Comments on: Shoeboxed.com: Company in Review http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/ Observations and Interests of Kendall Schoenrock - Web 2.0, Startups, Technology, & Other Fun Stuff Sat, 19 May 2012 06:36:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Jim http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-60538 Jim Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:33:00 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-60538 Actually tried this service recently, uploading scanned reciepts was buggy at best first few uploaded fine, however after about the 10th reciept the web page started not saving and i was having to reupload reciept after reciept. After fighting with the website for about 3 hrs to get it to take a handful of reciepts i decided i was better off using my own scanner and storing the reciepts myself. Either this service is very bugged or they intentionally made it work like this to encourage you to send your reciepts to them and pay a fee. Another very noticeable thing, if you do happen to sign up for a subscription there is absolutely no way to cancel it through the web page and you end up having to call them. Only to spend 30 minutes waiting for the 1 guy that they have doing customer support to call you back. Also god forbid that you are 2 hrs into your next months subscription they will want to keep the money that you have sent them. You’ll end up having to dispute the charges on your credit cards to get any satisfaction from these people. If i were to describe this service in a few words i’d have to say it’s nothing more then a “Cash grab”. Actually tried this service recently, uploading scanned reciepts was buggy at best first few uploaded fine, however after about the 10th reciept the web page started not saving and i was having to reupload reciept after reciept. After fighting with the website for about 3 hrs to get it to take a handful of reciepts i decided i was better off using my own scanner and storing the reciepts myself. Either this service is very bugged or they intentionally made it work like this to encourage you to send your reciepts to them and pay a fee.

Another very noticeable thing, if you do happen to sign up for a subscription there is absolutely no way to cancel it through the web page and you end up having to call them. Only to spend 30 minutes waiting for the 1 guy that they have doing customer support to call you back.

Also god forbid that you are 2 hrs into your next months subscription they will want to keep the money that you have sent them. You’ll end up having to dispute the charges on your credit cards to get any satisfaction from these people. If i were to describe this service in a few words i’d have to say it’s nothing more then a “Cash grab”.

]]> By: Tanya http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-34873 Tanya Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:51:27 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-34873 As a small home based business owner I am overwhelmed with the amount of receipts that are waiting for me at the end of the year. It's tax season and just thinking about the gathering, organizing and storing of these little pesky pieces of paper, called receipts, shoeboxed sounds like a small business owners dream come true. Minimizes the stacks of binders and boxes I have full of receipts in my garage and I can finally park my car in there or put my clothes away where it rightfully belongs. And, a wonderful way to stop receipts from fading. Have you ever noticed how those "fade proof" papers happen to fade faster than any other receipts you have. Thanks shoeboxed for creating this service for unorganized small home based businesses like myself. And, for $20 to $60 a month, gosh, that beats paying a book keeper or a college student to keep my books in order. Saves me a lot of money and time. This is a no brainer. My question, are there any other programs like this available besides shoeboxed.com? Just wondering. As a small home based business owner I am overwhelmed with the amount of receipts that are waiting for me at the end of the year. It’s tax season and just thinking about the gathering, organizing and storing of these little pesky pieces of paper, called receipts, shoeboxed sounds like a small business owners dream come true. Minimizes the stacks of binders and boxes I have full of receipts in my garage and I can finally park my car in there or put my clothes away where it rightfully belongs. And, a wonderful way to stop receipts from fading. Have you ever noticed how those “fade proof” papers happen to fade faster than any other receipts you have. Thanks shoeboxed for creating this service for unorganized small home based businesses like myself. And, for $20 to $60 a month, gosh, that beats paying a book keeper or a college student to keep my books in order. Saves me a lot of money and time. This is a no brainer. My question, are there any other programs like this available besides shoeboxed.com? Just wondering.

]]> By: Rick http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-27203 Rick Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:58:35 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-27203 Just found out about this service. Replying to the previous comment, consumers are interested in the technical functionality (the "how") unless that's what you're selling. Consumers are interested in the benefit that will be derived from using the service - centralized organization of receipts, no more taking paper receipts home, ease of use. Just found out about this service.

Replying to the previous comment, consumers are interested in the technical functionality (the “how”) unless that’s what you’re selling. Consumers are interested in the benefit that will be derived from using the service - centralized organization of receipts, no more taking paper receipts home, ease of use.

]]> By: nate http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-17534 nate Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:46:45 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-17534 yes, drop the stupid id theft angle. and the dumb email thing.... who the h** wants to change their email to @shoeboxed.com?? and focus in on the meat: functionality to email text or photo receipts, + character reading (how come shoebox doesn't even mention character reading capability??), and sorting! yes, drop the stupid id theft angle. and the dumb email thing…. who the h** wants to change their email to @shoeboxed.com?? and focus in on the meat: functionality to email text or photo receipts, + character reading (how come shoebox doesn’t even mention character reading capability??), and sorting!

]]> By: Kendall http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-12443 Kendall Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:26:53 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-12443 Thanks Dan! Thanks Dan!

]]> By: Dan Englander http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-12439 Dan Englander Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:15:18 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-12439 Jared, Thanks for your questions. I'm happy to answer them, and I guess I'll just go in order. I know we've already been in e-mail exchange for awhile, I thought other people might be interested in hearing the answers to your questions. 1. Any scanned receipt can be scanned in and uploaded into your account. As long as it is readable once you have scanned it in, it should be fine, and everything will work properly. 2. All your receipt data is exportable to Excel, so you can keep a back up of your data on your home computer if you want. 3. Right now, Shoeboxed is just for receipts and is not designed to organize other kinds of paper. 4. The scanner does give a very high resolution scan, and is optimal for use with Shoeboxed. As far as its quality vs. Neat Receipts: as far as I am aware, it is the exact same model that NR sells. And Shoeboxed's software is free! Let me know if you have any other questions! Dan dan@team.shoeboxed.com Jared,

Thanks for your questions. I’m happy to answer them, and I guess I’ll just go in order. I know we’ve already been in e-mail exchange for awhile, I thought other people might be interested in hearing the answers to your questions.

1. Any scanned receipt can be scanned in and uploaded into your account. As long as it is readable once you have scanned it in, it should be fine, and everything will work properly.

2. All your receipt data is exportable to Excel, so you can keep a back up of your data on your home computer if you want.

3. Right now, Shoeboxed is just for receipts and is not designed to organize other kinds of paper.

4. The scanner does give a very high resolution scan, and is optimal for use with Shoeboxed. As far as its quality vs. Neat Receipts: as far as I am aware, it is the exact same model that NR sells. And Shoeboxed’s software is free!

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Dan
dan@team.shoeboxed.com

]]> By: Kendall http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-12423 Kendall Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:14:51 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-12423 <p>Hi Jared! Thanks for reading. I've emailed Dan to review your questions and respond. Drop me a line at schoenrock @ gmail.com and I'll email you directly (and post the answers here) when I hear back.</p> <p>Kendall</p> Hi Jared! Thanks for reading. I’ve emailed Dan to review your questions and respond. Drop me a line at schoenrock @ gmail.com and I’ll email you directly (and post the answers here) when I hear back.

Kendall

]]> By: Jared http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-12388 Jared Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:43:53 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-12388 Questions about the organization Shoeboxed does: 1) How does it do for hand written receipts, & shinny paper receipts (like gas stations)? Does it do them or not? 2) Is the receipted data available to stay on my computer? If not, where does it stay if I discontinue the monthly service? 3) Let's look beyond receipts. What else will it organize and "tie together?" Will it do research papers on a subject? Class notes? Will it do hand written sales contracts like when you buy a car, or lease one, or buy service from the local lawn company or pest company? 4) Speaking of the 1200dbi for the scanner... What will this do besides a sharper image? Will it pick up hand written data like mentioned in (3)above? What will this increase of dbi vrs Neat Receipts scanner do? Questions about the organization Shoeboxed does:
1) How does it do for hand written receipts, & shinny paper receipts (like gas stations)? Does it do them or not?
2) Is the receipted data available to stay on my computer? If not, where does it stay if I discontinue the monthly service?
3) Let’s look beyond receipts. What else will it organize and “tie together?” Will it do research papers on a subject? Class notes? Will it do hand written sales contracts like when you buy a car, or lease one, or buy service from the local lawn company or pest company?
4) Speaking of the 1200dbi for the scanner… What will this do besides a sharper image? Will it pick up hand written data like mentioned in (3)above? What will this increase of dbi vrs Neat Receipts scanner do?

]]> By: Kendall Schoenrock http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-7357 Kendall Schoenrock Thu, 20 Sep 2007 22:42:00 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-7357 As Dan Heath discuss in his book Made to Stick (www.madetostick.com), "If you say 3 things, you say nothing." If you're true value add is organization and analysis, that's where I would focus. The ancillary benefits shouldn't be the focus. I am sure your future is bright. Keep rocking it! -Kendall As Dan Heath discuss in his book Made to Stick (www.madetostick.com), “If you say 3 things, you say nothing.” If you’re true value add is organization and analysis, that’s where I would focus.

The ancillary benefits shouldn’t be the focus. I am sure your future is bright. Keep rocking it!

-Kendall

]]> By: Dan Englander http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-7354 Dan Englander Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:47:46 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-7354 I think the important thing to remember here is that identity theft protection is a benefit of using Shoeboxed, not necessarily the main function of the service. In our marketing and in my conversation with you, I don't think we've overstated the benefits of what we're offering there. And remember, there's a LOT more coming soon, so don't give up on us if you wish we were doing more right now! Dan I think the important thing to remember here is that identity theft protection is a benefit of using Shoeboxed, not necessarily the main function of the service. In our marketing and in my conversation with you, I don’t think we’ve overstated the benefits of what we’re offering there. And remember, there’s a LOT more coming soon, so don’t give up on us if you wish we were doing more right now!

Dan

]]> By: Kendall http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-7328 Kendall Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:45:38 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-7328 Hi Dan, Thanks for the healthy discussion. Here is where I'm confused with the identity theft protection. The key line here is that my info is already out there with the company that I'm buying something from. I'm no pro here, but wouldn't a possible theft take place between me <-> company <-> my inbox... if you replace that last piece with shoeboxed I don't see how anything has much changed, has it? How do you protect my identity online? -Kendall Hi Dan,

Thanks for the healthy discussion. Here is where I’m confused with the identity theft protection.

The key line here is that my info is already out there with the company that I’m buying something from. I’m no pro here, but wouldn’t a possible theft take place between me < -> company < -> my inbox… if you replace that last piece with shoeboxed I don’t see how anything has much changed, has it?

How do you protect my identity online?

-Kendall

]]> By: Dan Englander http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-7327 Dan Englander Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:33:17 +0000 http://www.kendallschoenrock.com/blog/index.php/2007/09/19/shoeboxedcom-company-in-review/#comment-7327 Kendall, Thanks for taking the time to write such a thorough review; we love getting feedback, and are happy to clarify some of your questions. So I guess I'll just jump right in. With regard to what our marketing focus should be, I don't think we are necessarily promoting one kind of value-added over another. Shoeboxed offers benefits in several different areas, as you mentioned, and we have found that people join Shoeboxed for different reasons. Some use us to get their purchase history into a manageable, digestible format, and others use Shoeboxed to reduce the number of impersonal mailings in their inboxes or stay safe from identity theft. Of course, lots of people use Shoeboxed for all of those reasons. Indeed, there are lots of great things about the service, and it doesn't matter why you join; you will still benefit from all of our core services. There were a couple of specific things you mentioned that I wanted to clarify. When you say that Shoeboxed has your "name, email, credit card info, credit card billing address (for verification) and perhaps a few other things that might be juicy to someone looking to steal my identity," you are missing an important part of our philosophy and service. The only information we collect is your name and e-mail address. We never ask for or otherwise have access to your credit card info, Social Security number, bank account information, or other steal-able identity components. Legally, a receipt can only have the last five digits of a credit card number, which is impossible to trace back to an individual. This kind of information just never comes to our system, so there's no way anyone could ever steal it from us. We also just wanted to mention that while our product is useful and time-saving already, we are really excited about where Shoeboxed is going in the future. Receipts are just the beginning, and the extendable nature of our product will allow us to grow in a lot of different areas. We have hired about 15 new team members in the past two weeks, and have moved into a brand new office to accommodate our rapid expansion. Let us know if you have more questions! Dan Kendall,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a thorough review; we love getting feedback, and are happy to clarify some of your questions.

So I guess I’ll just jump right in. With regard to what our marketing focus should be, I don’t think we are necessarily promoting one kind of value-added over another. Shoeboxed offers benefits in several different areas, as you mentioned, and we have found that people join Shoeboxed for different reasons. Some use us to get their purchase history into a manageable, digestible format, and others use Shoeboxed to reduce the number of impersonal mailings in their inboxes or stay safe from identity theft. Of course, lots of people use Shoeboxed for all of those reasons.

Indeed, there are lots of great things about the service, and it doesn’t matter why you join; you will still benefit from all of our core services.

There were a couple of specific things you mentioned that I wanted to clarify. When you say that Shoeboxed has your “name, email, credit card info, credit card billing address (for verification) and perhaps a few other things that might be juicy to someone looking to steal my identity,” you are missing an important part of our philosophy and service. The only information we collect is your name and e-mail address. We never ask for or otherwise have access to your credit card info, Social Security number, bank account information, or other steal-able identity components. Legally, a receipt can only have the last five digits of a credit card number, which is impossible to trace back to an individual. This kind of information just never comes to our system, so there’s no way anyone could ever steal it from us.

We also just wanted to mention that while our product is useful and time-saving already, we are really excited about where Shoeboxed is going in the future. Receipts are just the beginning, and the extendable nature of our product will allow us to grow in a lot of different areas. We have hired about 15 new team members in the past two weeks, and have moved into a brand new office to accommodate our rapid expansion.

Let us know if you have more questions!

Dan

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