Hello, this post is primarily for vendors, but I'd expect they'd appreciate buyer feedback too.
This is foreverimmortal from Nucleus and Abraxas. I've noticed a recent trend on the DNMs...but first a little background: There was a time, not so long ago, that buyers could get basically anything they needed, on the schedule they wanted; and if something fell through, have a Plan B in place as a fallback. If no Plan B, and you found out something that was supposed to ship that day didn't, you could always grab a comparable product from a suckier vendor and get express shipping to accommodate the fall-through. Now very few vendors seem to offer express shipping anymore, and when they do it doesn't get there on time because they don't ship out on time either.
At the same time, due to the isolated micro-scale model of a free market economy that the DNMs actually implement, the natural laws of economics and psycho-social behavior take over. The good vendors who offer a better product, maybe or maybe not at a lower price, and have great customer service, pull ahead and gobble up market share, while those who over-promise and under-deliver fall by the wayside. This is fantastic for the culture and the viability of the markets, but also presents challenges.
Often these great vendors are new and quite ideological. They throw themselves into the job with abandon. However, they are not prepared to scale with the demand. Gradually it becomes harder and harder to keep up, they get overworked, vendor vacations start showing up, and same-day shipping becomes a real challenge for them.
As a consequence, we buyers have lost the security of knowing we will receive a product when we need it. We are going without more and more if we continue to show loyalty to these good vendors. But what if a different sales model were implemented - one which would allow the vendors to better control their race to fulfill orders; avoid the roller coaster of unpredictable surges in demand; and give them breathing room to improve supply chain, hire new shippers and pickers, and otherwise scale to meet demand? And at the same time offer us buyers more peace of mind, knowing we will (or should) have our drugs when we need 'em? I have a proposal which I think may solve those problems...or at least improve conditions for everyone concerned.
Has anyone considered a subscription model?
Now, I will say that such a model is against the buyer's nature. Just as cigarette smokers will spend years and years buying a pack or two at a time, rather than saving a substantial amount of money over the long term by buying cartons, so we buyers of illicit substances tend to buy what we need, as we need it (or just before). Sometimes this is due to the thought, "I'll quit next time"; sometimes it is trying to spend the money as we make it; and I'm sure there are other reasons for this behavior as well. But regardless of the reasons, that is one challenge that will have to be overcome.
Likewise, this model is probably foreign to most vendors. Vendors have become accustomed to ad-hoc sales. Even though this model puts an enormous amount of pressure on them, destroying their work-life balance so to speak, it is one that is comfortable and familiar. A subscription model is not.
However, inarguably there would be substantial benefits to such a model. For one, vendors could limit themselves to a certain number of reliable, trustworthy, conscientious buyers. They would have the freedom to only make custom orders, or to just cancel any orders that come in from new buyers. As breathing room allows them to scale up, they could then start accepting new customers on a trial basis. In addition, in business speak, it gives them some financial security in the form of recurring revenue. While this revenue may not be contractually secure, they nevertheless know that most likely they will be getting another subscription in the future from a customer, and that surety will improve with time; or at least that 50% of their buyers will be subscribing again; or that they are guaranteed funds for the next week or two. Whatever scale they may operate on, it certainly gives them more peace of mind than the ad hoc, smaller order model.
Buyers, on the other hand, could rest assured that they would get their drugs when they need them, without having to stress about finding an open offer that is reasonably priced and meet their needs. They'd know that they can go to this vendor again and again, and they also know that they are somewhat protected from themselves.
Though we may not like to admit it, we buyers have a tendency to, when we get a bunch of our drug of choice all at once, blow right through it, and then be left with nothing. Many of us do not have the self control to pace ourselves the way we should. Now, I will say that such a model is against the buyers nature. Just as cigarettes smokers will spend years and years buying a pack or two at a time, rather than saving a substantial amount of money over the long-term by buying cartons, so plus buyers of elicit substances tend to buy a little at a time. In addition, most of us do not have moral, trustworthy vendors locally who'd be willing to accommodate such a model, for they are not that conscientious.
Effectively what I am suggesting is this: A vendor would offer a subscription for one week, two weeks, one month, whatever the buyer could afford. Presumably they would limit themselves to nothing less than a week or two. They would ascertain the quantity required by the customer. They would ascertain how often as shipment should come in, probably no less than every other day. They would then compile a custom order for the bulk quantity of drug the customer required. This quantity would be offered at some discount, when compared to the small orders that are typically placed over said timeframe, but set the price such as to allow the vendor to find that compromise between work life balance and required income.
They would add a surcharge to the order to cover shipping for the number of shipments over the term...NOT to make money off S&H. The buyer would then place the order.
The first installment would ship out that day (or at an agreed-upon time in the future), to arrive in 2 to 3 days. Thereafter, the seller would ship the buyer the fraction of the total purchase in another 2 days, 3 days, or whatever. If the buyer did not receive the package on time, and it was the sellers fault, the seller would presumably a refund a part of the purchase cost to restore the buyer's faith in their goodwill. If this seller shipped on time, but the buyer did not receive on time due to the postal service, the buyer might be entitled to some much smaller recompense.
This model I think would solve a lot of problems. It would give buyers peace of mind (and save them from themselves, to some extent). It would reduce the stress on vendors, while giving them more financial security, better ability to predict future revenue, and thus the freedom to scale up in such a manner as they see fit. They control the flow of business, and can at least approximate the shipping schedule and the volume of business that they find ideal.
So, what do you all think about this? Could this be a viable service model? Buyers, do you think this would alleviate some potential concerns for you (if you find yourself in a quandry like I do)? Just fishing here, would not benefit me from any standpoint, other than giving me the peace of mind as a buyer...but I had the idea this morning and wanted to put forth.
Due to the nature of the product, I don't see how a subscription model is viable.