[MCompeau]

We tried this just yesterday at a couple Starbucks locations in Toronto for our new lines of 3D printed jewelry (http://www.hotpopfactory.com/). It was great, because we could hone in on specific demographics that interested us based on the location and time of day.

For the most part we found people weren't actually interested in taking any money for coffee (we didn't go the gift card route, we just approached people in line directly). When we offered to pay some people actually found it a bit off-putting. That said though, when you approach people candidly looking for feedback on a project you're personally invested in, people seemed pretty generous with their time.

We ended up getting great feedback on everything from the usability of our website, to the desirability of our product and pricing. We even ended up finding a couple new customers along the way. I'd highly recommend this experiment for any consumer facing product, it can be a bit daunting at first, but when used strategically it can be far more productive then having your head down coding in isolation all day.

[randlet]

I can't say exactly why it is, but I bet no one would have felt off-put if you had offered gift cards instead of cash. People in general will be much more comfortable taking a gift card than cash.

[khet]

The person probably thinks "I can afford a cup of coffee so I don't need your money". A gift on the other hand is meant to be given away so seems alright.

[JoshLedgard]

Agreed.

[mjolk]

> we just approached people in line directly

And the Starbucks was fine with you soliciting people in line?

[MCompeau]

Didn't seem to be a problem, YMMV of course.

[theIV]

I'll sidetrack for a minute and say I think the jewelry looks awesome.

Shooting-from-the-hip site feedback: it is a bit weird that some (maybe all?) of the product pages recommend–"you might also like"–the same product you are already looking at.

[mtrimpe]

Love the product as well! My from-the-hip feedback:

* From the opening screen I couldn't figure out if you were Hot Pop factory or Platonix. After I got that you sell Platonix and Boreal I still don't know how you two are related.

* My #1 fear: How easily does this stuff break?

* Where's the story? You probably have a good one (3D-printing) but I don't see it here.

* Where's the gold? Annoying question I know, but people want metals so have you considered a printing moulds and smelting process?

[MCompeau]

Thanks very much for the feedback from both of you. Some of it mirrors what we heard during our experiment. We're gradually going back over the website to clarify the communication of some of these points more clearly and fix some usability niggles.

As for the "gold", its something we would love to do, and we plan on getting there eventually. For now one of the benefits of using 3D printing is that we can fulfill orders on demand and there is very little cost of carrying inventory, using metals ends up negating this advantage.

[munificent]

I love the bacon necklaces: http://www.hotpopfactory.com/product_boreal-necklace.html

;)