Somebody Got A Good Deal

It's not often that genuine, XF centered, and fault-free first issue revenue stamps sell for 20% of catalog.

Jim



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buffalo-Sta...p=true&rt=nc

Some people know that this seller is not very honest and likely avoid him. Plus, I think the stamp probably has a couple thins approximately behind George's head and a couple other areas that look suspicious. 40% of cat or thereabouts is actually getting a little high in my opinion. It is a nice appearing stamp.

For a cartel account, I don't see any shill bidding on this one.

That makes it interesting.

The reverse side for this one - Hinged. A few spots not sure whether they are thins or not...

Curious onlooker:
"Fault-free" so these revenues came only perfed vertically?
Thanks for any insight.

Almost certainly has two thins, and I have real doubts about this stamp being a genuine part perf. I don't like the paper or the shade/impression. It's possible that I might think differently upon actual examination, but this scan is sending up red flags.

It also has a sealed tear at the bottom left 2 as looked at from the reverse.

Fortunately, if an item is received that is not as described, ebay makes it quite easy to return the item and receive a full refund.

This is independent of whatever terms the seller claims in their lot listing.

There is no longer a "buyer beware" attitude with ebay. They have been advertising their Money Back Guarantee for some time.



Kind of surprised with all the negativity with this item.

It's as if everyone looks for the bad before the good.

But no matter the outcome, the buyer is fully protected, regardless.

Jim

p.s. Just curious, is this considered genuine?

It's not a case of "looking for the bad", but a case of "seeing what is there", good or bad.

Not a very clear scan; I don't care for the cancel or the margins but I would want a clear scan before commenting more.

Best that I can do at the moment.

Jim

Still not very happy with it. I've occasionally disagreed with Eric before.

Jim,

regardless of the money back guarantee, my assumption on ebay is that if this stamp in OP was completely sound and identified correctly, the seller (professional dealer) would either have a cert on it or set a reserve price. Thus by my assumption and logic, the high risk is built into its price, and thus built into the "good deal" that someone got here.

Don't get me wrong, I still think its got a chance at being a good deal and may be correctly described and identified. However, the smallest fault turns this stamp into a 10-20$ stamp, so maybe at 40$ its worth the risk on upside. But I hate to gamble.

Finally, now if you get the stamp and it has a small thin... lets say you think its still worth 25$.. you paid 39$. Do you return it?????? Most would not, because the winning bid reflects the risk built into it. Hassle to return it, time??? No doubt if I paid 200$ for it I would return it right away!!

RG

ebay marketing works hard to convince everyone that buying from someone who you do not know and is half a world away is risk free. It is not risk free; there are a number of ways a seller can rip-off buyers. A common approach is to buy multiple existing ebay accounts (50+ or more) and simply walk away from them after making some bigger bogues sales. ebay cannot get any money back from the seller nor can they hunt them down, they simply disappear off the map. ebay might refund smaller amounts but good luck on a refund if the seller walks away with big bucks.

Buyers should work towards building relationships with online sellers, just like they do with dealers at shows or with brick and mortars. Start with smaller buys, learn who the seller is, their terms and conditions, their shipping practices. Once you have a level of trust then consider bigger buys. Alternatively, you may be able to get seller recommendations from other hobbyists.

But saying that the ebay money back guarantees is risk free is about the same as saying that putting auction material on consignment is risk free. (In many cases you may be ok but you cannot consider it risk free.)
Don

It's a crapshoot trying to gauge authenticity solely from images, but IMO the first example in this thread is far more likely to be genuine than the second. I *HATE* that second stamp. Wrong ink shade for a part perf and the cancel type is a mid-to-late period style, not early. That, combined with the smallish margins screams stay away. I'm a bit surprised that Eric would list this one, and above Scott to boot.

I actually like the first stamp, and would have gambled on it at that price had I come across it at a show.

Conversely, you could have this "gem":

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sc-R13b-Two...AOSweW5VcJFU

I was an underbidder on this lot. I came across this lot when there were just minutes to spare. I think it was sitting there getting ready to close and the high bid was around $15. From the pic, I thought it was worth the risk, so I threw out a lowball amount in the closing seconds. I didn't really need one as I had bought one a couple of months earlier, but I figured at that price, what the hell. If I get it, great...if I don't..no big deal. Well I didn't win and I promptly forget about until I read this post.

This is where it gets interesting.

As I said I brought a R13b a couple of months earlier from a different dealer. I went back to look at that stamp and amazingly it is almost identical to the one at the beginning of the post. Only mine has a certificate with it. They are likely from the same source. See below.
I think that increases the chances that this is a genuine partial perf.

That's good to hear Revhound. Thanks.

Here are some better images of the stamp.

Jim