Seller's Auction Rules And Certification

There's a stamp on ebay that I'm currently interested in. It's being offered in auction format and will sell for several hundred dollars. I'm prepared to bid a substantial amount, up to and even in excess of catalog value. The seller stipulates a 14 day return policy. I'm 3,000+ miles away. I sent an email to the seller asking if they would allow time for the stamp do be certified by either PSE or Philatelic Foundation. They replied that they allow 21 days from date of sale. They said nothing about allowing time for the stamp to be submitted and returned. Am I jaded? I think this is a red flag. I'm wondering if the seller has doubts themselves and doesn't want their item to placed under scrutiny. I understand that sometimes the items have been consigned and the owner wants their money, but I'm not going to take a chance on a multiple of hundreds of dollars item and getting a negative certificate back reducing the stamps value significantly. I'll wait until the next bus comes along.

You can send a picture of it to Bill Weiss on his website. It doesn't cost much and he'll be able to tell you the scott number.

I would pass.....
Im sure another will come along soon.

If it is such a nice item, why does it not yet have a cert?

A reputable seller would allow you time to have it certified. If they aren't willing to, it's a Big Red Flag that they know it's not going to stand up to scrutiny.

Identification is not the issue. I know what the Scott number is. I'm concerned about things like thins, reperforator, resuming, and other defects. I've been collecting for over 50 years, but I'm not proficient enough to guarantee that I can catch everything every time. In addition, I like to have certs on all of my items that are in excess of $100 for when the day comes that I want to sell them.

I agree with the others. Leave this one. An uncle of mine once gave me good advice about buying a used car. He told me to not just look at the car, but look at the seller, too. It applies here, This seller is being unco-operative. He is well aware of the postal delays and is building in a get out for himself if the stamp doesn't prove out. Any decent seller, dealer or private, would allow a refund period long enough to obtain certification and if negative return the stamp. Do not buy from goblin men.

Terry

I agree with the above, it does (and should) raise a red flag.

I would say the majority of sellers of US pre-1940 stamps do not allow sufficient time to get stamps certified. I have asked some sellers who advertise a short waiting period if they would allow it and they have said yes.

IMHO there is too much crystal-balling here, particularly in the form of guessing other peoples' motives & character.

Red flag, shmed flag.

You need more time, so you can obtain a certificate, which is your standard practice.

The seller does not want to agree to more time.

Reputable, shmeputable.

The buyer & the seller have not come to terms.

Ship the transaction and, while we're at it, skip the speculation about motives & character.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Why?
After 50+ years of collecting which includes working for some auction houses and dealers, plus 30 years of working in retail as well I have a pretty good idea about how selling works. I also have a pretty good idea about what actions by sellers should send up red flags, which certainly exist. If you don't believe in red flags more power to you. There are certainly signals that a deal MIGHT not be on the up and up, and they should be listened to. They are not "speculation", in my case at least they are professional instincts. If they are wrong no real harm has been done, but if they are right then a lot of money gets saved.

I wouldn't automatically consider those policies to be a red flag. people often sell stuff because they need the money. Giving refunds may be very inconvenient, depending on what they need the money for.

That being said, ebay has a 45=day buyer protection period where you can return anything if it is "significantly not as described". If the item is listed as Mint with no defects and comes back otherwise, I believe that will suffice. But you will have to return it with Signature Confirmation or the seller may say he never got it back.

What constitutes "significantly not as described?" If a seller lists a $5 Columbian as OG previously hinged XF and you have it expertise and it's OG and previously hinged and nicely centered, but when you send it to be expertise it comes back as having been reperfed is that significant;y not as described if the original description didn't mention perts at all? I think the large sellers who don't allow for expertization are probably not intentionally try to "put one over," but know with the large volume of business they do that they're going to be wrong or overlook something 5% of the time and don't want to be held responsible.

By the way, I purchased a stamp for several hundred dollars a few years ago on the condition that I be allowed time to have it expertise. They agreed. Certificate came back with the notation that it had been regummed. I asked for a refund which the seller provided along with a note that they did not agree with the certificate. A few months later I submitted a bid on an item they listed which had a certificate already......they rejected my bid. Guess I was too much trouble.

I prefer my way. Gut instinct has seldom let me down.

Terry

Given the reservations you have, you need to come to terms with this seller about putting the item on extension so it can be certified. If you cannot, then you should pass on the item. Part of that struggle will be making sure that you agree on the competent authority that is supposed to do the cert. Trying to get the job done within 45 days might not be possible if you can't agree on where to send it or the acceptability of the result.

It's a hard business. Since you don't know the factors on his side you cannot tell why he might not grant an extension. You can only determine how much risk you are willing to take, and then draw a hard line, and bite the bullet if you have to. But for the kind of money you are talking, most of us would have to take a pass if we could not get protected by a cert. If the seller really is being insensitive though, then he does not deserve to be in the business.