Official Gladys starter kit launch! 🚀

[mutmut]

The offer is interesting with a few remarks in agreement with @StephaneB :

• la solution S12 est amplement suffisante à mon avis, ça te permet de réduire le coût sur le miniPC et ainsi inclure une prise Zigbee (avec dongle) ou Matter en wifi.
  J’ai trouvé 2 configs intéressantes pour baisser le coût machine ici et là (avec un compte pro tu récupères la TVA).
  Le reconditionné peut aussi être bien avec une volonté d’économie circulaire (ok, c’est du marketing)
• I would replace Main d’oeuvre with Turnkey configuration & System preparation with Gladys Assistant ready to operate
• Shipping costs last: Shipping via Mondial Relay with insurance for a secure service, delivery to a Locker or pickup point
• ultimate guide: the lightning bolt at the end links to the smart plug in this kit .
  €9.99 seems more coherent, indicating that normally the training costs €89.99.
  I wouldn’t put Complete training because for now it isn’t (not yet). I would choose: Step-by-step guidance toward your connected home with Gladys Assistant
• Gladys Plus: you should detail it a bit and highlight Gladys Gateway, backups, ChatGPT…
  The important point is the €99.99. You need to explain that it’s only €9.99/month as an optional, non-binding option (€99.99 feels very expensive compared to €9.99 and can be scary, even if it’s more advantageous to pay for a full year).

And since you’re the one sending the gear, you can add a sticker with the Gladys logo on the miniPC and that would look awesome

Gladys inside

[bjm]

mutmut:

or Matter over Wi‑Fi.

In my opinion, if you go with Matter you’ll need to include instructions explaining the configuration of the products sent with the mini PC so that the customer doesn’t have to run around looking for where the corresponding point is in the doc (or even Zigbee).

[mutmut]

Indeed, maybe we should have a QR code that redirects to the docs for getting started and integration.

[bab85]

Hello,

For my part I find that €250 to start is too expensive. Or else, as suggested by Gboulvin or fibou40, with a bonus (plugs, dongle…) that means you already have something complete to get started.

In principle I would tend to agree with @mutmut that the S12 would be sufficient. But that’s just me and I don’t know the market expectations on this subject at all.

Then again it may be a way to attract tech-savvy people as you say, who already know what they’re doing. But I think it’s a shame to cut off complete beginners.

That was the meaning of my remark about the offer: I thought it was aimed at beginners, who don’t necessarily know where they’re going. They want to get started, but without investing a fortune just in case. So a machine that does the job well enough but nothing more seemed appropriate to me (and that beginner won’t use their Beelink for anything else).

As for delivery, indeed the insurance only concerns you. The customer must receive their product. However, as fibou40 says you can offer several providers: for example a pickup point, often cheaper but which forces the customer to travel, and home delivery.

Last question I ask myself. You list the installation service at €40, which shows transparency. However, won’t some lazy tech enthusiasts tell themselves that they’ll do the installation themselves to save money? Because in this case, it’s barely offset by the 6 months of Gladys plus offered (it might be a bit more enticing with 1 year offered).

Then, since your goal is to sell Galdys + and not the hardware itself, you have the opportunity to try an offer and adjust if it doesn’t take off.

But in that case, and in the end this wasn’t my last question , wouldn’t you only (or in addition) create offers around Gladys +? For a one-year commitment, 6 months free; for 1 month purchased, 1 month free. Or 2 months free trial… Because on reflection it’s not necessarily at the beginning that you need Gladys +, but once you’ve already started and want to go further (and you already have your hardware).

[StephaneB]

This whole exchange reminds me of my former job in marketing, when I would plan an offer for a product and then ask a few salespeople for their opinion: it would invariably go off in all directions

[mutmut]

@StephaneB same here

[Jluc]

It started well but, as the exchanges went on, the situation deteriorated. The price of the kit is not excessive and the proliferation of all possible combinations of choices doesn’t seem manageable. As a beginner, I

[pierre-gilles]

Thanks to everyone for your feedback!!

I should clarify that this page is only the Stripe payment page; there will be a landing page beforehand with all the information.

This payment page is not fully customizable: I can edit the titles, short description and image of each product, but I cannot change the rest.

Regarding the price, for now I’ve mostly had requests about the « Beelink S13 » offer, which is why I explored that option.

I will ask interested people if they want hardware included (Zigbee dongle, plug, bulb?), but of course that will increase the bill. I should note that I sell at cost, so the price on the invoice is the price I pay

For the training, if I provide hardware, it will necessarily be hardware that I demonstrate in the training so the user will have a complete tutorial explaining how to use the hardware.

As stated in my first message, I plan to offer 3 packages: entry-level, mid-range and high-end!

@mutmut thanks for your specific remarks, I’m traveling right now — I’ll make changes on Monday and I’ll report back here

[pierre-gilles]

Hi everyone!

Hardware

I’m starting to receive all the hardware I ordered so I can offer this new pre-installed package

I received a small 10-inch screen that will allow me to do the installation without monopolizing my TV:

I’m receiving a Beelink T5 this week to confirm it works well with Gladys, and I’m receiving a Beelink S13 tomorrow for a first order!

I’m also receiving a secondary keyboard, and a 2m Ethernet cable that I’ll use for configuration.

The offer

I’ve worked on the payment page with your feedback.

For now, I’m going with this:

@mutmut

9,99€ me semble plus cohérent en indiquant que normalement le formation c’est 89,99€.

The problem is that I’ll have people asking for a version without training, and who will ask lots of questions already answered in the training.

@mutmut

Le point important ce sont les 99,99€. Il faut que tu expliques que c’est seulement 9,99€/mois en option et sans engagement (99,99€ ça fait très cher comparé à 9,99€ et ça peut faire peur, même si c’est plus avantageux de payer un an complet).

I can’t do much on this page, apart from removing it, but then I lose the point of this starter kit which is precisely to offer Gladys Plus to get future customers

@bab85

Dernière question que je me pose. Tu affiches la prestation d’installation à 40€, ce qui montre de la transparence. Cependant est-ce que certains technophiles flemmards ne vont pas se dire que finalement ils vont faire l’installation tout seul pour faire des économies.

If that effect happens, it’s actually positive! My ultimate goal is for users to use Gladys, regardless of whether it’s me or them who installs it.

@bab85

est-ce que tu ne ferais pas seulement (ou en plus ) des offres autour de Gladys + ? Pour un engagement d’un an, 6 mois offert; pour 1 mois acheté, 1 mois offert. Ou 2 mois d’essai gratuits…

Yes, I could! I don’t know if there are really people in the community using Gladys and hesitating to take Gladys Plus.

From what I observe, the conversion « Gladys → Gladys Plus » is rather good, and it’s more the « Attract more Gladys users » part that needs work.

@mutmut

J’ai trouvé 2 configs intéressantes pour baisser le coût machine ici et là

I prefer selling Beelink for several reasons:

• It’s « battle tested » on Gladys for years, I know exactly that it works. Example: the BIOS allows it to boot as soon as it’s plugged in without pressing a button, which is essential on these mini-PCs.
• It’s what I run at home, and I like selling products I use — it’s more credible.
• The brand is reliable and serious.

@mutmut

Le reconditionné peut aussi être bien avec une volonté d’économie circulaire (ok, c’est du marketing)

The issue with refurbished is that it’s not « predictable »: very hard to always find the same mini-PC model, in the same condition. How can you know if the mini-PCs are in good condition and will work for years without issues? And on top of that, I don’t think I’ll have a warranty.

On the link you give, for example, the CPU is an Intel Core i5-6500 @ 3.20GHz, apparently the power consumption is x10 compared to an Intel N150 which is a low-power CPU (Source: CPUBenchmark). It’s not the same thing

@mutmut

(avec un compte pro tu récupères la TVA).

Not in my case, Gladys Assistant is under the VAT exemption threshold.

[pierre-gilles]

I worked on the info sheet that will be delivered with the mini-PC :

I haven’t factored in the printing cost, but I think it’ll be covered by the shipping fees

Also, to decide whether I should add an Ethernet cable to the kit or not — that would add about €4 to the total price.

[GBoulvin]

Small additional questions…

What about abroad? Shipping costs, availability?

The ‹ Then €99/year › scares me… Wouldn’t you add that it’s only if we continue the Gladys+ subscription?

I’d include the cable if you insist on the ‹ turnkey › and say it has to be done that way…

Or as an option like a socket or something!

[pierre-gilles]

@GBoulvin

What about abroad? Shipping costs, availability?

Mondial Relay delivers to these countries:

That seems like a good starting point, although it’s true the price varies by country.

I think for now I’ll keep a fixed price even if I pay the extra out of my own pocket; I’ll see if I ever sell in another country. For the current starter kit, that hasn’t happened much — I’ve mainly sold in France.

@GBoulvin

The ‘Then €99/year’ scares me… Wouldn’t you add that it’s only if we continue the Gladys+ subscription?

I can’t modify that screen; it’s specific to Stripe.

At most, I could add a small line under « Gladys Plus » in the product description (like « No commitment, cancel anytime »), but the problem is that Stripe doesn’t support translations and this product is also used for English-speaking users. I’d have to create a new « Gladys Plus » subscription for English-speaking customers That becomes another project.

If it’s a problem, I’ll do it. Let’s first see if it sells as is

@GBoulvin

I’d include the cable if you insist on the ‹ turnkey › and say that it has to be done that way…

I’ll test without it for now!

Overall, my philosophy for this kind of launch is to iterate very quickly and keep things as simple as possible. If it sells, great; if it doesn’t — understand why. But only real-world results can decide!

[tiboys]

Great job

I’d just point out that you need to look for « Gladys » among the connected devices. I assume you’ve configured the installation to be recognized as such. It seems obvious, but oh well…

Well done again.

Great initiative.

[pascal_sapin]

Hello Pierre gilles

I have a question — my installation is now more than 2 years old, I think even 3. I’m running on a Raspberry Pi 3+ with an SSD that comes from a Samsung tablet. Everything worked fine until now, but recently the SSD has been showing signs of weakness, data corruption.

I’m thinking of moving to a mini PC and switching to Gladys Plus

either with the starter kit, or with a mini PC I already have that I could recycle

for example a Dell with an Intel i3, 4 GB RAM and a 160 GB SSD

my question is: would this mini PC run better than the Pi?

and my second question: if I switch to Gladys Plus can I back up my configuration and transfer it to the mini PC afterwards without having to redo everything? even despite corruptions in the database (BD)?

I’d like my system to be stable so I don’t have to tinker with it every two weeks,

thank you for your wonderful project

[pierre-gilles]

Hi @pascal_sapin

Very good idea!

@pascal_sapin

my question is whether with this mini PC it would run better than the Pi

It will be night and day between a Raspberry Pi 3B+ and a mini-PC, they’re just not comparable.

The Pi’s processor is an ARM Cortex-A53 Quad-Core at 1.4 GHz which scores 271 in multi-thread on CpuBenchmark (Source) :

By comparison, a Beelink S13 equipped with an Intel N150 processor scores 5444 in multi-thread (Source)

We’re talking about +1909% performance between the two, just on the CPU…

Now, if we take RAM (1 GB vs 16 GB), and the SSD which is connected directly to the CPU (and not via USB like on the Pi 3), the experience will be completely different.

In terms of stability, I’ve had a Beelink S12 Pro for almost 2 years and I’ve never had to touch it — it runs, it’s stable.

@pascal_sapin

and my second question: if I switch to Gladys Plus can I save my config and switch it to a mini PC afterwards without redoing everything? And that despite corruption in the database?

That depends on how corrupted your current disk is. I can’t guarantee anything.

If you move to Gladys Plus, if you want I can assist you and we can do the migration together via screen sharing.

Would you be interested in the new starter kit with Gladys pre-installed?

I’ll contact you by email.

[pierre-gilles]

Thanks to @pascal_sapin, who is the first to get this turnkey starter kit!

I’m installing his mini-PC, and I’m posting the whole process on Twitter if you’re interested

[pierre-gilles]

Installation finished, I’m packing the parcel and heading to the drop-off point to post it

I put a sticker in the box!

[pierre-gilles]

It’s been shipped!

I started at 8:50 this morning and just finished (10:46).

All in all, it took me about 2 hours.

Cost-wise, I paid:

• Mini-PC : 199€
• Shipping costs with insurance : 7.69€ (unexpected Halloween promo, normally it was 10.69€)
• Payment fees (PayPal) : 8.20€

Total = 214.89€

If we omit the costs of the 6 months of Gladys Plus, the training costs, and the hardware investment I made for this starter kit (screen, keyboard, etc…), we’re at a 35.10€ margin on this product! That’s not bad.

Unfortunately, on Amazon, the Beelink S13 is now at 229€… I think they’re raising prices to anticipate Black Friday and be able to offer -30% (since in France, the price shown before promotion must be the lowest price applied in the last 30 days).

I would have liked to launch the kit today, but at 229€ for the mini-PC, I’d have to raise the starter kit to 279.99€ You were lucky @pascal_sapin!!

[pierre-gilles]

I’ve updated the site with the new kit:

![Screenshot 2025-10-31 at 14.00.26|690x322](upload://3eLMXUMWscktbLa2XqN

[Einstein8854]

hello @pierre-gilles, rather than Twitter, wouldn’t you happen to have a Bluesky account?