What About HipStamps?

At least Hipstamp has a decent, workable search function.......unlike ebay, whose search program sucks big time.

I am liking Hipstamps.
I have found some real bargains in my collecting area.
Nice stamps for pennies.

As ebay, there are lots of overpriced items, but you can find stamps offered by collectors, as their duplicates, at really good prices.

One hiccup I am finding, is when I drill down to 1 stamp, then go back to the main search criteria I used, the stamp position disappears, I have yet to nut that one out.

For a specialized collector like me neither Hipstamp nor bidstart before it has a turnover rate that requires me to check it more than a couple of times a month. And I agree with those who don't like Hipstamp's format and structure (it took me a long time to figure out how to give feedback, for example). That said, I recently picked up a very nice item in sound condition on Hipstamp (US Scott #9 position 65R1L) that I have been seeking for a long time from a seller who is as far as I can tell not on ebay.

Received my first couple of purchases from Hipstamp.
Must say quite impressed,
Fast service, very well packaged, Invoiced, budget prices,
What's not to like?

There is a lot of poor stamps, mis-identified stamps etc,
but worth the endurance in my book.

Latest Negative:
I search for a Turkey Sc#77 (CV $45 / $150)
I find one on Hipstamp.
The vendor has 479 Turkish stamps for sale, not 1 image, of any stamp
I email him for an image of the Sc#77

He replies, and posts an image,
Looks promising, then I find he only ships to US

As far as I can see, there is no reference on the orig listing on shipping blocks.

Is there anyway, I can block vendors such as these?

A number of us have asked for the ability to block sellers as a feature request on the Hipstamp forum. In late-November, Mark Rosenberg, the site owner, indicated that the feature might be added in the future. You can read his comments at https://www.hipstamp.com/forums/dis...llers#latest.

I do like HipStamp's search function as I can usually find the exact stamp I'm looking for with a minimal amount of "chaff" in the search results. Sometimes just finding the stamp you are looking for on ebay can be an adventure all by itself. And HipStamp is a good place to find cheaper singles and sets you don't always find on ebay. Not too many bargains on middle and higher-end material, though, because no seller in their right mind would try to run many $.99 start no-reserve auctions there.

Auctions on hipstamps??? whats that: I just looked up parcel post stamps and found 1046 buy it nows [no bargains] and TWO auctions. Similar action on most stamp searches.
For precancels it is worse 9245 BIN's [all overpriced] and ONE auction also too high.

Chasa, is that Hipstart's fault? I think some folks just think their stuff is worth a fortune. But it happens everywhere, including ebay.

Peter

NOT hipstamps fault - I just like to watch auctions, BIN's are so dull entertainmentwise.

I have been watching Hipstamps and Mark Rosenberg is on the right track with the special 1c auctions he's been featuring. I kept an eye on the last one hoping to grab a couple bargains but the final prices seemed to be quite solid. The problem is that I don't know how he plans to migrate this success to the rest of Hipstamps.

I think collectors like the auction format and this draws bidders to ebay. In my category "Worldwide Collections" there are currently 6600 active auctions and in the last 90 days there have been 47,500 sales. Conversely there are currently 35,600 Fixed Price items and in the last 90 days 9,950 Fixed Price items have sold. Clearly selling at auction is the way to go.

Hipstamps doesn't have a category for Worldwide Collections but in the entire Worldwide category there are 57 auctions and only 7 items have bids. It would be impossible for me to sell on Hipstamps until there is a lot more activity. If Mark could get NYStamps and Noblespirit to list auctions on Hipstamps I might take another look but right now it's way too risky.

Oh Yes ! Hipstamps seems to be listening and trying to give the buyers what they want. I wouldn't even be surprised if they are monitoring this website. I bet no one at ebay is. lol

The 1 cent auctions are the shot in the arm online auction sites need. Scary for a seller, but as the previous poster mentioned, they seem to be selling at fair prices. I'm sure dealers are glad to be moving stock rather than sitting on it.

I had an e-mail recently from them about combining shipments. Not sure if that's from multiple sellers or not. They are certainly trying to be innovative.

Not that ebay cares, but I think they are going to capture some market share.

ebay cares far more about things like electronics and cars, etc. Sales of iPads and iPhones alone are probably more than the entire stamp category put together.

Exactly right ! And who could blame them. Our niche is peanuts compared to electronics, but we are not a one and done group. Most of us are constantly looking for and buying items to add to our collections. Most of us not only buy, but sell too. Rosenberg has learned from his time with Bid Start and is trying to build the better mousetrap. By catering to a specific group of collectors he can tailor the site to what works best for everyone. It isn't perfect but he is trying to make it so.

Quote:

Mark Rosenberg 2:49AM
We are currently working on updating the default search results to only show items which are available to ship to your country. We're hoping to be able to roll out this update within the next month.

That being said, if you do come across an item in which the Seller does not currently offer shipping to your Country, you may want to reach out to the Seller directly through the Ask Seller a Question feature, to inquire if they can ship to you.