wepostnotes.com is a service that hand writes your 10 word note and posts it anywhere in the world (via snail or air mail) for AU$3.50 - Give it a go today :)
Each note normally cost’s AU$4.50 to send but until October 31 notes are on special for AU$3.50. Enter your 10 word note and address of recipient in the Note field
Because you save the large stalking and harassment inspired compensation claims and restraining orders that would normally follow when they match your handwriting.
I wouldn't say it is spam but it is quite useless for most of us. I'm sure there maybe some people who would love the novelty but as a typical OzBargainer, I wouldn't spend my money on this kind of service.
how is this spam, I have a special price and I have listed my affiliation with the site as per rules
Just when I thought I've heard it all….
Your website reads worse than a Nigerian spam email.
Given what you are trying to sell I think a bit more effort is required before you will see anyone hand over $3.50.
thanks guy's ;)
So how is this useful? Eg. I send a note to a penguin in Antarctica, will it be delivered? How will the penguin know what I meant? Etc etc
Hey BlueWheezy, just interested in why someone would want this service? I mean, if you were selling flowers or chocolates or something too I could understand but why couldn't I just write the note myself and send it? Genuine question, interested in the answer
I think its so you can send creepy notes to people without the risk of leaving your fingerprints or DNA.
its a "thing" these days
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/19/this-guy-makes-10000-a-month-…
granted a potato is much more interesting then just a plain ol post it note
also ….. doing it yourself is just too hard for some
Let's see if the story's maths adds up…
he 'makes' $10000/month selling an average of 750 potatoes/month at $9.95 each (less costs). You can buy extras like a sack for your potato :-)
Each potato (about 250g) needs to be mailed (probably the major cost), the potato & envelope bought, and there's the capital, printing & other production costs, & labour unless he prints those 25 potatoes per day himself. Add to that website & PayPal etc fees.
It's BS. The business can't even have a $10000/month turnover, let alone that much profit - even if postage, labour, & potatoes were free.
Anyone want to buy shares in it?
most of the time these new stories don't talk in net so its safe to assume they are talking about gross
also prices are excluding shipping
of which he probably skims some of that off the top as well
$40000 gross in 4 months with 3000 potatoes earning on average 13.33 per potato
breaking it down
postage isn't included
labour is himself
printing only on certain ones, the ones that have it would have it ingrained into the price…the standard one is just using a black marker
Sharpie…10 bucks for box of 12.,….rate of consumption..unknown. lets say you can do 100 potato per marker? so 30 markers..
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/203349/Sharpie-Permane…
36 sharpies = 30 bucks..30/3000 = 0.01c per potato
envelopes..must be buying in bulk so i can assume the price of those would around 20cents
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/330808/Office-Depot-Br…
potatoes…they look like russets, so ill go with that
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/fresh-russet-potatoes/475…
3.50 for 7kg…approx 250g a potato = 28
3.50/28 = 0.125c
per potato = 0.20 +0.125+0.01 = 0.335 c per potato (standard one)
3000*0.335=1005 expenses in 4 months
expenses for month = 251.25
even net price
sounds plausible =)
@humdingaling:
You went to more trouble than I did :-) (I did weigh a potato similar to 1 in photo.) Yes, postage is an extra cost - missed that.
But unavoidable expenses you left out are PayPal, internet & website fees. In Australia PayPal charges around 59c on $10. And there are so many more expenses operating an online business.
Reporting a business 'making' $10000 when it's just turnover (including shipping), is as deceptive as gamblers only telling you about their winnings;-)
On that basis a business could report it is 'making' money always selling products at a loss. That is they are making no money.
It's a BS hyped up story to create clicks & purchases. Does anyone know how many potatoes were actually sold or profit made?
There are various versions of this story, but most state that it's gross amount such as
"Potato Parcel is his start-up business, and Mr Craig claims he is clearing $US10,000 ($A13,640) a month." http://mobile.news.com.au/finance/small-business/cheese-post…
@Infidel:
Other sites report the story as pure profit…
"Craig says he’s sold over 2,000 potatoes, and he’s clearing $10,000 a month in profit since he launched the site in May."
http://www.brobible.com/life/article/potato-parcel-delivery-…
@Infidel:
i didnt go to the trouble of weighing things =)
just taking rough assumptions
i overstated envelopes, i can be sure he is buying in bulk
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/794608/Quality-Park-Ca…
39.49 for 500 = 0.078c so round to 0.08c per envelope
0.08(envelope)+0.125(potato)+0.01(Sharpie)
makes 0.215c per potato
3000 in 4 months =3000*0.215 = 645
to get month
645/4 = 161.25 COGS per month
ok fixed expenses
web hosting…$25/month
his using weebly..his probably using the business one now
http://www.weebly.com/pricing#plans/type/business
yes paypal is a great expense (i dont know the US rate so ill take your AUS one)
to work that out you would need the gross value
lets go with 11k gross. 11000/10 = 1100 x 0.59 = 649 a month paypal fees
i mean you can gross 12k which is a higher paypal fee but a greater gap of gross to net
649+25+161.25= 835.25
so other things to include
breakage
random fees
random expenses
internet his probably using his own…as an app developer he probably has a decent connection already
electricity his probably bundled in…he is using his own place anyway
thats a floating ~165 spare a month before the magical 1k mark
but for arguments lets round that up to 1k a month = that leaves net 10k/month
They're here!
http://au.potatoparcel.com
1 x Medium Potato A$7.99 (100 characters)
Shipping A$7.45
Total A$15.44
"It was so romantic, he sent me a handwritten note"… "Oh no, it wasn't HIS handwriting"
I think there is another company that lets you post 11 (or more) words.
Hang on…let me think of the name……oh yeah….Australia Post.
The have these red boxes on the street….you put your post in there…with some kind of sticker on it and they take it to the place written on the front for you.
wow thanks for all the words of encouragement :)
Would you rather a lot of yes-men to blindly tell you it's a great idea so you keep wasting your time on it?
I think you've targeted the wrong demographic here. On a bargain site a post-it note for 3.50 doesn't really fit the market. (and you're actually not being down-voted for your attempt yet, so there's that)
It's a harsh environment here.
The main thing is you thought of it and gave it a go. Maybe it will work and be the next Uber or it might die.
I would try and refine the idea….maybe a 'quick thank you' type site where you send off a short note and a little inexpensive gift.
This area is well covered already with flowers, chocolates etc…but maybe find a niche.
Anyway…battle on, you might lose a few and still win the war.
You should get into the surrogate letter writing business instead: http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2014/01/20/her-an…
The only reason I can think of to get you to do this is if I want to send something to someone that can't be traced back to me. Given that kind of content is, let's face it probably going to either be illegal itself or be associated with something illegal what is your policy regarding disclosure with law enforcement? Do you keep records, and are you a snitch?
Useful for untraceable ransom demands, if they accept bitcoin.
Yeah. I only see this useful for death threats and ransom demands.
Yeah, how much for a note written in blood OP?
LOL…
Send "Will you be my friend?" to PM Turnbull from Tony Abbott
Good on you for having a crack OP, plenty of sillier ideas have made lots of money.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/19/this-guy-makes-10000-a-month-…
OMG….it better be written on 1st Apr…. :)
Australia Post: $2.75 Air Mail to most international destinations. Letter weight: Up to 50g.
http://auspost.com.au/apps/postage-calculator.html
I guess some people are so engulfed in technology they don't have a pen or time to write 10 words.
Look on the bright side. You will save on petrol costs.
I don't really understand your service. Could you give some examples of where this would be preferable to just sending a letter (which has the extra benefit of being able to use more than 10 words)?
I appreciate you trying to create something new, but I think you need to tweak it a bit to at least fill some function, even if just for a niche market.
Edit: lots of silly ideas has made money, like the potato mail above, which has the absurd and randomness factor going for it. And the glitter mail is another fun example. I just don't see your angle is what I'm trying to say. And you might want to fix up your writing. The spacing and lack of capital letters etc makes it very hard to read and looks unprofessional. I'm on Android phone in case it views differently on other devices.
You guys are missing the potential comedic value of anonymous notes
"I gave you herpes"
"The child is mine"
"I watch you sleep"
etc
Or you could do it yourself cheaper…
Ten words, eh? Hmm…
For your paranoid mates: "They know. Do nothing, act normally. Wait for further instructions."
Or there's the old "I buried it in the back paddock, just under the"
And a series of spy-style cryptic messages can always be fun, such as "The Eagle found his Nest but the Egg is missing."
Can you choose which country the notes are posted from because that would be awesome. :-)
Must be in English ?
do you post to north korea?
Thanks everyone for all the comments, some very positive idea's here ;)
I guess I will go back to the drawing board and have another crack
good on u mate for carrying through ur idea, keep going! u will get it one day :)
FWIW, I reckon it's not a bad idea
Personally, I wouldn't pay for a note sent from Australia as I can send that myself, but I might not be your target market for this.
One posted from another country though… hell yeah. And if you could send hand-written postcards actually sent from foreign parts, better still. Opens up a whole range of possibilities. :-)
Only my 2c. Best of luck with it. :D
send hand-written postcards actually sent from foreign parts
Now that's a good idea.
Get a load of this guy - he wants to charge $3.50 to send a hand written note, yet doesn't bother to use correct punctuation (refer to the OP and subsequent comments "guy's"). It doesn't exactly inspire confidence…
I think it's cute.
Or creepy.
Could you send an email on my behalf instead of traditional mail, so it gets there quicker and they could print it out.
Don't think we are the target market for this but hey you may have reached someone who may be interested. Good luck op
"I reserve all rights when deciding what to post"
So I may or may not end up sending what I initially wanted to send?
"I know what you did last summer".
Are errant apostrophes included free, such as "cost's" in the description of the offer? ;)
I'll do it for $3
Private selling not allowed in comments ;)
howmanywordsisthis?
Can my note say "This is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard" ?
Thanks for all the positive and negative feedback, guess I have to come up with another idea
Spam, Not sure how this is a "Deal"