$475,000 Ebay Listing

Do tell. I'm aware of "Top Rated Seller" discounts, and differing store subscription rates, but not a different FVF structure based on volume.

The latest issue of Linns (p. 30 of the online edition) has article about Noblespirit entitled "Top ebay stamp seller turns consignments into online success." So despite the negative comments here, he (Joe Cortese) seems to be serving a niche that attracts enough customers to be successful. Most Noblespirit auctions are "no reserve," so this one is something of an unusual one, as others have said no doubt reflecting the consignor's instructions. I've purchased a couple of small collections from Noblespirit, worth what I paid for them. I'm sure it was a disappointment to the consignors because I didn't pay much (in the $50 range).

I wonder if the writer for Linns was aware of this item, and stayed away from it, or was told it was off-topic.

Basil

Multi-million dollar sellers also get a discount on FVFs.

Wha does FVF in ebay seller context signify? Some of us peons don't know the lingo and only know it as "fine-very fine condition." Help us out, please.

Final value fees.

(As opposed to listing fees.)

Link?

Thankee RevenueCollector!

Link? LOL! These are negotiated agreements between mega-sellers and ebay. Amazon also offers special incentives to mega-sellers which us regular sellers will never see.

I have read any number of crazy conspiracy theories about ebay and its policies over the years. Show me an article, a blog post, ANYTHING, that isn't someone's mad rant or rambling that provides evidence to the claim, and I'll give it some credence. Random person on message board claiming such doesn't make it so.

In short: Back up the claim.

I don't particularly care if you believe me or not (and I don't think what I said qualifies as a mad rant or rambling), but I know this to be true. If you are so naive as to not think that million dollar sellers get perks you don't so be it.

JOE seems to know what he is doing , remember he worked with and did talks for ebay at some of their seminars and also is a sellers assistant for ebay . Heck he even open a selling office in a depress area of New York ,so I am not sure he had some small town mayor twist the arm of the local U.S. POST OFFICE to even give him a lower postage rate ......hey everything is negotiable .

Whatever. Random claims with no substantiation are nothing more than someone's opinion, not fact.

IMO, the Linn's article was so fawning as to read like a vanity piece. It left me wondering if "Noble Spirit" paid to place it. While I don't believe in journalism that manufactures controversy, the story could at least have acknowledged some of the issues that have been raised here. Of course, since it's owned by Scott (Amos), Linn's can't be expected to say anything that wouldn't support the hobby. They seem to have an editorial policy mandating nothing but positive coverage about any subject, except possibly the USPS. I'll have to check whether "NS" is a Linn's advertiser--if so I would read any future article about a dealer with skepticism.

The Linn's article was basically a carbon copy of this one from a few months ago:

http://www.concordmonitor.com/commu...y-powerhouse

I've got nothing whatsoever against NobleSpirit from a buying perspective. They seem to take pains to picture everthing in high-res closeups, and I've never suspected them of being shady or questionable in any way. I'd buy from them without much hesitation. I'm not sure I'd be as keen on consigning something to them for sale, however. I've seen more than one of their auctions sell for a small fraction of what it should have, almost certainly due to a lack of writeup and the way their pictures are arranged - e.g. sometimes pictures of the most expensive stamps are buried under hundreds of pictures of common ones.

I agree that the article in Linns did not demonstrate much in the way of critical journalism skills. But frankly, I don't see much in the way of critical journalism skills anywhere these days.