Our Roadmap for 2023

OpenAI GPT3 Product and Auction Lot Description Writer.

This new tool will be a game changer by removing the friction point to your daily operations cataloging grind by harnessing AI to assist you in writing product and auction lot descriptions. 

It works with our Adobe Commerce inventory onboarding tools and also our new Auction Platform Items.  Simply load your graded coins, currency, antiques, etc. and then click on our proprietary ‘write description‘ button and the OpenAI GPT3 API bridge writes and adds your description for you.   It’s magical and for our clients will be a huge time saver!

In the years ahead, I see OpenAI GPT3 Chat replacing Google search engines.  This is truly world changing stuff just like the Gutenberg press!

Note: We are currently in the testing phase this month and select customers will be offered beta versions in the very near future.  The feature will require an active account with OpenAI and is currently free through May 23rd, 2023 to access their API.  After the free trial, a paid account will be required for continued use.

More details to follow soon….

Migration of our Proprietary Numismatic Tools  

We started building direct sales, appraisals, quotes, tasks, kanban board, project management and more into our new auction platform last year and will continue this year by migrating our proprietary proven Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) tools, as well. 

This will include:

• Barcode labels for slabs and graded currency and other asset tags
• DYMO and Zebra printer support
• Cost Code Generator
• PCGS, NGC, and PMG onboarding lookup tools
• The Trading Desk
• Product Archiving
• Live Metals Feed
• Help Desk
• Google Calendar Support
• New Consignment Management Tools
• Improved Rare Coin and Ancients Catalog
• Virtual Warehouses
• Grading submissions
• Sales, Product, and Consignment Reports
• And our custom Location Status from way back to the beginning of Magento 1 nearly 10 years ago!

CACG (CAC Grading)

We have been monitoring the CACG status from several vantage points and wanted to shed some light on our plans relating to our platform. 

We believe there won’t be any volume of these new slabs until later this year or towards the beginning of 2024.  So without any definitive barcode scheme definitions or coin numbering catalog for CACG, we simply cannot build any infrastructure yet until they publish this information for developers like us as PCGS and NGC has done.

That said, some of you may have noticed that we added the CACG to your grading service list.  You can simply use our PCGS lookup to load manually and assign the grading service attribute and update the title (change from PCGS to CACG) as a workaround.

More details will be provided in the coming months.  

DSNW News

We recently built and launched an entire auction platform from scratch for our client in Sacramento, CA and will feature that journey on our updated website soon.  

For now, here’s a short blurb preview:

Witherell’s Auction owner, Brian Witherell (think Antiques Roadshow,) approached our team to build a replacement for their aging auction software. He wanted to start with a spinoff online auction house for timed auctions only that would feature lower priced lot items with administrative automation tools to lower the operational costs. Annex Auctions would be the foundation of this new auction software progression by adding automated invoice and settlements creation along with a wide array of hybrid tools in an easy to use user friendly layout. From client management to task based timelines, this would help keep track of auction deadlines and tasks by remote users, catalogers, photographers, as well as in-house gallery staff.

Annex Auctions has seen success right from the start with their new platform, and later this year Witherell’s will be offering some exciting high-end lots from many consignors around the country.  All powered by the Digital Studio NW auction platform.

Check them our today!

Annex Auctions link

Witherell’s link

The Problem with Chrome…

If you use the Chrome browser on your PC or Mac, you may have noticed an extra page will print for both labels, invoices, etc. in our cloud inventory software and in other commercial operating systems and software.   This bug was due to changes Google made in the browser about 3-4 weeks ago.   So if you’re frustrated by the extra sheet of paper or wasted label, please try using Firefox or Safari until they release a fix for this issue.

E-commerce Tips
Hackers are running rampant lately and attacking online businesses at a record level.  Do your part by using secure passwords that you change often to help avoid any compromise.  Taking advantage of password managers on your PC or MAC is your best way to generate a strong and more secure password.   Never click on links from emails you are unfamiliar with or respond to spammers.  Use VPN or a in-house network firewall.  You can also protect yourself with Warp by Cloudflare, a DNS app for PC and MAC that hides your internet data packets from your ISP selling ads to you.  You can find the app by navigating to 1.1.1.1 in your browser.

Stripe Merchant Processing has been making many changes to their module to allow direct checkout via a redirect from your cart.  This is very similar to how PayPal works and makes it more difficult for scammers or malicious bots to try and pass a stolen card or skim cards from other users on your checkout page.  Additionally, it adds more payment options such as Pay Later, ACH, Apple Pay, and more.  Please see the Stripe.com website for more info.

Privacy Policy information should be current and contain all the information you collect and retain from your customers.  This can be everything from the client’s email address to the cookies your site adds to their browser cache.  

CMS Pages like your Terms of Sale, Returns (RMA), and About Us pages should be reviewed periodically for operational change content, as well as, policy changes per merchant processing agreements, shipping rules and charges, fees and any other sale related info.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is an acronym you should be familiar with if you sell to clients in the European Union.  If you’re not familiar with this and you do sell to clients living in Europe, you should familiarize yourself with the requirements.  More info on that can be found here.

CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) California has passed a digital security law that requires businesses to make disclosures about their collection, use, and distribution of consumer personal data. It is aimed to strengthen the protection of online users’ privacy and expected to have a far-reaching effect on customer data management overall and in the future.  While most clients of ours would be exempt, I would expect in the not-too-distant future that thresholds will be lowered, and many other states will adopt similar privacy acts.  That said, having the infrastructure in place on your website sooner rather than later would be a recommenced best practice and an added comfort for your client base.  Most of our clients with a frontend, on our new framework updated last year, now have this information posted on their Privacy Policy landing page.

Inventory Control is essential for any small business and making sure your stock is accurate in terms of availability on the customer side is paramount.  Most of my clients sell one-of-a-kind items, but Omni-channel, returns, and temporary holds can lead to inaccurate stock statuses if not monitored or managed properly.   Taking the time to do an audit of your inventory each week or month is more than just a good idea, it’s essential.  Not too many admins take the time to view the frontend either, so check it, do it often, and avoid the customer disappointment and frustration.