and was wondering what it was about.

Interesting that Google has chosen not to brand the boxes, though -- they look just like they did in YC!

I have a DHL Post box around the corner, it transformed online retail for me. I buy now almost everything except groceries online.

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