
Experiment: Japanese candy subscription service - bemmu
http://bemmu.posterous.com/initial-experiences-from-starting-a-small-sub
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sthatipamala
While it is a fun idea, I was disappointed to see the sample package. Both
items are very readily available where I live in the US (SF Bay Area), which
has a large Asian population.

I hope he also sends other items that are more obscure. Otherwise, it would be
possible to run this same service for much cheaper from California.

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bemmu
Yikes. It's 3am here in Japan, but I think I'll go out right now to get some
candy that will better represent what there is on offer here.

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bemmu
Here are some I was able to find in a small local convenience store.
<http://i.imgur.com/KGdah.jpg> Bigger supermarkets and regional specialty
stores should have an even better variety of tastes.

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sthatipamala
Looks great. I have not seen these candies before. Best of luck to you!

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georgemcbay
Not to poop on the parade too much but even though these move you beyond
garden variety Pocky I can buy many of these candies at a local Nijiya here in
San Diego.

A few of the others are slightly harder to acquire but can be had by going to
the giant Mitsuwa market up in Torrance, which is quite a drive for me but
still far easier/cheaper than post from Japan.

Potentially still an OK business idea just for people who aren't aware of
their options or who live in the heartland or just like the randomness of 'XXX
of the month' style clubs.

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mtrimpe
Did you really need to include that cliff-hanger? I know it works for TV
series, but here it just disappointed me ...

Otherwise, interesting read ...

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DrJ
I believe the outcome is yes, since I know people who will give an arm and/or
a leg for some of the exotic candy/foods from Japan.

But with minimal (if any) profit because your margin will get burned during
importing due to costs like shipping, taxes, etc. such to make it a full time
job you have to push tremendous volume (think like crates and crates of 1
candy).

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bemmu
Yes, shipping costs are the major cost here. Costs are what I will cover in a
future cliffhanger post. And to be more clear about my goals, I am not
expecting this to be big business, I absolutely agree with that. However if I
could get this to cover our rent, that would be great.

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DrJ
I wait to read the actual breakdown on costs shipping, because that's where
the interesting parts happen.

Don't let it show you are making too much money or your market will get
crowded!

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ChrisNorstrom
Must Have: Where's the Twitter / Facebook / ShareThis / Stumble Upon buttons?!
A site like this could definitely use them to get the word out.

Suggestion: Also, in the future you might want to consider taking a picture of
all the candy and adding it to a simple little online shop script, that way if
people like something they can request it again and also, there are certain
things I KNOW I won't like just from looking at the packaging so letting me
choose the 4 candies that go in my envelopes would be nice.

Concern: As soon as I saw the envelopes I thought "How will my Pocky arrive in
one peice in those envelopes?! They don't look padded or anything." It would
suck to get crushed up candy in an envelope.

Question: Do you travel around a lot in Japan? And do you have a camera that
does video? What is your occupation? (My best friend Alan moved there as a
teacher for the Jet Program)

Thanks \- Chris N. <http://www.chrisnorstrom.com>

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bemmu
Thanks Chris.

If I manage to get a large subscriber base for this simpler service, it will
definitely make sense to add a shop for re-ordering single items.

Honestly, at this point I don't have evidence of how the Pocky will survive
the mail, but the box is cardboard and seems to me strong enough to survive.
Upgrading packaging would require changing from Japan Post to something like
FedEx if I still want the packages to arrive directly at subscriber's homes. I
guess I could offer it as an option, but subscription would cost around triple
the current price for the pricier postage.

My occupation is trying stuff like this on the internets. So far it has worked
pretty well. Yes I have a camera like that, what did you have in mind?

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ChrisNorstrom
Do you still live in Japan and if so do you travel around a lot instead of
staying in one place?

A while back I started a project called JourneysinJapan.com (just a really old
test blog now) which was going to be a video blog about what it's like to live
in Japan. My best friend moved there and he was suppose to be the original
"anchor" but stuff got put off and it went no where. I know there's a lot of
people that want to live there or know what it's like living there so the
"Anchor" basically goes around and introduces you to all the differences in
Japanese culture: how the cell phone plans are different, how apartments are
laid out, how the subway system works, basically talk to viewers as if they
were your friend and explain to them in a casual manner what Japanese life is
like. He was going to just record the video and send it to me and I'd take
care of the video editing, setting up and maintaining the Wordpress site,
upload to the YouTube channel and setup and maintain the Forum. I want to turn
the whole thing into a community where people can ask questions and if it's a
good question get a video answer back. Video Blog + Transcription for those
who want to read instead of watching + YouTube Channel + Tumblr site + Forums.
After hosting costs I would pay him 50% percent unless he wanted to take on
more of the work (editing, comment moderation, forum moderation, uploading to
YouTube, Tumblr, answering messages on all the sites) in that case his share
would be bigger. An anchor needs to have at least a little bit of charm, clear
voice, etc... No mumbling, no "uhmms". He was perfect but he's kinda busy and
I guess doesn't want to do it.

Every now and then when I find someone who lives in Japan that travels to both
large cities and small I offer the Anchor position.

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joonap
I think this is a very nice idea and could be expanded to other products as
well. I wonder if the bar is too high for new customers to subscribe without
being able to sample some candy first. Maybe offer a sample pack for a nominal
fee?

I'd like to see a service where I get a surprise used NES (Famicom) game a
month, just for the kicks. ;-)

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Bluth53
While I like idea, I'm almost afraid to try it out. Just in case, like you
experienced with Kaiware sprouts, I might fall in love with a certain candy,
that might be outrageously expensive or impossible to import in larger
quantities. It would break my culinary heart.

You should also consider a 1/2 or 1-year gift option.

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mathrawka
I'm curious how you deal with export regulation in Japan.

In other words, this isn't worth getting deported over, correct?

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bemmu
That's a good point. I'm not aware of any rules I am breaking, I do hope I
wouldn't get instadeported over a disagreement. If this becomes more popular I
would start studying the formalities more.

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mathrawka
I would recommend just getting a Japanese lawyer who is more aware of this
stuff and pay him to make it legal. Reading through the laws is difficult,
even if you read the language fluently.

And I don't think Japanese officials would consider this a "disagreement", but
more like "illegal activity to avoid taxes". Which would involve a fine and
being deported, as any other crime would.

