A Thing About Thinning

This is probably old hat to many of you, but I just learned yet another lesson that I'll share with y'all.

Here's the auction image of a stamp I just bought sent back to the seller. I was thinking the dark smudges, like between the 1 and 4 of 14, were just so much schmutz.



Here's the stamp at higher res against a white background, it's not schmutzig but something else:



Yep, the something else several massive thins:



Yes, I know, always get a scan of the back.

Otto, it is sometimes hard to tell the condition of stamps until you actually have them in your hands to examine. A few members have stated in past threads that you should be wary of sellers who don't display the back of a stamp. I assume that the seller never mentioned the thins so I'm glad that you sent it back for a refund. If enough people held sellers accountable, they may be more forthcoming on the condition of the stamps they are selling.

Sorry for your mis fortune as it has happened to myself also. It was my fault as I didn't ask questions and ask for a scan of the backs but I chalk it up to a lesson learned. This is a good post as "food for thought" for ebay buyers.

I concur with the Philatelic tribal chief, I Love Stamps. We live and learn as we go along. I've not
had so much problem with conditions of the items sold to me on ebay. I generally buy kiloware and from
other ebay sites like ebay.de . Unless it's something that I'm buying for big bucks, I seldom ask for
a scan of the back. Then again, I mainly collect Germany (mainly ddr) and Turkey. Seeing as how the Ottoman
Empire had two different type of paper (a thin onion like one and a thicker one), I think I'd have a hell of a time looking for thins in the "thin paper" type to begin with!

Lately folks, it seems like I've returned more ebay purchases than I've kept. Bottom line, is that I know the values of what I'm looking for, and I'm always looking for a bargain. Sometimes the bargain isn't a "bargain".

I've had a few dealers refund my payment, and tell me to keep the stamp. I've always thanked them, then donated the stamp to our local stamp club monthly auction. I've only had one or two balk or complain when I want to return the stamp. Usually they've written back with language that makes them sound like they're embarrassed, or just really sorry.

I've also had a few that I kept anyway, because it was such a great deal. A few that I've wrote the seller and told them I'd like to keep it, and negotiated a partial refund to make the stamp worth keeping.

So, let the buyer beware. And don't hesitate to send the stamp back if it's not as advertised. Or also know that you might be able to work with the seller if you'd like to keep it, but don't think it's worth what you paid.

Take care, Ray