OK, my Broken Hat giveaway was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I don't have a bunch of other stamps that would make sense for a big giveaway, so I thought to try something different.
In Pay It Forward, the person in front of you in line at a coffee shop (or other business) tells the cashier that they are paying for the person behind them in line. They give the cashier some extra money, and then quietly exit. The next person in line orders something, and when they try to pay for their bill, the cashier tells them that the person that just left already paid for them. Sometimes, it ends right there. But usually, it continues with that person then paying for the next customer, etc., etc., etc. I recently read that some donut/coffee shop was doing this for 2 days running.
What I would like to do is to try it with stamps, and I'll start it off. Here are some suggested rules for PIF #1 (the rules might change for other PIF giveaways ...)
1. I offer up some stamps to deliver to the first person that wants them. I will send it to them free of charge, no strings attached.
2. I value these stamps at the current (or close enough to it) catalog value of such stamps. In my case, for US stamps, I will use my Scott Classic Specialized, 2014 version. (I will just assume catalog value, making no judgements about Very Fine, etc.)
3. The stamps that I am offering are clearly pictured so the winner knows what they will get.
4. Once I receive a bid, I am obligated to send it to that person (assuming they send me their mailing address.)
5. The winner is obligated to offer something with an EQUAL or HIGHER catalog value in replacement. Please post a description, picture, and your estimated catalog value.
6. This new item is then available for ANYONE to win, including the person who offered the original stamp.
7. However, it DOES NOT END HERE! The next person is obligated to offer something equal or better, and on, and on, and on.
8. At some point, the winner will offer something that either nobody wants, or is such a high value that no one is willing to make a bid. In this case, the person has two choices: (A) Withdraw and offer a different item of equal or higher value, or (B) make a donation to Stamp Community Family to end this thread. No bids or interest within a week can be an indicator that the thread is finished.
The final donation to Stamp Community Family should be reasonable. It is not expected to be a full catalog value donation (as nobody ever pays full catalog value). Instead, it is whatever they decide, but it is recommended to be somewhere between 10 and 25% of catalog.
Please do not make offers of kiloware. That is very difficult to correctly value.
If all works well, we will have a lot of wheeling/dealing at first, which will then slow down as the value goes up, eventually stopping. The final winner will happily make their donation, as they have picked up a really nice piece that they wanted.
The original offer can be anything stamp related. The additional offers can be of the same type, or something completely different (different country, different format, etc.)
To start PIF #1, I am offering two different US Parcel Post stamps. They are Scott Q6 and Q11. 2014 value (in VF condition) is $3.50 plus $40.00 for a total of $43.50.
I love the small mark on the back of the 75 cent version.
The first person who claims it (by getting their post in front of the others) must soon update their posting with a picture and price of what they are offering. Please get your claim in as soon as possible, then follow up with a photo/value of your item in a few hours, or by the next day at the latest.
This is purely on the trust system. If someone breaks the chain ... shame on them, but don't blame me. Other threads should be started with similar or slightly tweaked rules ... just make sure you make the rules clear in the first posting in the thread (don't change them halfway through).
Have fun!
[ended by KirkS -- Partime, I appreciate your offer, but it's been viewed over 400 times and not a single reply.]
Posted 05/15/2014 11:13 pm
