Wanna Buy A Self-Graded Stamp For Only $150?

Wanna buy a self-graded stamp at auction starting for only $150?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/-/323049569506 target _blank rel nofollow 323049569506 /a sl400.jpg" border="0" style='cursor:default' onClick='doimage(this,event)'>

https://item.ebay.com/323049569506

I just soiled myself laughing.

Oh, and check out the Scott 702 from this seller, also with same grading service (and grade), with starting bid of $60, and it has a nice straight edge! *edited - thanks*

https://item.ebay.com/323049569507

Is this from "Jethro's On the Spot Grading" or is it "Bubba's On the Spot Grading" ?

It is a spin-off of Amazon.

That's one of the reasons I don't like the concept of that home grading software and the certificates in produces. The sole intent is to fool the unwary.

P.S. These faux-graded stamps go well with the rhubarb seeds he is selling.

Devils advocate here.

As I understand it, the American grading system is based mainly on the centreing of a stamp & given the minute difference between, say, 95 & 100, this has to be done digitally by scanning the stamp & measuring it on a computor. Now there are domestic applications that will do this on a home computor as revenuecollector has mentioned.

However, given that the officially-recognised graders have to use such a programme to obtain their extreme accuracy, I see no difference between one of their certs & one that has been done at home particularly if the source of the grading is published.

A sample cert on one of the domestic app sites shows the exact measurements used to obtain the final grading figure. Do we get these figures from the official graders or is it just a magical final figure that is published on the cert & that figure is taken as gospel?

Does anyone know what programmes the official folks use?

I don't see any problem with what he is doing. The stamps appear genuine. He is using a software program to assign a numerical value to centering, and crediting the software firm. He is slabbing the stamp in a sleeve like they do with sports cards. He is assigning a high price for his added services, but lower than the accredited ones. He is entitled to hang out his shingle and sell his wares, like all of us.

We could debate the value added by his grading service, or the silliness of numeric grading, but he's not harming anyone.

Unless the picture of this item is causing the slab material to greatly distort the true bottom edge of the stamp, this stamp appears to be centered close to the bottom perforations. If the seller of this stamp used a software product to grade this stamp as 98/100, either he/she doesn't know how to use it, he is misrepresenting the true grade, the picture is bad, or the software has little/no value. Something is not right.

Bottom edge of first stamp (693)looks like a re-perf

Now that I look at the 12c as closely as I can, the pictured stamp is different from the graded stamp. The crappy scans discouraged me from looking further. Being that he certifies them the same by a numbering system, he's misrepresenting what he is selling.

I don't know the seller and could care less about his material, but you are 100% right to call out that 12c.

I've cropped the photo of the cert which is on the listing to show how the app obtains the grade.

So anyone who buys a computer program should now be able to claim they are an expertizer?

No. Just no.

He's not claiming AIEP membership, he's just documenting that he analyzed the stamp with software and it spat out a number. To me it's worthless information, I would trash the cert. I see now there's some deceit afoot. I contacted the seller and put him on the spot. Pun intended

Note also that the Scott 702 (2c red cross) is graded 98 as well, and clearly has a straight edge.... (edited - thanks!)

I wouldn't pay a premium for a self graded stamp. There's a lot more that goes into the evaluation of professionally graded stamps beyond centering alone. For instance, do you trust a self graded "OG NH" stamp not to be re-gummed? A professional certification would disclose creases, disturbed gum, repairs, or any other hidden fault. Would you trust a self graded certificate to accurately reflect the true condition of the stamp? I wouldn't.