Shortboxed Review 3 3

[Phill the Governor]

Reviewed as an emotion review was initially left. Have since used shortboxed with great ease and success selling books!

Edited January 12 by Phill the Governor

[MattTheDuck]

What did they say when you called them to ask about it?

[Phill the Governor]

On 1/6/2023 at 10:30 AM, MattTheDuck said:

What did they say when you called them to ask about it?

I sent an email this morning still waiting to hear back.

I understand I'm being impatience to a degree, but a good amount of my time has already been wasted that I can't get back.

The fact that their system easily assured me to sit back and wait for payment (because my payment preference was active and complete) but then did a 180 after the "standard deposit time window" ceased is unacceptable.

[MattTheDuck]

I hope they'll get back to you quickly. That's a weird and frustrating situation. @shortboxed

Edited January 6, 2023 by MattTheDuck

[Phill the Governor]

On 1/6/2023 at 10:50 AM, MattTheDuck said:

I hope they'll get back to you quickly. That's a weird and frustrating situation. @shortboxed

They got back quickly and the payout was now re-sent, apparently being deposited in another 1-2 business days.

 

 

[Tnexus]

I had an issue with a payout about a year ago not going through too. They were quick to rectify it and gave me a discount code as an apology.

I don't really use them often, but the people behind it seem like good people.

[Phill the Governor]

On 1/6/2023 at 12:09 PM, Tnexus said:

I don't really use them often, but the people behind it seem like good people.

I do agree, as a human things like this that seem preventable can be frustrating.

In fairness, I revised my "thread title" review from 1/5 to 3/5 because of their timely response.

[Funnybooks]

They're good people at Shortboxed. I'm glad that things were rectified.

[Ryan.]

I find that the app is easily the most streamlined to use a seller that exists, and Gene and his crew are very responsive to emails when issues arise.

With that said, I agree with this inferred sentiment:

On 1/6/2023 at 9:53 AM, Phill the Governor said:

Sold a book at the end of last year (finally) after listing many over the years.

 

Even when priced below market, listings tend to sit for a very long time, if not forever. However, when I have made sales there they have been very strong.

[shortboxed]

Hey everyone! Gene here, CEO & co-founder of Shortboxed. Thanks for all your replies and insights, especially any critical feedback as it helps us continue to get better. 

As OP mentioned, our support team got back to him and the issue is being resolved - looks like it was a simple account setup error. 

If you would allow me to clarify one point, as far as seller payouts go, if there aren't any issues, most payouts get processed automatically within 24-48 hours of a book being delivered; not weeks, or even months as some platforms and auction houses do. Payout methods include direct deposit/ACH, PayPal, and physical check. 

Our entire team truly does everything they can, as fast as they can, to resolve any customer issues - it's something we take a lot of pride in and celebrate internally. I'm happy to answer any questions or concerns anyone might have about buying or selling on Shortboxed. I prefer to be as transparent as possible, so please consider me a resource.

-Gene

 

 

[Gotham Kid]

your app is not available for download in Europe (iphone)

I follow you on Instagram but that is all I can do. Cannot buy anything.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Gotham Kid

[LadyDeath]

On 1/6/2023 at 12:19 PM, Funnybooks said:

They're good people at Shortboxed. I'm glad that things were rectified.

Agreed! I've only bought a few books but have had a pleasant experience.

[shortboxed]

On 1/6/2023 at 1:22 PM, Gotham Kid said:

your app is not available for download in Europe (iphone)

I follow you on Instagram but that is all I can do. Cannot buy anything.

Hey there! We're currently available in the US, and to buyers in Canada and UK - for now. International rollout is very complex, especially for a mobile app with various international laws and requirements we need to design around, so we're running a beta with Canada and UK to iron out any kinks before opening up to more regions this year.

[Gotham Kid]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:46 PM, shortboxed said:

Hey there! We're currently available in the US, and to buyers in Canada and UK - for now. International rollout is very complex, especially for a mobile app with various international laws and requirements we need to design around, so we're running a beta with Canada and UK to iron out any kinks before opening up to more regions this year.

Thank you for the reply. Is it possible to buy via Instagram (sending you a DM ) ?

[shortboxed]

On 1/6/2023 at 1:48 PM, Gotham Kid said:

Thank you for the reply. Is it possible to buy via Instagram (sending you a DM ) ?

That would be a bit difficult to manage since Shortboxed is a marketplace and all the books are listed for sale by owner - we don't manage the inventory ourselves. Only a select few books get posted on our IG each day, and there are hundreds of new listings every day. 

Obviously this isn't something we can manage and do at scale, but I'd like to help out if there is a specific book you'd like to purchase or make an offer on. We can purchase the book ourselves on your behalf and just invoice you for the book plus cost of shipping. Feel free to email me at gene at shortboxed.com and we can work it out there.

[paullam15]

I recently listed some books on shortboxed and it was pretty easy listing them. Haven't made a sale yet so can't speak on the post sale experience. As a buyer my only complaint is that the app is a little slow when browsing when you get to the bottom of the current page.

[WolverineX]

Yeah shortbox is excellent. 

[chrisco37]

Great app.  

[djwats365]

Currently experiencing a similar payment processing problem as I see in a previous post. Payment got returned from my bank due to error. Only way to contact them is via Email. Feel like I am getting the runaround from them. Now I am waiting in limbo, will update when problem is solved.

 

Update : after a few days the issue has been resolved. Looks like I will get a direct deposit tomorrow.

Edited January 12 by djwats365
Update

[Gambold Vintage]

They are good people, and they are a little over their skis right now, given the success of the business plan. My guess is they have just a few people handling a huge amount of work and customer service requests.  I've purchased numerous times from Shortboxed, and most of the transactions have gone well. 

I say most, because there have been a couple of issues which did get resolved, although Shortboxed's customer support methodology is based on emails to catch-all inboxes, which is inefficient and doesn't provide tracking or status of a service ticket. Because of this lack of a formal "ticket system," the biggest leap of faith you will take when using Shortboxed is trusting anonymous sellers who have no identifying seller names, no ratings and cannot be directly contacted.

There are other downsides to total seller anonymity. If you really like a seller and want to do business with them again, you are out of luck, because you have no idea who they are.  If you want to avoid a seller because they take forever to ship or pack items too loosely, the same applies. It's not a consignment model: the seller holds, promotes and ships the items. 

There are some seller badges now which are supposed to boost confidence but they easily earned. Shortboxed has proven to be a timely and effective middleman when there are problems, but again...it's all done through generic emails and if you've got thousands of $$ sitting out there and the seller hasn't shipped or you received a damaged product, that's a little nervous. 

Edited January 11 by Gambold Vintage