Any news about a European distributor?

I have checked the online store, and the cost to get one SIM is:
$5 for the SIM
AND $31.61 for shipping (!!!)

I had to limit myself on really recommending Hologram on some hobbyist forums, because I would have to add the note:
“it’s good as you only need one SIM. If you want to buy just a few more, it will be way expensive, if you’re a hobbyist”

I know hobbyists are not the primary target, but I still think a hobbyist Today might generate buzz, advertisement and even might recommend it to their company, so it could still mean value.

There may be a market for either:

  1. get a bunch of interested hobbyists to pool an order together so divide the shipping cost over many orders or
  2. become a (non authorized) 3rd party re seller. If there is a market for them in Europe buy the 100-pack and sell them on ebay or on the hobbyist forums for $5 + amortized international shipping + local shipping.

With how Hologram doesnt associate a simcard with an account until you activate it (for now atleast) you should be able to make this work. Just my thoughts how to solve the problem without waiting for hologram.

Putting myself in Holograms shoes I can see why they are slow / not really planning on having a European distributor. Startups / Small business / etc. will pay the shipping and will buy more than 1 simcard at a time so its not that expensive. And for any size business, if you aren’t willing to lose $100 here and there to experiment and try out new solutions, you don’t have enough capital to be successful. So really this would only help grow Hologram’s business for hobbyists which could be large as far as number of people but not as far as revenue (heck if most hobbyists only use 1 simcard under their free sim Hologram loses money). A European distributor will be costly for hologram even if they use a “distributor as a service” and definitely if they need staff. I just think the volume would be too low for the segment of the market that would buy if shipping was cheaper.

Definitely if eBay or other resellers aren’t successful then a European distributor wouldn’t be.

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Thanks for the great response here @AndrewGifft

I just wanted to add that this is something we are continually looking into and haven’t given up on it so might have better rates in the future.

Also, the way our shipping rates work right now, the fixed cost is high but it doesn’t increase much with extra quantity so it basically costs the same to ship 5 SIMs to Europe as it does to ship 1. So pooling a delivery for a hobbyist club might be a good option here.

Also, have you seen that we offer free worldwide shipping on some larger quantities? The 10 and 100 SIM packs currently ship for free.

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Wow! That sounds cool.

So if i understand correctly:
1 sim with shipping costs 36 USD
But 10 sims cost 50 USD (free shipping)???

Maybe i will get 10 and post on ebay.

Ps: of course plus 20% VAT in the UK as import duties.

UPDATE: By chance I found an older post/reply.

It seems you can actually buy Hologram.IO SIM from Amazon USA for $5 + $6.08 shipping and import costs (to UK), which is $11 total, quite acceptable. Shipping costs are the same for 2-9 SIMs (or more?).

Why isn’t this advertised on the Hologram website?

Hi @John4242 - Thanks for reaching out. We’re constantly working to improve access to our Hologram platform globally, hobbyists included! It’s why we continue to support our Maker edition as well as our Pilot SIM.
While we currently manage our own distribution out of the US, definitely understand the shipping costs can be expensive for international customers on single SIM orders. Hoping the three initiatives below can help support your development better.

  1. Distribution Partners - While we don’t have direct European distributors just yet, our global SIMs and hardware are available via key distribution partners such as:
    Digikey
    Amazon
    Sparkfun
    Mouser (Coming Soon)
    We’re excited to work with these partners as they extend the reach of Hologram and frankly, can deliver it at a much more cost effective value to customers. Digikey and Mouser will also enable customers building their own hardware to consolidate purchasing for their BOM and hardware builds from a single vendor.

  2. Free shipping on 10 and 100 packs - As of earlier this month, we offer free domestic and international shipping on 10 and 100 packs of SIMs. Hopefully this offers a solution to keep a few more SIMS on hand immediately through a single order and saves on international shipping cost for a single SIM card.

  3. Developer relations - Our developer relations team often works with maker communities and events to help sponsor Hologram workshops as well as connectivity. If your specific forums or groups where Hologram might be helpful, we’d love to hear more about it to see how we can help that community build with Hologram.

And as always, would love to hear more about what you’re building and any other feedback you have!

Best,
Ryan
Connectivity Product Owner

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thanks for pointing to Amazon, I just ordered 2 more for £14.

Regards
Neil

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