I browsed it at work and it looked great!
Unfortunately, I came home to order and found this: Database Error - Error establishing a database connection
How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
21–30 of 99 posts
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#22I bought it - but why do you need my billing address/phone number for an ebook. I was glad to see the PayPal option, but I was slightly put off by giving you all that info. I can see wanting my name for doing a watermark and my email so you can send me an update when the next book in the series comes out, but the rest seemed unnecessary so you might want to consider removing them as "Required Fields".
As a second nitpick here, some countries don't have states. You shouldn't make it a required field either.
That's a great catch, Mandar. We'll have to do some behind the scenes work to figure out how to resolve state/province issues. Apologies!!! It's required 'cos that's what the credit card companies need to process your info.
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#23I think the site is buckling under the HN stress lol, especially the checkout cart. I doubt that this would be an issue under normal circumstances, but I just wanted to let you know that the site is getting tons of attention. Congrats! =D
I really wanted to purchase but would rather not send CC info over non-SSL connections. Are you going to be putting the store on SSL at some point?
Or maybe it is supposed to be but there are some fallbacks being used under the current heavy load.
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#24I bought it - but why do you need my billing address/phone number for an ebook. I was glad to see the PayPal option, but I was slightly put off by giving you all that info. I can see wanting my name for doing a watermark and my email so you can send me an update when the next book in the series comes out, but the rest seemed unnecessary so you might want to consider removing them as "Required Fields".
All good questions. I'm using WooCommerce theme for WordPress, which ties into PayPal, and those are required fields. We don't store any personal information... unless you choose to create an account (and then you can modify that account, too!). Oh, and - obviously - we don't collect or store any credit card info; we leave all of that to the experts at PayPal. Sorry if it's a problem at all!!!
I'm glad to help you with that. I ran into the same problem too. Didn't want to leave my personal info when you're already going through paypal.
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bought it as well. I couldn't find the "coupon" textbox though.. but nevermind, $33 is still a good deal!
Oh, no! Please contact me at joanna AT copyhackers.com and we'll get that discount sorted out for you!!! In case this is a problem for anyone else, the coupon code box is on the first page of the cart/checkout, on the left side of the screen, just below the product thumbnail.
This got me as well, luckily I saw this post. I went straight to the checkout rather than the cart and never saw the coupon area either.
Bought and anxiously waiting for my email with the books! I've always had trouble writing wishy washy content and need to do a huge update for SEO so this couldn't have come at a better time!
Congratulations, thanks and best of luck all in one!
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#26it is disconcerting to have your password emailed to you. are you storing the passwords in cleartext? Would definitely prefer if you didn't.
I'd guess that's the standard Wordpress account reg email - Wordpress _does_ email you a cleartext password, but it does also hash the password and only stores the hash.
I think it's a reasonable tradeoff - those of us with properly managed password storage can delete the email, but the 99% who _don't_ use some form of password safe can keep using their email archive as their place to look up passwords they've forgotten. (I see this a _lot_ in our clients non-technical Wordpress site subscribers...)
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#27Copywriting is taken for granted. Period. It's taken for granted in the Fortune 500 world, where marketing departments view it as a cheap commodity. And it's taken for granted at a lot of tech companies (Apple's being a notable exception).
But it shouldn't be. And a project like this one -- not to mention the founder/author's innovation and tenacity -- will help turn the tide.
There's certainly a fair amount of dark art to quality writing, but there's also science. And it's refreshing to see a results-focused approach that seeks to separate the merely mellifluous from the legitimately effective.
Big kudos on this one!
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#28it is disconcerting to have your password emailed to you. are you storing the passwords in cleartext? Would definitely prefer if you didn't.
I'd guess that's the standard Wordpress account reg email - Wordpress _does_ email you a cleartext password, but it does also hash the password and only stores the hash. I think it's a reasonable tradeoff - those of us with properly managed password storage can delete the email, but the 99% who _don't_ use some form of password safe can keep using their email archive as their place to look up passwords they've forgot…
Yes, bigiain is right ---- it's standard. I don't keep or store any of your personal information myself... unless you sign up for copy tips, in which case I keep your name and email address (using MailChimp).
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#29Copywriting is taken for granted. Period. It's taken for granted in the Fortune 500 world, where marketing departments view it as a cheap commodity. And it's taken for granted at a lot of tech companies (Apple's being a notable exception). But it shouldn't be. And a project like this one -- not to mention the founder/author's innovation and tenacity -- will help turn the tide. There's certainly a fair amount of dark…
Wow, jonnathanson, you couldn't be more spot-on! That's unfortunately how I see it ---- the Fortune 500 world forgets that copy can have a huge impact on sales/signups. (On the other hand, Groupon takes writing very seriously... but I haven't heard that they pay very well; I'd be interested to hear how they compensate writers.)
You should do a post on the subject!
Re: How 1 HN post compelled me to leave Intuit and create a new startup for startups
#30I'm curious, there is a "money back guarantee" line on the site. How does this work for ebooks? I buy it and I can ask for my money back? How do I "return" the ebook?
Is this usual for other electronic goods? (ie. software)