Photoshopped Rd159 For Sale On Hipstamp

I am surprised that few (if any?) HipStamp sellers care that they are competing with the owner of the HipStamp venue. I cannot help but imagine the threads/posts we would have if eBay opened a store of their own, started selling stamps and covers, and competing against other eBay sellers and buyers. The owner of a venue has a significant competitive advantage by having full access to the entire database and has the capability of pulling all kinds of 'behind the scenes' shenanigans. Not saying that HS does this, only that they have the capability. It is a question of trusting them. Given this thread, how high is that trust?
Don

Here is another bad one from RP. This is being sold as a 500 which it is most definitely not. There is also a crease or something bad going on across the top. But who cares about the crease/scuff. The stamp is not a Type Ia.



https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/us...-hr/45230496

And this 453 MNH coil pair is anything but.



https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/us...-nh/45230521

I agree, that is not a 500, and the coil is an obvious fake.

Here is another obvious fake....

https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/us...-nh/45230512

And who is willing to believe that this is really a mint NH stamp?

https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/us...-nh/45228236

Don's point is a good one and frankly I am surprised at how direct the owner is. From one respect I give them propers for getting an auction business going(which was dead before they started to sell whomever's inventory). On the other hand the descriptions are awfully thin(read as the old "let the photo be the description" model) and the conflict of interest certainly raises an eyebrow or two.

Frankly, I gave up selling on eBay and my own web store for several reasons. In the case of eBay it was the CONSTANT tweaking of the rules and a steady loss of lower valued material which miraculously disappeared after being shipped via 1st class mail(the only viable option). In terms of the web store it was the cost of maintenance versus traffic. Also the difficulty of trying to sync it with either eBay or Hip. At least on Hip there is a consistency in the inconsistencies which I can deal with. I try to focus on the stamps and the customer service... not constantly checking my inbox for yet another supposed "enhancement" that is just another tax or dressed up regulatory change(in other words tax). For me, Hip is the best choice amongst a set of suboptimal ones.

Bob

Imagine the havoc an unethical venue owner could unleash. They could see all the bids and could even insert a winning final bid at will. Even on the buying side, they basically could get 'first dibs' on any listing. They could have full vision and understanding into not just your listings and entire sales history but everyone's data! They could easily tap into the full power of being able to crunch, compile, and analyze market trends.

If a person owned a local brick and mortar store, imagine a store on the other side of town being able to see your books, having the ability to out-buy you, being able to control the traffic your store gets, etc. Few reasonable people would consider opening a brick and mortar store under that scenario yet when we switch over to the online world we are seem to have far fewer concerns.
Don

Lots of questions for RP. You have a multimillion-dollar online auction venue that raises substantial venture capital, and you are selling low grade stamps that are in some cases faulty and misidentified. Why? You should be setting the standard by example for other sellers but instead lower the bar. Why? If a buyer has an issue with a RP purchase their recourse is to have the RP owned venue step in to mediate. Really?

And then of course there are the issues that Don has raised which are no doubt the larger ones.

The whole thing is nonsensical IMO.

PS: I still cannot get the Hip spam faucet turned off.

I had few minutes to browse more of RP's offerings. They do not have a clue what they are doing which could be hilarious given what their business is. It is not hilarious though. It is pathetic.

A perforated 484:


Another "500" that is NOT a 500:


A 491 that is decidedly not a 491:


An offset printed 499:


Anybody building their collection from this selection is in for a shock if they are taking the identifications at face value.

I think the basic problem is that the main sites that actually attract buyers as well as sellers are more interested in their own commission and profit than the customers or the items available.
For sellers its often more successful to use an established brand as the items subsequently sell, than to have their own sites. Lets be realistic, the well known sites have vast choices on almost any type of stamp as they have millions of items listed. A small stamp business will never have as many items or be able to advertise as widely. Even a business with 10-20000 items will be insignificant when the size of the big platform is considered. The quality and expertise of a small dealer should be better than a listing platform. Of course there will always be a few rogues in the stamp world, but then there are rogues in every walk of life.

In this case the seller also owns the platform, Hip Stamp.

I believe Mark Rosenberg monitors this forum. I'm surprised he hasn't said something or that someone hasn't called him on this and asked for an explanation. This thread is terrible for his business.

Thank you uboatnut.
I have been very careful not to name anyone in my post, but to generalise.

"The owner of a venue has a significant competitive advantage by having full access to the entire database and has the capability of pulling all kinds of 'behind the scenes' shenanigans. Not saying that HS does this, only that they have the capability. It is a question of trusting them. Given this thread, how high is that trust?"
Given this thread and some other things, very low.