When in Rome, Prada is plentiful. Bringsome?
It's always those little things spotted in a foreign country that I wish I'd grabbed more of to bring back home, like $2 cartoon-print chopsticks from Tokyo, a $3 sack of paprika from Budapest, or $1 bottles of local lavender oil from Zagreb. I may not revisit those places, but I could ask for someone going there to snag some stuff for me. If you're my friend, however, that could interfere with your carefree vacation. Why not ask a stranger instead?
Bringsome is built just for that. Travelers on the site offer to bring back goodies from abroad, while homebound folks describe the goods they'd like. Although global commerce and the Internet seemingly enable you to get anything from anywhere, many local items still can't easily be ordered.
The next time you're in Europe, for instance, please bring me a pile of Niederegger marzipan in kooky fruit and farm animal shapes. The next time I travel, I guess I could pack something only found in San Francisco, like some original 1960s rock posters, or some quirky paintings by local artists. I could deliver an iPhone to the Bringsome user who wants one in Copenhagen, but could he use it there?
Bringsome users ask for and offer stuff from abroad.
Bringsome is a rough draft in pre-beta testing, and it shows. There are currently only 11 ads. The site needs to be more clear about where you're bringing stuff to and from, since only one location is prominent right now. If its execution improves, this is a wonderful concept that really should be built into a travel site with a large community already set up, such as Lonely Planet or iGoUgo. Bringsome should have maps, too.
Of course, Bringsome isn't responsible if you try smuggling something dumb and illegal, like the antique swords sold at Russian airports, or a stash of something ordered at a cafe in Amsterdam.
(via Springwise)
But there are dangers - how do you answer the question "are you carrying something for someone else"? Bear in mind that people are trained to detect hesitation and false answers. This is how the Israelis detected someone carrying a bomb unwittingly onto a plane - given to them by their fiance - someone they would never have suspected. When I lived in the US, Brits would frequently take back a copy of a book that the UK Government had banned, simply as a protest.
Secondly, some of these goods are not available because they are not legal. A good example of this is that the red colouring in UK "Smarties" (similar to, but not the same as M&Ms) is a forbidden additive in the US. Laws are changing all the time, and it is only recently that certain types of mushrooms were banned in the UK. Sometimes there are different laws on the levels of alcohol - in Austria, you can by Strohlander rum that is 80% (not the same as proof) alcohol, and I believe alcohol at this strength is not legal in other countries. Remember the case of the British skier who was stripped of his medal because it turned out that Vicks cold remedy in the US contained a substance deemed to be "performance enhancing" whereas the UK version is safe.
And regrettably, I can see well organised criminals setting up the transport of illicit substances by unwitting people.
So, if you are going to take part in this scheme
1) What do you know about the person you are bringing things back for? Why do they want the product.
2) Is it legal, both in your home country AND any other countries you may be travelling through?
3) Does it have to be acquired from a specific place e.g. Shop X in Y's marketplace? Only buy the product if widely available, then you at least reduce the risk of being set up as an unwitting carrier.
4) Ask other people about the product. What do they know about it? When my mother visited us in the US many years ago, she was stopped because of something showing up in the X ray machine (this is well before 9/11). It turned out to be a home made fruit cake (it was hard to get dried fruit of the right kind in the US). It turns out that this showed on the X ray machine with the same density as plastic explosives, and fruit cakes are not a normal hand luggage item.
5) Is this item subject to taxes?
6) Are you allowed to take the item out of the country? Some things are not allowed to be exported. These are probably not things you will be asked to bring, but it is another potential pitfall.
So it seems to me that it is a great idea in theory, but is fraught with potential dangers in practice. Most of these will only become obvious when you find yourself unwittingly in trouble.
It is a pity that one has to consider the dangers of a good idea - unfortunately a reflection on our global society today.
But I have been trying to think about how it could be used more safely. One possibility is in a local area to set up an informal "traveller's club" that meets occasionally (to pass on the things collected). Then the site can be used to "book" requests, but provide some protection because you would at least vaguely know the people involved.
And a number of my concerns could be alleviated if the site developed lists of what were safe to bring, and what is not safe.