How are sellers doing on this site ?

George DeKornfeld

For me, selling has been slow to non-existent (I've sold a bit more than my feedback implies....buyers just don't bother to leave any). Admittedly, I only have around 600 items up for sale which dwarfs my store size compared to some other sellers, but in general, my prices are lower than most and I've got some decent cards for sale. Some of my cards have dozens of viewers, but no takers. Meanwhile, my postcards sell reasonably well on that 'other site.'
How are you all doing? And if you're moving stock, any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?
Also, compared to HipStamp, this forum is as dead as a doornail.....very frustrating...

https://www.hippostcard.com/store/docgfd-postcards

Mark Rosenberg

Hi George,

As you noted, our forums on HipPostcard are not very active at the moment. However, sales are very active, and continue to increase each month. That being said, with 3 Million postcards on our site, and with most Sellers having thousands, to hundreds of thousands of cards, that's probably a key reason why you're not seeing many sales at the moment.

You might want to try running a few auctions (they don't need to start at a penny, but anything you'd feel comfortable selling them for) as that might help drive more traffic to your store in general, as auctions are featured above store items.

George DeKornfeld

Thanks Mark, I'll give the auctions a try. Do you find buyers tend to browse stores more than doing specific searches for postcard topics? Just curious.
As an aside, I'm getting ready to move into my new house over the next few weeks after being in apartment limbo since July, and out of circulation since last November due to surgical / health issues, so all my stamp and postcard stock will finally be coming out of storage. I'll be re-opening my HipStamp store shortly, and be piling on more items here and over there....I've been investing in large lots and have amassed a ton of material to list. Cheers, George.

Mark Rosenberg

Buyers do both, but will generally only browse Stores with larger amounts of inventories, or where the Sellers are running various promotions and marketing efforts, etc. We can help with this for Featured and Premium Stores as well, and even if you're on a Basic Store Subscription, if you're sales are slow at the moment, we can help as well... But in general, we recommend setting up promotions, etc. where there's at least 1,000 items in said promotion - so I don't think that would work too well in your case, as you have about half that amount in total.

However, I do think setting up a few auctions to try and drive additional traffic to your Store is worth a shot. In general, once a buyer has purchased one item from you - such as through an auction, they'll look through your Store to see what else is available since they can save on shipping, etc.

Richard K. Burnham

If ALL sellers were required to scan both the fronts and backs of postcards, I am sure sales would increase on this site big time!!! I for one collect numbered series many publishers and I back out immediately from a listing if card backs aren't shown.

Yes, it does take extra effort and time to list backs along with the fronts, but everything done well takes effort and time PLUS, you sellers would reap the rewards in the end with more sales and possibly at higher prices.

This extra effort also cuts down on customers asking sellers additional questions……..that is wasted time spent by both customers and sellers. Remember, pictures say 1000 words……which most everyone would prefer.

George DeKornfeld

I already scan both sides of postcards and have done so religiously since the outset of this site. I just recently tried some auctions as well (a few are still in progress) as Mark suggested and although I had several 'lookers' I had no 'bites.' No sales here in weeks, yet on that other site where I don't even have a store, sales have been decent.
Richard, would you be so kind as to take a ride thru my store to see if you have any suggestions?
George

https://www.hippostcard.com/store/docgfd-postcards

Richard K. Burnham

I took the ride through your store. Very nice set-up. The size of cards is great. I like to see the small border around the card so that edges & corners can be checked. Seeing the backs of your cards means everything to me, as some card scenes have different publisher information on the backs

When I sell postcards, I try to stay very true to the title as printed on the postcard and then add various spellings of the state at the end.

I list the card's publisher and the set or sets of numbers if known When a set of numbers appears on the card front, many times they can only be seen with a loupe. If one collects series such I do, knowing this information is the difference between a sale or no-sale. With the size of my collection, I don't need to make mistakes purchasing a duplicate card or a card in worse shape than the mint ones I have.

In the auction description I write where it was postmarked at and the date. Then I print the full name & address the card was addressed to. Finally I write the date the message was written if known, to whom and signed from whom. This information is an added benefit for the people searching genealogy

George DeKornfeld

Thank you Richard, I appreciate your time !
I guess all I can do is 'keep the faith' and hold on, hoping for sales to kick in.
Cheers,
George