I've taken care of the issue. I uploaded all my bidStart inventory to HipStamp 94,817 items. I also closed my inventory on bidStart and that deleted my inventory on the Marketplace. BidStart inventory is now in my closed folder on bidStart. I'm doing all my listings on HipStamps and it's faster then bidStart listing tool. I'm emailing all my customers ( over 10,000) and giving them my HipStamp address.
I'm not interested in trying to maintain items on HipStamps and bidStart. It's a waste of time. We all know bidStart has sync. problems and I hope Mark spends his time working to improving HipStamps. HipStamp is the future of e-commerce, not bidStart.
Faster we get everyone on HipStamp, the better it will be for our customer base.
Don't worry! I'm sure, Mark in the near future, will be opening HipPostCard. He has a solid platform to work from. I'm holding all my postcards in the bidStart closed item folder. When HipPostCard is launched all I have to do is upload them to the new site.
Personally, I would prefer Postcards being integrated into this site (just as it is on bS). One-stop shopping for the buyers (there is a large cross-over between philatelists and deltiologists), and it would save us sellers paying monthly store fees for two sites. That said, I can also understand the rationale for having two separate & specialized platforms.
With regards to the bidStart Sync on HipStamp - that will be turned on either today or tomorrow. It's not broken, but was turned off for various reasons which have since been resolved. The only reason it was not turned back on immediately was to give Sellers a heads up in case they wanted to turn it off.
With regards to bidStart, and Postcards, the plan is that for the time being bidStart will remain running as-is independently. Just to note - Stamps and Postcards account for approximately 99% of sales on bidStart (90% stamps, 9% postcards), so they're by far the two most important categories there.
It is Sunday around 4PM eastern.. Was the Sync turned on?? Up until this morning my HS store had about 5000 items. On BS I am around 5700. Now I went and looked and my HS store is down to 4500 items. It looks like many items were removed but none of my newer items from the past few months on BS are there. Is something still in progress ? I am missing well over 1000 items right now. Has anyone else seen any major differences now ?
We're currently working on this, and should have the bidStart Sync back up and running (and all Seller's items re-synced) by tomorrow. Check back then.
hi,I want to close my store on bidstart, can anyone tell me how do I notify my customer of the move from bidstart to hipstamp in bulk or do i do it one at a time :-(
Hello Mark & the rest......Yuppers...Happy days are here
Always had confidence in you Mark....& Hip stamp?...I was with Stampwants from the beginning in '05.....I saw & was a part of what you built....I have no doubt you can do the same with Hipstamp...& let Bidstart die on the vine....It's easier to build a name...than rebuild a damaged one.
I do have some questions....the first shows how far BS has fallen......I received an email the other day from a buyer who had best offered me on some covers....I never received notification from BS....& only noticed them when I went to "my bidstart" to check on something else......I made counter offers.....I guess he never received notification of that....He's asking that since he can't best offer again on the same items...can we do a deal?....
So...can we take "best offers" on hipstamp?....If so I can direct him here...a sale & a new member / buyer for Hipstamp
Next question....What about our stores on the SGM?....Are they still there?....If so how do I delete it?
Next....If we have stores open on Hipstamp & Bidstart both...will we be charged fees for both sites?...Or Bidstart stores just included in our Hipstamp fess?....(Mark...I can't see any reason to accept new store subscribers on bidstart???????)
Next...Since you now own Bidstart Mark, will our feedbacks be transferred over to Hipstamp?
And finally.....I'm with the rest in that this is a happy day...and looking forward to seeing (and being a part of) Hipstamp grow the way Bidstart did
Patrick, Mark isn't charging for HipStamp Store fees for the month of August.
Choose Subscription
Basic - $5.00 Free (through August 31) per every 30 days Featured - $15.00 Free (through August 31) per every 30 days (Featured Store) Premium - $45.00 Free (through August 31) per every 30 days (Featured Store)
Thanks John....What about the Bidstart subscription fees? Are they included in the Hipstamp fees? Or will I be billed separately for that store? If such is the case? then I'll close the Bidstart store, and just have the store on Hipstamp.
Bonaparte - We have a Seller Newsletter feature which you can use for exactly that purpose. However, at the moment you can't send a Seller Newsletter yourself, but we can do so on your behalf. Just send me an email directly to mark AT hipstamp.com and I'll help get this out for you.
Patrick - For the time being bidStart and HipStamp will operate independently, so there's separate fees, etc. Outside that, no decisions have been made yet. However, HipStamp will be our main focus with regards to selling stamps online. We've had a few requests for transferring feedback - and once the acquisition is complete this is something I would like to do.
John - Thanks for answering the other questions!
The bidStart Sync is now officially up and running again, and all Sellers should be completely re-synced by later today. I'll be sending an update to Seller later today, and we'll then restart our marketing efforts here.
Re - Syncing: Will the sites be synced both ways? I had added stamps to Hipstamp before the legal issue and did not add them to Bidstart as I was no longer going to list new material there. Will the items listed to Hipstamp be added to Bidstart or do I have to list them a second time.
Once you enable the sync, all of your current applicable items will be imported, and any updates you make, or new items you list on bidStart, will automatically be brought over.
Additionally, when an item sells on either site - we'll update the quantity / close the listing accordingly on both sites!
Above is from HipStamp site. It's a one way sync for new listings or updates BidStart to HipStamp
Patrick - If you go to the SG site's main page, there is now a banner up detailing how SG will be closing down. There are a couple of links as well, one of which is a pdf that explains how to shut down yourself, or to simply wait until September 1st when all stores will automatically cease to exist:
I just got an Email explaining how to close our store. I've also emptied my "petty cash" drawer! Now that things are clearing up. I will send a Email to all my customers inviting them to visit my Hipstamp store! Which brings me to a question: What happens with the BS monies accumulated by my/our customers?
Mark....Another BS glitch you may want to take a look at.....The buyer I mentioned above that I was not notified of his best offers, the same as I wasn't notified of a sale until the buyer paid & I got the notice of payment from paypal....
Well...I went to my "my bidstart" to inform the fellow with the best offers that he could best offer me on Hipstamp....It was then I noticed I had made a sale 3 days ago....again without e-mail notification from BS of the sale....Something you may want to look into?
Also...Mark, Hadn't you mentioned sending out a mass mailing to ALL Bidstart customers informing them of Hipstamp?....Is that still a possibility?
I will be sending out an email to all HipStamp customers later today / this evening, which is similar to the one I sent to Sellers. However, I'm waiting until the bidStart Sync catches up on HipStamp - as I do not want Buyers to arrive, and make purchases here for items which were already sold on bidStart (for those Sellers using the bidStart sync).
Once the acquisition of bidStart is complete, which will be August 1, or sooner, I will then put out a proper communication to all bidStart members as well.
With regards to individual Sellers sending Seller Newsletters to their customers - we're still planning on this as well, and I'll reach out to Sellers accordingly over the next week or two.
John, that's kind of what I thought. I would need to do any updates done to Hipstamp in the way of new listings over to Bidstart. I may or may not bother to do that as in the end I think Hipstamp will be the one left standing
It is a beautiful thing !! I just checked and the sync worked and my store count on Hipstamp now matches Bidstart - 100% ! All of the images are there too ! I even had a small sale this morning here ! Thanks Mark !! Steve
Comments
I've taken care of the issue. I uploaded all my bidStart inventory to HipStamp 94,817 items. I also closed my inventory on bidStart and that deleted my inventory on the Marketplace. BidStart inventory is now in my closed folder on bidStart. I'm doing all my listings on HipStamps and it's faster then bidStart listing tool. I'm emailing all my customers ( over 10,000) and giving them my HipStamp address.
I'm not interested in trying to maintain items on HipStamps and bidStart. It's a waste of time. We all know bidStart has sync. problems and I hope Mark spends his time working to improving HipStamps. HipStamp is the future of e-commerce, not bidStart.
Faster we get everyone on HipStamp, the better it will be for our customer base.
Don't worry! I'm sure, Mark in the near future, will be opening HipPostCard. He has a solid platform to work from. I'm holding all my postcards in the bidStart closed item folder. When HipPostCard is launched all I have to do is upload them to the new site.
That said, I can also understand the rationale for having two separate & specialized platforms.
With regards to bidStart, and Postcards, the plan is that for the time being bidStart will remain running as-is independently. Just to note - Stamps and Postcards account for approximately 99% of sales on bidStart (90% stamps, 9% postcards), so they're by far the two most important categories there.
Always had confidence in you Mark....& Hip stamp?...I was with Stampwants from the beginning in '05.....I saw & was a part of what you built....I have no doubt you can do the same with Hipstamp...& let Bidstart die on the vine....It's easier to build a name...than rebuild a damaged one.
I do have some questions....the first shows how far BS has fallen......I received an email the other day from a buyer who had best offered me on some covers....I never received notification from BS....& only noticed them when I went to "my bidstart" to check on something else......I made counter offers.....I guess he never received notification of that....He's asking that since he can't best offer again on the same items...can we do a deal?....
So...can we take "best offers" on hipstamp?....If so I can direct him here...a sale & a new member / buyer for Hipstamp
Next question....What about our stores on the SGM?....Are they still there?....If so how do I delete it?
Next....If we have stores open on Hipstamp & Bidstart both...will we be charged fees for both sites?...Or Bidstart stores just included in our Hipstamp fess?....(Mark...I can't see any reason to accept new store subscribers on bidstart???????)
Next...Since you now own Bidstart Mark, will our feedbacks be transferred over to Hipstamp?
And finally.....I'm with the rest in that this is a happy day...and looking forward to seeing (and being a part of) Hipstamp grow the way Bidstart did
The soapbox is open
Patrick
Yes, you can do offers on HipStamp - You will find the check box on the Second Page of the Lister App.
Choose Subscription
Basic - $5.00 Free (through August 31) per every 30 days
Featured - $15.00 Free (through August 31) per every 30 days (Featured Store)
Premium - $45.00 Free (through August 31) per every 30 days (Featured Store)
Patrick - For the time being bidStart and HipStamp will operate independently, so there's separate fees, etc. Outside that, no decisions have been made yet. However, HipStamp will be our main focus with regards to selling stamps online. We've had a few requests for transferring feedback - and once the acquisition is complete this is something I would like to do.
John - Thanks for answering the other questions!
The bidStart Sync is now officially up and running again, and all Sellers should be completely re-synced by later today. I'll be sending an update to Seller later today, and we'll then restart our marketing efforts here.
Thanks
Once you enable the sync, all of your current applicable items will be imported, and any updates you make, or new items you list on bidStart, will automatically be brought over.
Additionally, when an item sells on either site - we'll update the quantity / close the listing accordingly on both sites!
Above is from HipStamp site. It's a one way sync for new listings or updates BidStart to HipStamp
It's a two way sync for Sold items.
http://blog.stanleygibbons.com/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/closingyourstore2.pdf
Sittin here with a perma grin on my face looking forward to what Mark & the rest of us will make of Hipstamp
Thanks Mark
Which brings me to a question: What happens with the BS monies accumulated by my/our customers?
Thanks
Patrick
Well...I went to my "my bidstart" to inform the fellow with the best offers that he could best offer me on Hipstamp....It was then I noticed I had made a sale 3 days ago....again without e-mail notification from BS of the sale....Something you may want to look into?
Also...Mark, Hadn't you mentioned sending out a mass mailing to ALL Bidstart customers informing them of Hipstamp?....Is that still a possibility?
Once the acquisition of bidStart is complete, which will be August 1, or sooner, I will then put out a proper communication to all bidStart members as well.
With regards to individual Sellers sending Seller Newsletters to their customers - we're still planning on this as well, and I'll reach out to Sellers accordingly over the next week or two.