Apfelbaum, Inc. ----->

Interesting to note the original phase "Better Things for Better Living...Through Chemistry" was, of course, a DuPont advertising slogan for decades. (Other started using the phrase 'better living through chemistry' to get around any trademark infringement issues.)

In my case I got away with the recreational drugs I stupidly did, but the irony is that the DuPont chemicals I handled working second shift plant to put myself through college came back to haunt me in the form of cancer that is killing me now. So no, it wasn't better living!
Don
APS #094826

Sorry to hear your situation Don ,wish you the best fighting thru this .

I have a fiend who is now in a Burn Trauma Center in Toronto, Critical but stable , accident happen the 24th of March., Phd in chemistry , he was mixing solid rocket fuel for a company who manufacture High Power motor for the rocketry hobby. I myself been very lucky in 1977, same thing happen but on a very much smaller scale, I burn my left hand third degree.

Is it just me, or did we get a bit off topic?

Peter

Apfelbaum: over the years I have bought the occasional piece from them (at auction or through Stamps Auction Network). Never had a problem or a cause to return, but am very careful and selective. As others have said, they were involved in dodgy schemes after the founder passed away that affect the firm's reputation even today. Perhaps this is no longer deserved, but I wouldn't bank my hard-earned money on it. So when I see them offer something that I want at a price I am willing to pay I go for it, but with eyes open and without blind trust in the firm's claims with regard to customer satisfaction.

Interesting topic...as I wondered what to think about the company a few years ago when I got back in to collecting after being stagnant for a long time. I saw articles about Apfelbaum's past troubles, so I came in to purchasing from them aware of their past. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I am not an investment/high dollar stamp buyer. I am a general collector who enjoys stamps as a hobby, but I have also been collecting for over 30 years, I have taken APS courses, and probably rank myself as moderate in knowledge and $ spent.

I have purchased several of their lots over the last few years, and I have been happy with them. They now do "buy it now" rather than true auctions. You know exactly what the price is, with shipping, etc. included and no hidden fees. I go for the general worldwide box lots. I get most of my enjoyment from the fun of the hunt. I much prefer Apfelbaum box lots to any other mystery lot I have tried (from several companies.) I feel I've gotten my value in them, and then some. I once bought a small lot...a box with glassines, mostly K countries. The very first glassine in the box contained several very old Korean stamps that I sold for more than I paid for the entire lot. It was likely missed in their inspection. However, I also know that mixed in the lots will be some good, some bad. If I see something that looks like a lot of value hidden in an album, I assume it is more likely a fake or bad condition for it to be in a general foreign box lot in the first place, so I check it carefully. Sometimes they do miss something good, and I benefit. I have gotten a few obvious fakes, but they came attached with the "forgery or fake" notice from someone who tried to have them certified. I do read through the descriptions carefully, and over time I have picked up on the jargon typically used for the lots.

I was once unsure about the description for a particular lot I was interested in, so I called. I was looking for photos, so I could see what was really being offered. The person I spoke to was more than happy to take several photos and email them to me. I chose not to buy the lot based on those photos. So, I thought their customer service was great in this case and saved me from buying a lot I really did not want.

I guess in summary, it depends on what you are looking for. I love the treasure hunt of a box lot, and I always find something in Apfelbaum's general foreign lots that I didn't expect. They also seemed to live up to the value (and then some in many cases). You may get a mix of odd stuff/damaged stuff, but that is typical of a box lot. I like the fixed price, which also includes shipping. I have not tried returning any lots to them, but their customer service has been fine for me so far. I do pick carefully and read carefully through the descriptions. I like that I can can call and ask for clarification or photos if I am unsure of anything.

Treasure hunt bulk lots where you know you're in for a gamble are a completely different animal from buying singles or sets. THAT is where they really burn you. What seems like a "deal" when the assumption is sound stamps is no bargain at all once you find some undisclosed faults or the stamps turn out not to be what is claimed.

Sure you can always return the items... once or twice until they blacklist you.

Yeah. Most 'end of the auction' box lots, at Apfelbaum or anywhere, are mixes of previous lots that the auction house couldn't sell, dealer leftovers that nobody could move, heavily remaindered or beginner albums, and occasionally outright garbage ("What do we do with these cigar boxes full of yellowed Crystal Mounts? Ah, let's chuck them in one of the box lots.") I've found interesting stuff in them before, but I wouldn't spend actual money on them unless I could view the lot first and can confirm it's not a complete waste. (Viewing the auction lot, in general, is always a good idea.)

Barring viewing, asking for more pictures like you did isn't a bad idea, but in that case I'd assume that only the best stuff was pictured and the rest of the box is yellowed Crystal Mounts all the way down.

It seems to me unexceptional that, after a customer returned more than one purchase, a seller would say:

"Your standards are different than ours; you should shop somewhere else."

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Well, add my name to the list of buyers who got ripped off by Earl P.L. Apfelbaum, Inc. and will never deal with them again.

Purchased an album sold as MNH complete collection (here is their description "UPU - WONDERFUL ALL MINT NH COLLECTION OF HUNDREDS in a White Ace Specialty Album of the 1949 UPU, 1949 British Empire Omnibus set complete, Germany #9N35-9N41, and hundreds more, VERY FINE, og, NH). When received it, saw it was in very bad mounts so started moving them to my new album. As I progressed, started to see hinged sets in the album.I was not happy at all, but was stuck between a rock and a hard palce as was no longer as received.

Emailed them and their story was their describer must not have done their job and return for refund. This after telling them I had moved a bunch of the stamps and threw the damaged pages away as they were garbage.

I guess from now on I will have to check every lot and stamp to make sure it is as described before removing 1 stamp (which is absurd and should not be necessary when dealing with a reputable firm). Or not deal with these crooks that misdescribe lots, and in my opinion intentionally, to get more money. Hind site is wonderful if could be used in advance!

I would also have to pay return shipping to the US from Canada with tracking.

Needless to say, I am not impressed with them and will never buy from them again.

I also sent an email to the Stamp Auction Network asking them to remove them from my list of auction companies I want to hear from and why.

I just get so tired of large firms with the we don't care attitude and the list is growing. Customer service or satisfaction means nothing to them. I am really surprised they can stay in business.

Oh don't worry about receiving stuff from them, they have probably already put you on their ban list for trying to send something back. They expect everyone to be like a mushroom. They hope to keep you in the dark, and shovel manure on you.

I learned long ago to ALWAYS check through any lot/collection/album I receive from ANY source to make sure that I am perfectly content with it at the price purchased before I move or alter ANYTHING. Once I start breaking it down, I own it.

That's true regardless of the dealer or venue, not just Applebum.

I just had a fighting match with a major stamp auction house yesterday . I return the lot this morning .
I received the catalog in the mail and bid on two lots and won them . Yesterday received the lots ,one lot didn't have a portion of what was described in writing from the auction catalog that was in front of me . So I called the firm and talked to the guy who already knows me well . I knew just by mentioning the lot to him ,he already knew the problem [that is the first sign ,something is up }.
He tells me ,I should of read the describition online because,that is correct ! I said I got the copy of the catalog in front of me and was bidding on that describition. He was like sorry I should of been following the auction from their website . I told him more than twice I don't accept that excuse that online and the printed catalog was different .So I told him ,he is getting the lot back . Shees! FEED UP with these lame type of explanations ,a call should of been made to me before the lot was shipped or even better announced before bidding was started on the auction lot .
MANY OF YOU THINK IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNERS GET BURNED -------You have to understand they try this stuff on everybody, to see if they get away with it . 20 year customer of this firm and many ,many thousands of dollars spend at their auctions and now I am pissed .

I recently bought a couple of fairly large lots of cigarette cards from a GB auction house. I made the schoolboy error of combining them and combining them with my collection before realising that many of the cards, which were of the Edwardian, photographic type, had been damaged by the previous owner, who had inked in the edges where they'd been scuffed. The auction house agreed to take the fauly lot back, and, after a huge amount of messing about, I disinterred the offending cards and sent them back. I suspect that I wouldn't have received a refund had I not been a regular purchaser. Which is a long way of saying that revenuecollector's advice is absolutely right.

The cards? Back in next month's auction, with a rider of "a few retouched cards noted". Well, I suppose one man's scores is another man's few ...

I've experienced a few blips when winning big lots at auction with a number of firms. What I find odd (maybe not at this point) that in each case a key item in the lot was missing when I received the material.

In one case I had purchased a lot of space covers for my topical collection of such, but discovered that the cover which had the autograph of the most noted astronaut on the mission, which was mentioned in the catalog description, was missing. The folks at the auction firm were skeptical of my claim, which I initially assumed was due to some experiences they had had with previous buyers claiming the same thing in an attempt to scam them out of a valuable item. They insisted on my sending them scans of all the covers to show that the key cover was not among them, which I thought was a strange request since, if I were trying to scam them, I obviously would not scan that cover and include it in my communication back to them. Maybe they thought I was just overlooking it. In any event, they ultimately accepted my explanation and we worked out a deal.

In another case with a different auction firm, again the key item in a set of covers, which was not only mentioned but highlighted in the description, was missing from the material I received. In this case, my claim was accepted without question and I returned the material.

In yet another case, with yet another auction firm, I purchased a stamp collection with multiple binders, only to discover that a particular binder with many of the most valuable stamps was completely missing. The cynic in me guesses that someone had their eye on those stamps and figured out that it would be less obvious to just take the whole album and claim that it was misplaced rather than leave certain spaces empty. After a lot of haggling with the firm, we reached an accommodation since I did want to keep the rest of the material.

Don't know if a pattern can be discerned here, but I'm done with buying large lots and expecting to get everything that has been advertised.