Hey Bemmu! Glad things are going well, man.
I have a suggestion for your time-to-first-product problem. Find a candy that has a long shelf life, and during your normal packing process, pack and set aside shipments to be used as 'Welcome Bags'. Then, all you need to do when a new customer signs up is label and ship them. Even doing this once per week on your non-shipping weeks would significantly improve the average purchase-to-candy delay. Then, to avoid shipping them 3 packs in one month, you can just omit them from the very next ship list. What you're effectively doing is splitting the purchase delay into two chunks instead of one long one. This also means people's experience will improve over the first two months - they'll be getting candy more and more frequently for the first 3 - 4 shipments.
In case where a friend subscribes, the subscriber would know that they missed a shipment though and it would be tricky to justify that to them. I think I need to just eat the cost and convince myself via some kind of analysis that it makes sense to pay.
I didn't mention it in the blog, but giving Dropbox-style incentives to signing up your friends is something I am thinking of, so people being aware of what others are receiving would happen more in the future.
How about just putting a notice that the first package will be sent instantly/soon after subscription and the rest are to follow regular subscription schedule?
That way you only send 2 but you send the first one earlier.
Thanks for the update! I've seen this as a pretty inspirational "lifestyle business," particularly since you seem to be doing well with it despite having to deal with a physical product.
The "welcome envelope" was what immediately came to mind while reading about your initial delivery delay, but you make a good point, that extra cost could definitely cause margin problems. Also, it potentially opens you up to people taking advantage of that up-front freebie by signing up multiple times with different information.
Since it sounds like people are interested in potentially paying more for premium candy, perhaps rather than (or in addition to) multiple subscription levels, you could consider allowing customers to purchase much pricier one-off high-end products. Running those once a week, assuming the volume was fairly low, would only add a couple relatively mild days of work per month, for something with a potentially higher margin.
It helps that I see some romanticism in shipping physical goods. As a kid I saw an ad in a magazine for a book on "how to start your very own far east import business". My parents would not buy it for me and it was probably some sort of scam, but the idea stayed.
Having a shop is definitely something I want to do, but I think I try to bring the subscriber count a bit higher before embarking on it. Other subscription businesses seem to make about 25% of their sales from products that people purchase more of after being introduced to them via the monthly packages.
but your a japanese-wannabe right? let me guess you love Asian women and you currently have a Japanese wife or girlfriend?
You wish you could fully integrate into Japanese society and not be looked upon as a foreigner. But that will never happen because Japan is very xenophobic. I'm going to get downvoted, but for everyone who has lived in Japan and is not Japanese knows what I'm talking about and knows it's true
You got my downvote for posting something that doesn't need to be posted, whether true or not. You obviously knew that since you created an account just for that purpose - so what does it matter? Why bother to begin with?
Very inspiring. Lately, I've found more interest in reading about people building businesses surrounding curated physical goods rather than digital goods or services.
Nice. Maybe you can take your success in candy and branch out to other dry goods?
A surprise box of Japanese stationery might be popular in the US. No hard data here but I've seen a recent trend of Japanese stationery stores open in Japan [0] and vendors opening physical "antenna" shops here in the West Coast of the US. And, crucially, my pre-teen daughter is obsessed with them. Gambatte!
That store (daikanayama) is impressively designed. No wonder it's one of "The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World." . Thanks for linking to it :)
The Tsutaya T-Site store is always packed full of people too. One subtle thing about the architecture is that the white crosshatching on the exterior of the building aren't crosses but are actually hinting at the letter T. It took me a while to notice that detail.
They also have a cool service where you can browse and rent a few CDs from a pretty extensive collection and then drop them in the mail to return them a few days later. It's basically like a half-netflix option!
There is another benefit for your last idea to send a "welcome" envelope.
Shipping delay might vary between countrys, so if you tell your customer that you have send it just after their subscription it might educate them on the normal delay for a package to arrive, a delay which you can't do anyting about.
Then the delay for the nexts packages might seem more "normal".
Not to mention it would reassure customers that it's a legitimate website who intends to honor it's promise not a shady one that attracted a new victim with a cute idea.
I'm quite certain the customers get nervous the first month when their package doesn't arrive because they start questioning the websites validity not because their in any hurry to get it.
I was one of the subscribers who joined in 2013 and about 5-6 months later unsubscribed.
Honestly I think it's a great service! I joined because after moving to the south from New York City, I didn't have great access to Japanese candy anymore. I got a lot of cool goodies that I wasn't familiar with before. I ended up canceling because of both cost and unreliable shipping (not bemmu's fault). I only ever missed I think one shipment but my local USPS would really badly mangle them and deliver many weeks late.
I think boxes would be a great value and I would seriously reconsider subscribing with those, not just because of less risk of damage but the ability to send crisps. Japanese crisps are of "high value" to me and I was kind of hoping bemmu would start an alternate service just for those. Some of the candies that would ship I'm not too fond of (like the rice cake panda thing that has to be made that was shipped twice) and my favorite candies I can get on Amazon (evaporated milk candies are OMG AMAZING).
Also, a quick welcome package is a great idea. I ended up waiting almost 2 months in the mail for my first shipment..the longest wait out of all of them. Such anticipation!
Anyway, highly recommend anyone interested to try this.
I had this service for about the same amount of time back in 2012 I think(its been awhile). I kept getting lots of the do it yourself stuff. While these were neat I didn't enjoy the taste of them at all so I unsubscribed.
I don't think I can justify spending $25/month on candy for myself. However, I would have no problem asking the office manager to signup and put it on the company card.
I might modify the homepage to highlight that small businesses buy this as a perk for their employees.
A "jumbo" box be an idea there. The office manager could get 1 jumbo box a month and then pass out candy to everyone (versus multiple subscriptions for multiple employees, which would add up fast)
This is an interesting lifestyle business, where you're essentially curating a selection of Japanese candies. However it could be hard to scale if you're just working by yourself. Great success could be your downfall if you suddenly got 1000 new subscribers at once. I would recommend thinking about what you would do if this happened, how to expand your business quickly, hiring part time workers and such. Since you're operating in Japan this could complicate things tremendously. It would be good to have a business lawyer that you could consult with.
Since you're doing the two week shipments as "random" selections, perhaps you can lock your subscription list a week or two out from the next shipment date to give yourself a set number of subscribers for that shipment. This will make it easier to acquire all of the products since your subscriber number will not fluctuate.
Then have a standard stock of easily acquired products pre-packaged and ready send to new subscribers who miss the lock date for the next shipment.
After all, I would assume that one of the big drivers of this business is novelty. For the first few shipments, it doesn't matter too much what is sent, as long as it's new and unique. This is why you will see people subscribe for a short time and then cancel (novelty wears off).
33 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 65.2 ms ] threadI didn't mention it in the blog, but giving Dropbox-style incentives to signing up your friends is something I am thinking of, so people being aware of what others are receiving would happen more in the future.
That way you only send 2 but you send the first one earlier.
The "welcome envelope" was what immediately came to mind while reading about your initial delivery delay, but you make a good point, that extra cost could definitely cause margin problems. Also, it potentially opens you up to people taking advantage of that up-front freebie by signing up multiple times with different information.
Since it sounds like people are interested in potentially paying more for premium candy, perhaps rather than (or in addition to) multiple subscription levels, you could consider allowing customers to purchase much pricier one-off high-end products. Running those once a week, assuming the volume was fairly low, would only add a couple relatively mild days of work per month, for something with a potentially higher margin.
It helps that I see some romanticism in shipping physical goods. As a kid I saw an ad in a magazine for a book on "how to start your very own far east import business". My parents would not buy it for me and it was probably some sort of scam, but the idea stayed.
Having a shop is definitely something I want to do, but I think I try to bring the subscriber count a bit higher before embarking on it. Other subscription businesses seem to make about 25% of their sales from products that people purchase more of after being introduced to them via the monthly packages.
A surprise box of Japanese stationery might be popular in the US. No hard data here but I've seen a recent trend of Japanese stationery stores open in Japan [0] and vendors opening physical "antenna" shops here in the West Coast of the US. And, crucially, my pre-teen daughter is obsessed with them. Gambatte!
[0] http://tsite.jp/daikanyama/store-service/tsite-en.html [1] http://www.mymaido.com
I think something as simple just monthly 3-4 novelty erasers would sell really well.
I also recall reading that paper yearly planners are popular in Japan right now.
Edit: I was thinking of these http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2135267959864327501 -- http://www.1101.com/store/techo/2014/planner/
They also have a cool service where you can browse and rent a few CDs from a pretty extensive collection and then drop them in the mail to return them a few days later. It's basically like a half-netflix option!
Shipping delay might vary between countrys, so if you tell your customer that you have send it just after their subscription it might educate them on the normal delay for a package to arrive, a delay which you can't do anyting about.
Then the delay for the nexts packages might seem more "normal".
Yet another benefit would be that I get to advertise a faster shipping time on the home page. Time for an A/B test perhaps :)
I'm quite certain the customers get nervous the first month when their package doesn't arrive because they start questioning the websites validity not because their in any hurry to get it.
Haha! Did you know that your business model is a significant problem for philosophers?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexpected_hanging_paradox
I subscribed as a small perk for my team, now twice a month, we get a delicious surprise in the mail.
Always brightens the day.
Honestly I think it's a great service! I joined because after moving to the south from New York City, I didn't have great access to Japanese candy anymore. I got a lot of cool goodies that I wasn't familiar with before. I ended up canceling because of both cost and unreliable shipping (not bemmu's fault). I only ever missed I think one shipment but my local USPS would really badly mangle them and deliver many weeks late.
I think boxes would be a great value and I would seriously reconsider subscribing with those, not just because of less risk of damage but the ability to send crisps. Japanese crisps are of "high value" to me and I was kind of hoping bemmu would start an alternate service just for those. Some of the candies that would ship I'm not too fond of (like the rice cake panda thing that has to be made that was shipped twice) and my favorite candies I can get on Amazon (evaporated milk candies are OMG AMAZING).
Also, a quick welcome package is a great idea. I ended up waiting almost 2 months in the mail for my first shipment..the longest wait out of all of them. Such anticipation!
Anyway, highly recommend anyone interested to try this.
I might modify the homepage to highlight that small businesses buy this as a perk for their employees.
Since you're doing the two week shipments as "random" selections, perhaps you can lock your subscription list a week or two out from the next shipment date to give yourself a set number of subscribers for that shipment. This will make it easier to acquire all of the products since your subscriber number will not fluctuate.
Then have a standard stock of easily acquired products pre-packaged and ready send to new subscribers who miss the lock date for the next shipment.
After all, I would assume that one of the big drivers of this business is novelty. For the first few shipments, it doesn't matter too much what is sent, as long as it's new and unique. This is why you will see people subscribe for a short time and then cancel (novelty wears off).