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Post by ClassicPhilatelist on Apr 10, 2024 1:04:41 GMT
Am I the only one that has noticed that Rosenberg is no longer selling on Hipstamp? And the "Premium Giveaway" (usually a Penny Black) shows no "sponsor" which was previously associated with Rosenberg.
Small miracles, they had descended into garbage since the divorce, and we did a LOT of complaining to the site about their listings. Interesting how that all evolved, but can't say I'm sorry to see their listings gone.
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Post by Dave Sheridan on Apr 10, 2024 1:13:16 GMT
Rosenberg owns and operates Hipstamp doesn't he?
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Post by ClassicPhilatelist on Apr 10, 2024 2:00:48 GMT
Yup.
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Post by Dave Sheridan on Apr 10, 2024 5:48:58 GMT
So, has he stepped away from the business?
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Post by ClassicPhilatelist on Apr 10, 2024 6:39:41 GMT
No. It's a bit of a mess apparently. He and his wife split. She was the one running the stamp sales/auction side. He left the US, went to the PI and set the business up there to avoid the US rules for sales tax on websites. The divorce was messy apparently. He tried to keep sales running with a bunch of people who had no idea what they were doing, and no level of quality. Their stamp sales plummeted. All the US staff have been converted to Philippines now. So there are apparently no US staff remaining (though there may be 1 still left there, I'm not 100% clear on this).
I think Hip is still alive because of the relationship with the APS which also happened right about the time everything went wonky. But they brought about 250,000 new listings, and 10's of thousands of sales a month to the table, and apparently that was the main "boost" to keep them going. They tried something similar with Kelleher, but that one isn't working out as much because they demand a "20% buyers premium" on all their sales, which are mostly too high already. They are the auction "rejects" things that don't sell during the live auctions.
Just had a look, looks like they have recanted on the 20% buyers premium, but there is a Scott #1 listed for $350 with this description: 1847, 5¢ RED BROWN (SCOTT 1), red cancel; minor cut LL margin, Fine to Very Fine. Scott $350. Estimate $200 - 300.
I like the last line... estimate $200 - $300 which I assume has been brought over from their online auction description. "We estimate it's value at $200 - $300, so we'll ask $350 for it..." What the WHAT?!
Don't get me wrong, I like Kelleher a lot. I buy from them all the time. But their attempt to "extend" to Hipstemp has been met with pretty luke warm at best reception, and in the last month they've had 2 sales against 600ish listings.
I would suggest the site would be in trouble if APS were to pull their listings from the site. They've lost the plot. I wish Mark all the best, and I hope he recovers from the fiasco a divorce can leave behind, but he was not doing himself any favors by running the garbage auctions they were running in their last 10 - 18 months.
It's still the best option for online sales of stamps, in my view, but it appears like they are headed for the endangered list if something doesn't turn around for them. Hopefully the site remains, I'd have to have to move to another site again, and it will be a dark, cold day in the underworld before we'd go back to eweBay.
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Post by Dave Sheridan on Apr 10, 2024 7:00:24 GMT
Wow, what a situation. I found Mark unresponsive to suggestions, even after he approached me! He ignored any advice I proffered.
I tried selling on Hipstamp, but it didn't work for me being in Australia and specialising in British Commonwealth, and I left Ebay for the final time last year. I'm now hooked up to a new platform, but progress is slow.
As for Kelleher, I can't comment. They refused my bidding request on SAN, so I've blackballed them
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Post by ClassicPhilatelist on Apr 10, 2024 7:56:41 GMT
Well, we're in a similar boat Dave. I'm a US Specialist living in Japan. So 99% of my sales get sent to the US, which has it's challenges, but we've been selling INTO the US for more nearly 25 years now. We "originated" in 1998 on eBay while still in the US (went by Stamp Maniac back in those days, until 2013, when we switched to our current name). But since 2001, we've been out of the US. Several years in Australia, and Singapore, and the last 15-ish selling from Japan. So you can make it work. But Hip is certainly a US-heavy dealer site, so selling to US buyers on it is less challenging probably than it would be for you. We also have to "get creative" when selling around the lower-value material (Under $10ish each). And most of those are "meant" to be sold as add-on to some larger order, but now and then someone buys something on the lower scale. It's the only way to get rid of big low-value accumulations. But, it works for us overall. We would certainly "do better" if we were in the US, but still we do a healthy pace of a few hundred stamps a month, ranging between $3k on a bad month and $10k on a good month.
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Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Apr 10, 2024 14:23:55 GMT
Am I the only one that has noticed that Rosenberg is no longer selling on Hipstamp? And the "Premium Giveaway" (usually a Penny Black) shows no "sponsor" which was previously associated with Rosenberg. Small miracles, they had descended into garbage since the divorce, and we did a LOT of complaining to the site about their listings. Interesting how that all evolved, but can't say I'm sorry to see their listings gone. Wow. I had not noticed that. I'm sure that, whatever rough seas he is navigating right now, Mark will keep the HipShip afloat and on course.
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Post by ClassicPhilatelist on Apr 10, 2024 14:52:26 GMT
I certainly hope so.
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