Mar 31, 2011 Posted by BoxCycle

Improved Order Completion

BoxCycle acts like an escrow service by collecting money from the buyer to establish and enforce their commitment to the order and only paying the seller after they successfully honor the buyer’s order. After the appointment time passes the buyer must have a chance to report issues for a reasonable period of time. At the same time, sellers often want to get paid as soon as possible. Both parties may... read more

Mar 9, 2011 Posted by BoxCycle

It’s Easy for Buyers to Become Sellers

People who have a good experience buying moving boxes on BoxCycle often ask if they can sell the boxes when they are done with them.   Well, yes, of course…let’s keep the cycle going!  And we just made it easier than ever. We now automatically fill in inventory and contact information using what we already have from the buyer’s order.  After moving, people will likely be selling boxes... read more

Oct 7, 2010 Posted by BoxCycle

Automatic Phone Calls to Sellers

Continuing with a trend of new features enabled by Twilio, we’ve added automatic order confirmation calls.  BoxCycle doesn’t allow buyers to pickup boxes right after placing an order; the seller needs to confirm box availability and select the final appointment time before the buyer is provided with the pickup location (see How It Works).  So effective communication with sellers is crucial. We... read more

Sep 29, 2010 Posted by BoxCycle

Anonymous Connect: Direct Contact Between Buyers and Sellers

Managing communication between parties is one of the challenges of creating a low-hassle marketplace.  For sale of low-value items like used boxes to be worthwhile to sellers, transactions need to take a minimal amount of time and aggravation. Direct communication can significantly increase the transaction burden for a number of reasons including: Unnecessary communication as people reconfirm information... read more

Sep 1, 2010 Posted by BoxCycle

Notifications by Text Messaging

We now offer notification options by text message along with email, fax, and phone. Text messaging has a number of advantages over email, especially for time-sensitive communication.  Text messages are typically delivered faster than email.  They are also read sooner, since most people carry their cell phones at all times and not everyone has constant access to email.  Finally, they do not suffer from... read more