Have we lost a lot of HIBs?

I think we lost a lot when the rules were clarified as a lot of people took the decision not to renew. Which was sad really. Also the new listed logo may have put anyone off who hasn't.. I guess also now is a very busy time for us all and there isn't as much time to pop on.

Heather - can you let me know what you want your new user name to be - Heather has already gone

HI

I have only recently registered and I am suprised that there are not more HIB's. I am going to pay for a listing at the end of this month to see if anything comes of it as it does not seem dear and I am desperate to start generating more sales and think this is a good site even without actively promoting I do enjoy trying to help people even if I know nothing, last night I learnt all about brown flowers.

I suppose one reason why there may be less HIB's about is that a couple of forums allow suppliers to post without having to pay for a listing and you are able to put links to your website. Some also have special offer boards and boards where b2b are able to ask people for specific things and suppliers are able to reply. Also I think many are going out of business as so many people are trying to make things themselves while traditionally they bought them.

Like I say though I have only been on a few days and do not know what it was like before and so far have enjoyed just chatting even if it has not brought me any enquiries.

I used to come on here quite a bit. Then when there was loads of clarification of the rules etc it took ages for me to get everything updated. I'd advertised on here for a few years & it had run out, but Hitched had not emailed me to remind me that my subscription had run out. It took a long time for Hitched to get my subsrciption & my logo up & running, & I felt uncomfortable posting on here until it had been sorted. I've got used to not posting as much - so don't anymore.

I think this is probably how a lot of people felt. But I still come on once a week or so to have a look.

Anyway - see you soon!

K

My stats would suggest a lot of my website hits come thru' hitched, and I have had some good business for sure - but on bulk stationery like invitations etc, most people seem to do it themselves these days - the posts looking for stationers are minimal - its most advice on DIY invitations etc.

There are some HIBs who I think get a lot of business thru' recommendations from others - which is partly what it is all about but I definitely don't post on here much as a 'HIB' about stationery these days - its more just general chit chat ...

I've emailed Darren today about the new directory - its sooo much better than it was before but I notice its only English counties that are listed at the top - Scotland doesn't even feature! Which simply isn't fair. I pay the same as someone from England, I expect to get the same exposure on the directory! (rant over)

Generally its less about looking for suppliers for things on here and is more general banter about weddings these days, or flashing different things/sharing bouncy good news and such like - and sharing tougher / bad / sad news ... which still makes it a great forum to be part of, but for us HIBs maybe not as 'busy' as it used to be (unless your do jewellery/tiaras!)

Mrs SP

There are loads of HIBs, we aren't all listed suppliers and don't all only post on threads relating to our field so don't particularly draw attention to our being HIBs.

I personally stopped advertising as the supplier listing are a mess, geographically speaking. It still has Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland listed under "Other Countries" under 'Search By County'. If you click my specific category on the suppliers dropdown, none of those are even available as a short cut selection, so you can't select say, Scotland as your area. Those of us in any of those areas are given less exposure for our money.

x

Exactly BWC, but I'm hoping Darren or someone will sort this out .... might take more than one mail from me but ...

Hi

I know what you mean about the stationary. I used to get quite a bit but now all people want is advice on how to do it themselves. Many do not realise it is still cheaper to get someone to make them then themselves and the hours that it takes.

I have noticed that there are alot of wedding invitation HIBS are going out of business or are stopping doing it as they are not getting any business, also florists with table decorations.

I don't really have time to be on hitched (or any other forum) much these days. And to be honest, hitched (at least Planning) is so quiet now, compared with how it was a few years back, I find it a bit slow....

I read occasionally, and post less. And as I have always tended to use hitched for general discussion rather than just promoting my business, the new rules don't bother me all that much.

Hi all

Thanks very much for the replies - it is such a shame cos HIBs used to be such a big part of Hitched. I've tried listing on lots of other free sites so hoping to get something from those - it is just for me advertising is so expensive. I'm a balloon decorator/favour maker so it takes me a lot of orders to make back what it costs for all the advertising. Oh well hey ho, this recession is such a b****y pain ? !!

Ice Queen - could you rename me HeatherW? Hope that is ok, thanks

Lets hope we all get going again, ?

Good luck to everyone - I will still be hitching and helping Cheshire and Staffordshire (and any other) brides that I can ?

Love Heather x

The rules aren't a concern to me for much the same reason as yourself. However where they do present a problem is when you are trying to help anyone with a problem in a different field and you're not strictly to recommend anyone who isn't listed on Hitched. So I can't, as a wedding professional, say to a bride having flower issues "Contact so and so at Blah Blah Florists" as a recommendation based on personal experience. And as the PM system is essentially buggared you can't do it off board either.

x

I've been trying to get my listed supplier logo thing to work for three weeks. It still doesn't work ☹️

I appreciate your comments on this although the anomoly seems to favour you(if I have got this right) In one way, you "north of the border" seem to have an indirect advantage in that you are as, suppliers all grouped together whatever your county. In my area, I would need to subscribe extra ££££s to hitched to be advertised on the other counties that I opt to work in.

Apologies if this is incorrect.?

Peter

ALso, as someone else commented, I think that the broken PM system does little favour to the forum. Many suppiers used this to discuss issues with other members without either side having to post or make known their email address.

I do believe that this is one reason why some have not renewed their account.

Bethan...out of interest, did you get married at the venue on your avatar????

Not so for me I'm afraid Peter. Some of us are area specific, I don't cover the whole of Scotland for instance and with my type of service people often want to hire someone local to the venue.

x

WBC...what I was commenting on was that some vendors supply their wares by post, so what county they are in is sort of not a problem. If as a vendor you have to travel to the venue to supply your services, that is a different thing.

If my understanding is right, Hitched treats Scotland as a large county(apologies, this is not meant as an insult), Scottish Hibs are grouped in to a pot that covers a much larger area than their English counterparts who have to pay for each county they want to be highlighted in....That works ok for suppliers that work by post in advance of the wedding although is not so good for those that supply on location on the day IYSWIM as travel can be a considerable issue..

Again, if my understanding of this is wrong, I do apologise......(I seriously don't want to pee of the Scots)

Hi Heather - have changed it to Heather W as HeatherW had already gone - hope that's OK

Some vendors, yes but not the rest of us. So the entire country being treated as one county is of no use to me. Even those who can supply by post will most often find more clients in the local area, many people prefer to deal with somebody locally even if they offer national coverage.

You're right about not wanting to pee off the Scots. Lucky for you I'm a scouser ?

x

I'm a HiB....and advertise.....and according to my website STATs they are quite favourable even though I'm in another country...Northern Ireland.

I'm not here just to promote myself....I enjoy throwing in my two pen'orth on topics not related to my business, because at the end of the day I see more weddings than most. Also, I like reading about other folks planning and ideas, and especially pics of dresses as I'm hoping I'll have a ticker of my own in the not too distant future.....whoops ....there goes that flying pig again....

Hi Peter - I'm getting married there next year. ?

I think the main reason is that it's just that time of year. For many of the businesses who provide services and items for on or in the run up to the wedding day this is their busiest time. For stationery the peak time for invitation order is the first 4 months of the year and now all the on-the-day stationery orders are kicking in, as the wedding days approach. I tend to have a nosey early in the morning, at night or sandwich time.

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Very few forums allow businesses to post their websites without some sort of fee for either a directory listing or advertising in their magazine (and rightly so). On here, listed suppliers are allowed to respond to requests but not start a thread specifically directing them to their site. Rogue advertisers do so at their peril and tend to get a severe tongue lashing from both brides and hibs - lol. Some wedding forums don't allow any business posting at all even if you pay for directory listings.

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I think in the past (over a decade ago plus) brides and their families were much more likely to make things for their own weddings. Friends and family often made the cakes, buffet, bridesmaids' dresses, took photos etc. It's the home computer and internet that is largely responsible for widely available services, goods and ideas over the past 10 years. Ironically stationery tended to be bought from print companies or card shops as few people had access to home printers. It's quite natural for people to want to rein in expense again now. Unfortunately though, rather than actually offering a solid skill within their field, some businesses are only able to offer goods that a potential customer with minimum outlay and skill can easily replicate, in which case it doesn't matter how cheap their goods are offered for. Recession is "natural selection" for those kind of businesses. A lot of brides make things because they simply enjoy it and will always be the case.

Sorry that turned into a waffle lol.

x

Actually, Hitched seems to treat Scotland as a 'country' rather than a county. On the main supplier page, we are under 'other countries' - along with Wales etc.... but if someone was looking for a stationer and went directly to that page, then we're not listed at the top under say 'fife', so you you have to scroll down and down and down and then suddenly you'll find us 'foreigners' in Scotland, Wales and NI.

The other sites I am listed on don't do all this country/area/county ball-locks - we're 'stationery' or 'flowers' or 'dresses', some with the addition of a map to click on if you are looking for a specific area for a local supplier - say, someone like BWC.... so it keeps it much fairer all round, and tbh, a whole lot easier to navigate.

I do see what you mean Peter - overall its stil a pickle of a supplier directory, which Hitched should look at again... specially if it doesn't treat everyone fairly.

I find these kinda Hib posts really useful and interesting actually - its great to get to speak to other hibs across all the fields ...

Brilliant choice IMO....fantastic venue with great gardens.

Peter

You need to email Dean they had to do it for me too

I haven't been on much recently as I have been busy with the business and not had any free time to surf hitched.☹️

Think it may just be that everyone is busy with the wedding season.

I haven't been Hitching for that long so I can't really compare now to how it has been in the past.

I guess like most of the other HIB's the quietness is just due to the busy time of the year. However I know I'm always a bit wary of posting replies to some threads in case I inadvertently do something against the rules. I don't have the time to reply to every thread but if I feel I can contribute to a post or help someone out then I do try to reply.

Perhaps the powers that be could consider a forum for HIBs where we can discuss business related things (like this) without offending any 'regular' hitchers. Like Mrs Snow Patroller I appreciate that there are times when it is great to speak to other HIBs no matter what field they work in as many of us will be working alone or part of a very small team of people.

Susan.

This forum already exists....... https://www.hitched.co.uk/Chat/forums/1293.aspx

Its empty as I suspect that suppliers may not want certain elements of business discussed in open forums...specifically when posts on hitched appear on google....

Not that there is anything to hide.....honestly.....

peter

I have renewed my listing but not sure if it is gone through or not.

I still come on but am so busy at the moment that I just tend to browse. I'm still around though!

Same here Sherrie! Although I'm having a day off today (other than type up some contracts) and thought I would catch up on Hitched seeing the weather is pants and we can't go out. Feels like I've not been on for ages! Need my fix every now and again.

I advertise on the list, but really so I can have a link from the forum. I've found that business has come my way through people liking what I say and the ideas I have and people being able to come straight to the site as opposed to people searching on the supplier's list. It's certainly paid for itself now.

Ruth

x

There was a flurry of angry posts a while back about HIBs just posting to advertise, so that may have scared some people off. It certainly made me less inclined to post about my own business because I didn't want to offend anyone, which is daft I suppose, especially when I offer a discount to Hitchers, as do many other HIBs. I don't have lots of time to chat on Hitched but I do check posts now and again to see if I can help and also to get a feel for what brides are looking for, what colours are in etc. I do get referrals from the Hitched directory and also via the forum, but actually I get more mentions on another forum that I don't contribute to or advertise on so it's just word of mouth recommendation. A basic listing on Hitched is quite inexpensive (as long as you link back) so I think it's probably worth the money. I suspect, however, that more brides will use the forum than the supplier directory.