Insane Prices For Common Stamps

I was not referring to products Subway makes but rather to things like White Ace binders- I have seen those go for over $35- their full retail is about $25. One guy I see is often selling sections of Scott specialty albums above Scotts full retail (which no one ever pays since Amos has their online sales). He often sells his items at 10 to 20% above full list price. I don't get it.

Here's an example of what I was talking about- a listing for a Scott National to 1970 only and a real bargain at over $200:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCOTTS-Nati...em27d87a7403

He lists as unused then says used elsewhere and the photos show wear. You can get pretty much the same thing in much better condition at a dealer for perhaps a hundred less.

Yes, you're right that it doesn't make sense that someone would overpay for something that the next person is selling for less there. In today's world with so many options out their like many people selling the same exact items in competition with each other, it's a buyers market out there and it pays to shop around until you can find the right price for something and not just settle for the first person that you find selling it. I find it interesting on ebay that many don't bother or know how to check in different ways for others selling the same product for less such as an auction where it ends in a few days and it has been bid up by a few people into several hundreds of dollars and then the same item is on a buy it now for less from someone who has just as good a reputation as the other. Always look around first since it pays to shop around and save these days since more options are available these days for buyers.

Sometimes the shipping costs from a dealer are more expensive than say a free shipping offer on ebay or combining with other items. However, this probably doesn't explain the large differences cited here.

Free shipping on the bay? Not always. I was interested in putting in a bid recently for eleven stamps listed as one item. Until I saw the shipping charge. The stamps in a glassine with card stiffener would fit in a standard envelope and cost $1.90 to airmail to me in the UK, add a buck for the envelope and the stroll to the Post Office, say $3.00. This guy wanted a cool £23.00 for mailing (just over £14.00). I have seen a fair bit of this profiteering on shipping charges and ebay appears totally ineffectual in dealing with it.

Terry

Usually the high shipping charge from certain sellers, in the $15 to $30 charge for instance, comes from not wishing to ship out of country, or, heaven forbid, thinking that any of the other parts of the world are dangerous and mysterious to ship to.

Some dealers make up for their low prices by charging very high shipping costs. Buyer beware before buying something without also looking at the shipping price. There is some complaint button on ebay for flagging sellers that may be doing this. Look up "excessive shipping charges" on the ebay help website.

I was only giving an example. Not all ebay dealers ship for free, but some do. I now and then order stamp supplies and choose the option that ends up having the lowest shipping, be it ebay or some other retailer, sometimes paying more for the items in order to save on shipping. ebay sellers occasionally have free shipping. In fact, I recently purchased some Pokemon cards for my son and I; in fact our current favorite dealer has free shipping on just about everything. This seller probably had the highest item prices, but when you figured in the shipping costs the other sellers charges, sometimes a few dollars for a single card, it was a good deal.

Hi HungaryFor Stamps,

I wasn't criticising your post, I know it was just an example. All of the sellers I buy from on the bay have very reasonable rates based on USPS rates. Some even offer free international postage on high value items, and all will combine multiple lots for low postage rates. The seller I mentioned does offer free postage within the US, but his international rates are so high he is either subsidising his US free postage at the expense of overseas buyers, or he is using it to deter those bidders. Another shade of the "May not ship to the UK" ilk?

Terry

I sold a kilo to a person in Canada. Well it was more than a Kilo and the box was around a couple of pounds and I included free shipping. The cost to ship was very near to the sold price and basically I gave the stamps away for free. I think the sell price was $25 and the shipping was $23.

Remember that selling on ebay is all risk to seller so you have to cover your tail. I don't condone abusive shipping but I understand insuring and that it costs more to have something signed for on delivery. If you are selling anything of value you're a fool if you don't insure it and get signature confirmation because with Paypal it's proof of delivery.

I just sold a rather pricey Stamp and shipped it to Texas. In the sell price I indicated free shipping and I would cover the sign for delivery costs,$14.00 to insure and mail. Stamp sells, buyer contacts me 1 month later asking me if I mailed it yet, my response was "Yes, and I have a signature confirmation that it was delivered on 9/XX/13 and would send him a copy if he wanted. He indicated that it would not be necessary and Two days later I had received positive feedback, seller beware.

I agree with the seller beware statement on ebay sales. Though I am also happy to sell stamps as the buyers are usually very responsible people. It's not like selling in some other categories. However you can get some interesting sales/customers even in this category (and I have).

I only put insurance/tracking on pricey items to protect myself from loss, though, to be honest I often rely on the honesty of the customer for items in the below $50 or $100 range. Shipping to overseas can be a bit nerve racking, though I have not had any bad experiences so far in sales.

When I shop for anything other than stamps (which I would not pay excessive shipping on unless I knew it needed tracking), I use the search feature on ebay.com that allows you to search by price+shipping.

Eg. If I want book, I will search the item based on "price+shipping lowest first".

I can then compare apples to apples. I choose the vendor that looks the most reliable. I don't always buy the absolute cheapest, but at least I know what the range is.