Miss The Old APS Stampstore

For those interested, there is an APS Zoom question and answer Webinar on the APS Stampstore on Hipstamp on April 19, 6:00 PM EST.
The description and link to the APS site to register are below, I am not sure if being an APS member is required, as this was originally sent to me on April 4 via email.

Description:
Mark your calendars!
Have a question about StampStore on HipStamp? Then you're in luck! On April 19th at 6:00 pm Eastern, join Carol Hoffman, APS Sales Director and Anna Taylor, General Manager of HipStamp and HipPostcard for the next edition of APS's live-conversation series, "Ask Me Anything."

APS link:
https://stamps.org/news/c/news/cat/...ur-calendars

Here's how I do it... Others may have better ways. I search on the APS HIPstamp store for an item that I like. I then copy and past the seller's ID into notepad or word to save it. Then at the search bar at the top for HipStamp I paste the number in the search bar to search, Clunky, but it works.

Interesting that Hip seems to be less popular that EBay. That's my go-to site for anything I am looking for first; and more so because I find it is easy to sift through the layers of "junk" (i.e. sellers that think they have a pile of gold because a stamp is "old.") Off-topic...apologies!

That said, have purchased several times now from APS via Hip, and have noticed no discernable difference other than the platform. Apparently, they rely on the seller or maybe a consignor's descriptions (from a post on Hip's forums that I started at some point,) so have had a few returns for material not checking out, but that was the case on the old APS site as well from time to time. Either way, returns when warranted have always been addressed quickly/professionally and they remain at the top of the list, personally speaking. Tip o' the cap to the APS for that; they handle their business well in that respect.

Frankly, find it a good thing that I (personally) have one less site to search for whatever it is that I am chasing.

It's really at the point of... who cares? I mean, I never sought out the Stampstore before because I don't think they did anything special for APS members. It was just another place to go for stamps. Now that it's on Hipstamp, it's one of thousands of sellers and... yeah, I just look for the stamps that I need without any regard for the APS store. I'm still not getting any special treatment for my membership and most of the time, I can get better stamps, or a better selection of stamps, going elsewhere.

The sellers of ridiculously overpriced ordinary stamps have started to infect the APS Store on HipStamp. Here is a sample page of Recently Listed items. The APS badge really has no meaning here anymore if there are no filters or even the simplest layer of validation to merit acceptance into the APS Store.

It is hard enough to attract new people to the hobby, and now the unsuspecting customer can get scammed from what is supposed to be a trusted source. Maybe APS members have a code of ethics they are supposed to follow, but it does no good if it is not enforced. Sad.

The good news is, APS gets to keep the listing fee whether the item sells or not. But that is a small consolidation to the harm that it does turning people away from the Store (or the hobby).

Eww... those are APS listings? Are you sure? Could it be a data porting error? If not, what the hell is going on with the vetting of items there? I'm pretty sure I never saw anything this egregious on the old storefront.

Candidly, I haven't purchased a single thing from the APS since the move, not out of any specific motive, but I loathe the Hipstamp user experience. While my purchases at the old APS store were not ginormous, I typically purchased 2-5 times a year.

As long as the APS is making up for my nonsales with sales to new or non-APS-member buyers, I guess that's all that matters. *shrug*

But these listings are NOT a good look for the APS at all.

GIGO

A couple of points. The APS and StampStore is not in the business of telling anyone how much or little they should price their items, no more than anyone should tell you what price to sell an item. The APS DOES offer guidelines on appropriate pricing if a seller is willing to read a little. I think the advice also includes a note to search the sales site to see what price others are selling that item for.

Unfortunately, some sellers are either lazy, greedy or unrealistic, but that will be their burden when the items don't sell.

Secondly, from the examples of pricing listed here, it is pretty obvious the sales price of $214.20 for a single No. 627 is pretty out of order. But by looking at those other listings, one can see there are several at $12.24 (the same numerals as $214.20). A look at all of the StampStore listings easily shows that the $214.20 example is from the same seller as those at $12.24. Obviously, there was an error made during the listing.

Why not contact StampStore to alert staff of the likely error?

Andyrich also mentioned this issue. In reality, there is NO vetting going on so there has been no change in terms of quality through the transition to HipStamp. It's the wild west- I have always had a relatively high return rate on APS lots due to undisclosed problems. It does make me wonder if this might have an effect on APS sales.

If a seller is lazy, greedy or unrealistic, I still would think that APS would carefully review all listings submitted to them. It is the APS reputation at stake, surely they would not be ok with such 'over the top' kind of prices shown above.

Even if it simply multiple mistakes, I would think that the really bad optics of this kind thing during the first year of a new implementation would see extra checks in place to avoid missteps. As I am sure APS/Scott knows, the early stage of a new program is a very critical time.
Don

Edit: Is there a link/process in place to report potential Stamp Store listing issues? Or do folks just use the APS website, navigate to the Contact page, and then send a message to the Stamp Store contact person?

I have had problems with purchases from the old APS store being misdescribed, but I just assumed that it was impossible for them to vet every item in detail, given that they literally have hundreds of thousands of stamps on sale. However, it would only take a sec to see if a MNH item was really hinged (which is the typical problem I have had), versus expecting the staff there to identify every fault.

Gum problems such as toning, rust spots, and foxing are also very easy to see yet lots arrive with these problems despite no mention in the description. Perhaps APS should require all mint lots to have an image of the backs. This won't prevent problems with many MNH stamps though as light hinging is not always visible in a scan.

shermae - I agree; however, I would think that if they go to the trouble of scanning the back of MNH, they can also take a quick look for any light hinging that might not show up in a scan.

Am I missing something? If APS sales have the same problems that non-APS sellers have what is the value added?

Kind of reminds me of certain Ebay sellers that display the ASDA logo and peddle misidentified stamps and stamps with undisclosed issues. A logo means nothing unless it adds actual assurance and value.

Obviously, this has much to do with the volume of material processed vs staffing to process that material. Hopefully though the staff actually knows what they are looking at. Still, it must be overwhelming to be staring at a pile of 5,000 submissions and know that you cannot possibly have time to check catalog value or hinging status.

@ Oracle- totally agree with you.

@ Rog- I have thought the very same thing many times. APS is trading on their name and stature in the hobby (like eBay sellers who display the ASDA logo), however they don't seem to be adding any value to member stamp sales.