Thinking outside the box when shipping packages

Bernie Kinsella wants to bring delivery to your doorstep. Kinsella is CEO of WorldBOX.ie, a new company that lets customers ship packages internationally without leaving the comfort of their homes.

“It’s a lifestyle delivery business,” says Kinsella.

“Rather than finding a box, filling it up, bringing it to the post office or delivery service and not knowing how much it will cost until you get there, with WorldBOX there are boxes you pre-buy.”

Customers order either a small (5kg), medium (10kg) or large (20kg) box from the website, and WorldBOX drops it to their door at a time that suits. When the box is ready to go, the company collects and ships it.

“We do all the drudgery bits,” says Kinsella.

Each box size has a standard shipping price according to the destination, so customers know the cost before they buy the box. Delivery, collection and the boxes themselves are free.

Second time around

Kinsella is managing director of the successful transport and shipping business Wheels We Deliver, which deals with corporate clients only.

But her customers’ employees often asked about shipping things themselves. With traditional shipping, Kinsella says, customers don’t know the price until they turn up at the post office or delivery service, which can be disappointing.

Often, the cost of shipping exceeds the value of the goods.

“People in business ship all the time, and they don’t think about it. We thought it would be great to provide that to consumers.”

Kinsella thought there must be a transparent way to ship internationally, where people would know the cost before they decide to ship.

She was able to use the infrastructure from her already established business to get the start-up going. She had easy access to staff and other resources. WorldBOX was born.

The 18 staff members at Wheels We Deliver are all involved in some way, and morale is high.

Creative marketing

“We’re looking for innovative ways to market. We thought of hotels because tourists can send things home.”

WorldBOX has agreements with a number of hotels, which now stock boxes in hotel room wardrobes for easy access.

The boxes are also going to be available at several multinational companies for staff to use.

They also have agreements with short-term letting services that are used as student accommodation. Kinsella says WorldBOX is an easy way for students to ship their gear home.

Up and running

The website WorldBOX.ie went live in August. “We’ve been absolutely flying. We can’t believe it. It’s growing every single week,” says Kinsella.

The company ships from Ireland to 222 countries, the most popular being the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.

Kinsella says the price is either on par with the post office or a bit cheaper.

“But we have the convenience factor.”