Scott #18 - Beware Of This One...

They pulled it.

I just received an email from Noble Spirit.
Here was their reply:

"Hello,
Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention. So sorry for the incorrect title. I will notify the consignor.

Best Regards,
Robert"

The sale was ended and removed before the end of the auction.
Good job, Noble Spirit.

What Noble Spirit said was that they will notify the consigner that the consigner misidentified the stamp. NS does not check and verify anything. For example, they purchase a large lot at auction, there are many stamps that are misidentified, they do not review for accuracy, they just list them and most of the time nothing happens because the buyer is clueless. If anybody still chooses to buy from these types of sellers they need to be well educated in what it is they are buying. Never count on them to be representing anything accurately.

The buyer/seller relationship has changed so much since the tradition brick and mortar dealers have given way to online transactions. I truly hope the marketplace rewards dealers who strive to educate and treat their good customers well. But customers must also understand the value provided by a quality seller and support them.

The 'trolling for sucker' method of offering lesser quality material or misidentified listings starting at $0.01 captures 'bargain' hunters who think that sorting ebay listings by 'Lowest Price' is the best idea.

Disclaimer: Yes, there are a few good sellers who start at $0.01, and yes...you can sometimes find 'bargains' by sorting by Lowest Price. But the above is a generalization that is often true.
Don

If the success of the NobleSpirits, the CKstamps, and the NYstamps of the stamp world are any indication, most buyers are not at all interested in having or patronizing quality dealers/sellers.

I do give kudos to Noble Spirits for responding in the correct way. I will apologize for calling them "cartel" earlier in this post. Hard to tell good from bad.

I told one dealer he had a #9 not a #7. His response was "Doesn't matter. They are worth about the same.". Many others never respond. One even blocked me from bidding on their items for pointing out an error. It turned out to be 3 accounts, hmm. I figured that I was better off staying away from their stuff.

Me too, I always try to give benefit of the doubt.

I've purchased excellent "stampcrow" items from Noble Spirits. No problems with them, but i'm spending 5 to 10 dollars, like most of my ebay purchases. The cost for me is in time, I spend a lot of time sifting through lower priced items.

I treat ebay sort of like dumpster diving for philatelic keepers..., and I've found plenty over the past few years.

If I'm going to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on something, it wont be from ebay.

Most dealers don't know the difference between the types. But, this is a double-edged sword.

Raise your hand if you've ever bought a scarce stamp listed as something common. (my hand is up)

... and the reverse (sadly my hand is up for this one as well). We call them "learning lessons".