My first MVP

Consumer and social

tea directory

SHOW HN2011

24points
32comments
#435of 1,097 in 2011
Top 40%of 2011 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

3 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 3 critical, out of 18 comments about the project. Thread score +0.06.

Idea: 1 for, 2 againstDesign: 1 for, 0 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Clean, simple design

    From 4 comments
    • 1. I really like the design. Simple and elegant, no clutter. 2. I keep looking for a search box because you branded it as a "Tea Search Engine", but it's more like a directory.…
      diego on HN
    • agree that it needs a search box. It doesn't have to be the primary function but it should be there. I clicked around and couldn't find 'pu-erh' and didn't want to scroll through…
      moge on HN
    • Nice site. Very simple and easy to use. I'm not a tea lover but it got me hooked! A couple of suggestions - I would like to see the number of results I would get after applying a…
      narenst on HN
    • Great site, well done. Now iterate!
      jasonb05 on HN
  • Interesting way to browse tea data

    From 2 comments
    • I like how you have collected a lot of data and let me peek into it in different ways. However - even as an avid tea drinker, you're still not solving a real problem of mine. I'm…
      acgourley on HN
    • Pretty freaking cool! I'm a tea lover and this might just be the catalyst I need to start buying online. [pedantic] This is more of an index than a search engine though.…
      Swizec on HN

Objections

  • No search box; hard to find specific teas

    From 2 comments
    • 1. I really like the design. Simple and elegant, no clutter. 2. I keep looking for a search box because you branded it as a "Tea Search Engine", but it's more like a directory.…
      diego on HN
    • agree that it needs a search box. It doesn't have to be the primary function but it should be there. I clicked around and couldn't find 'pu-erh' and didn't want to scroll through…
      moge on HN
  • Doesn't solve a clear problem

    From 2 comments
    • I like how you have collected a lot of data and let me peek into it in different ways. However - even as an avid tea drinker, you're still not solving a real problem of mine. I'm…
      acgourley on HN
    • Care to tell us what problem the site can solve for tea-drinkers? ps: i'm not affiliated with the site. just curious.
      dannyr on HN
  • Few vendors included

    From 1 comment
    • I'm missing the option to select teas by vendor. However, listing vendors would make it clear to users how few vendors are included in the search results. The database seems to…
      Samuel_Michon on HN
  • Calls itself a search engine but is an index/directory

    From 2 comments
    • Pretty freaking cool! I'm a tea lover and this might just be the catalyst I need to start buying online. [pedantic] This is more of an index than a search engine though.…
      Swizec on HN
    • Well if it only crawls predetermined sites then it's an index plus a scraper. If it finds new sites, then it's a search engine. At least I think that's the distinction.
      Swizec on HN

Requests

  • Add a search box

    From 2 comments
    • 1. I really like the design. Simple and elegant, no clutter. 2. I keep looking for a search box because you branded it as a "Tea Search Engine", but it's more like a directory.…
      diego on HN
    • agree that it needs a search box. It doesn't have to be the primary function but it should be there. I clicked around and couldn't find 'pu-erh' and didn't want to scroll through…
      moge on HN
  • Show result counts on filters

    From 1 comment
    • Nice site. Very simple and easy to use. I'm not a tea lover but it got me hooked! A couple of suggestions - I would like to see the number of results I would get after applying a…
      narenst on HN
  • Add more vendors such as Harney and Sons, Yogi Tea, Zhi

    From 2 comments
    • I'm missing the option to select teas by vendor. However, listing vendors would make it clear to users how few vendors are included in the search results. The database seems to…
      Samuel_Michon on HN
    • Looks neat. Would be nice if you added Harney and Sons teas to the database.
      brk on HN
  • Larger text size

    From 1 comment
    • Couple of thoughts off the cuff: 1. Make the text size larger. I know I can ^+ but the people using your site may not. Many of them will be over the age of fifty and you want…
      3pt14159 on HN
  • Fix herb/spice categorisation

    From 1 comment
    • You're right. Cinnamon, ginger and licorice are spices, not herbs. Perhaps the category could be renamed 'Spices & Herbs'. Also, grape, goji and grapefruit are neither, they…
      Samuel_Michon on HN

Questions

  • What stack was used

    From 1 comment
    • This looks beautiful. What stack are you using? I'm thinking of building a similar site for another category of products and am wondering whether to roll my own in Rails or just…
      revorad on HN
  • Experience with ShareASale

    From 1 comment
    • It would be interesting to hear about your experience with ShareASale.
      duck on HN

Alternatives named

  • Steepster

    From 2 comments
    • You should work with http://steepster.com. I'm friends with those guys if you want an intro. Just shoot me an email.
      spencerfry on HN
    • It's a tough question. I suppose it would be useful if it helped me make less regrettable purchases. Steepster is of course aimed in that direction, and it's proven unprofitable…
      acgourley on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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