Re-thinking eBay-- version 23.71a

It seems the never-ending gyrations of eBay and their policies for sellers take a new twist every month.

In a post back in February, I was lamenting my ongoing woes in dealing with the giant online auction site-- and alluded to pretty much "putting eBay on hold" till certain things sorted themselves out (see "The Ups and Downs of Dealing with eBay" for more). In the subsequent three months, more new developments.

Whether this is the result of a mass exodus of sellers or someone actually listening to the complaints received, it seems that eBay has now changed their tune... at least somewhat. Not too long ago, I received an announcement that-- as an eBay "Store" holder-- a number of my listings every month would now be free. Well, free to list... I'd still have to pay the back end final value fee.

It was slightly odd to receive this announcement, given the fact that most stamp sellers are always complaining about the fees on eBay.

Now that my previous hassles with "selling limits" have also been resolved (an old "black mark" basically expired), it seems that I can go back to listing my duplicates and get up to 500 free listings a month, with my store subscription. And no matter how I do the math, it really does come out to cost less (in fees) than I used to pay.

Now, I can't editorialize on whether the folks in eBay management suddenly woke up one morning and "saw the light," or this is just some ploy to "retain customers" ahead of yet another rules change designed to "milk it for all it's worth." Seems like predicting where eBay is going next is a bit like trying to predict the weather.

Meanwhile-- in only somewhat related news-- I am in the middle of re-scanning a bunch of my stamps. As part of recent policy changes, all images uploaded to eBay must be at least 500 pixels on the longest side. Seems like this is a requirement that will catch a lot of stamp sellers-- 500px is pretty large, for an item as small as a stamp. It's actually a bit of a "sneaky" change, because an original announcement about image formats-- from about a year ago-- required 400px images... with which I was in compliance. Either way, if you want to list on eBay, your photos have to be big enough.

Feels like a bunch of "busy work," but what can you do?

And now for something completely different... FREE stamps!

When you're a long-time stamp collector, it's almost inevitable that there occasionally are stamps "left over." Some are valuable and can be sold on places like eBay; some have little worth or are defective... personally, I prefer to give those to artists who create interesting scrapbook art or stationery people can enjoy; that way awareness of "old stamps" is spread beyond the existing stamp collector community.

One of my current free listings: US Scott 185
Catalogue value $17.50 (click on image)

Finally, there are some some stamps that are just "somewhere in the middle." Maybe they are in sound condition and list for a couple of dollars in catalogue value, or perhaps they have a catalogue value of $7 but a minor defect or uninteresting cancel. What to do, with these stamps?

For over ten years, I've just been putting them aside in glassines marked "better," saving them for some day where I might have a suitable answer.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to a then new website called "Listia" and said "this is pretty cool." Now, I'm not the kind of person who finds something "new" and immediately starts to tell everyone who's willing to listen that it's "the greatest thing EVER," until I've actually determined that it really IS something worthwhile that other people will enjoy. Hence, I learned about this web site two years ago, but I have chosen not to write about it till now... I just have an "issue" about not recommending things that are ill-conceived and turn out to be a waste of time.

So what exactly IS this "Listia?" Well, it's an auction site somewhat in the style of eBay, except it's about giving away things for FREE. Yes, I said "free," and that includes free stamps.

Now, most of us have been taught that there is "no such thing as a free lunch," and when something is supposedly free, there's usually "a catch."

In this case-- and this is based on having actually used the site for a while, not just "promises in a site description"-- the "catches" are fairly minor. For one (which is pretty unavoidable if you're using the Internet!) you have to register and create an account. Second, where as this genuinely IS a site about "free stuff," it basically operates as an "Exchange and Barter" venue, in the sense that you participate in auctions using the site's "currency," or "credits."

Another free stamp: Scott US E6 used, CV $10.00 (click on image)

Aside from the initial credits you earn simply for signing up, you get more credits by offering things in auctions and having others bid on your free item with their credits.

Here's how it might work: You register on the site. Maybe you list 10 different stamps you wouldn't mind parting with-- exchanging, basically. There are NO fees to do so. Site users can then "bid" on your stamps with "credits."  After a week, your auctions end, and perhaps you have earned 5000 credits (just an example). Then you can turn around and use your credits to bid on stamps you want.

To my way of thinking, this is much better than exchanging stamps 1-on-1 where you are dependent on the other person actually having the material you want... instead, you can just save up your credits and use them to bid for any number of other people's stamps that might interest you.

For those who don't have the patience to list items, you can buy credits to use to place your bids-- but it's totally not necessary, in order to use the site. It can be honestly said that the site can be used completely FREE-- no cash or money needed to be an active participant.

Some might ask why the bother with a "credit" system. The credit system is necessary in order to maintain an active community and a ongoing stream of these listings for free items. After all, if everything was just free-- with NO requirements or strings attached-- a bunch of people would descend on the site like vultures and make a full-time habit of just grabbing everything and returning nothing to the site. Which would also mean that the site would have long since gone away, as the supply of free stuff would dry up thanks to greedy "freebie seekers."

Another free stamp: US Scott 399 used, CV $10.00 (click on image)

Now, I should add that this is not specifically a "stamp" site, nor even a "collectibles" site. Like an eBay, it's pretty much an "everything" site. For example, I have listed old stamps, coins and bank notes which has earned me "credits" I am planning to use to "buy" DVD movies. You can also find clothing, home furnishings, electronics and more.

The reason I am writing about this today is that I am hoping to be part of a move to make the "stamps" category a larger and more vibrant part of the Listia community... Why? Because it really does offer the potential to develop into a viable online "stamp exchange" forum. I have been watching Listia for a couple of years, and feel confident that it is not a "flash in the pan" that's going to go away as quickly as it came. In other words, it's "established" enough to be something I feel comfortable talking about.

There are a number of reasons I am recommending this site to the stamp collector community.

For one, it's free. And we all like free. In these days of rising seller fees on many sites, there are fewer and fewer options for collectors to trade their low-to-medium value stamps without having to hand over the majority of the value to someone else in fees.

Second, a free site takes us "back to basics." Many people got involved in "swapping stamps" because it was a FUN way to add to a collection. This site offers a nice platform for an online stamp "swap meet."

Third, it's free, part 2. As collectors, we seem to have increasingly moved towards a "money based" system for building our collections. More and more collectors just BUY stamps, rather than belonging to a shrinking number of stamp clubs and trading. What if we had a place to trade, that was based on popularity, demand and supply... rather than "dollars and cents?"

A free US Stamp: Scott no. 234, CV $9.50 (click on image)

Fourth... it's FUN! It's still possible to experience the thrill of the hunt and finding something you really need for your collection... and it's still possible to experience the thrill (as the person having something up for auction) of a bunch of people getting into "heated competition" to get a stamp they really want... and yet no money changes hands!

Fifth, it's a good venue for those who don't have a lot of money-- because you can still trade online, but it doesn't have to involve money.

With that said, I'd like to invite readers of this blog to go to the Listia site and become members. It doesn't cost anything. List a few stamps you wouldn't mind parting with and see what happens. That also doesn't cost anything-- and stamps are very popular with existing members. Become part of the community, and help build the stamps area as a trading community for stamp collectors around the world! You can visit my profile page and check out that I really have been a member for several years. Have a look at my current listings for stamps, which really and truly are free... just sign up and bid. A number of current items are pictured throughout this blog post.

Bottom line: I'm just suggesting this as part of an effort to put the fun back in stamp collecting. The only thing I stand to "gain" getting more people involved in something that could become a potentially neat stamp trading site. Give it a go!

Last word: I know there are a few skeptics out there who are thinking: "How can the site even exist if it doesn't make money?" Good question. As I said, they DO sell "credits," the internal "currency" of the web community. They also bank on the difference between the "open market rate" of credits as items trade between "buyers" and "sellers" vs. the somewhat higher cash rate for credits charged for items offered the Listia "Rewards Store."

Coveting thy Neighbor's Stamp Collection

Unlike many stamp collectors, I spend a fair amount of time being "plugged into" online venues. I have-- in essence-- been "a nerd" since first messing around with computers in the mid- to late 1970's. I am fairly well-versed in blogging, building web sites, Facebook, twitter, search engines and most other things relating to the World Wide Web. I went to one of the very few schools that had a computer-- when I was 16 (in 1976), such a computer sat in an entire room, and had less computing power than today's average SmartPhone!

But I am digressing.

I am fairly active on a number of online forums for stamp collectors. As part of our forum activities, we tend to share stories and post pictures of our recent finds and acquisitions. In some ways, I think stamp collectors are as much into telling "big fish stories" as any group of people!

A nice stamp I recently added to my collection

What I have found interesting, though, is that whenever I post news about something I've found-- a nice stamp I recently added to my collection-- I almost immediately get a half-dozen inquiries: "Do you want to sell that? Is it for sale? How much is it? Do you have more?"

Maybe I'm being "too sensitive," here... but such inquiries feel a bit akin to walking up to someone you meet at a dinner party and asking "How much money do you make?" I certainly am aware that stamp collecting-- and collecting ANYthing, for that matter-- is about "getting" things for your collection. But still... there is (at least to MY way of thinking!) a huge difference between "new things I put on eBay" and "new things I put in my collection."

It makes me sit back and wonder if everything in life-- not just in stamp collecting-- has gotten to the point where our primary thinking is about "acquisition" rather than about what makes things interesting, in the first place.

Then again, maybe these inquiries are merely the result of the fact that I do sell stamps, as well as collect them-- and maybe part of the territory is an automatic assumption that "everything is for sale." That said, I regard myself as a collector first, and a trader/seller, second.

I should hasten to add that I am not upset about this practice-- merely a little curious.

Happy collecting to all!

Selling Stamps on the Web: Where do you go?

In these "modern" times of the Internet, it's not unusual for stamp collectors to turn into "part time stamp dealers."

I've been one, myself, for over 15 years. I didn't start selling because I "wanted to be a stamp dealer," nor because I was trying to make a living. Like many collectors, I simply wanted to pass on some of my duplicate material... and hopefully get enough money in the process that I could buy more stamps... and keep the cycle of building my collection going, without having to spend too many of my hard-earned dollars from my "day job." My primary objective was always to try to make the expansion of my collections "self-funding."

Of course, as collectors we have lots of options.

Different web sites make different "claims," as to why we should use them-- why precisely their site will be the best thing for us. Sometimes, the options can leave us more confused than enlightened. I have tried-- and, in many cases, continue to use-- a number of online venues, with varying degrees of success.

Like many things in life, I have found that the most appropriate answer to "where should I sell my stamps?" typically tends to be "it depends."

Some sites are "fixed price," like the American Philatelic Society's online "StampStore," or independent site Stamps2Go.

Other sites are "auction format," most notably e-commerce giant eBay, whose humble beginnings were akin to an online garage sale. Since then, dozens of "alternative" sites have cropped up and attempted to present themselves as viable marketplaces.

These days, many sales venues are "hybrids," that is, sellers can choose a combination of fixed price (or "buy it now") and auction formats. On some sites, you can even have your own "online storefront."

But there are additional choices we have to make: Do we choose a "general" sales venue (like eBay or eBid) with a strong presence in the "stamps" category? Or do we choose a "collectibles" sales venue (like Delcampe or BidStart), where the audience is more focused? Or do we choose a "stamps only" venue (like Stamps2Go or StampoRama)?

Another factor that plays into our decision is the fees we have to pay to the selling site. Often, what site we choose, and what fees we're willing to pay, will be dependent on the average price per stamp (or lot of stamps) we're planning to offer for sale. If you have a bunch of 50-cent items you want to sell, it obviously doesn't make much sense to list on a site that charges a minimum fee-per-lot of 25 cents. But that same site might work really well if your average item is worth $10.00.

There are also a lot of web sites to offer "reviews" of places people can sell their items-- stamps, or otherwise. Sadly, the majority do not offer very objective opinions, as they tend to "fund themselves" through a network of "referral links." And who's going to honestly write "this site sucks" if part of their income comes from referring people to that site?

Anyway, this post is a bit of a pre-amble to my intentions to-- during 2012-- write about each of the seller  venues I use to sell stamps. The good, the bad and the ugly... from someone who (a) actually sells (or has sold) on those sites, (b) isn't being paid for his opinions, and (c) specializes in stamps, not all sorts of other merchandise. Not going to set any "schedule" for this-- I'll just get to it, as I can.