eBay and "Shipping Shenanigans"

Like most stamp collectors in the 21st century, I use eBay to buy and sell stamps on a pretty regular basis. In many ways, the online auction giant has been a great help to stamp collectors in the way it has enabled us to connect with each other and with stamps we want for our collections, from all over the world.

Whatever you might think about eBay (some people love it, some people hate it), one thing is certain: It's very important to pay attention to what you are doing. Never assume anything!

Just this morning, I was checking eBay to see if there was anything new and interesting from Denmark, one of my major collecting areas. Because I look for cancels, plate flaws and varieties, I am often in the market for "lots and accumulations."

Indeed, I did find a couple of duplicated collections that seemed quite interesting-- as well as quite reasonably priced. That is, until I checked the seller's shipping terms. $12.00 to ship about 50 stamps from the UK to the US? Huh?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of the "cheapskates" who try to nickel-and-dime sellers and leave negative feedback because they were charged 50 cents for a letter that cost 49 cents to send. I understand we all have expenses when we sell stamps... personally, I charge 75 cents when I sell on eBay, because it covers the cost of the stamp (49c) plus an envelope, a glassine and the possibility that I will have to pay for a "second rate" after I've put a cardboard stiffener in the envelope. I feel that's fair, and if anyone wants to "argue" with me about that, I'd prefer they just buy their stamps from someone else.

But that's a really long way from charging US $12.00 for a letter that might cost £1.50 to mail (or about $2.50). To me, that loosely falls under the broader heading of "shenanigans" and "deceptive practices." Of course, that's just my opinion-- some professional stamp dealers may disagree with me.

Of course we always have the option to "move on by" if we don't like someone's postage rates, and that's precisely what I did. And so... the point of this article is primarily to remind people to READ the so-called "fine print" before you click on the "bid" or "buy now" buttons... and be sure you understand what the "real" cost of that stamp is.

In general, I have found that "discussing rates" with people who charge uncommonly high shipping rates is a waste of time. Why? Well, because they are typically in the business of "selling cheap stamps and making their profit on shipping" and so they are really not interested in hearing what you-- as a collector-- have to say about it. Sad... but true.

Overall, though, I continue to recommend eBay as a place to buy stamps... because the positive experiences FAR outweigh the negative ones.

What's YOUR opinion? Do you think sellers often "overcharge" for sending stamps? Do you fee that it's "fair" if stamp sellers cover their basic expenses to send stamps-- like envelopes, glassines and so forth? Do you ever try to "argue" with people who are charging high shipping fees, because you really WANT a stamp they have for sale? If you feel this topic merits discussion, please consider sharing to your Facebook page or favorite stamp forum!

Mysteries in Stamp Buying

Like most stamp collectors these days, I get many of the new stamps for my collection from an assortment of online sources. After almost 20 years of using the web as a resource, there are things that continue to mystify and confound me.

Top of my list of mysteries is sellers who try to sell stamps without a photo. Just how is that supposed to work? If I can't see the stamp-- especially if it's a stamp you're expecting me to pay more than US $5.00-- why would I want to buy it?

I hear millions of rationalization about how much time it takes to scan things, followed by other rationalizations that I "can return anything I don't like." Whereas that is fair enough, it still misses the point for me. I don't want to deal with the hassle and time wasting of returning things.

VF? Perhaps, but these are NOT "the same" stamp.

Of course, I collect postally used stamps. And (I believe) the faulty assumption that underlies for sale listings without images is that collectors "don't care" what the stamp looks like.

Wrong!

Not only do I want to see what the postmark looks like before I buy, I want to be able to see your "definition" of what Very Fine might be.

Indeed, the photo at right may show two copies of "the same" VF stamp from Denmark-- but they are definitely NOT "the same," are they? Not only is the postmark quality vastly different, the stamps are different colors, meaning they came from different printings of the stamp. Without a photo, how would I know what I was buying?

Fortunately, I do have a choice, in terms of who I buy from-- and I buy from those who have scans of their stamps. Delcampe has been an excellent site for buying for me, because pretty much everything is photographed. BidStart is a good source, as well, as can be eBay, although with the latter one must be careful as many stamps are offered by non-collectors who are not aware of the importance of a good quality photo. Finally, there is private dealers Poppe Stamps-- who, as a seller, is an illustration of how it IS possible to have all your stamps scanned, regardless of price-- they have over 1.5 million items to look at!

Another mystery in my buying experience is the ambiguity of "condition."

No faults? No way! Toned perfs, round corner, corner crease...

I can appreciate that-- at least in the USA-- terms like "Very Fine" and "Fine" ultimately are only referring to centering. Thus, the Danish stamp pictured at left is-- technically speaking-- "VF."

But that's not really the "mystery." The mystery is how well-respected major dealers can list such a stamp with a picture and the description "nice stamp, no faults" when you can clearly tell from the scan that there are  toned perfs on at least three sides and a rounded corner and a corner crease at upper left. On what planet is that a stamp with "no faults?"

Is the seller just hoping to "get lucky" that someone will actually pay 50% of catalogue value for a damaged stamp... or is this genuine ignorance of what makes up stamp condition?

A "smaller" mystery is the strange sellers of "random stamps." What do I mean by that? Well, these are the people-- often on smaller auction or fixed price sites-- who will offer little lots that might contain five stamps from a country, two of them mint, three of them used; three in good condition, two spacefillers; none of them even from the same set. Almost as if the seller went through a collection and randomly pulled out stamps and offered a lot of "stamps."

Who BUYS stamps like that? It may be convenient for you-- as a seller-- but it's a meaningless offer to 95% of the collectors looking at what you have for sale.

A somewhat related mystery is "complete sets."

I realize it's kind of nifty to finish out a set in your collection. But notice something about that last sentence? The words "finish out." I don't think I've ever bought a "complete set" of stamps except when it was a new issue from the post office.

The reality of most collections is that collectors typically already have six spaces in a set of ten filled-- perhaps from packets, or trading or sales circuits. "Complete sets" are a hard sell...

... and if you think about it, have you ever noticed how most of the major catalogues actually list "complete sets" at a discount from the price of the individual stamps, added together? A lot of people will argue that the higher price for singles is a "service charge" for breaking the set... but I just don't believe that to be true. I believe the TRUTH is that sets are priced lower because there's less demand for them.

Thankfully, we have choices, when it comes to buying online... and many more choices than we used to have.

Still, when I think back on the earlier days of buying stamps for my collection, I never bought stamps I couldn't see-- except for "mystery box lots" from auctions. I never once responded to any of those endless "price lists" in Linn's Stamp News or other publications... that were just typed lists of catalogue numbers and prices. All my stamps came from shows, circuit books, stamp club or dealers-- where I could examine the stamps before buying.

Remember, you always have a CHOICE when buying stamps. And the hard-earned money you spend on your collection is like "voting" for the sellers who are doing a good job!

Denmark 40 øre Stamp: Sometimes a Little Means a Lot!

I add stamps to my collections from many different venues-- ranging from exchanges to stamp shows to large international philatelic auctions.

Recently, I purchased some stamps from the APS StampStore... and got a nice little (unexpected) "bonus," in the process. It reminded me how-- as a specialist collector-- it's often something quite small that makes a big difference.

Denmark AFA 105 & 105a; Scott 116 & 117

In 1918, Denmark issued a number of definitive stamps in the long-running series featuring King Christian X facing to the right. The 40 øre value was actually issued in two distinct versions: The lilac and black (at left) is generally regarded as the "main" stamp, while the distinctly different blue-lilac and black is regarded by most as a "color variety." The US-based Scott catalogue assigns separate numbers, while most others list the first stamp with its own number and the blue-lilac with an "a" designation. The blue-lilac is somewhat harder to find.

I am always looking for "really nice" copies of Danish stamps-- my collections are centered around having "excellent quality" stamps in all my album spaces. That's not everyone's strategy, of course, but it happens to be my personal preference.

So when I found a lot with 4 different Christian X stamps, I was quite happy to purchase the lot of four, in order to get the really nice example of the 40 øre blue-lilac, pictured at right. Very well centered, with a fairly "crisp" cancel and good perfs, it is the kind of quality I look for. Although there are a couple of tiny cancel smudges, it will do nicely till I find a better example.

In Denmark-- and beyond-- the "bi-coloured" King Christian X definitives have become a very popular specialist area. For the most part, the stamps are reasonably valued (the exception being the 27 øre and 10kr stamps) and fairly readily available.

The issue also offers the specialist a great many plate flaws to look for. Part of what makes this series interesting is the two-color printing process: The outer frame was printed during one pass through the presses; the center on a second pass. Since the same center (portrait) plates were used for different values (different frames), it's possible to find the same portrait plate flaws on different stamps. Naturally, the different value frame plates all developed distinct plate flaws of their own. And because it's a two-step printing process, you can also find some notable colour-shifts.

I was about to put the stamp into my album when I noticed something slightly "odd."

Take a look at the bottom right corner. It is slightly rounded, and there seems to be a small "line" across it. Listed as AFA number 105av, this is one of the recognized "major" plate flaws on this stamp.

Although it's no great rarity-- the error occurs on four stamps in each sheet of 100-- it still meant that my $5.00 stamp was now a listed AFA variety with a catalogue value of 400,- Danish kroner-- about US $70.00!

For me, a large part of the appeal of being a "specialist" lies in the fun of the "treasure hunt" and finding the unexpected. I also like the fact that it allows me to "continue collecting" now that I have reached a point where I am only missing a very few and very expensive stamps in terms of "main catalogue numbers." Increasing the size of my collection simply through my (limited!) ability to spend thousands of dollars on the next stamp doesn't hold much appeal.

Hence, I started to specialize.

All you really need is a keen eye and the knowledge (which I get from a number of different articles and specialist literature) to know what to look for. And sometimes you may even find "something new" from simply looking carefully at what seems like a very "normal" stamp!

Stamps, Valuations, Knowledge and "Fairness"

As stamp collectors, we tend to think of the primary "commodity" we spend our time with as "stamps" and things that relate to stamps.

We buy stamps; we swap stamps, and sometimes we sell stamps. At the foundation of our ability to make these trades-- with each other, and with dealers-- lies our core belief that any given stamp has a certain relative value.

After 45-odd years of involvement in philately, I increasingly have come to realize that much the foundation for trade-ability is-- as often as not-- knowledge, rather than "stamps."

20ø blackish blue. Value $20+ rather than 75c

For many of us, new stamps are added to our collections as part of a process of "treasure hunting;" that is, we go looking for (or at least are open to finding) the unexpected to fill gaps in our collections. And everybody loves a bargain!

From time to time, I attend stamp shows and bourses. Several times a month I will spend a few hours perusing eBay or one of the other online sales venues for stamps. Sometimes I visit dealers in the area; sometimes I buy lots from brick-and-mortar auctions; sometimes I am poring over a box of circuit books from the American Philatelic Society.

As often as not, new "treasures" come to me not simply because "there's a gap in my collection," but because I "found something" among the stamps offered for sale; something unexpected; something of value. For me, it is usually a rare postmark or a shade/printing of a classic stamp, or a variety/plate flaw of some kind. Whatever it may be, it tends to have a "value" that by far exceeds the marked sales price.

The "making a find" part came into play purely because I recognized something the seller did not. In other words, I was in the knowledge business.

This, in turn, invites consideration of the question of whether or not that makes me rather "mercenary" and whether or not it is "fair" to the seller that I am going to buy an item marked at $2.00, when I know it's worth $200.00. Let's pause and examine some different ways of looking at what might be considered "fair."

For one, the seller marked the item at $2.00, in the belief it was a "fair price," given his knowledge of the situation.

The HILLE postmark adds $500.00+ in value

For maybe 99% of his or her potential buyers, that stamp is "worth" $2.00... because they see the stamp as exactly what the dealer thinks he's selling.

My "other 1%" knowledge was not "free." Behind my ability to pick out a $200.00 variety lies not only 25 years of study, but probably a $1000+ investment in specialized literature.

What's more, if I were to turn around and "profit" by selling the stamp rather than keeping it it in my collection, unlike the original seller, I also have spent 25 years building the connections within the hobby the results in my being able to contact a collector who will pay me $200.00. The original seller doesn't have those connections.

So where does the notion of "fairness" lie, in these situations?

Just like a stamp has a "catalogue value," expertise has a "value." And expert knowledge typically "costs extra," regardless of your field. Your country doctor might-- or might not-- be able to heal some esoteric illness you have. A specialist-- for five times the price-- heals it in short order-- because he or she "invested" years and money in becoming a specialist. Is it "unfair" to your country doctor that he only gets $150.00 for an office visit, when the specialist gets to charge $800.00?

Is if "fair" to YOU, that you have to pay more? You could argue that it's not-- because you are "short the money"-- but in the end we all tend to get what we pay for.

My point here being that while our finding "a $200.00 stamp for $2.00" may look opportunistic and like we're getting "something for nothing," we typically have paid "a price of admission" (learning, time, experience, reference books) in order to get to a place where the transaction was even possible. Rather than viewing the situation as "unfairly taking advantage" of the seller, we can view it as "our fair reward for years of study."