Stamp Expertising Via Video Conference

Good Morning,

I was wondering if anyone did stamp expertising via video conference. I was hoping to learn a thing or two and with today's technology... I can't see why it's not possible.

Most computer screens are LARGE these days - screens are anywhere from 1080p to 4K resolution, I have a USB microscope, video camera and mic... not to mention stamp equipment - and all the computer equipment is CHEAP these days!

Is there someone that expertise's over video conference somewhere out there?

I would LOVE it if that were possible. I have too many stamps that I have questions about and I collect the world.

It's near impossible for me to scan and upload everything into the forums and at my rate - it will probably never get done.

Thanks!

PS: I'm also very paranoid and would dread mailing my stamps out.

To a certain degree we do it here all the time -

Peter

Did you reply just to reply???

If you don't know of any service that expertises via video conference - please don't respond. It makes it look like the topic has been answered.

I am not aware of any. I cannot imagine anybody risking their reputation by issuing a certificate without a hands on examination. It would be malpractice. I would not want a doctor to diagnose me via the internet.

It's not really a question of your having sophisticated equipment, but of the expert committee's having your stamp in front of them, with their sophisticated equipment - plus all of the other philatelic information they possess. So the only practical way you could introduce expertising by video conference would be for the collector virtually to sit in on the committee's discussion.

You may have to get used to it. In some places in the world it is the only way for rapid help. Outback Australia etc etc. It is also happening in other countires.

https://vsee.com/online-doctor-consultation/

As for the original post I do not see this working at all for the reasons that thave been expressed already.
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AQ

AQ - A quick emergency diagnosis is understandable. The point was that to ensure a proper diagnosis further testing would likely be in order. Blood, urine, MRI etc.. To bring it back to stamps one would likely want to have the subject in hand for further testing unless the patient is rather run of the mill.

What is the point of having a person on a video conference and you can just going thru a few websites to check if it is what it is . You create all kinds of issues with a video conference ,the expert doesn't know more than me ,he has a reference source and a reference library ,sometimes he hasn't seen that stamp in 5 or 10 or even 20 years,they need time to brush up on the issue.

Are you willing to buy a stamp or a cover that somebody says --Oh I had a expert look at it and said it was ok ? Said it was OK is not good enough for many buyers .

Sounds like a bad idea.

I just wanted to respond.

Thank you everyone.

Video is fine for certain basics, but a detailed examination is often necessary.

Just having come from a medical appointment at a major medical university where I not only had 3 renowned oncology experts in person but 2 others who were remote and have never seen me in person; I can tell you that there is technology which allows life and death decisions to be made remotely.

This seems to be a stark contrast; the medical industry can make life/death decisions using remote technology but we cannot make an identification decision for a stamp? It is important to acknowledge that in the medical industry no expense is spared in using this technology and this is most certainly not true with stamps. Obviously many people are assuming that extent of 'remote technology' is simply a sending scanned image. In that context I agree, this is obviously not a valid substitution for having a stamp in hand. But with the proper use of technology (i.e. VSC6000 analysis etc.) there is no reason that this cannot be done.
Don

Don - My point was that a life and death decision is not going to be made remotely with no hands on at all. The remote consultants need physical data acquired from the patient. There is no way around it. At least for now. Same with engineering. I have a bridge with structural issues. I acquire the data that the remote engineer wants and needs. We conference. It is a glorified telephone call.

As far as stamping goes if any type of sophisticated equipment is needed it becomes more complex to analyze remotely than to just send the item in. And then you have colors. You are always pointing out the pitfalls of determining shades and colors via the interweb and I could not agree more. At some point the juice is not worth the squeeze.

Roger

"Just having come from a medical appointment at a major medical university where I not only had 3 renowned oncology experts in person but 2 others who were remote and have never seen me in person; I can tell you that there is technology which allows life and death decisions to be made remotely."


I too have experience with this, and I agree with Don that it is possible in principle. My previous answer that "to a certain degree we already do this" reflects this. We can go fairly far in IDing a stamp, but for expertizing one needs expensive equipment like for instance the VSC6000 Don mentioned. As long as this equipment is out of reach financially for most people the whole idea of remote expertizing will stay a pipe dream

Peter

Hi Roger and Al,
Yes, of course it totally depends upon the quality of the data (I thought that was pretty self evident). But as long as we have good data this is very 'doable'. So what is 'good data' for a high quality stamp ID? And how do we get to the point of developing the kind of data collection which would then support the idea of being able to do a decent ID remotely?

There is certainly no need for every hobbyists to be able to gather this data for our hobby to take advantage of remote technology. An organization could certainly have a single, centralized data collection point (largely already in place) and then use remote technology to bring the experts together to review the data.
Don

Given the market for expertizing I do not foresee any investments in what it would take to accomplish the goal effectively. Seems simple as it is what with Fedex or USPS. It would not speed things up either since the queue is the queue.