Has HipStamp been Sued by BidStart?

Michael David Hiltner

Someone posted in BidStart of the existence of HipStamp. I wonder if that sparked BidStamp to get in touch with their Legal Team for a Breach of Contract Suit against Mark (Let's Hope not!)...



Michael & Andrea
LickinGoodStamps!

Ross Berger

Not BS but SG. Lets not start trying to guess whats going on here. I'm sure in due time we'll find out, until then lets not feed the rumor mill-

Wayne Buza

It's Bush's fault, no its Obama's fault. Maybe Martians?

Ron Lenke

So SG vainly attempts to revive BS but through seemingly endless tech glitches and bugs, eventually tries the patience of even the most diehard users causing a mass exodus from the all-but-dead site. And now it appears they wish to further their mischief into the stamp community by obstructing a resurrection of that once-viable site (or a clone thereof). Are they still peeved about some revolution 240 years ago?

Michael Flanagan

My guess would be non-compete clause. Just hope it gets settled quickly. Oh wait....there are lawyers involved...

Patrick Burnard

Michael...Easy now....my oldest son is a lawyer

A "non compete" clause generally only lasts a few years.

And even if so? Just show the wreck SG has made of the old BS.....From what I can see the site is dead for all intents & purposes.

SG bought it in Oct of 2013, going on 3 years, & both the old BS & the SG Marketplace don't have nearly the volume that the old BS had before the purchase.
BTW.......SG stock was trading for 14 pence a share today.

The site was working fine until SG got hold of it

Patrick Burnard

You will not independently work for the company’s clients while you are employed or contracted with the company.

You will agree to all of these stipulations for a period of one to two years (whatever the non-compete clause states).

You will agree to all of the above after you leave the company or complete the project.

Quintessential Careers. Dealing with Non-Compete Clauses and Agreements. Retrieved from http://www.quintcareers.com/non-compete_clauses.html

Michael David Hiltner

I'm no American Legal Beagle, but I can only ASS-U-ME that it goes much deeper than a Non-Complete Clause, since Mark SOLD BidStart to the SG Group. The Non CC is when you are hired on as an employee, Mark was the OWNER or Certain Copyrighted Rights, and of course other goodies that were handed over to Mark and a few others in exchange for Financial Gain (well let's just hope they were NOT compensated with SG Shares! (That would have SUCKER written all over it)).

Nice to see that others are putting some thought into this.

Henry Brooks

No "thought" can be put into this without knowledge (not speculation) of the terms of sale, the terms of the separation agreement, and the particular reason cited by SG for their legal action.

It does not do any good to "think" about a situation without knowing the facts - it is merely speculation and serves no useful purpose.

My two cents from almost 7 decades of observing human nature.

Doug Noernberg

Thanks Carol. Yes, unfortunately, we must all wait and be patient. In the meantime, I will continue to add listings here in anticipation of a positive resolution.

John Armstrong

Maybe Mark should just buy SG and get rid of all the hapless board. SG produce great catalogues and sell high end of the market stamps. They don't know how to sell the small stuff and they have wasted millions trying to find out. They should have made the SG site for top end stuff only and developed Bidstart for the rest. The problem seems to be they know finance and banking but Jack Schitt about stamps.

Patrick Burnard

SG now has a new director.......

RNS
Stanley Gibbons Group PLC - SGI
Directorate Change
Released 07:00 17-May-2016

RNS Number : 4053Y
Stanley Gibbons Group PLC
17 May 2016


THE STANLEY GIBBONS GROUP PLC

(the "Company" or the "Group")

Appointment of Chairman

The Stanley Gibbons Group Plc (AIM:SGI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Harry Wilson as a director of the Company on 16th May 2016 and as Chairman-elect. As indicated in the circular to shareholders dated 14th March 2016, it was the intention of Martin Bralsford to "step down as soon as a suitable replacement had been identified". Accordingly, Mr Wilson will take over from Mr Bralsford as Chairman of the Company at the next board meeting and Mr Bralsford intends to step down as a director at or before the publication of the preliminary results statement, expected to be towards the end of June.

Harry Wilson is an experienced public company director and chairman, having been involved with listed companies for over 20 years. He is also a long-time collector of stamps, is well-known within the industry and has a significant knowledge and interest in philately.

The following information regarding the appointment of Henry ("Harry") George Wilson, aged 63, is disclosed under Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Ron Lenke

We are not totally devoid of facts here, as SG took some legal action and Mark responded by putting a hold on transactions. It seems reasonable to infer that both SG isn't merely wasting time and expense on an easily dismissible, meritless cause and that Mark has evaluated and responded in kind. I don't regard suggestions as to the nature of the legal arguments as purposeless speculation as I have to decide whether to invest time adding listings or wait. I also might consider alternatives, or a back-up plan should Mark not prevail. So, no, this discussion has some value in my view.

Patrick Burnard

Example......I open a successful taco stand (I like tacos ).....I sell the taco stand to an outfit.....they change the menu, their service is not what it was when I sold it to them. They keep making modifications & changes to the original stand I sold them, to the point it no longer resembles the stand I sold them, other than by name, which in time the new owners had plans to change the name of (SGM)....So how can one sue for a non compete clause when the taco stand they bought has been changed to look nothing like the original?....And again....most non compete clauses are for only a year or 2...We are well beyond that......I wish Mark the best, & will continue to list on Hipstamp.

As a sign of protest to SG (& maybe others will join me?)....I now have a minimum subscription store on BS....which I have put on an "Extended vacation"....So SG can collect their $3.95 a month....as sellers continue to disappear to sites other than just Hipstamp.

The BS site itself is even getting hard to log into....I get newsletters for BS sellers "Going out of business" notices. It truly is sad that SG can't admit they screwed up, and have to resort to attacks against Mark.

Last check SG stock was selling @ 14.25 PENCE per share

Ross Berger

This thread should be locked. Plain and Simple Mark will let us know or NOT, speculation is just that....

Ron Lenke

Ross, Carol calm down....soup tastes better if you stir the pot

Wayne Buza

HA Ha Ha. The fact is whether we admit it or not we are all speculating a bit and hoping for a great outcome.

Michael Flanagan

I agree with Ron. My understanding is that Mark left SG in August of last year. That being said, a 1 year non-compete would not expire until this August.I have been under non-compete agreements as a senior executive with an unnamed national chain. While nobody can truly take away your right to work, these agreements are binding, difficult to break. If an injunction was issued, this could be a long wait. Even if one had a sympathetic judge, SG can tie this up as long as they can afford it. I will spend my time in a productive mode elsewhere for now. Hope it all turns out for the best! (Fingers crossed)

George DeKornfeld

If memory serves, didn't one of Mark's e-mails state that it was over one year since he and SG parted ways?

Michael Flanagan

From his Linked IN profile:

Chief Digital Officer
Stanley Gibbons Ltd
November 2012 – July 2015 (2 years 9 months) Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

James Gunnells

I'm glad I found this topic, I would like to know what's going on and this is the first discussion I've found about all this.
Non-compete clause? I surely hope that HipStamps does not ever compete with SG. It would have to be pretty crummy and go downhill even this early in the game to "compete"!
How many disgusted members would have to leave?

Patrick Burnard

No doubt James.......What's left of the original Bidstart that SG bought is minimal.....Only credit cards, different search features etc....I got a call from an SG employee (as I'm sure others did) last January telling me they were gonna accept paypal...A BIG marketing campaign.... blah blah blah......just more smoke

My last sale on BS was good, just a few higher dollar items......Get this....The only way I became aware of the sale was when the buyer made payment via Paypal...I had not received e-mail notification of the sale.......I go & check my control panel and also see that I had 11 best offers that I'd also received no notification of. I made counter offers, yet at the same time, how do I know if the one that made the offers received notification of my counter offers?

I just got fed up & put the store on an extended vacation (6 months), 4 bucks a month to warehouse my listings

Personally I feel SG has pretty much given up on merging BS with their marketplace themselves, as the last news update was nearly a year ago...

(Marketplace Release Notes v1.8 Posted July 7, 2015 in Product Announcements)

Unless it's been updated in SG's news / forums?

It really doesn't appear that SG has any interest in the merger anymore? And considering how much their stock has dropped, being cash strapped there won't be all the marketing I was told was gonna happen around Jan. by the same SG employee.

The only bright side now? is that there may REALLY be a bright side should Mark prevail .......Looking at the old BS / SGM had become more like staring into an abyss

I'm not a lawyer (Oldest son is )....Yet I look at it & think how could SG claim non compete as what they changed BS into is NOTHING at all like the VERY SUCCESSFUL Bidstart they bought from Mark.

I have confidence in Mark, & hoping that it goes in his (our) favor

Michael Flanagan

Looks like we are going to find out the fate of HipStamps before month end.

Dave Sheridan

I'm selling stamps at a clearance rate of ~90%. I've gone back to Ebay. I don't want a warehouse and I don't want to list items on an inactive site, I want sales!

Ron Lenke

Does it seem like we are anxiously waiting to see white or black smoke? Will this "rain" ever stop so we can go out and play? Or as a recent song said "say something I'm giving up on you". Sure don't want to revisit bidstart's last gasps...is anybody home?

Patrick Burnard

Present & accounted for.......Waiting for the smoke myself

George DeKornfeld

Waiting & hoping ! This site and Mark's expertise, openness, and willingness to listen to his sellers will make this the best stamp site out there, hands down.

Patrick Burnard

Yup..One of the things I always mentioned when directing people to Bidstart was how collector friendly it was.

I believe Mark will prevail...... SG ruined Bidstart.... That has to mean something to a judge.

Dave Sheridan

For sellers outside North America, Bidstart was a dud, as almost no-one had heard of it. For buyers, it was a pain to search as descriptions were so brief (country, year, Scott number, condition). I had very high hopes for SG, and I'm saddened by the failure, but I fear Hipstamp may lose this one.

Patrick Burnard

I would disagree Dave....Over the years I've had buyers the world over....From the Russian Federation, to Vietnam...Poland to Brazil. As I tend to specialize in Germany & area, I always thought it odd that I had buyers of German material in Germany, yet many times such was the case.

Just a guess...I'd say a quarter of my buyers were from outside the US.

Dave Sheridan

I find that buyers that rely on SG catalogues didn't use Bidstart. Did you list your German material by Scott or Michel?