Infraprint

Web and SaaS

direct mail printing api

SHOW HN2013

118points
71comments
#185of 1,739 in 2013
Top 11%of 2013 by points

How HN took it

CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments

9 positive, 21 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 11 critical, out of 42 comments about the project. Thread score -0.06.

Idea: 7 for, 3 againstPricing: 1 for, 3 againstDocs: 0 for, 3 againstExecution: 1 for, 0 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Clean MVP design and easy-looking API.

    From 1 comment
    • This appears a MVP, I think it looks quite nice at this stage and it seems to be an easy API to utilize. So the product side looks great for a MVP, if you are lacking anything at…
      conductr on HN
  • Could enable many useful applications.

    From 2 comments
    • This is one of those services that makes me sit down and think: "what can I build on top of this?", kind of like how patio11 said he wrote down everything he could think of to…
      aarondf on HN
    • Interesting! I can imagine some really cool uses, especially if it could do "Hallmark" style thank you cards. Otherwise, bulk mailer type letters seems like the first (and…
      bryanh on HN

Objections

  • Price per letter seems high compared to USPS and competitors.

    From 2 comments
    • I would definitely use such a service but $2 per letter is pretty steep, considering USPS will do direct mailings for cents.
      kashnikov on HN
    • I would use this service, but the 10 millibit limit might be quite restrictive. At two bucks a letter, that is going to cost me $1,400 to send an ASCII character.
      c4m3lo on HN
  • Company identity not disclosed; trust concerns.

    From 2 comments
    • I would feel more comfortable using a service like this if there were some sort of "About" page, describing who's running the show and why we should trust you. (Maybe there is,…
      jawns on HN
    • Totally agree. This left an extremely bad first impression. I don't know why startups ask for money without a single founder or member disclosing their identity, it just boils my…
      ChrisNorstrom on HN
  • Prior similar services failed.

    From 2 comments
    • There have been quite a few entries into the market like this over the years (I remember interviewing for one during the great dot com bubble in the late 90's). Normally…
      DougN7 on HN
    • Hi guys, Thanks for your curiosity. Well -- I don't want to discourage bavidar from his project. However, here's a sampling of what I learned: Snailmailr was focused on…
      kmtrowbr on HN
  • Weak security, plaintext passwords over http.

    From 1 comment
    • Brutal security. Plaintext passwords sent over http. I would never enter any secure info in there.
      ninjakeyboard on HN

Requests

  • International addresses and from addresses.

    From 2 comments
    • Please at international addresses! I have been looking for a service like this!
      cvanderlinden on HN
    • Any particular reason that from addresses outside the US aren't supported?
      michaelmior on HN
  • Documentation on payment, bulk rates and samples.

    From 1 comment
    • Very nice. More documentation about payment processes, some discussion of bulk rates, etc. would be good. Seeing photos of samples would also be great. I'd love to make a job…
      kposehn on HN
  • Postmark location choice and return receipts.

    From 2 comments
    • I would feel more comfortable using a service like this if there were some sort of "About" page, describing who's running the show and why we should trust you. (Maybe there is,…
      jawns on HN
    • This seems interesting. The central question in my mind is about security of my data. E.g. from time to time I have to send legal documents or tax returns or w/e to some US…
      marcamillion on HN

Questions

  • How is security of sent documents ensured?

    From 2 comments
    • This seems interesting. The central question in my mind is about security of my data. E.g. from time to time I have to send legal documents or tax returns or w/e to some US…
      marcamillion on HN
    • Would you read / inspect each letter going out? What would stop a bad guy from sending a threatening letter to the President using a fake name and return address? It'd be…
      labpdx on HN
  • How automated is the printing and mailing process?

    From 2 comments
    • This is really cool. How automated is it?
      tehwebguy on HN
    • Can you explain the workflow a little ? - How does the document get stuffed in an envelope - How does the envelope get stamped along with the From/To addresses ? - Who drops it…
      codegeek on HN
  • What postage is used?

    From 1 comment
    • What kind of postage is used? For small businesses using direct mail (well written sales letters) real first class stamps convert at a much much higher rate than bulk mail…
      pjnewton on HN

Alternatives named

  • Postal Methods

    From 2 comments
    • How are you any different then Postal Methods [http://www.postalmethods.com/]?
      toomuchtodo on HN
    • Hi guys, Thanks for your curiosity. Well -- I don't want to discourage bavidar from his project. However, here's a sampling of what I learned: Snailmailr was focused on…
      kmtrowbr on HN
  • EZGram

    From 1 comment
    • What are you using as a delivery backend? L-Mail? If I asked you: Why should I use your service instead of, say, ezgram.com, what would your response be?
      Pyramids on HN
  • Snailmailr

    From 1 comment
    • I spent about 2 years creating Snailmailr.com (not online anymore) which ultimately sent about 15,000 letters, several hundred regular users at one point, had a nascent affiliate…
      kmtrowbr on HN
  • Click2Mail

    From 1 comment
    • I'm curious about this as well, I was definitely 2-3 of those 15,000 letters. If I were to guess I can imagine the amount of effort it required probably outweighed any profits,…
      Pyramids on HN
  • trypaper

    From 1 comment
    • At the risk of hijacking the thread, we've been doing this for about 7 months now (out of beta for 4+) @ https://www.trypaper.com, we wish you guys the best of luck! edit: the…
      jspaur on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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