Recommended Sellers List

We could cut down on that by placing such a thread in the "Links to ebay or Other Auciton sites" forum area. This will restrict comments from anyone with less than 50 posts.

I fully expect some will be listed that others will not think of as ideal. One way to get around that is to allow each member of the community to add a new recommentation with each successful transaction. The more successful transactions with that seller, the greater prepreponderance of evidence there is to support such claims.

Rules could be placed in the first post that there is are to be no discussions, only reporting of a successful/pleasing transaction with a particular merchant such as the person who is posting wishes to share this person as a resource to the community.

Exactly. I would even take it one step further and keep it very simple.

Example:
Thread Title = Safe seller list

ABC Stamps - ebay, Bidstart, Delcampe, Local dealer Chicago.

That's it, Only a seller / Dealer, and where they do business. No need for any further information as there are plenty of other arenas
here for that. Not all sellers on the list are going to be 100% safe in 100% of the members minds so if there is one out there, bring it up in the appropriate area outside of the Safe seller thread then possibly a group of people that would volunteer to maintain the thread could have a sellers name and info removed. There would need to be rules and that's not going to fly with all the members, and someone would need to run this up the Board owners / Moderators Flagpole to see if it could even get off the ground.

This should a good list void of negative sellers.

Keep in mind that some sellers are strong in certain areas of collecting & not others!

I get worried when a group of people could play God.

That is what I believe could happen very easily here.

Thy shall not be acceptable. Thy shall be acceptable.




I agree Kirks!

KGV Collector, a solution - post this type of information under 'General Discussion' where a member requires 50 posts and Admins authorization to have access.??

Yes finches it would give freedom of speech in the best SCF forum.

The balance of mankind is to be at opposite ends of an issue.
Wars are started because people can not agree in known argumentative situations in life. Our track record with this type of discussion on SCF would agree with what I am saying.

But it has to be said, I have very little faith in the way our world is, and what it does to try, and be at peace with one another.

Very night at 6pm we get to see the news on what the evil spirits have done today. Very little good news is mentioned because it is not popular. We all need to learn so much but it will never happen. SCF is an oasis in a bankrupt world because people care about how we treat each other here.
As refuges we can see the goodness that SCF stands for because we have experienced the opposite elsewhere. I call the latter playing and being God. None of us want that I am sure.

Even by saying this I become a hypocrite on the issue and it will upset some.

My 2c is that this is a bad idea.

My reasoning-- there are a lot of different levels of types of collectors, and lots of different levels of knowledge.

What I think could happen is a beginning collector (and please don't take this to mean that I'm against beginning collectors in any way) may have made a purchase with a dealer that they think treated them well, but the beginner made a purchase that a more advanced collector would have never dreamed of making-- and folks, we've all been there at some point in our philatelic travels and journeys.

I think it probably not best that with different levels of expertise, that we do this-- and I would not want to take anyone's advice, when I don't know the person at all. I make my decisions based on what I've learned, and I try to make an informed decision. AND, over the long haul it's always best to do your research first, study your subject, and know enough about it that you make an informed decision.

So, I would not think that it would be a good thing for a beginner to see a name that was listed as a "good dealer", when it was another beginner making that claim, when an expert would have never felt that the person was a "good dealer".

If anyone wants an opinion on a dealer-- there are plenty of ways to find out-- local stamp clubs, APS, etc. Several folks on SCF also frequent the "Experts Opinions" on Virtual Stamp Club, and any of the experts there will give an opinion on a dealer, whether asked publicly or even better with a private email.

I'll get off my soap box....but really think this would be a bad idea.

Thanks, Ray

...and what they deal in, surely.

I agree with Ray. There are some really bad and dishonest sellers on these auctions sites that should be identified as such. There are also a lot of honest and knowledgeable sellers that should be recognized as such.

The problems is there are also a lot of honest but unknowledgeable sellers who make occasional mis-identifications due to lack of knowledge and not due to any fraud. These are harder to evaluate with one person thinking they are great and another thinking they are bad and both being at least partially right.

Mistakes made in evaluating sellers can put either the buyer or the seller at unfair risk. Evaluation without consistent objectivity is simply random opinion.

You know, at first, I thought you were making the first recommendation -- a pretty safe one since they (ABC Stamps) are no longer in business. But then I see the modern internet venues and Chicago (ABC Stamps was based in California) and then realized you were simply making a generic example!



For those who may not know, for several decades, ABC stamps sold 3c approvals through the mail, mostly common stamps but great variety. I still remember going through their approval books and simply enjoying looking through a thousand different stamps each month. I last dealt with them in the late 1970s, and was saddened to hear of their demise. I don't remember who bought their remaining stock.

The current ABC Stamps name has been taken by a dealer I know. They actually do sell stamps on the internet, but not under the name ABC Stamps and they are not located in Chicago.

Raymac, a very good point, heard many times during my life. Hopefully SCF beginners will have enough forethought to ask here before buying so called 'good deals' - they end up 'good deals' for the Seller only.

So nice to hear. Good stuff!








Now it is getting somewhere. But where? KGV.

Wow ! This is a lively one ! I cast my vote thinking on the positive side...to give credit to collector friendly dealers..many people apparently see the other side of the coin !!

Again, like I stated earlier you are never going to please all the People all the time. I did not suggest that anyone play "God" but instead that if someone were to be removed from the list that it would be done by a group of moderators. It could be very simple, if you don't agree with it then simply don't use it. This forum is packed with great information and I think this just might add chips to the proverbial Cookie. As mentioned earlier the thread would not be open for debate as it would only clutter it with chatter instead of simply keeping it as a list of safe sellers, and if you've had a sour experience with the seller / dealer, don't patronize them and bring it up in a different arena as it's been done here many times.

Oh, KHJ, sorry for the confusion as I had no idea there was an ABC Stamps and as you picked it up, it was only an example.

I like certain stamps and ways of doing business. You like certain stamps and ways of doing business. The seller likes certain stamps and has his ways of doing business.

I have certain skills at dealing with people, recognizing good people from bad, dealing with stress and anger, recognizing good stamps from bad. You have certain skills. The seller has certain skills.

I like one seller just because they write there sales up in a certain way. That's it. I don't ask about the shipping. They use stamps so it's all good. I know if I want to feel even better I will pay for airmail shipping. I've only dealt with them 3 or 4 times but I like how they write up their listing.

Can I put myself or my friends on the list too?

I agree that good sellers deserve some accolades and praise. Someone does good, you tell them.

Could we have a date added, when the seller was recommended?