Splitting Hairs? Interesting!

Interesting confusion! My intention is to open up tasteful comments.
With the new changes to me it opens up some questions.

Buy / Sell / Trade | 50 Post Minimum

Links to ebay or Other Auction Sites
You must be a participating member with at least 50 posts, have been a member for 14 days, and be a site supporter to start a topic. Any member with 50 posts may respond to a topic.

Post for above:Example. "Name of ebay store" clear enough!

On Line Stamp Auction Discussions

ebay / StampWants / StampOffers / Auction Sites
This is the place for ebay and other auction site discussions.

Post for above:Example. My wife and myself are having a great time meeting many buyers from our " ebay store name". Some of our more popular items are very hard to get "name of stamps for sale" does anyone know where we can buy "stamp names and store name place".

Another point of interest to me is how does the advertising income work for the adds on the more popular threads?

Is the advertising enough to make a person a site supporter?

I have absolutely no intention of buying or selling on this forum and I made this decision a long time ago.

With the new rules I can not do a SCF donation auction that never made me a site supporter anyway.

Why would members make this sort of a mess? This whole area on SCF has been running very well(as far as I know) for many years.

KGV collector I have often posted my ebay Auctions here and let me tell you it does drive traffic to your listings, as I writing this post there are 25 members online and 206 lurkers, These lurkers see the links to the ebay auctions and seem to visit, I also Have sold to many members of scf on ebay quite a few, I would say in the last 3 months I have sold over 700 dollars on ebay to members.
It fun to see a couple of members battling it out I can see there usernames but they don't know who there bidding against, Makes some interesting entertainment. At the moment I have a penny black and a penny black cover which quite a few members have placed bids.

So is it worth spending $5 a month damn right it is. I think a major part of my sales on ebay comes from SCF members and also Lurkers. I often mention scf while communicating with customers and many have joined.
You should spend $5 and become a supporter for a month place a few links to your store and auctions and take note of the traffic.
I often have a item that is getting very little traffic once I place a link here the visits go up probably a average of 25 hit in the first few hours.
I don't mind spending the few dollars and even If I did not sell on ebay or on SCF I still would throw them a few dollars here and there to help keep the site going, Its not free to run.
As for a donation auction I cant see a problem with you holding one I have held a few in the past Just drop a line to the admin or bobby131313 and inform them.
My experience in Business is ya got to spend money to make money, And SCF is a great place to advertise your ebay auction you got a captive audience.

I feel the beautiful thing we have had here has been tainted by tawdry money. It just casts a pall of the mundane on our extraordinary hobby and the fabulous interactions of all kinds we have had here on SCF.

It costs money to keep the light on. Don't you have to pay the bill's at home like Internet electricity etc etc, same thing with this site it costs for band with web hosting that don't come free. and when was the last time anyone clicked on one of the banner ads. The banner adds bring in a little income but not much, I had them on a site I use to own. Why does every body think that the supporter donation is to sell, its there to show your appreciation for the site, It strange that most here wont help with the site.
Do you know when you go down town and the bums ask you for spare change, try wearing a T-shirt that says I AM A STAMP COLLECTOR they wont bother you, cheap bred of people stamp collectors.
Do you know how copper wire was invented ? twp stamp collectors fighting over a penny.

There are quite a few member that do not sell or advertise on this site that are supporters. But I do find collectors cheap in general they will spend money on there collection with out thinking and spend hours and hours here, but if the thought of giving a $5 donation is brought up every one is in a up roar, sorry if I offend anyone but I sit here shaking my head at how ungrateful people are for all the work the admins and moderators have to do and all the crap they have to put up with in order to keep this site running,

@irishjack - I am speechless at your lack of tact. Your stereotypes about cheap stamp collectors really puts my point accross though.

I am looking for a more postiive tone to SCF. I am not seeing it. If things were postiive instead making negative comments, I would feel more enthusiastic about supporting SCF monetarily as I have in the past.

If SCF admins had come out and said, "We really support Philately and you guys here on the forum, but things are tight and we need your help to keep SCF going," they would have gotten a much better response.

Just being blunt thats all.

I believe this site was started to allow stamp collectors / enthusiasts to enjoy talking about stamps and collecting.

The sales and trades end of it was added on as an after thought and a perk, not as the main reason for being.


Site support is only being friendly and saying thank you for having the site in existence, but not all readers / users of this site do actually belong to it or support it at all times.

They would perhaps get more out of it if they did belong and / or support as it is always nice to help others, and that is why I joined up.

I felt I knew an answer or two to some questions being posed and was happy and willing to take part, bumbling and stumbling as a newbie does sometimes, but feeling great that I was able to help out in some small way.

I want to share knowledge and tips (and to learn also) and am not so concerned with money matters, my own finances, such as they are, not being of an elevation constant enough to please my basic needs at all times.


A lot of people do read this site and I agree that placing links to your auctions from ebay or elsewhere does generate more traffic from folks who want to see what's going on. That's just a nice bonus really.


Sharing ideas, questions, answers, hopes and dreams and providing helpful support to other members is what this site is about I think. If selling and buying and trading help to do that then there is a place for them here.

Of course, everyone has their own ways and desires about how to do their own stamps and keep their hobby going, whether selling or buying or trading is a big part of that or not.

What a bout of the Flue I have got! 1st day out of bed accept for packaging!

You made your numbers these are my numbers from some time ago.

irishjack your lurkers would visit your advert on SCF for ebay, say 1 in a 1,000. So that would be 2 visit a week and then the fluke that a lurker is interested in the type of stamps you have on offer would be 1 in 10. Equals 13 maybe buyers per year. I could give you at least 3 other ways of using your advertising dollar that would definitive give you more sales and not maybes.
If I could advertise directly on every page of "Australian KGV Stamps Explained" Now that would be a different thing altogether.

The auction are geared here as basically give aways between SCF member friends.
And I hope this flavour never gets destroyed as it helps so many.

irishjack these numbers are to make things a bit more real.

Stats start From 25th Feb 2011

ebay stats around direction change.




Growth as at 13th Aug 2012.

At the level I collect it really isn't worth my while trying to sell for a profit and I would have to sell a considerable amount to make back the 'donation' cost and it will be collectors at my level that suffer.

I feel I contribute more than I ask for assistance so will not be actively participating any longer.

I agree that that spectre of money has tarnished this site and the atmosphere has changed for the worse.

I totally agree...I have bought a few things from SCF auctions and sold a few things from SCF auctions. Casual, low hassle, person to person - the polar opposite of most auction sites.

All I know is by advertising here my sales have grown,
I have had a few chats with the Admins and only a little while ago the whole section of Buy And sell and trade was going to be shut down,
Also they had considered selling the site as it is nothing but a headache,
The site does not pay for it self. it costs a pretty penny to run this site. I pay a donation to help keep the site a float as does many others.
The day that you log onto SCF and it no longer is online is because it costs to much money to run.
All I hear is people complaining about paying to be a supporter , How do you think the owners feel having to pay for this site and then read people complain about the site supporter costs.

If all the cost of this site was up to the members it would no longer be.

So to all the people that think bringing money in to the play is wrong. I only have one thing to say Admin please stop spending your money on this site and when the bills pile up, let the lights be turned off.
So please people think about the cost before you speak.

I run a very small web design and hosting company, so I have a very good idea of just what is involved with keeping a site of this size up and running - it's also quite often a thankless task. I'm glad our hosts are willing to have us here and I consider making a donation a small price to pay for the help and guidance I have already received here. Money is extremely tight in our house right now, but I regard my donation here to be a business expense of sorts as the knowledge I gain is helping me to market my surplus stamps much better!

So an extended period of auction wins not being delivered and a no refund policy in the same SCF auction breath possibly hurt admin a lot.

I do remember one member making a lot of noise to change the whole way the SCF auction system worked with a very aggressive manner. So who knows how far this got up Admins nose.

Next time someone wants to complain to Admin think twice about it. All we have to do is look at the SCF auction changes to help us all, (including me) about remembering that.

The only thing that I can see that could of changed Admins position to despair is too many people complaining behind the scenes in an unpleasant manner.

So maybe I have answered my own unpleasant question. KGV

That would be ME Baby, I was the one that made the admins to shut down the section, I was also the person that pleaded with them to allow it to remain open.
I was more than up there nose, but had a good laugh about it.
But as I have said a thousand times being a site supporter is not about selling what so ever . Its about helping to off set the costs of the site. a sign of you appreciation for all the hard work they do to keep it a float.
I don't sell for money all my profits from sell is only chump chance.
Well I guess after everyone knows it was me that caused this crap storm about being a supporter I will be the most hated man on the site, I guess you would agree

All I hear is all the members of the site singing Hit the road Jack and you come back no more no more
Kgv I sure know how to