Dealer Certification Policies

When I buy a stamp with a value in excess of $100 I like to have a certificate from either PSE or PF with it. If the stamp doesn't have one I will buy the stamp if the seller agrees to allow enough time to get it certified. Here's the rub...... have encountered dealers who are o.k. giving me the time, but they only want me to obtain a "generic certificate." They don't want me to obtain a graded certificate. I like graded certs. I wouldn't reject a stamp because the grade came out to something different than what the dealer advertised. I would only return a stamp for reason of a defect or alteration that wasn't noted. I assume the dealers that don't want a graded cert because while they may feel confident in their ability to discern that a stamp is sound, they don't want to quibble over whether a stamp is very fine, extra fine, or somewhere in between. Am I missing something here?

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

The dealer is only interested in making sure the stamp is genuine and sound. That is where his obligation ends. The optics of how the stamp grades out, is between you and the grading company. Auction houses, will not refund money for grading. Only on a bad certificate. Dealer is doing the same.

The dealer may not want to know that all the stamps he grades VF are not really VF and surely is not trying to sell it as such. If you want graded stamps, you meed to buy from a dealer who sells them.

If you don't like the dealer's policy, don't buy the stamp. As simple as that. Isn't $100 as you lower limit, a little too low today? Look at the money that's spend on something that really has little value today. $100 is nothing in the stamp world.

I suppose it depends upon what's meant by "value". Something Gibbons or Yvert values at £1,000 or €1,000 respectively might fetch a tenth to a third of that at auction, so probably not worth certifying, unless a sale depended on a certificate. £100 or €100 CV surely wouldn't be worth the cost of a certificate.

Message the seller and explain your desire for graded certs. Ask if he'll agree to accept a graded cert with the understanding that any variance in the cert's grading and his own shall not be grounds for returns. I suspect most sellers will accept that. If not, don't buy the stamp.

As an aside, with the minimum prices for a cert being $30 plus shipping both ways (APS store purchases are an exception), that makes a cert total cost about $70. I'd suggest that you consider raising the value that gets a cert to well above $100.

I set mine at $500 for singles and $1000 for plate blocks, but I collect only mint, never hinged, with full undisturbed gum. Accordingly, I am more concerned about certifying condition rather than identification on high value items. Coil pairs are hard to fake; plate blocks almost impossible, and I try to collect imperforates as pairs or with a certificate for expensive singles.

Coil pairs are hard to fake??????? 90% of all flat plate coil pairs in the market are fakes.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect a dealer to potentially eat $30-50 in cert costs on an item that only retails for $100 (of which only $20-50 may actually be profit).

The scenario uboatnut describes is the one that I would ascribe to. I don't charge dealers for the cost of certs on stamps returned that I had certificated myself (this has only happened twice). Pretty much everything I need is over $500. I did message a dealer once proposing to obtain a graded cert, but assuring them I wouldn't return for reason of grading, only for designation of falult or alteration. Never got a response. Did not buy the stamp.

I respectfully disagree with revenuecollector, at least with the catalogue values of the stuff I send for certificates.

I feel a seller should stand behind their product, no matter the cost. Yes, mistakes happen, but if they mis-identify or fail to notice and list a fault in their description, and if said fault is subsequently noted on a certificate and the buyer opts out because of that, the seller should have to pay for the certificate as well as refund the purchase price. The buyer should cover the certification shipping charges both ways, no matter how the cert comes out.

That might make sellers take more care when writing their description. Bunny-hunting may be fun for some, but sometimes the prey is no novice and knows what to look for and how to confirm it.