Advice Please, I Got Cheated By Stamp Seller

I feel silly bringing this up actually, for the whole thing is about a measly couple of bucks. However it is the selling ethics that bother me.

I bought a stamp. This is what the sellers scan looked like on his page...



This is the stamp the seller sent me sent me.



I have communicated with him about a refund, and his first response evaded the issue and was rude. Since then I have been pretty much ignored. What shocks me is he has a great rating and those who rated him made him sound like a god. It is like The good rated seller died and someone else took over the business.

My take on this is he had a damaged stamp and just wanted to be rid of it and still get something for it (almost entirely made up of the shipping cost). The reason he has such a high rating may be because, as it appears, he only sells inexpensive stamps, and buyers are just letting the guy off and trashing the ripoff stamps, if this happens seldom enough.

Now in well over 300 online purchases, I have never had to leave anyone a negative rating. Yet money aside I think he deserves one. After all, what if he started selling expensive stamps? Yet the other part of me wants to just let it go.

What do you think is the best course of action?


-IBFS

*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***

I think you should leave a negative, if only because of principle!

Peter

Agreed. He switched stamps- that is enough to warrant a negative.

Clearly a case of not sending the item illustrated. I would escalate your complaint slowly. Open a case for "Item received not as described" and put the ball in his court to respond. Hold off on the feedback for a while.

IBFS....the stamp is COMMON.
Maybe the seller had a "generic scan".

No one can scan a 10c or below stamp ....
list it....pay listing/selling fees....
etc....

just file with ebay and say you want to return it, the odds he refunds your money are pretty good especialy since as soon as you file ebay will hold the money in his paypal anyway.

Kevin,

You might be right but such things should be disclosed. The seller should not bait and switch. Great game by Brees by the way.

Jack Kelley

Don't these stamps normally "self-destruct" anyway due to the nature of the adhesive ? I believe there is a thread re self-adhesives on here somewhere.

Jack.....HELLO.
I am not saying the seller is correct.....
Just maybe....something was written about a generic scan
that the OP missed.
I have searched ebay....must not have been sold there.

Saints had a good day!

I would initially prefer one of these routes, and observing the sellers attitude, before giving the seller a negative.

However it was a biStart purchase. Can you do this on bidStart? Please how?


-IBFS

Just so everyone knows, I went thru PayPal dispute and contacted the seller one...more...time... .



-IBFS

The stamp you received is actually in very good condition for the issue. Normally, I HATE that term but due to the chemical make-up of this early self-adhesive glue, it had a detrimental effect on the stamp paper over the past 41 years. The appearance in your picture is exactly what Scott considered "mint" and is what it is. It is neither "damaged" nor "a ripoff stamp" - sorry. A stamp appearing as the seller pictured would carry an exceptional premium if the adhesive is present. I removed the adhesive from mine decades ago, and the paper is still fairly white.

Because the seller clearly used a photo which was not what he provided to you, you are within your rights under ebay rules to ask for and receive a refund. It has obviously been manipulated to whiten the stamp. You should not post negative feedback based on the stamp itself, because unfortunately it is what 99.9% of these unused stamps look like today. If you cannot get refund, then flame away as you see fit.

Yeah, pretty much any of these that you find today look NASTY due to the chemicals involved in the self adhesive. I've purchased a lot of these in 50% face postage lots and they universally look mottled and stained.

P.S. How could anyone either sell ones of these as a single-stamp lot, or buy one of these as a single-stamp lot? They are worth a maximum of 10 cents as postage. eBay/PayPal fees alone would be more than the stamp is worth, let alone shipping costs.

Leave him a negative, and start the dispute process.

Classic Coins,

Disagree. The seller should be given one last chance to effect remedy.

Jack Kelley

Many dealers that sell in bulk and use stock photos for each stamp. I most cases the stamp will appear to be the same one, but this 1st US adhesive is a problem child. Though it is a mint stamp and 100% likely to be stained the stains varied wildly like a fingerprint. I understand why a dealer may not wish to make photo copies of a relatively cheap stamp. But the copy he did use seems to have been stored in a vacuum looking as nice as it does.