
Show HN: Receive real beer donations for your hard work - Drei01Matt
http://getthebeersin.com
======
dhx
How do you plan to source alcohol?

In most countries, alcohol importation is tightly regulated, with duties and
taxes payable on any amount of import (see [1], [2]). It isn't the duty itself
which is expensive--it's the paperwork processing fees and the time and effort
taken to fill out forms.

There could also be problems if you are expected to verify that the importer
(recipient of the package) is at least 18/21 years old (see [2]).

If purchasing online in the country of destination, I calculated that in
Australia, the average cost of a single 330mL bottle of craft beer shipped
would be AUD$15-25 (approx. USD$12-20, €10-16) depending on the cost of the
beer and delivery address. Most online sellers at least in Australia do not
ship single bottles due to the high overheads of shipping. The minimum order
size is typically 6 bottles (and quite often 24).

Also worth considering is packaging restrictions if you plan to do your own
shipping. As an example, the postal service in Australia accepts liquids only
if certain packaging conditions are met (see [3] D10.10). For a single bottle
of beer, this would likely equate to a strong cardboard box filled with enough
absorbent material to absorb all the liquid in the bottle.

The best case scenario I can see is that you find a niche market of beer
connoisseurs interested in sending rare or hard-to-source bottles of beer to
each other, and don't mind paying at least AUD$30 per bottle for that
experience. For everyone else, they'll just continue to make a 5 minute drive
to a nearby liquor shop to purchase 6 bottles of comparable beer for a total
of AUD$15.

[1]
[https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/Factsheets/Documents/alcohola...](https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/Factsheets/Documents/alcoholandtobaccofactsheet.pdf)

[2]
[https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/212/kw/mailing](https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/212/kw/mailing)
alcohol

[3]
[https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/docume...](https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/dangerous-
and-prohibited-goods-guide.pdf)

~~~
Drei01Matt
Interesting research. Thank you for your feedback. Australia isn't our first
planned market as you might have guessed :)

There's still logistical issues to sort but we've got something up our sleeve
:p

------
Drei01Matt
Hey, I'd love your feedback on this. Especially which countries we should
support for creators first.

Matt

~~~
brudgers
An email signup page is not really a 'Show HN' because there is nothing to
play with or try out. In terms of feedback, I'd suggest building a non-
scalable implementation and iterating.

~~~
Drei01Matt
Thanks. That's the next step. This "Show" was just to gauge interest before
building anything (as our implementation requires actually setting up
logistics).

------
Piskvorrr
Nice picture. What else is there to _show_?

~~~
Drei01Matt
I'm really asking for feedback here. Trying to gauge the level of interest in
our offering. Is this something you would use yourself?

~~~
Piskvorrr
Depends - how do you envision this would work? I'd be perhaps more interested
as a sender; are you literally saying "send actual beers"?

~~~
Drei01Matt
Yes we are sending actual bottles of beer.

A creator adds a "Buy me a beer" button to their website/content.

You (as someone who loves their content) clicks the button, pays $10 through
Stripe/Paypal. We send the creator a bottle of premium craft beer on your
behalf.

A real reward for their work!

~~~
Piskvorrr
Interesting. What's the expected overhead of a typical transaction? If its
significant fraction goes to shipping/other fees, might as well send the money
directly, avoid middle men and allow the creator to get something they would
want. Is there a way to indicate a preference "this beer is what I (don't)
want"?

~~~
Drei01Matt
Initially there's no choice of beer, we plan to roll out such options if
demand dictates.

The overheads are very low actually. Shipping cost is the biggest one and
we're actively working to keep that to a minimum using local carriers where
possible.

