How Is This Possible?

OK we will @^@ for the big G !

I am currently buying discount postage from a local retail stamp dealer (with a shop) for 85% face.

Pac Man ? I am back in the 1980s playing pacman in Greek diners !!

for some items I can see the purpose of ebay, but items with a minimal profit margin?
discount postage for example is sold on ebay for 90%, but the seller nets as low as 67%. which should be impossible. except its not.
until now, I could request a Linn's once a year, look up the buyers, and ship to them at a reasonable market price, which varied little over the years.
with ebay you aren't even supposed to ask them if they buy, and even if you could if someone nets 67% what could they pay? 50% ? 40%?

buying stamps from a local stamp dealer at 85%-90% is a fair price, esp if they are not the current denomination. this allows the dealer to pay collectors/hoarders 80%.

As for ebay charges, here is an online calculator. I had done one in Excel a while back.

http://www.rolbe.com/ebay.htm

Sometimes it's not an issue of profit margin, but cash flow.

Also, some sellers will sell some items as a loss leader, to attract new customers.

But by and large, yes, there are numerous below face lots on ebay that can be considered questionable. That's one reason I never buy discount postage off ebay from a seller with whom I am not well acquainted.

these are not stamp dealers selling the postage; noticed once place sold seeds, another used clothes.

I can buy Australian postage at 65-75% face from Australian dealers ALL the time. I'm surprised you guys need to pay so much......

if a dealer in Australia sells for 65% doesn't that mean that they only pay 50% ?

I talked to a retired American stamp dealer, and he said public even objected getting offered 80%, and that when he did take it in regulars would gladly pay 90%

found on ebay.au $120 face for $85. 200 current stamps.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BNIB-200-Sel...ht_548wt_947

just as unreal as the USA

Probably!

Bear in mind that most of the postage available in Australia at 65% is '80's and '90's material. The only stamps that can be used on postage are from 1966-2010, due to the currency change.

From what I have always been told..
Look at the scott price for the stamp... subtract 65 to 75% .. that is what a dealer will typically pay.
the general public will generally pay about 50-90% of the price..
then there are either people who don't know any better and people who want that stamp for their collection.
Now if someone wants to sell me 44c stamps MNH for 35c a peiece I might take some.. My post office will still cash stamps.

My last purchase of Australian postage was actually from the US. I paid A$100 for A$190 face

Big face value lots in Canada will usually go for around 70% of face value, even after the 15% auction house fee and the taxes are added in. Here's a sample from the latest Maresch auction.

http://www.maresch.com/457/auction.php?Start-Lot=1

I won lot 21 - CAN $1200 face value all different Elizabethan in 5 hingeless Lindner albums for CAN $970 all in, shipping & tax included. The album pages alone are worth that much, and they were what I really wanted.

Ryan

not to be negative. but has anyone thought that leah might be a ebay seller, generating traffic by the topic?