P.O. Box 187
     Wilmette, IL 60091-0187
     847-492-1284
    
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ABOUT ME

INFORMATION FOR COLLECTORS

BEYOND THE CATALOG

FIRST ISSUES OF THE WORLD

FREE U.S. ALBUM PAGES

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STAMPS AND POSTAL HISTORY FOR SALE
Click on "Stores" then enter "Mostly Classics"


WHY I MOVED MY ON-LINE STORE
TO HIPSTAMP

eBay announced their latest round of fee "reductions" effective April 1, 2010. I ran my 2009 listings and sales through their fees analyzer and discovered that my fees paid to eBay would have been 240% greater than before. 

Should I stay with eBay and raise my prices 5% or 6% to cover their fee increases? Of course not! Raising prices is terrible business policy, especially during such tough economic times. So I searched the internet for a new on-line store home. I've found HipStamp to be my — and your — best option. HipStamp used to be known as BidStart.

HipStamp has many advantages, for both you and me: 

First, much lower fees help keep my prices down. This is despite HipStamp's frequent full color, full page advertisements in the philatelic press.

Second, I can accept checks and money orders on HipStamp. eBay eliminated these options in 2008. Many collectors prefer these options over PayPal. And, once again, I can ship to foreign buyers without fear of PayPal seizing funds from my account when I have to ship via registered mail to countries with dicey postal systems, like Italy and Brazil.

Third, you can order search and category results into alphabetical and then Scott catalog number order if you want. This makes browsing a delight. This is also something eBay vendors had been asking for since at least 1999, to my knowledge, and probably before.

Fourth, HipStamp vendors and buyers enjoy an exceptional level of communication and customer service. A perusal of the HipStamp discussion boards shows just how committed they are to keeping the website running well and implementing suggestions for improvement.

Fifth,  I'm enjoying the company at HipStamp. Many better eBay sellers have left eBay for various reasons over the years. Many of them are now at HipStamp. HipStamp usually has about 5,000,000 philatelic items for sale. I've run many searches: I'm impressed by the variety, quality and prices of HipStamp offerings. 

So, with all these factors in HipStamp's favor, It became a no-brainer for me to move my on-line store.

Here's the link to my HipStamp store: 

STAMPS AND POSTAL HISTORY FOR SALE
Click on "Stores" then enter "Mostly Classics"

Also, do yourself a favor and check out just what HipStamp's other sellers have to offer you. Here's the link to the home page:

HIPSTAMP

You'll be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

— Tom Kendall