Where Is The Value In This Listing?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-OLD-STA...222976441214

I saw this listing and thought, 'what am I missing'. The listing is up to nearly $300 for what at first glance appears to be about $3.00 worth of stamps. I figured that I must not see a hidden valuable stamp.

There were two bidders who ran this lositing up the first day it was listed. No other bidders.

Hmmm. So I went to see what other listings this seller might have...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OLD-US-STA...222974287203

Gee, nothing fishy here.
Don

Having recently sold a stockbook of thousands of US stamps of this type for about £20, I'm most aggrieved!

This stamp is quiet strange?(cancel).page4

Sold in April too;

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-OLD-STA...p=true&rt=nc

Same bidder running up the price in both auctions: e***c

Morning Don and all,

People do strange things at an auction. ebay is no exception. Just like at an old country estate sale all you need is two bidders going at it. Real knowledge of what is being bid on is not required - just an auction bidder's paddle.

Looks and smells like classic ebay money laundering.

Probably shill bidding but why would anyone need to launder $300?

People sell illicit goods using a listing for something.

Example: You want to buy an illegal death ray. You buy the listing instead, the seller gets paid for the stamps and you bought yourself a death ray.

Perf12, the cancel appears to be a duplex cancel. This type was used in the U.S. for many decades, I believe.

The way e****c bid on this, it looks like he was trying to find the other bidders ceiling but accidently topped it. Either that or didn't want to beat the next highest bidder by very much for that death ray.

So I guess the $98K listing is for the death ray with turbo-boost.

With a PSE grade and slab, I suspect.

Sometimes non-collector speculators who don't know much about stamps see a catalog listing for a stamp variety that they think they have spotted in the lot without really knowing how to identify the valuable variety from the common one and goes all out thinking that they have spotted a hidden gem when they really have not. They are afraid to ask for help from experienced philatelists because they fear that they will get that presumed gem somehow snatched from them. I have seen some who have overpaid for framed very old damaged common stamps where the frame is worth much more than the stamps in them but nowhere near what they paid for them.

I am sure we have all experienced that rush of blood to the head that clouds our bidding judgement. Perhaps that's all that happened here. The conspiracy theories posted here are entertaining me though, please keep them coming! Death rays, microlaundering, awesome...

The same lot was sold before for $100. I will stick with money laundering.