We built an app (Shortboxed) to buy and sell comics [6 month update] 4 4

[ExNihilo]

Is there a way to set up a "want list" and then receive notifications when a book becomes available in the app?

[shortboxed]

13 hours ago, DiPlo75 said:

What’s the expected delivery time on a purchased book?  If it has to be mailed from the seller to you, then from you to the buyer?

Thanks for the question. For most of our "Dealer Partners," they actually ship direct to the buyer now, which cuts down on shipping time. For new or unknown users, we ask them to ship to us first to establish some credibility, which would lead to around 7-10 days before the book arrives. Otherwise it's fairly quick, since all shipments are sent via USPS Priority with signature confirmation. To date (about 4 months since launch), it's been rare for a book to take longer than a week to arrive. 

[shortboxed]

10 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

Is there a way to set up a "want list" and then receive notifications when a book becomes available in the app?

I'm glad you brought this up. This has been one of our most requested features, and it's something we've got on the roadmap to build, though it's not live yet and realistically we won't be able to launch wish lists with notifications until later this year due to other core features we're currently building right now, but it's absolutely coming. 

[IMJ]

Downloaded. I'll check it out and maybe give it a shot if I find anything worth dropping 30 - 40 bucks on up front.

[William-James88]

Can this be downloaded in canada and will dealers ship to Canada?

[MetalPSI]

Does it come with decoupage?

I have the awesomest addidas shoes 

[BuscemasAvengers]

1 hour ago, William-James88 said:

Can this be downloaded in canada and will dealers ship to Canada?

Last I heard they were working on us ...

[Kon_Jelly]

I sold a book through Shortboxed a few weeks back and had a very good experience. I'll definitely be listing more in the future. 

[shortboxed]

10 hours ago, William-James88 said:

Can this be downloaded in canada and will dealers ship to Canada?

 

8 hours ago, BuscemasAvengers said:

Last I heard they were working on us ...

Right now it's available to download in Canada, but we the platform isn't open to buy & sell - yet. We've got a lot of logistical, legal and accounting policies we need to flesh out, but we're actively working on it. Canada will be our first expansion outside the U.S.

[shortboxed]

8 hours ago, Kon_Jelly said:

I sold a book through Shortboxed a few weeks back and had a very good experience. I'll definitely be listing more in the future. 

Happy to hear that! 

We only launched a few months ago so we're still ironing out a lot of kinks and moving fast, so if you have any feedback please do reach out or post here.

[shortboxed]

6 month update!

Things have been great since the last update over 3 months ago, with tons of new users downloading the app every day, and lots of books being bought and sold. We've partnered with some of the most well-known and respected dealers around the country and they're very happy with all the books they're selling through the app, especially with how easy it is. Users are also very happy with how easy it is to browse and buy comics safely, but this upcoming feature will make it even easier to sell books on the app for anyone.

For the past few months, we've been heads down building a seller portal where users can quickly register to sell on Shortboxed and submit books for sale. Users will see all their books listed, books that are in review, and sold books. What we're most excited about, though, is the submission process that we meticulously designed to be the easiest way to list books for sale - anywhere. 

Please check out the short 30-second clip below of the submission process in action and I'd love to hear your thoughts and critical feedback. As always, open to any questions and feature requests - just leave a comment or shoot me a DM.

This new feature will be live in a couple days; just cleaning up some last minute bugs before submitting the update to the iOS and Android app stores 

Since launching, the response from the community as a whole has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, so thank you to everyone for all your great feedback and support!

 

[valiantman]

@shortboxed - just curious why your official homepage graphic features comics with prices that are not even close to reality?

[shortboxed]

25 minutes ago, valiantman said:

@shortboxed - just curious why your official homepage graphic features comics with prices that are not even close to reality?

 

To be fully transparent, it's a super early mockup of the app that we used as an example before it was even complete, and we just haven't gotten around to updating it with new images unfortunately. It can definitely be misleading, and we've got an update in the queue now to change it. Thanks for pointing that out. 

All of our photos on both iOS and Android app stores feature actual production screenshots from the app with real listings. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by shortboxed

[valiantman]

7 minutes ago, shortboxed said:

15 minutes ago, valiantman said:

@shortboxed - just curious why your official homepage graphic features comics with prices that are not even close to reality?

 

To be fully transparent, it's a super early early mockup of the app that we used as an example before it was even complete, and we just haven't gotten around to updating it with new images unfortunately. It can definitely be misleading, and we've got an update in the queue now to change it. Thanks for pointing that out. 

All of our photos on both iOS and Android app stores feature actual production screenshots from the app with real listings. 

Thanks for the quick reply - everything about the site and app look legit, until you see those prices. 

[shortboxed]

We just launched the seller portal today! It's available to all users, but if you don't have automatic updates for your apps, you'll have to update the app to see the new version. To do so, just search for "Shortboxed" in the app store and update to the latest version. It's been a crazy past few months building this feature and I'm super excited to get it out there. We're already seeing lots of seller registrations pour in  

Really appreciate all the great feedback and feature requests so far. Thanks to everyone who DM'd me.

Now back to work to start building our next set of features...

 

[valiantman]

1 minute ago, shortboxed said:

We just launched the seller portal today! It's available to all users, but if you don't have automatic updates for your apps, you'll have to update the app to see the new version. To do so, just search for "Shortboxed" in the app store and update to the latest version. It's been a crazy past few months building this feature and I'm super excited to get it out there. We're already seeing lots of seller registrations pour in  

Really appreciate all the great feedback and feature requests so far. Thanks to everyone who DM'd me.

Now back to work to start building our next set of features...

 

I guess I'm gonna have to say it again --- you just launched a feature and the examples you use are ridiculous again.  No seller would ask $100 for any grade of House of Secrets #92 and then counter (with a discount) at $95.  Silver Age CGC Green Lantern #1 for $85?  It might take 10 minutes to put realistic graphics on these features you've taken months to roll out.  Surely you've got 10 minutes.  

[Black_Adam]

Deleted the app months ago when I realized they won't ship to Canada.

[shortboxed]

59 minutes ago, Black_Adam said:

Deleted the app months ago when I realized they won't ship to Canada.

We do have expansion to Canada high on our roadmap! We've been getting tons of requests to open up service there; it's just a matter of firming up country-specific policies and business logistics (legal issues, registration, etc.) but Canada will be our first expansion outside of the US. We're on it  

[Motor City Rob]

Is there anyone on the boards here that has been using this since it launched 6 months ago? Would love to get some feedback on pros and cons.

[Ryan.]

@shortboxed

Gene and crew, 3 of the last 4 books I've purchased through the app have become unavailable AFTER I've placed the order and paid, my payment being subsequently held for several days until I check in on a status. I am dealing with one of these scenarios as I type this, with my last order placed on 4/23 still in "processing".

Since the books are held by individual sellers there's no way to realistically monitor that all listings are in inventory or force a seller to follow through with a sale if that seller changes their mind. The only solution I can think of is to not process payment until the automated shipping shows the book actually being in the mail.

As it stands I have to assume that any books I show an interest in aren't actually available and I will only confirm as such by paying and seeing if the book ships.