
A Start-up Takes on Wal-Mart  - peter123
http://www.inc.com/articles/2009/06/alice.html?partner=rss
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zck
Wow, alice.com is somewhat annoying. They front-load the annoying, frustrating
part of the process -- filling out who your family consists of, telling them
what you buy, and actually registering for the site. This is all before you
can see a price. They'd have more people if they let you see the prices with
no hassle.

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mdolon
I especially enjoyed the price comparison chart, with all of the other
competitor names blurred out and no hint as to what the product is.

The site looks great and the idea sounds like a winner, I'm just not so sure
about the execution just yet.

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frossie
From their FAQ:

 _"If you live in Alaska, Hawaii, or another country, we hope to be able to
serve you in the future."_

If that is true, they will make a killing in these states, since they would
have no online competitor - just as Netflix checkmated in HI by opening a
Honolulu depot; no other mainland-based service could compete. Also, there are
not many brick and mortars competitors in some areas of HI.

Of course, making a killing in AK and HI is not going to get them megabucks
(the population is too small), but still, it's nice to have a pond where you
are the big fish.

As for the service in general - sure, I'd use it, even if it was slightly more
expensive than going to the store. Who wants to waste an afternoon shopping
for toilet paper in Wal-Mart? Off the cuff, I'd say I'd be willing to tolerate
a 5% price increase of my current cost for the convenience. Whether that is
enough to defray their shipping, I don't know.

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tlrobinson
Shipping is "free", but of course that just means the cost of the products
will be higher. But if you're in a state with significant sales tax not having
to pay that might even offset the higher prices.

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aberman
Hmmm....startups should take on inefficient businesses, not the MOST EFFICIENT
BUSINESS EVER (Walmart).

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snewe
I wouldn't say they are taking on Walmart. Here is the CEO on making money:

"We're really not a retailer at all. We make no [profit] selling goods. We
make money on the advertising side of doing coupons, sampling and keywords –
like if you type "shampoo," what shows up first, second, and third. We have a
Google-like click model."

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Keyframe
They are more in line with self service wholesalers like Metro AG in europe

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stevejohnson
Here's a working link: <http://www.inc.com/articles/2009/06/alice.html>

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billswift
Now's a good time to try taking on Walmart; their prices are climbing faster
than the other groceries in this area, they're still lower on most things, but
not as many and not by as much. And the convenience factor should help a lot.

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lief79
The writeup makes it sound like a bold idea.

I'm curious to see where it goes. Yeah, as zck pointed out, the heavy sign up
front will reduce turn over.

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chaostheory
sounds more like a competitor to Amazon's grocery dept and Drugstore.com

I like the UI but I have yet to really compare prices

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erlanger
alice.com needs to fire their designer...the message is scrambled and lost
down the drain.

