Words To Be Wary Of When Buying Stamps On The Net!

When looking at lots on the internet..you may want to avoid items that use the words...UNCHECKED, Remarkable stamp collection! By all means if you have any couth at all...avoid Humungous Hoard of Stamps !

Philb, who would potentially give away a flaw or watermark error worth big dollars. The Seller knows that there is 'nothing of value' in his lot but by using the word UNCHECKED suggests the buyer may find something of value. I agree with you, a dishonest practice scamming the unwary, imo.

As a general rule, I would just ignore any thing that isn't factually related to the specific stamp or stamps being sold. All else is marketing fluff and to be disbelieved.

Even assuming that the seller is being completely honest in this case, all that means is that it is unchecked BY HIM. You have no way of what the prior owner did or didn't so.

Marketing 101: Puffery.

It is not just the net. Fluff lots have been going since the stamp was invented.

The word I particularly find amusing is "RARE" sometimes followed by "!" to add emphasis; it's even funnier when it is followed by a completely unrealistic price; and sometimes even by a similar lot by the same seller

I agree ! 20 years ago I sent away a hundred dollars to Campbell Hall who used to have a huge two page ad in Linns $6500 catalog for one hundred dollars !! How could I go wrong?? I soon found out when the sheets of CTO third world countries arrived !! Terrific marketing...but at least I did not fall for the scam from Denmark that cost around $450.00 and promised you the world in classic stamps !! Anyone still around remember those deals ???

I like the ones " I do not know anything about stamps! "

And yet their feedback probably shows selling stamps for ten or twenty years.

heh heh !!

Mac...how dare you make fun of me....

Yes I had forgotten about that one...sometimes followed by " ...as I inherited this from my grandfather." :)

I have not seen this one yet but I am sure it must be there somewhere:

"I do not know anything about stamps, but I have a superb hoard of unchecked very rare stamps"

I love seeing "VFU" in the title, then seeing what remains of a stamp obliterated by an overinked cancel.

I'd hate to see those sellers definition of "Used"!

After a friend pointed out that 'occasionally' there IS a genuine add with the words 'unchecked', therefore I extend an apology to the 'genuine' advertisers who may have felt offended. I'm 100% sure, this thread's contents is NOT directed at them.

Very entertaining thread! But you can find the opposite in rare occasions. An honest seller that does not show the most positive side of his collection for sale. In my case it was a Greenland collection and the pictures were not very clear. But it was mentioned mostly mnh. We were only 2 bidders and I got it for a good price. I never bought kiloware and read a thread on SCF mentioning that there use to be good ones but not anymore. But when we think about it, descriptions of sales and auctions on ebay is not very different of what we hear and see on radio and tv about all kinds of goods.