Inverted Jenny Pane On Auction For $279.99.....

on ebay, although one can walk into any post office to get it for $12. Similar absurd prices for many other modern US stamps abound on ebay. Are these sellers for real? What are they smoking? Do such absurdities also happen on other auction sites (I've never been to anywhere else besides ebay)?

You can get it for $12 on ebay too since the USPS sells on there now. I even see the link in the banner at the bottom of this page!

I'm sure it happens more on ebay since it is the largest auction website and it attracts collectors and non-collector alike. The seller of the overpriced items is hoping to hook some buyer who doesn't know anything about stamp prices or how to shop around. Since the USPS is now present on ebay I would hope the over-priced modern issues would come to an end or least won't garner any sales since again the USPS is right there with the stamps at face valaue.

If you think that is bad, take a look at this......

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-VERY-R...em2a33b51668

I thought the seller that was selling the USPS cremation labels as "RARE" for $6.99 plus shipping was a real stretch but the post above ....

revcollector: That's quite a post. P.T. Barnum is still alive! It's pretty funny to read.

I was helping a dealer sort some lots a few months back, and he had a large Famous Americans lot with three of these figured for cat value. The books themselves were essentially throw-ins.

Guys there is one declined offer on that auction. Any guesses on what the declined offer is ?

$1 was the decline offer - I cant understand why it was knocked back at all?

I really should not digress from the topic .
There has been an explosion on ebay regarding those errors / misprints or poor printing processes of the 2013 invert jenny . I think we will see more of those listings until the market determines what exactly is "rare" or uncommon and common with those stamps.

Best John

Edit : Wait and see seems to be a good strategy on ebay "private sales" of that item.

Most of them will probably fall in the "flyspecking" category, and will not command any real premiums.

Revcollector, that's a great link. Stamps that are actually POSTMARKED! Where do I find those?

I just wish the words RARE and SCARCE were more rare and scarce on ebay.

I have said this before, the word "RARE" is used all too often and loosely.

Before computer days when we had to mail in for an auction catalogue from a bonifide 'stamp' auction house, you wouldn't see it unless it really was "RARE". Now everyone and their uncles are selling things that are supposed to be rare.

Chimo

Bujutsu

revcollector : I understanding what flyspecking is and I agree with your assessment . But what I seen displayed on forum and a few purchased by fellow collectors ... the quality control of these stamps are terrible . It seems to have touched off a "fire storm" of treasure seekers and auction opportunist .

I would have expected better quality in a modern printed stamp.

john

I agree wholeheartedly. Especially in the 21st century, printing technologies are so much better than they were nearly a century ago, why do we collectors have to tolerate less than "perfect" print quality and/or centering?

I have asked on this forum and others why the poor print quality and no one can give a direct answer. The printer, Sennett Security Products (SSP) has printed many stamp issues for the USPS with no centering or print quality issues that I know of, so what makes this issue so special?

I personally believe it may have to do with the stamps being reprinted "from original dies" and that it is a combination of offset and intaglio printing, but since SSP has printed some of the "Waves of Color" High Value stamps using the same printing method, I doubt that's a valid excuse.

Of course, if the printer was under pressure to get the issue into production and released (with the related extra work for the cardboard insert and cellophane packaging for each sheet) maybe the printer just had time constraints on their hands and simply didn't care.

However, it seems to me the USPS and their printing contractor should have known that since the majority of these stamps were going to be sold to collectors who pay great attention to such details, they would have done a better job. But maybe that's just too much to ask from a Postal Service that is in a financial mess and seemingly doesn't care about stamp collectors much anymore.

I agree the quality should be much better, but as it is written, "You Get What You Pay For.
Currently on ebay, searching the word "rare" brings up 2,463,980 items, of which 30,500 are stamps. Of the 274 revenue listings, perhaps 2 or 3 could genuinely be listed as rare, and about a dozen others as scarce to very scarce. The rest range from very common to very uncommon, heavy on the very common.

My guess is that the poor print quality control on the Jenny is entirely intentional--to create as many varieties as possible to drive up interest. You can never tell how low the USPS will stoop.