I've actually used Grabr as a traveler making deliveries. It's international rather than local, so I was bringing items from the US to shoppers in Thailand. Worked out great.
Hey, Magic_beans! Great question. Startups like Magic and Postmates typically address last-mile and solve for sourcing requests locally. Magic does a little more heavy lifting by tackling other requests similar to postmates, thumbtack, fancy etc. Grabr is different because we're more like postmates with a guest/host relationship like Airbnb. We solve for purchasing items globally/abroad that are not readily available to you in your area. While this really isn't a problem for the U.S., most of the world does not have access to the assortment of goods we have or even the basic level human needs like baby-formula, advil, vitamins, etc. Grabr helps facilitate purchases like this by connecting travelers from that country/city with shoppers in the city they are visiting. The more appealing piece to the U.S we're finding is the travel aspect. The new ability to travel more and see the world more often the way Europe has access to travel. Travelers in the U.S. help meet this demand by bringing items (items they've purchased themselves) with them on their travels and earn money to subsidize some if not all of their trip.
So think of it this way. Grabr is the first peer-to-peer service that utilizes travel to bridge the gap in the global shopping market. Shoppers now have access to goods that are widely unavailable or expensive in their country.
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Travelers are able to use the extra room in their suitcase to earn money while making amazing new connections in our international Grabr community.
It seems to me that the viability of this likely depends very heavily on people evading visa rules and/or customs duties.
Even if a good is legal in the country to which it is imported, its often not legal for someone without a particular license to bring it in except for personal use (that will return out of the country with them) or as a gift with restrictions on who the gift is for, etc.; it seems like this is an unlicensed commercial import/export arrangement -- or, put more directly, a smuggling arrangement (and, unless I'm mistaken, not the first of its kind that has been discussed on HN -- or maybe its the same one that has been discussed previously.)
Hey,Dragonwriter! Thank you for asking! Grabr works within the legal framework of each country to make sure all the goods are allowed to be brought in with the traveler. We also encourage all travelers to declare and work with customs for each country. Each country has their own criteria on what is to be declared, dutiable and what their declaration process looks like. We do all of this to avoid conflict with import/export arrangement. Also you bring up a great point around gifts and other various ways people are legally allowed to bring in goods into a country. We have done a lot of work so far to position grabr as a platform more aligned with Airbnb's host/guest relationship versus a courier delivering goods model like postmates. So in this context, you may actually make some friends along the way too. Hope this helps!
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[ 4.9 ms ] story [ 24.5 ms ] threadSo think of it this way. Grabr is the first peer-to-peer service that utilizes travel to bridge the gap in the global shopping market. Shoppers now have access to goods that are widely unavailable or expensive in their country. ———— Travelers are able to use the extra room in their suitcase to earn money while making amazing new connections in our international Grabr community.
Hope that helps!
Even if a good is legal in the country to which it is imported, its often not legal for someone without a particular license to bring it in except for personal use (that will return out of the country with them) or as a gift with restrictions on who the gift is for, etc.; it seems like this is an unlicensed commercial import/export arrangement -- or, put more directly, a smuggling arrangement (and, unless I'm mistaken, not the first of its kind that has been discussed on HN -- or maybe its the same one that has been discussed previously.)