Magic is a new SMS-based on-demand delivery service, and it might change your life. Mike Chen, founder of the company, was an employee at a startup called Bettir. On a whim this last February (or so he says), Chen began work on a new project that would make deliveries of any and every kind that users could request by texting the number “83489.”
The premise, that users could request whatever they wanted, had somewhat been attempted before by other startups, but not successfully. This idea, a delivery service that operates exclusively through SMS, struck many, including myself, as a novel idea that had real potential. Chen’s side project soon evolved into the company Magic, and exploded in popularity over the span of one week, getting press and hype all over the Internet. People wanted to use it right away, but due to Magic’s limited scale at the time, a queue was implemented to gradually allow new users in.
Fortunately, Magic seems to be upping its scale through software solutions. “We’ve immediately scaled up our operations, and now that we’ve been in operations for a few weeks, we have been building specialized software and logistics systems to meet the demand,“ said Chen, now Magic’s CEO.
Chen told me that as of last month, the queue consisted of over 40,000 people. The craziest request so far, he says, has been a tiger. While outrageous, it also serves to test Magic’s claim that it can get “anything you want. As long as it’s not illegal,” as stated on their website’s FAQ.
As for the end result of that request, Magic says they delivered on their promise. “We located a service that would allow the customer to meet and get a picture with a live tiger. There were many steps and legal requirements to follow. I believe the customer ultimately decided against ordering the service though. Still, our goal was to offer a chance to fulfill the request and we accomplished that,” said Magic employee Grant.
For weeks, I was stuck at number 2,050 in the queue. I was later given special press access to the service for the reviewing purposes. My queue position skipped to zero, and I was in.
Here in Hoboken, most restaurants offer delivery. However, there is one notable greasy fast food establishment that regrettably, does not. Yes, I’m referring to Five Guys, one of the best guilty pleasure restaurants in town, but you have to walk there if you want the food. Except now, you don’t.
I opened my SMS app, and typed in the number.
“Magic.”
“Hi, how may I help you?”
“Can I get a hot dog and fries from Five Guys?”
“What is the delivery address?”
I replied to the employee with my address and The Stute’s credit card information, and received my food in slightly short of an hour for $30. That’s another thing you might not realize: Magic is operated entirely by humans who read and interpret orders. If there’s a problem with the order, or it’s taking a while for them to find a courier, they’ll periodically give you status updates with a friendly demeanor. It’s a small, but nice touch, and ultimately makes the ordering process more personable.
For instance, I recently requested Advil through the service. Magic replied with, “Sorry you need the advil!” After about 25 minutes, they got back to me with a delivery time of 75 minutes and a price of $178.67 for the Advil. Naturally, I texted back saying that this was unacceptable, and they shortly replied with a new delivery time of “within the hour” for $24.67, presumably through a different courier service—much more reasonable. While the courier was getting to my dorm, I asked Magic to get me a case of bottled water on the way, which they did for an additional $10.43. I’m not sure what exactly raised the price of the water beyond the standard $6 to $7, but I imagine it was part of Magic’s own markup. A big part of the appeal here is that you’ll never have to deal directly with couriers or online ordering systems, Magic’s employees will do it all for you.
As for Magic’s logistics and delivery methods, they’re playing it close to the chest. When I asked Grant how they manage countrywide infrastructure, he replied coyly, “That’s part of the Magic. We use every tool and resource available to us.” By asking some of the Magic employees I texted with when placing orders, I learned that they use a combination of various courier services and Amazon Prime, in Hoboken at least. Their promise that they’ll get you whatever you want is true, but it comes at a price. If you live in a more rural area, it will probably be more costly and take more time for deliveries to arrive, but they’ll get there nonetheless. And because it doesn’t cost anything to text them, you can always bail out of an order if it’s too expensive, or if the delivery time is unsatisfactory. They might even try to work with you to get the price and delivery time down, like they did with me.
Right now, Magic’s price and delivery time in Hoboken are its biggest roadblocks. There seems to be a $20 markup on every order right now, which is steep—really steep. They’ll need to reduce that if they hope to gain any traction here, in a city where delivery should be really simple (or at least you’d think). As far as waiting time, an hour is pretty much in line with most restaurants in the area, but to be successful, Magic will have to do better than “in line.”
Will Magic change your life? If you need some ibuprofen because last night was crazy, medicine during illness, or condoms in a moment during which it would be inopportune to get them yourself, it’s definitely a viable option to text “Magic” to 83489. As for ordering from food from restaurants or other non-necessities, it will be up to you to decide if the markup is worth not having to walk to town. Maybe you’re busy, maybe you’re lazy. Either way, the price is the same.
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