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King Conn
Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
 Posted 01/21/2010 12:31 pm
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I recently posted two different stamps that I thought were errors, but was convinced that I had some freaks.
My question now is, are so called freaks, like ink deterioration or ink bleeding worth more than a regular stamp or just junk.
I want to thank khj, and every one who had input to my post.
You have a great group here.
Conn
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nr-notrare
Pillar Of The Community
USA
1881 Posts |
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Londonbus1
Pillar Of The Community
Israel
1911 Posts |
Posted 01/21/2010 2:05 pm
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Almost 150 pages of Errors,Freaks and Oddities.
But which is which ?
Most of the sellers/dealers mention only the term Errors in the individual listings.
This is what my Oxford dictionary tells me;
Error.....mistake, condition of being wrong, not correct.
Freak.....absurd, very unusual, abnormal.
Oddity....quality of being odd, strangeness.
Mistake...wrong opinion,idea or act.
By mistake...as a result of carelessness,forgetfulness, an error !
In the UK [as I have mentioned at SCF elsewhere], only the term 'Errors' is used. Never freak. The word oddity is sometimes used in a description but rarely in a title.
But we are talking US here in this instant.
So If I had an Imperf pair, would I have an error or a freak ?
What about a perforation shift ?
Missing words or parts of designs ?
And how do these Errors,Freaks and Oddities nearly always end up with dealers who offer them at fancy prices ? [the old line 'a customer came in and we bought it from him' does not wash with me so don't mention it!]
And on that list of EFO's [150 pages], many descriptions include the term 'Very rare' ! How the heck do they know it's very rare ?? This is very common terminology when it comes to errors,freaks and Oddities. It makes me cringe...and also get a little angry.
[To be continued shortly].
Londonbus1....a non-believer of errors [freaks and Oddities]
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Cjd
Pillar Of The Community
United States
1255 Posts |
Posted 01/21/2010 2:17 pm
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Whenever I'm looking for a headstart on a new term, I go to the glossary section of askphil.org hosted by the Collectors Club of Chicago. Here, for what it is worth, is what they say:
Error: 1: a philatelic item that has something wrong in the design or in its production that makes it different from the stated design; this can be in the perforations, color or printing, not to be confused with flaw. 2: a consistent abnormal variety created by a mistake in stamp production or in a postmark
Freak: partial while error is total; an irregularity in a stamp that makes it different from a normal stamp such as albino, color shift, color smear, double print, foldover, inking smear, miscut, misperforation, paper crease, partial perforation, partial ink, streak, under and overinked stamp, etc.
Oddity: a collectible philatelic item that has unusual variations such as a different design, gum type, different color, odd or unusual cancels, etc. and is not a freak or variety.
That makes it clear, right?
Thought so.
Collin
(I'm not offering these as the be all and end all definitions...)
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nr-notrare
Pillar Of The Community
USA
1881 Posts |
Posted 01/21/2010 2:26 pm
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Hello......
With the influx of new sellers and buyers on line most sellers call everything errors regardless of the true nature of the item......many collectors are being ripped off by seller claiming that they're selling true errors when they are just selling oddities & freaks.
Most items listed as errors are just freaks.
Completely missing perfs are errors.......all other perfing issues are freaks.
Completely missing colors are errors....if there is one dot of color, it is NOT an error, it's just a freak.....all other color shifts are freaks.
Many items are known to exist in low quantities.......some in great volume......simple supply & demand.
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Londonbus1
Pillar Of The Community
Israel
1911 Posts |
Posted 01/21/2010 2:32 pm
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[Continued].........
If a dealer knows that the stamp is rare or [even worse] very rare, then he or she must know roughly how many exist. But if it is an EFO [I will use the term EFO from now on, although we must yet determine which is which], how can he or she know ??? Unless they have some 'inside' information. 
Let us go to one of the USPS printing companies [or any other Postal service if not USA].
A situation, one of many I could make up [if you want more I will be happy to oblige].
The Night shift.
The Assistant manager notices a few sheets with perfs missing on part of them. He ghosts the sheets away and phones Dealer 'X'. The dealer is willing to pay $X but wants the part sheet intact. But the Assistant Manager cannot do that because a new security shift has started and he can only take the sheet out in pairs which he will cut with a guillotine. The price comes down a bit. It is easy to take small items out but not sheets.
He then orders the a new perforation plate to replace the old one and the next print run goes ahead.
I know it is not that simple but I also know that security is paramount and checks are made before during and after.
I could make up a hundred other stories like that one, all different but I am certain, all with an element of truth.
Those who believe that all those errors from the eBay list [150 pages!] and all those millions of other EFO's worldwide are simply mistakes [see above explanation], are living in cloud-cuckoo land.
I, for one, do not believe that sheets of EFO's are missed by the checkers, missed during cutting, missed during packing, more checking, missed by the Post Offices and only noticed all over the country when a 'lucky' customer takes it in to a dealer who gives him a lousy price before making a good profit. I don't think this sounds too far fetched do you ?
There are so many EFO's on the market, EFO's that should have been destroyed at source, that it is just too unbelievable they are just mistakes. The printers, the checkers, the cutters, the security...all mistakes ? .
Londonbus1.....Doesn't collect errors...but has some !
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Londonbus1
Pillar Of The Community
Israel
1911 Posts |
Posted 01/21/2010 2:41 pm
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It would be interesting to hear the terminology in other countries.
If anyone can enlighten us.........
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Puzzler
Pillar Of The Community
Canada
1332 Posts |
Posted 01/21/2010 3:09 pm
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Good points all by all.
Perhaps it is the perception (created by marketing) that a thing is rare and more valuable that makes it so. It's all in the presentation is a saying that I think applies here.
I have a misperf (misperforation) or two and find them fascinating for some reason. Perhaps because I had thought it was something that could happen in the course of printing. I wasn't thinking about (nor knew much about) the checks and double checks that stamps go through. Now I am wondering.
The use of the term error in listings online (or other terms) is, I think, caused by the way the eBay (or other) animal works. The listing titles have only 55 characters allowed and withing that limited space (at times) one must try to grab a possible buyer's attention. So a lot of incorrect descriptive words get used to draw attention and also, as Londonbus has pointed out, to make the sale.
Does a stamps value increase because of it's (supposed) rarity? Yes, most of the time it seems to. Is this right? Nope. I would rather have stamps appreciated for their beauty and skill involved in the production of them, their colours, design or subject matter.
There is a lot of marketing out there telling us that rare is good and that this or that is rare, thus good. Trying to distract you away from achieving the primary goal of stamp collecting (amongst many), appreciation of beauty.
As khj has said elsewhere on this forum, investment in stamps, for monetary reason, usually turns out to be a phantom, a will-o'-the-wisp, a mirage.
(if I may borrow Londonbus's signature signature(?))
Puzzler, still puzzling every day, but enjoying the trip.
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khj
Pillar Of The Community
United States
2530 Posts |
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Londonbus1
Pillar Of The Community
Israel
1911 Posts |
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Bujutsu
Valued Member
Canada
318 Posts |
Posted 02/08/2010 5:34 pm
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Hi All
There is a club speciafically devoted to this kind of stamp and is appropriately called the "EFO Collectors Club"
These stamps are becoming increasingly popular. For those of you who specialise in the US ones only, there are a couple of very nice books and catalogues put out by this society. A couple of good book have been written by Steven Datz and to the best of my knowledge, you can still get copies from this society. They used to incorporate your name in gold on the cover. I have a cover with my name on the front cover that way authored by this man.
Chimo
Bujutsu
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