A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
1–10 of 55 posts
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#2A friend of mine has recommended https://www.entropay.com/ for these kinds of online purchases : since it's a pre-paid virtual credit card, you cannot get charged beyond the pre-paid amount, if I understood it correctly. The initial loading fees of 4.95% seems quite high, but my immediate next thought was : I would personally still pay it for the security! Warning : I have yet to try it out myself; this is just word-of-mouth, not a personal recommendation. I intend to try it out soon with taobao.com, to which I have taken an immense liking recently, despite getting the wrong colour for my mechanical keyboard which I ordered from there :-)
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#3How is their site still up and running, accepting new members and payments, if they can't afford to continue on as a going concern? Is this out-and-out fraud?
EDIT: Looks like they're no longer accepting payment, but if this article is right, they still were for a very long time after ceasing shipments.
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#4Maybe this post got their attention? (edit: doubtful as it was posted 4 minutes ago)
We're Sorry
Whimseybox is no longer taking new subscriptions, gifts, or shop orders at this time.
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#5Saying things like "Now Techstars has lost complete credibility in my mind" is taking things too far and just being petty. Techstars doesn't market itself as some bastion of credibility to consumers.
Yes, this a great example of what not to do when you know your company is doomed, and the founders are killing their long-term prospects of future ventures with all this bad karma, but there's no need to drag Techstars into it.
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#6Saying things like "Now Techstars has lost complete credibility in my mind" is taking things too far and just being petty. Techstars doesn't market itself as some bastion of credibility to consumers. Yes, this a great example of what not to do when you know your company is doomed, and the founders are killing their long-term prospects of future ventures with all this bad karma, but there's no need to drag Techstars i…
Not to mention: there's not a whole lot Techstars can even do about this. They're a minority investor and their involvement is limited to the first few months of company operation. This comes up every once in awhile with YC, too.
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#7A friend of mine has recommended https://www.entropay.com/ for these kinds of online purchases : since it's a pre-paid virtual credit card, you cannot get charged beyond the pre-paid amount, if I understood it correctly. The initial loading fees of 4.95% seems quite high, but my immediate next thought was : I would personally still pay it for the security! Warning : I have yet to try it out myself; this is just word-…
Bank of America has this too for their cards, it's called ShopSafe.
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#8A friend of mine has recommended https://www.entropay.com/ for these kinds of online purchases : since it's a pre-paid virtual credit card, you cannot get charged beyond the pre-paid amount, if I understood it correctly. The initial loading fees of 4.95% seems quite high, but my immediate next thought was : I would personally still pay it for the security! Warning : I have yet to try it out myself; this is just word-…
You cannot be charged but you can be sent to collections and have your credit ruined. So be careful, people think closing a payment account is akin to a cancellation, it is not.
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#9Saying things like "Now Techstars has lost complete credibility in my mind" is taking things too far and just being petty. Techstars doesn't market itself as some bastion of credibility to consumers. Yes, this a great example of what not to do when you know your company is doomed, and the founders are killing their long-term prospects of future ventures with all this bad karma, but there's no need to drag Techstars i…
Not to mention: there's not a whole lot Techstars can even do about this. They're a minority investor and their involvement is limited to the first few months of company operation. This comes up every once in awhile with YC, too.
Legally not a whole lot they can do, and not sure about any other kind of obligation, but hopefully they're reaching out to the founder to make sure she's OK and help get this mess sorted out.
Re: A cautionary tale about subscription services and how not to shut down a startup
#10For those with integrity, it's not worth the read. Yes, stop taking money from new customers when you've shut down the company.
For those without integrity, it's a recommendation: There are trusting people who will signup & pay even if you don't deliver.
The world is still wild, and I like that. Nothing to recommend than to be skeptical and ethical please.