StringBox

Anyone heard of StringBox dot com, a new door to door stringing service?
I'm not too sure of their pricing model though.... $19 per restring plus a monthly subscription fee!

TD

PS, they are also looking for stringers so could be an opportunity for some.....

I'm not sure where the profit is if it's $19 to string Gosen OG Micro and shipping is included. Sure there's the $10 monthly subscription, but that's nothing. It's not like a Planet Fitness where they can make money off of $10 a month because they have tons of members join who intend on using the gym, but never do while never canceling their membership.

Profit? Profit!? We don't do this for profit, we do it to better the tennis playing population!

@Rabbit must be a semi-vegetarian. Since I like meat (including Le Lapin...) I would question the viability of such a service. It's priced too low unless they intend to pay minimum wage to the stringers. And then there's the question of repeatability, which is why players want the same stringer/machine all the time. 3 cents.

^^^what I've been told they propose to pay the stringers is measly.

@esgee48 - no, I'm a carnivore as well. My tongue was planted firmly in cheek when composing that reply. It's kind of like surgery by mail, great deal, but results can be varied.

Who pays to ship the racquet out?

^^^

https://stringbox.com/faq

"We will provide a box that you will package your racquet(s) in and a pre-paid label. You will have the choice of our in-stock strings, or, if your favorite string isn't available, you can always select any other string that can be bought in stores. You will have shipping options including taking your box to a local FedEx or UPS store or leaving your box on your doorstep to be taken directly to our professional stringer."

"Stringbox works with professional stringers close to you to make the turnaround time competitive, or even quicker, than taking your racquet to your local club or sports shop. We offer three shipping options outlined below: standard, expedited and concierge service.

Standard: Our standard shipping option is included in the cost of your order. You can expect to receive your racquet in 8 to 9 days after placing your first order. For example, if you place your first order on a Sunday, we will send your boxes to you on Monday. You will receive them on Wednesday or Thursday. If you drop your racquet off at a FedEx location on Wednesday or Thursday, our stringer will receive it on Thursday or Friday. We will string and send it back out the day after we receive it. You would receive your racquet a day or two later. Each subsequent standard shipment would only take about 5 to 6 days for you to receive since you will already have boxes to use to send your racquet to us.

Expedited: This shipping option is offered for $5 and would allow you to receive your racquet within 5 to 6 days after placing an order. An example of expedited shipping is as follows. If you place an order on a Sunday, we would have your boxes to you by Tuesday. If you drop your racquet off at a FedEx location by Tuesday or Wednesday, our stringer would receive it Wednesday or Thursday. We will string and send it back out on Thursday or Friday so that you have it by Friday or Saturday. Future expedited orders would only take 4 days to get to you, after placing an order, since you will not have to wait to receive boxes to send your racquet to us.

Concierge: Our most convenient option, the concierge shipping option is offered for $10. This option allows you to leave your packaged racquet on your doorstep and we will arrange for FedEx to pick up your package and ship it to us. After placing your order, it will take approximately 6 to 10 days to receive your finished racquet. An example of this option would be as follows. If you place your first order on a Sunday, we would have shipping boxes to you by Tuesday. You could now schedule your shipment to be picked up either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Our stringer will receive your racquet the day after it is picked up and it will be back to you 2 days later! Subsequent concierge orders would only take 4 to 6 days since you will not have to wait to receive your boxes."

You know what StringBox is?
Yet another tech industry middleman connecting you to me, skimming some $$ off the top. Definitely don't need more of that.

As a stringer, not a company I would participate with. Their stringers must be making like $5/racquet if they are covering shipping.

chrisingrassia said:

You know what StringBox is?
Yet another tech industry middleman connecting you to me, skimming some $$ off the top. Definitely don't need more of that.

As a stringer, not a company I would participate with. Their stringers must be making like $5/racquet if they are covering shipping.

Click to expand...

Totally agree.

http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/co...lentric&listNameOrder=VOLENTRIC M140000050910

https://www.volentric.com

Optisearch

These seem to be the people behind StringBox.

Seth Dillon seems to be the main person.

Hi Everyone - I think I saw StringBox running banner ads on Tennis.com a while back. I went to their site more recently and I believe they are not accepting new customers ?

As a frequent player the idea intrigues me - wonder what everyone thinks of the thoughts below as it relates to the idea, how it can be improved and if other players see enough value in it for it to gain adoption:

• IF the stringers really are more qualified than the average stringer at your local sporting goods store that would be a value to me
• I play 3X per wk and break my strings 1x every 3 wks to 1 month (not sure if this is above or below avg. ?). I play USTA leagues and play at night so when I break my strings I am not at my 'local club' and able to walk my racket over to the pro shop to select strings and decide the set up I want. Currently I need to wait until I have the time to get to my local club or sporting goods store which mean a few days go by before I can hand my racket off or if I really need the racket restrung I have to drop everything to bring it which most times is tough with work and family schedules.
• With StringBox if I break my strings I can ship the racket out the very next day. What would be even more convenient would be if I could connect to a local qualified stringer who can even pick up the racket from my house and drop it off when its done.
• From a players perspective that seems great to me - what does everyone think ? Curious to hear what stringers from this community think and what price would make sense for them to be paid to make that worth their while - seems like people here are saying StringBox was offering a very low amount of money to stringers which isn't fair and not a practice that will attract those more qualified stringers for sure !
• I also think its cool if as a player I have a profile where I can keep a record of all of the different strings and setups I try as well as how I play with each so I can look back and see what worked best for me.

I am not sure if the benefits/needs I mention above are super valuable/important for all players - but it seems like they COULD solve a pain for me: an adult USTA league player playing a few times per wk. Not to mention that at my level (USTA 4.0) I certainly have an 'idea' of what I like re: strings and racket setup but I find a lot of fun in constantly testing out new strings, tensions, weight added to frame, etc.

Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts !

joeyz101

In my opinion, this is an interesting business model which appears to target customers in areas where restringing choices are limited. With 10 days turnaround time, it is unlikely that an average customer would send more than a single racquet a month, and many would send a racquet per quarter. In a major metro area, it is highly unlikely that one would use this service as opposed to a local stringer - why would you? Subscription fee seems to cover the labor, order price seems to cover the shipping and maybe materials.

I wouldn’t trust an outfit like that as far as I could throw them. And having worked for many years in Logistics and Transportation management, I wouldn’t risk shipping my equipment with any kind of frequency. Not that USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. are terrible at what they do. But no carrier is immune to damaging packages. Sure, you could ship with insurance. But if some carrier breaks one or more of my frames...potentially I’m without it or them until the carrier makes good on the insurance claim (unless I have the money to front). Talk about a racket.

IMHO, there’s a way better option for someone who doesn’t have a stringer conveniently nearby - buy a machine and learn to string.

What keeps a person from only having a subscription when they need a stringing?

If I only restring 4 times per year, why not just pay an extra $10 those months? Why would I pay the other $80? It seems to me there needs to be an initial fee on top to keep them hooked in or a contract for a minimal number of months.