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joseph123
Ride Apprentice
13 DriverActivity
Posts by joseph123
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Looking for Feedback
Hey All,Looking for some honest feedback from rideshare drivers. We make in-car vending machines - our vending machines are …
The vending machine will be strapped on using a belt - you can remove it anytime you want.
The product we send will depend on the market. In general, we will send fast moving and high margin items like chargers, Advil etc. In certain markets, we can get licenses to sell age restricted products in the vehicle (CBD in Colorado, Alcohol in Vegas etc.).
The main question is whether drivers will pay for the vending machine ($220-$299) and use it to sell their own products or will prefer to get it for free and sell the products we send them.
The main value of the vending machine includes: it allows you not to solicit, no need to deal with cash (a major concern in a COVID world) or waste time giving the customer a square reader, it gives your car a much better look (instead of placing the items in random places), it helps prevent theft (apart from the fact that the product is secured in the box, a customer can’t steal the box or items for several reasons - it is tied down to your console, customers must have a valid credit card to open the box and will be charged for any item they take, the store vibrates if a customer tries to open the door aggressively without first scanning a QR code and you will be notified instantly etc.).
Yes, you are correct. The vending machine will come with a cellular connection. IoT plans are cheap these days and that will not be a problem.
We are currently trying to gauge interest from rideshare drivers and determine the business model that will work best.
Thank you very much for your feedback. The machine currently goes for $299 but we can bring the price all the way down to $220.
We think the best use of the vending machine is to sell high margin products (chargers, advil, CBD products in markets that allow recreational CDB etc.) instead of low value products like snacks.
If we got CBD retail licenses in markets like Colorado and send CBD products to drivers, do you think there will be a reasonable number of drivers interested in getting our vending machine for free and selling products like this in those markets? Or do you think they want to buy/finance the vending machine and sell their own CBD products? Alcohol and condoms will be a good product category for the Las Vegas market - it's relatively easy to get a license to sell alcohol in Vegas. Plenty of limo drivers sell alcohol in Vegas.
Thanks again for taking time to provide us feedback.
First of all, thank you very much for your feedback.
Cargo actually doesn't exist anymore. We think there were several reasons for their failure:
1. Drivers had to hand products to customers themselves. A lot of legal issues with this. If the driver gives the product to the customer at the end of the trip, it is pointless to have a vending machine in the car. We believe a good in-car vending machine needs to be self-service - it needs to be smart enough to know who the customer is, what products they select, and charge the customer appropriately etc.
2. We think drivers were wrongly incentivized. Since all I have to do to make most of my money is give free products away, I will basically be focused on giving those free products to friends and family.
3. Sending products to thousands of drivers every time they run out of inventory is very expensive for low value items like snacks or drinks.
That being said, we see the biggest risk for our business as drivers not willing to pay or finance the vending machine even though it's a lot different from DriveCargo's. We provide a bunch of tools (accepting any form of digital payment from passengers, tax remittance in certain states, anti-theft features, inventory tracking and analytics etc.).
We think drivers could use the vending machine to sell high margin products (chargers, advil, CBD products in markets that allow recreational CDB etc.) instead of low value products like snacks.
Since you think drivers may not be willing to pay for the machine, do you think they will be more willing to get the vending machine for free and sell the products we send them? For example, we may get CBD retail licenses in markets like Colorado and send them to drivers for product distribution. Also, how has COVID-19 impacted the number of passengers?
It will be great to get your thoughts on this: https://ride.guru/lounge/p/what-are-ways-uber-drivers-make-money-besides-driving#!#comment-19003
Hey All,
Looking for some honest feedback from rideshare drivers. We make in-car vending machines - our vending machines are completely self-service so you don't have to hand products to passengers. Passengers scan a QR code, select the items they want in our app, the sections with the items open up and the customer is charged for products the select. We were wondering which business model will appeal to rideshare drivers and will appreciate your feedback. We also understand that not all Uber/Lyft drivers like to sell products in their car and that is totally fine - we are seeking feedback from those that are interested in making extra income while driving. You load the vending machine with products and continue with driving.
Questions:
1. Would you prefer to get the vending machine for free and sell whatever product you like? In this case, we only take 6% commission for providing you a bunch of tools (payment tools, anti-theft tools, analytics tools, age verification tools, mobile apps/web interfaces for your products and more). You can sell anything as long as you have the appropriate licenses. For example, you can sell CDB products in Colorado, California etc.
2. Would you prefer to buy the vending machine and only sell the products we send you? In this case, we only take 80% commission and you get 20% commission.
3. Would you prefer to pay a monthly fee for the vending machine ($35) and only sell the products we send you? In this case, we only take 6% commission.
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