Online Buying And Selling Part 2: The Forum Option.

Great feedback everyone !

To pick up on a few points raised.
Mac mentioned about sending back items which were not as described. Because we are all 'friends' here, I doubt that would happen on the forum sales and auctions. I am sure, if something did go wrong, it could be sorted out amicably between the parties.
Yes, there is a limited crowd, but it is possible to offload material that others may need. This comes about by having an idea of what others collect.
I started 9 auctions and a sales thread with 50 items. All my auctions had bids [and so sold] and I sold 11 items from the Sale list [plus a few extras not listed, after enquiries]. Everything I put up was done after a bit of thought.
I believed the experiment worked.
In the same period, I have purchased a number of items from members and will do so again at any time now !

In the same period, and with his knowledge, a friend of mine listed over 40 items, half on ebay and half elsewhere and had less success, both in numbers and in dollars !

mhc99 [and others too I believe] noticed that the Auctions are a pleasant experience for everyone. I very much feel that, whether they are mine or someone else's.

All my auction and sale items won have been posted. If anyone has any problems/complaints about their winning lots, please let me know.

Londonbus1

There are pitfalls to becoming larger..i live in a development of 30 houses ..everyone for their own reasons goes their own way..live and let live.but if someone from outside came in to bother anyone we would all come running to their aid...i left another forum after many years when it was sold to a Craigs List type of outfit...what once was a meeting place for stamp people became a flea market of unknown userids !!

Reading all the posts of this thread I tell myself once more i'm in the right family. I have been selling since October and it's great.Some of the stuff I sold I own for more than 30 years. Even if there is not a big crowd of potential buyer some have bought many times. It's my first experience of selling on the internet. So far I sold about 80% of what I post. Since I never sold on ebay, Delcampe etc. I cannot compare. I may not make as much money but here I made friends. I just start buying and i'll be waiting for stamps coming in my mailbox. Enjoy that. Daniel

I wanted to add something to this. Given the time it takes to arrange and scan then post a hopeful sale. It really would be at a loss for a business dealer. You figure the discount and time to pack up and run to the post office, most bigger dealers would scoff at us. This is one reason our deals are on a more personnel level. Try and go to a brick and mortar dealer and offer to buy at 20% of catalogue.

While not able to buy or sell yet, I love the feel of the buy/sell forums. The truth is I've already said in the back of my mind oh I have something they might like and I have no need in my collection for this piece. Much rather buy and sell on here when I know the pieces I dont want will be appreciated somewhere else.

I would love to buy and sell here with you folks. Just not sure of the logistics of payment etc. I'll have to take a course. But I'm in the process of trading with several of you (you know who you are) and am enjoying it.
I buy and sell on ebay. I'm not sure of my future there, considering the new rules they're bringing in later this month. I may try Delcampe, for selling. It would be great to have several venues to buy and sell.
I don't have a stamp club in my area or a stamp dealer close buy, so this whole 'interweb' thing has been a real boost to my collection.

I am already finding that,
soon, it is going to be hard to post
all my time is spent reading the posts.

It soon will be nigh on impossible to keep up
one will just have to read and vet the posts
that suit.

After further ruminations on the topic I think part of the appeal of the forum is how you can get to know the people you are buying from or selling too. For instance, after reading Russ's posts and how helpful he's been to people on early US stamps I would happily buy early US stamps if he posted them for sale. You don't get that opportunity at most venues. I actually would rather buy from Russ then head down to the Stamp store here in town that I've been too three or four times and do not feel comfortable in at all.

Hello all!
First let me say that I am new to your forum and I have been perusing your posts and came across this one. I feel that I may have a slightly different perspective and insight to buying and selling on line that you may find worthwhile. So let my first post begin.
I have noted that most of you have not been overly active in buying or selling on ebay or other internet sites. I currently sell on ebay, Bidsmart, and I am in the process of setting up my first SANS auction. I started on ebay about one and one half years ago selling off duplicates from my privet collection. This has grown from 20 to 30 active listings weekly to 150 to 200 active at any given time. My only reason for pointing this out is to say that even in my limited time and volume I have been witness to some dreadful things on ebay. As I know some of you know (Daryl aka the stamp virgin) the British cartel is alive and well and doing business on ebay under many different names. Additionally there are other sites that are out right fraudsters, one that I was involved with bought lesser value bank notes, added grills and sold them stating the higher value Sc# at over 5 times the price they bought them for. While ebay has a vested interest in not allowing this to happen and there are watch dog groups constantly scanning ebay listings, there is no way to catch and process even 10% of what go's on.

Here are some things to look for in an on line seller:
All listing will have clear, crisp, unaltered scans.
If back of stamp is not shown in listing they will provide it at your request.
The seller will amend the standard return policy to allow certification. (usually 30 days)
Seller will promptly and courteously reply to any and all questions you my have about a listing.
If a seller fails in any one of these simple areas, DO NOT BUY from that seller.

While this may seem remedial to most seasoned pro's, I felt it needed to be added here and is in direct response to the asked question.
Always at your service
Ron

Welcome to TheSeal.
Thanks for your post, but what about your thoughts on buying and selling on the Forum ??




I wasn't sure what questions you were referring to.

The original thread 'Online Buying and Selling' is for auction sites such as ebay,Delcampe etc.
You can find it here;

https://goscf.com/t/11288

Have fun at SCF and post often

Londonbus1