SampleHub

Consolidate Asia samples at our HK hub – one compliant shipment worldwide, no customs surprises.

Score: 7.8/10United StatesMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Remote workers building physical product businesses suffer customs delays and unexpected duties when shipping samples from Asia to worldwide customers.

Solution

Provide a virtual HK warehouse address for suppliers to ship samples cheaply within Asia. We consolidate, calculate duties, and forward with pre-cleared labels. Reduces delays by 70% via bulk expert handling.

Target Audience

Remote solopreneurs and early-stage founders building physical product businesses sourcing prototypes from Asia

Differentiator

Dedicated prototype hub with $35/mo unlimited consolidations for solopreneurs.

Brand Voice

supportive

Features

Virtual Address

must-have8h

Share HK hub address with suppliers.

Shipment Consolidation

must-have15h

Group multiple samples into one outbound shipment.

Duty Pre-Clearance

must-have12h

Expert review and prepay for your parcels.

Inbound Tracker

must-have10h

Track supplier shipments to hub.

Outbound Portal

must-have12h

Schedule and track global forwarding.

Supplier Directory

nice-to-have10h

Curated list of Asia prototype makers.

Photo Inventory

nice-to-have8h

Hub photos of received samples.

Rush Shipping

future5h

Priority forwarding option.

Total Build Time: 80 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
hub_address_assignedboolNo
created_attimestampNo

parcels

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
supplier_nametextNo
statustextNo
inbound_trackingtextYes
outbound_trackingtextYes

Relationships:

  • user_id references users(id)

consolidations

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
parcel_idstext[]No
destinationtextNo
fee_paidintYes

Relationships:

  • user_id references users(id)

API Endpoints

GET
/api/get-hub-address

Fetch user virtual address

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/parcels

Log new inbound parcel

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/consolidate

Create consolidation

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/status

Hub status dashboard

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind + shadcn/ui
Backend
Supabase Edge Functions
Database
Supabase Postgres
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
Mapbox for tracking viz

Build Timeline

Week 1: Auth & dashboard

18h
  • UI skeleton
  • User model

Week 2: Parcel management

22h
  • Inbound tracking
  • Status updates

Week 3: Consolidation core

25h
  • Batch logic
  • Payments

Week 4: Tracking & polish

20h
  • Full flows
  • Emails

Week 5: Integrations

12h
  • Supplier dir
  • Photos

Week 6: Launch prep

10h
  • SEO
  • Analytics
Total Timeline: 6 weeks • 140 hours

Pricing Tiers

Free

$0/mo

Up to 2kg

  • 1 consolidation/mo

Pro

$35/mo
  • Unlimited consolidations
  • Up to 10kg/mo

Enterprise

$149/mo

Unlimited kg

  • All Pro
  • Dedicated hub slot
  • Rush

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 1806%$168$2,016
Month 660010%$2,100$25,200

Unit Economics

$18
CAC
$500
LTV
4%
Churn
75%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 27.8xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Your Asia Sample Shipping Hub

One HK address fixes customs chaos – consolidate, clear duties, ship globally fast.

Feature Highlights

Free virtual warehouse
Expert consolidation
Duty-free forwarding
End-to-end tracking

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'First samples arrived in 5 days!' - Mike, Maker"
"'No more $150 surprises.' - Lena, Founder"

First Three Customers

Offer free first consolidation to 3 makers from Makerlog Discord; email blast to 50 from previous hardware launches; partner with one Alibaba prototype supplier for referrals.

Launch Channels

Product Huntr/EntrepreneurMakerlogTwitter #hardware

SEO Keywords

sample shipping chinaprototype forwarding hkconsolidate asia shipmentsvirtual warehouse prototypes

Competitive Analysis

$Custom
Strength

Scale fulfillment

Weakness

Not Asia-focused, expensive for samples

Our Advantage

Prototype-only hub at fixed $35

🏰 Moat Strategy

Network effects from shared hub volume lowering per-unit costs

⏰ Why Now?

Post-COVID supply chain fragility + rise of remote hardware teams needing reliable sample flow

Risks & Mitigation

executionhigh severity

Hub logistics delays

Mitigation

Partner vetted forwarder

financialmedium severity

Shipping cost overruns

Mitigation

Dynamic pricing

Validation Roadmap

pre-build5 days

Interview 15 founders on shipping pains

Success: 80% interested in hub

mvp21 days

Manual pilot with 5 users

Success: Positive NPS

Pivot Options

  • Full fulfillment SaaS
  • Supplier matching
  • Duty insurance add-on

Quick Stats

Build Time
140h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$2,500
Market Size
$750.0M
Features
8
Database Tables
3
API Endpoints
4