Could Anyone School A 35 Year Philatelist On What This Is?

Complete and absurd overreaction. This is done by well respected sellers all over ebay. People read way too much into it. All it is, is the internet version of conversations that happen thousands and thousands of times every day in person......

"Hey you want to sell that."

"Sure, make me an offer."

That's all it is. ebay forces the seller to put a price in there so they put an ridiculous one so normal people understand it's just a million year old negotiation technique going on where the seller forces the buyer to make the first move.

I also suggest you brush up on your definition of fraud, because you're not even close.

Bobby

Each to his own, but this doesn't look like normal negotiation to me - outside the world of football transfers. Not sure whether any ebay seller listing items for 360 x their CV would remain well-respected for long.

Geoff

As I said, it's only because ebay FORCES a number to be put in there to use the best offer feature. If they didn't 99% of these would just say make an offer without the high price. It's just the ebay version of an ages old technique.

It's all over eBay and has been for years.

I agree with Bobby that this says to the buyer "you tell me what it is worth to you". But ...

An auction comes with an ending date.

A buy-it-now comes with an ending price.

A pie-in-the-sky buy-it-now with make-an-offer does not include a commitment to ever sell the item and, worse, comes with the opportunity for the seller to accumulate bids over a period of years and then, maybe, pick one ... or, maybe, not.

I don't see that there is much reason for the buyer to participate but, then, tossing a bid at the seller does not take a whole lot of effort, either.

If this particular seller is paying rent (monthly fees, listing fees), then there is no harm done to the auction site ... that the listings are cluttered with stuff that does not move is offset by the revenue stream from the overhead fees.

Not the most exciting corner of ebay for either the buyers or the sellers, but most days, most sellers at most flea markets take most of their goods home.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Seeing Mosher's catalog on page 1 of this thread is a reminder to me of how amazing the level of knowledge that is available in this hobby. I am blown away at the amount of time and research that is put into these specialized catalogs and for so many sub-categories of collections.

I stand by my comments.

The original poster claimed to be a 35-year stamp collector. As such, I would expect them to know the difference between a Scott catalog-listed stamp and something they found in a collection. We all see novices list minimally-valued collections for many thousands of dollars and can chalk that up to wishful thinking. I would not have even commented, had that been the case. I expect more from those of us with long histories in the hobby. Listing that label with a price of $3600 implies that it has value in the high 3 figures or low 4 figures. Given the amount of information the original poster had about the stamp and his lack of any confirming data that the stamp was worth anything within two orders of magnitude (100x) of the posted price, I stand by the three choices I laid out. Maybe I could have used "ignorance," rather than "stupidity" in my post. Oh well.

The fact that there was also a "best offer" button does not diminish my feelings. Had the label been listed at $100 (still an order of magnitude (10x) higher than the catalog value and probably 20x higher than the retail value, I would not have had the visceral reaction to the listing and would not have added my little multiple choice test.

The original poster asked to be "schooled." I schooled him.

chipg -Using the words
a) insanity
b) stupidity
c) attempted fraud of the gullible

is NOT schooling - it is just rudeness - the kind that should not be tolerated in any forum
So he posted on ebay with an unrealistic price - no reasonable buyer would have paid it - so the words you should use are
a) You need to get more information
b) Your price is unreasonable
c) No knowledgeable collector will pay more than a few dollars for it

Your choice of words is what needs review
Have you ever heard of PM (Private Message)
Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends & Influence People" would make a good read for any "Philatelic Expert" - only $12 on ebay