Scott 539 On Ebay - Weird Bidding

As of right now, there have been 26 bids. Stamp is mis-identified. People have more money than education! https://www.ebay.com/itm/NobleSpiri...AOSw0cJbIv9p

It is deliberately misidentified. $4000 cv stamps do not start at 99 cents.

Can you tell what stamp it actually is, or just that it can't be a 539. And for the uninitiated among us, how?

Type III. Scott 540. Two shading lines in the ribbons curves and the three dot vee in the top right berry. Why in God's name anybody would chase a rare bird like a 539 on ebay and with no cert boggles the mind.

A real 539:

Thank you. The original photo/scan was too indistinct for me to make out the shading lines in the ribbon. So what happens if somebody asks a question such as, "This looks like a #540, why do you think it is a #539"?

My guess would be that Noble Spirit would just thank you for expressing your opinion and keep the listing up. They stand to make hundreds of dollars selling a $30 stamp and they have been doing it for years.

Do not look for scarce/rare stamps on ebay that do not have a cert. Go to a real dealer or auction house and buy or bid on one with a cert. the people bidding on this are throwing good money after bad because they suspend logic and want a "bargain".

My thought was that the question might at least alert other bidders that something might be amiss. I am a worldwide collector and buy mostly collections and lots on ebay, even occasionally from the lister of this auction.

How would asking NobleSpirit a question alert other bidders?

The questions about items used to be posted for all to see. Maybe they have changed that along with all the other changes they have made. I will have to look

I've never seen someone's questions and the answers posted for an item. Some sellers don't even bother to respond to mine, which means I don't buy their items. Maybe it's just me.

Used to be, if the seller wanted to answer. There are a lot of "used to be's" involving ebay. All old & new assumptions are off.

I would carefully check your purchases for reperforations,reguming,added margins,fake overprints,forgeries and a whole lot more.

Don't even get me started on the "report item" creature.

Questions and answers can still be posted in the listing if the seller so chooses.

Rare stamps do in fact get started at $0.01 on ebay. Any assertion to the contrary is utterly false.

Also, one should look for rare uncertified stamps on ebay. All you need to do is learn how to identify them. Simple. Fun. Rewarding.

The opportunity to make answers available is still there - I take it, unless the query is simply about postage costs.

Hi Winston!

One quick message to Robert and he took it right down.