Bidstart & More Than One Paypal Account?

Thanks irishjack.

We were thinking of using our ebay user name and store name on bidStart as well. If it can work that way. Then a search would bring up both ebay and bidStart.

With the way bidStart looks like at a glance, it to me, looks like it needs a very different marketing plan other than the one we have with ebay. But it is still very early days and lots to think about and many try to do's to come.

KGV, you found the flat rate problem I mentioned. When you KNOW they're taking 30+ cents off the top, you can't sell 20 cent items.

Now this is a little corny, but you COULD do this, "If you buy 6 or more items at one time with one payment, we'll give you a free bonus -- a mystery packet of U.S. fully-gummed discount postage containing AT LEAST 50 cents' worth of useable postage..." This solves a couple of problems. And doing so won't cost you 50c, it will cost you more like 30c.

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I would give a little thought to using two different Seller IDs on the two websites. Then if one name gets compromised or hacked or trashed, you still have an operational name. You can always include the line "...and see our affiliate, xxx, on ebay," etc.

I really appreciate what you have said Doug!

There is heaps of wisdom in what you are sharing.

You picked out the main reason in the back of my mind why all this so important to me and that is what happens, in the secret ebay feedback area. It is not good to only have one place to sell because of this very unfair ebay policy and other unfair policies that target the seller.

You certainly have me thinking.

Thank You. KGV

The cost of stores and the differences of cost & benefits. Which one to chose Featured Premium Store or Featured Plus Store.


Store Subscription Fees (Required to List Store Items)All below from bidStart.

Free! * or $3.95 per Month Store Subscription Fee
$9.95 per Month Featured Store Subscription Fee
$19.95 per Month Featured Premium Store Subscription Fee
$49.95 per Month Featured Plus Store Subscription Fee
$99.95 per Month Anchor Store Subscription Fee


Standard Store Subscription

Select Standard Store Subscription to open a standard store. With a standard store you can enjoy all the benefits of a bidStart Store. Having a standard store subscription will allow you to list store items, which remain listed until sold, and are ideal if you have an inventory you want to sell at a fixed price. To create a store item once you have a store subscription, all you need to do is click on Sell, and go through the standard listing process. For listing type (on the listing settings tab), just click "Store Item".

You will also be given the following store url, which you can use to direct buyers to your store: http://www.bidstart.com/stores/yourstorename Your store will display all of your listings (both auction and store), and a brief summary in the header (along with a logo you upload).

You can also feature up to 4 of your listings at the top of your store, as well as add additional pages to your store. These pages will not include item listings, but information, such as store history, shipping and handling details, etc.

You will also be allowed to create Custom Search Categories. Custom Search Categories allow you to define a search, which can be saved along with a title. These Custom Search Categories will appear under the standard categories in your store. Through Custom Search Categories you can create new categories in your store, which can contain your listings, based on the search you define. This allows you to easily include any amount of listings you would like, without the need to modify those listings. It also allows you to include the same listings in more than one, or even two categories. You can define your search using price, keywords (in titles or descriptions), categories and more.
Featured Store Subscription

Featured Store Subscriptions offer the all the benefits of a standard store, with two added benefits.

On the Store Directory page, stores are sorted based on the number of store items and auctions (which are weighted more heavily). However, all Featured Stores are displayed before all Standard Stores.
On most pages on bidStart, on the left hand side is the Featured Store area. Here, 3 stores are randomly chosen from all the Featured Stores, and displayed, along with your store logo and title.

Featured Premium Store Subscription

Featured Premium Store Subscriptions offer all the benefits of a Featured store, with the following addition:

Sellers can create custom coupon codes which customers can use during checkout. These coupon codes can give fixed amounts or percents off of the total, free shipping, and more.
Sellers can send out newsletters to all of their previous customers (and additional custom email lists).
Sellers can track and manage consignors and consignment sales.

Featured Premium Plus Store Subscription

Featured Premium Plus Store Subscriptions offer all the benefits of a Featured Premium store, with the following addition:

On the left of most pages on bidStart, is the On bidStart Advertising area. Here, 4 of your items will be displayed based upon your choosing from Auction Items, Fixed Price Items, Auction & Fixed Price Items or Store Items. Additionally, when a user is browsing a category, your items displayed will be from that category (unless you do not have any items listed in that category). Your items will appear on an equal basis, rotated between other Featured Plus Store Subscribers, and On bidStart advertisers.

Anchor Store Subscription

The Anchor Store subscription is our premium store subscription, offering many benefits and premium branding (with minimal bidStart branding). This store subscription is a great alternative to having your own website. Promote your store and place your store url in your advertising, without worrying about keeping your customers in only your store. Plus, feel free to link any domain name directly to your Anchor Store (contact us if you need help). Anchor Store subscriptions offer all of the benefits of a Featured Plus Store, with the following additions:

5 Free Homepage Featured Upgrades & 5 Free Category Featured Upgrades Per Month!
Anchor Stores appear before all other store types in the Stores Directory.
Create your own custom store header, complete with HTML, to display at the top of all of your store pages.
Create your own personal homepage to be displayed when customers enter your store.
3rd party advertising will not appear within your store pages.
Full store search capabilities within ALL of your listings, allowing customers to easily continue to browse and search only your items.

Isn't the real Question/Answer : Which site give me the biggest bang for my buck! Where do I get the most sales... Where do I get the most PROFIT. Isn't just duplication of effort? Are there collectors that avoid buying on ebay? Why do double the work for half the juice?

Or, am I missing something?

Hi Hal

ebay is very much against the seller. They give the buyer the ability to blackmail a seller as easy as taking a step.

Some of the ebay rules are a total pain for the seller. Like the why of the position(page) of listings, mailing issues, no person to talk to, no way to defend ones self against false witness etc.

bidStart is offering a new start with Stanley Gibbons taking it over. It will give me the European market place that I will not offer on ebay because of some of their rules.

I need to market our stock in another way. Most of our hard to get stock is in very large numbers as it is the way to buy our stock so as to be competitive in any market places. Having heaps of expensive stock sitting around, to me does not make good business sense.

I would very much like to have an ebay store and a totally separate bidStart store.

It is still a bit early but bidStart looks to have a very good rule based online sell place. And looks very easy to list with and very user friendly, more mailing options, can talk to a person etc.

That is it in a nut shell. KGV

We are now up on bidstart with one listing and our stores name is wants4stamps. It is very close to our ebay stores name eyes4stamps.

I am a bit slow with new things that are of the computer world but listing on bidStart is generally user friendly. Especial with the background settings for your listings.

Two points that are very different if you are use to the ways of ebay and one is you can not limit a country, it is more a continent. So the setting will be world wide for us unlike our approach on ebay.

The 2nd issue is you have to crop your image before you do the listing on bidStart. Which has been a drama for me but has turned out probably easier than ebay's way when listing. The bidStart way of listing will be heaps quicker than ebay's because of the image preparation prior to listing.

What can be done with the mailing deals and costs at a good glance looks extremely user friendly all the way around. But the true test is when I can see it working with no confusion for the buyer.

We chose the $50 per month feature store because of promised listing positioning and some discounting and buyer special treatment settings.It was an easy choice because of no listing cost. But the $20 per month feature store looks very good as well. I have no idea how listing outside these stores will ever come up close to the front listing pages.

We still need to properly set mailing settings etc. Have 70 high value Australia stamps from 1990 to 2000 now cropped in my browser file ready to list. Next time I can get to list is Saturday. I feel it will be a positive experience now that I can understand what the basic listings needs are on bidStart.

Next is a string of Australia KGV 1914 to 1938.

Just joined Bidstart and made my first purchase within 5 minutes.

Finally picked up the US 220 cap over 2 stamps - both of them

KGV, do you have an ebay store, or just sell openly using auction listings?

I used to have an ebay store but dropped it years ago, the last time they went nuts with their store pricing. It was working well but for what little I was doing with it, not worth the cost. The 50 free auction listings per month has been working for me on ebay.

I opened up a BidStart store a few years ago but have been doing very little with it as some aspects of life got in the way (such as a very ill, bed-ridden wife, who, after a long, long illness, died a about a year ago).

I do my auction listings on ebay, often with buy-it-now's attached. Though I mostly sell covers that way, now, stamps sold quite well through the ebay store.

On BidStart, I sell stamps almost exclusively, and as store items, almost never running auctions because I haven't had the time and have just been keeping the store alive with an occasional sale from among what little I have there, now, though I plan on doing more listings with them as time permits -- and maybe now it will.

BidStart can be set to automatically pick up your ebay store listings but this could get confusing and problematic if you forget to end your listing on the other when the item sells on one or the other. I tried it, but prefer to keep them separate, as I see you plan on doing, yourself.

Basically, in my experience, while BidStart is a good store platform that works (and is far easier to list on than ebay), ebay is still a far-better auction platform, especially when you have a large lot or collection to sell.

As a buyer...I'll go to Bidstart for "fixed priced" items..Ebay for auctions..and Delcampe for French FDC's and maxicards.
I use to sell on ebay years ago...but as they got bigger..the process of selling more complicated and expensive..it wasn't worth it.
In your Bidstart profile you can mention that you have many positive feedbacks as an ebay seller....as I see many sellers there have done ...You won't know whether its worth your time or money unless you try it...good luck!

As a seller, I have been doing the exact same thing. It's what works.

Yes we now have a featured store with ebay and now bidStart.




Thank you for sharing modern_who. I hope it help a bit. You have certainly been doing it very tough. It would be nice if this got that stamp sell fire burning in you again. Please keep in touch.

We have been listing 300 to 500 lots per week on ebay so the store pays for itself and I believe it will be the best performer.

The bidStart store is a 12 month commitment and we will have about 200 lots per week go up. Because of the amount of listings at no cost it is well worth the store fees in our opinion.

With the bidStart mailing discounts we went for both Australia and world wide.

Australia: Mailing & packaging charge $1.20 or free for orders over $6.

World wide: Mailing & packaging charge $3.15 or free for orders over $16.

On our computer it has the Australia mailing cost & discount only.

So we are of the opinion that world wide computers would have the world wide mailing info on them only as well?

Listing was very easy and quick today listing 70 high value lots of Australia.

But I was very disappointed with the fact that I listed in order from 1991 to 2000 but the listing came out all over the place in our bidStart store.

Need to think about how to create some order in the kaos. Like a string of this and then a string of something totally different so there is a clear beginning and a clear end but sorry about the middle.

The why of this is beyond me!

KGV, I went to bidstart and looked under stamps sold only by your id, but it showed zero items. I then went to store seller directory and found your listing that way. Confusing!
And, you just sold 4 items on bidstart!