ABOUT US

That’s how it all started… speedcube.nl was born! This online store was created purely for fun, as a hobby, and out of an interest in new things. Dave had absolutely no experience building a web shop, but he was curious and just went for it. It all started with a web shop offering just 20 different speed cubes. Well, you have to start somewhere! We bought a display cabinet measuring 40x28x180 cm and placed it in the bedroom to neatly store the products. During this time, we shipped 1 to 2 packages per month and took them ourselves to a PostNL drop-off point. Whenever an order was sold and needed to be shipped, we’d just grab an old box from previously received products and put it in there.

It started as a hobby in an attic room and has grown into a full-fledged online store!

Our product range expanded at lightning speed. By then, we had over 100 different types of speed cubes! Naturally, orders were coming in much more frequently, and we were shipping several orders a week. Everything was still done manually. We created the shipping labels ourselves and dropped off the packages at a PostNL location every day after 5:00 PM. The time had also come to ship the products in nice new boxes.

Meanwhile, our ambition to create a comprehensive online store kept growing, so we decided to expand. Not just with speed cubes, but also with other specialty toys. That’s how yo-yos and brain teasers were added to our product range. At that point, all the cabinets and spaces where we could store inventory were filled with every item from the online store. This situation was no longer sustainable! So we made plans to gut the entire attic and install a dormer window 6 meters deep and 5 meters wide (30 m²) to maximize storage space. Orders were now coming in daily, so we began automating the shipping process.

The moment had arrived… the dormer window was installed! We set up shelving units throughout this space. We devised a system to neatly organize all the items, making everything easy to access for orders. The DHL carrier now stopped by daily to pick up the orders. This was possible because our order volumes had grown large enough. This allowed us to take another step in the right direction… A new, much more professional online store was built by a company.

To expand our product range and get new ideas, we attended Germany’s largest toy fair, known as Spielwarenmesse. There, we discovered model kits—both wooden and metal ones. This immediately caught our interest, so we added them to our product range right away. By then, the attic had also become too small to store the items, so in July we moved to a commercial space of over 210 square meters. As a result, we also decided to switch to PostNL’s services.

As everyone knows, the whole world was hit by COVID-19. No one knew exactly what was going on, and people were ordering like crazy online! Online stores were literally flooded with orders. We, too, did everything we could this year to process the orders and ended up handling more than 25,000 of them. It became clear to us that our current methods of storing and processing goods weren’t sustainable for the future.

We started by devising a long-term solution to our storage and processing challenges. After six months of discussions with PostNL, we found our partner in PostNL Fulfilment. The solution? As of July 22, 2021, our entire inventory has been moved to an automated warehouse. This immediately resolved our biggest concerns (storage and processing). We can now grow our online store to the fullest! For us, this also meant that we wanted to create a new online store. It had to be even more user-friendly, fully updated for today’s world!

As a result, in 2022 we were able to focus on other aspects of our online store. We now meet all the requirements for the Thuiswinkel Waarborg certificate and are authorized to display it. We believe it is very important to instill trust in our customers. That is why we have chosen to implement Kiyoh’s review system on our online store. Here, customers can write their own reviews after making a purchase. Of course, our top priority remains finding the best products that fit our online store. For example, we’ve added the “puzzles” category and now sell unique wooden puzzles, among other items. You may have also come across us on social media channels—we’ve been actively working on that this year as well.

In 2023, we took significant steps to elevate our online store to an even higher level. One of the highlights of the year was the expansion of our team. By hiring another enthusiastic employee, we are able to provide even better service to our customers. Optimizing the purchasing process was also high on our agenda. By investing in advanced systems and strong partnerships with suppliers, we can always offer the latest products at competitive prices. You may have noticed, but in 2023 we also launched a blog and an extensive FAQ page. Here, we share interesting articles and tips about our products. In addition, we have extended our partnership with PostNL Fulfillment for a full three years. This means that orders are still shipped to customers quickly and reliably. We place great value on efficient logistics and fast order delivery. To emphasize the personal touch of speedcube.nl, we’ve also decided to show the faces behind the company. Customers can now meet the team behind speedcube.nl and see who works with passion every day to provide the best service and products.

In 2024, we once again took major steps to improve our services. We further automated various processes and optimized our system. This year, we also launched a new logo and a fresh design, giving Speedcube.nl a distinctive look. These updates strengthen our identity and make our brand even more recognizable. Customers can now cancel or modify their orders shortly after placing them. Previously, this was not possible due to our fully automated Autostore system. Thanks to our partnership with PostNL, we can now adjust or cancel orders for a short time after they are placed. This allows us to offer our customers more flexibility and control over their purchasing process. In addition, we have introduced a new concept on our website, which is explained in detail on this page: https://www.speedcube.nl/spelregels. With this concept, we aim to serve our customers even better by always offering the most competitive prices, even for the newest products. Unfortunately, we also had to say goodbye to a valued colleague this year. Due to changing market demand, increasing competition, and the growing influence of AI on automation, this decision was unavoidable. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to a personal and customer-focused approach. At Speedcube.nl, we have made a conscious choice not to use AI for direct customer contact. Our customers can count on personal responses from one of our employees, because we believe that personal contact is an essential part of good service.