$1 Totem Pole Single For $65 On Ebay !!!

$10 would be, what, $2 or $3 in the real world? And, given that this is a common stamp, how many well-centred copies are around? I'd suggest rather a lot, with very few with owners silly enough to have them certicated/graded.

Sorry but that's just silly and accomplishes nothing.

As John Becker mentions, this stamp is clearly way above the standard VF stamp, and is certified with the grade of 98. I think it is sad that so many folks don't understand (yes, and even for so-called "common" stamps) that such quality and grading is much scarcer than the typical stamp available, and SHOULD get a much higher price than the VF price.

I challenge anyone here to find and show an equal stamp to this one (and if you do have it, I will BUY it for $15 USD).

Please don't be rude and offer much less than even the VF NH price - that IS an insult to the seller.

Without a numerical grade would most people notice the difference between a 95 and a 98?

I believe many people wouldn't. But, I think each of the four margins in this certifed example can be compared for relative spacing between the design edge and perforation holes, so the margin equality (or lack thereof) can be determined as for matching the margin grade criterion (centered-ness and average margin width vs. design.

So, the ultimate test is by measurement, not visual opinion based on what our eyes see.

With this listing, we have the image, which can be used for reasonable measurement comparison.

I think we are missing the point here..Everyone of his Canadian stamps I looked at came with a certificate..It is perfectly legal to certify ANY stamp..

Now we know that Canada stamp is worth roughly $8.00 on a good day.
He gets it certified and a "grade 98"..He knows as I do that coin collectors will pay more AU50, AU60, etc...And probably some stamp collectors.

He is perfectly legal to certify a stamp and ask more (to cover his certificate) and will probably get 3 times what the stamp is actually worth after the sale is complete.

P.S. - If we could through ebay see what country has bought it, it probably will not be a Canadian address.

Robert

The Unitrade value at VF and a graded copy at "98" are two completely different animals.
A 98 is NOT an $8 item.
If it is, then prove me wrong, here's $48 send me half a dozen graded at 98!

Robert, I understand where you are coming from on this. I believe you are thinking that since this is a very common stamp, it can't be too hard to find another one as good as this one, so how can it be "worth" much more than the VF catalog valuation.

I agree that a stamp is only worth what price it gets in a sale. If it (and others that are similarly certified as 98) sells for 5x the VF catalog valuation, then I argue that it's grade 98 value is about 5x the VF catalog valuation. I don't believe that all the people that buy the stamp at that price are suckers or uninformed. They are assigning a premium value to the stamp in the 98 grade.

I also believe that this stamp in grade 98 as a NH stamp is not as common as folks seem to believe. That's why I put my challenge here. Two reasons, (1) I don't expect to see any, or if I do, very few that people can find that fit the 98 NH grade criteria, and (2) I will gladly pay the amount posted if someone wants to sell one to me.

P.S. What exactly do you mean by "If we could through ebay see what country has bought it, it probably will not be a Canadian address"?

P.P.S. How many of these stamps were printed and distributed for sale?

Hi orstampman..All I meant was most Canadian collectors already probably have one or more, maybe collectors in other countries would not have access to this stamps as we do here.




Almost 28 million were printed..

Robert


Also I took a pixel measurement of this stamp

Left bottom of perf to left stamp border 33 pixels.
Right bottom of perf to right stamp border 32 pixels.
Bottom of bottom perf to bottom border 20 pixels.
Bottom of top bottom perf to top border 20 pixels.

Robert - thanks much for the quick reply!

Hello Robert. Interesting pixel dimensions! When I measure the 4 margins, I get different comparative measurements.

My Measurements Your Measurements
L = 26 units L = 33 pixels
R = 25 units R = 32 pixels
T = 23 units T = 20 pixels
B = 22 units B = 20 pixels


My ave: 24 units Your ave: 26.25 pixels

My ratio to ave: Your ratio to ave:
L = 1.08 (+8%) L = 1.26 (+26%)
R = 1.04 (+4%) R = 1.22 (+22%)
T = 0.96 (-4%) T = 0.76 (-24%)
B = 0.92 (-8%) B = 0.76 (-24%)

Whereas your and my measurements show the LR margins are greater than the average, my measurement show much closer to the average.

Whereas your and my measurements show the TB margins are less than the average, my measurements show much closer to the average.

Looking at the stamp, I believe there is a difference in your pixel height vs. pixel width, because the stamp measurements I take directly from the image, indicate much tighter and even margins for all four margins. If it were the case that the pixel width and height were accurate, then the proportions of the TB vs. LR margins would be about a 2 : 3.2 ratio, which would mean if the actual TB margins are about 2mm, then the LR margins are about 3.2mm, which you can see clearly is NOT the case.

What do you think?

orstampman

It really does not matter what UOM (Unit Of Measurement) we use, I was just trying to show everyone how centered the stamp is...Remember, your eye site and my eye site and every bodies is different.

Even though the perforations are not perfect and the seller does not show us the back of these stamps...The bottom line is the stamp is well centered...A nice stamp, but would I pay approx. $90.00 CND..No

Robert

I think that people sometimes forget that certs aren't free. Usually about US$30 minimum per stamp plus shipping both ways (combined shipping costs defrayed across all the submissions, so obviously the more sent at one time the better).

Personally, I see nothing wrong with the seller's asking price for the stamp in question.

I agree with P.T. Barnum.

I am also reminded of the time that listed something that I really did not want to sell. It was a highly specialized item that did not really fit in my collection but I was hesitant to sell it. My wife felt otherwise and to keep the peace I agreed to list it. I put a big number on it (about 80% more than I thought it was worth) figuring that after a month or two of no interest I could then justify keeping it to my wife. But wouldn't you know it, someone came along and gave me the asking price.
Don