With all the recent discussion about Anthony's, Apfelbaum, et al., I sat down and went back through some of the purchases I have made from dealers with, shall we say, "questionable ethics", thinking of approaches I have taken, and whether the purchases were successful or not.
Some of these concepts will seem like common sense, but it doesn't hurt to compile them into a single post.
First and foremost, the easiest solution: Don't buy from them. Don't support dealers that have established histories of ethical issues.
Of course that's easier said than done when they have something that would fit nicely in your collection. I've said before: if I refused to do business with every dealer (including show dealers) that exhibited dodgy characteristics or had reports of offering fakes, overstating values, misrepresenting stamps, etc., the number of dealers I could do business with would be VERY small, and my collection would be a lot smaller than it is.
At the end of the day, the choice to buy or not buy from any given dealer is a personal one. If it's an item I want, I don't care who I'm buying it from... but that's my choice.
Ok, with that out of the way, ASSUMING that you decide to purchase from one of these dealers...
My recommendations/philosophies are more geared to the buyer of bulk lots and collections rather than single stamps, but many of the same considerations apply. Also, my assumption is that we're talking about online sales, where you are buying based upon a description and/or images rather than in-person sales at shows, live auctions, etc.
1. Know what you're buying. If you're a novice or beginner, stay away. Only tread in these waters if you have knowledge and experience with the material in question, enough to know whether items are legit without the need of expertization.
2. Ignore all superlatives. Rare, scarce, superb, gem, spectacular, once-in-a-lifetime, etc. They are meaningless puffery. Don't fall for them.
3. In conjunction with #2, do your own research. Don't rely on seller claims of scarcity or population. Use the SAN archive, APS and PF cert archives, searching current and more importantly completed listings on
ebay and other venues. See what things sell for and how many there are out there. Are there dealers of this same type of merchandise with online storefronts? How much are they selling items for? When it comes to population claims, take them with many grains of salt. Aldrich, for example frequently makes up population numbers as he goes... and people fall for them.
4. Ignore claims of value by the seller. "Total catalog value" claims from these sellers are frequently inflated or outright made up. My approach is that if I cannot justify the asking price based upon ONLY what I can see, move on. If a seller says "$10,000 Scott" but I can only determine $6,000 from what I see in the images, then my calculations are done based upon the $6,000 (obviously taking into consideration the possibility of undisclosed faults) and the $10,000 claim is meaningless. Don't impute value to what is not visually shown. In the unlikely event it turns out to actually be more than $6,000, then that's bonus. From the sellers in question, I've had it wind up both ways: well short of advertised value/quantity, and also above simply because they didn't know what they had.
5. Always assume items are the cheaper of multiple catalog numbers that visually appear the same, until proven otherwise. If it's watermark X vs. Y or perforation A vs. B, assume the cheaper of the two.
6. Do NOT rely on images for making determination of value based upon color. Between the camera/cellphone/scanner taking the picture, the color temperature of the lighting, and the accuracy of your monitor, don't assume that the color in ANY image is accurate.
7. Protect yourself financially. If the seller accepts PayPal, then fund that PayPal payment with a credit card. Not debit card. Not bank account. Not PayPal balance. Why? You then have two layers of protection in the event things go sideways. If PayPal denies your claim, you can then do a chargeback through your credit card company.
8. Don't assume anyone has your back. I know that this will be an unpopular opinion in certain quarters, but always assume that if things go wrong, neither the APS nor the ASDA is going get you your money back. Organization memberships IMO are simply "Look at Me!" badges, nothing more (and yes, I say that as someone who includes both APS and ARA logos in my
ebay listings).
9. When a lot arrives, go through it immediately (like same or next day) and in detail, to make sure you got what you paid for. Check for accuracy, quantity, and condition. I have printable ledger sheets that I created for stamp lot assessments so I can go through and quickly document what is in a collection and the total catalog value.
10. If putting something on extension, get the seller/dealer agreement to that extension in writing, i.e., email is better than phone, preferably before purchase. Who pays the cert cost? Is it only above/below a certain value/price? Who pays in the event of a declined opinion (which is not the same as a negative opinion)?
11. Before purchasing, read the fine print on returns (return period, who pays return shipping, restocking fee, etc.). Make sure you have done your assessment and are content with the merchandise well before the expiration of the return period, thus allowing for things to digest before you run out of time. Sometimes the way you feel about a purchase a few days later isn't the same as the one you initially had upon receipt.
12. If you make enough returns (either in number or in purchase price), expect to be blacklisted/blocked. These dealers bank on throwing enough cr*p at the wall and most of it sticking. Returns upset their business model.
And lastly, know yourself. If an item/lot not being EXACTLY what it is claimed to be is likely to upset you, then buying from these types of dealers is NOT for you. Personally, I enjoy the thrill of the hunt and finding the diamond in the rough, so I'm willing to gamble (within reason) and factor these aspects into what I'm willing to pay. It also means that sometimes I will strike out. I realize that and accept it. Not everyone enjoys this same experience.
If all of the above doesn't fit in your comfort zone, then by all means, you should probably stay away from the dealers in question (I would post an extensive list of who I feel falls into this category, but the last time I did that people complained to the moderators that I had one or more of their favorites in the list so the list got removed).
*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***
Posted 03/23/2018 10:00 am
