Do You Think This USA #293 Is Reperfed?

Thank you very much, greatly appreciated

Thank you much Mr Reeded Edge!

Modern's box lots are a blast to play with. They almost always go for one third of estimate and can have some really good stuff in them. I would never go there for better singles though. Kind of like ordering a nice Filet Mignon at Chucky Cheese.

Although I am not going to go after the $2 Trans-Miss that was the start of this thread, I HAVE bought box lots from Modern and have been VERY happy with them. They photo all kinds of things that wouldn't normally be photo'ed elsewhere. A couple years ago, I saw a lot with 1920's to 1940's USA NH blocks and could see some well-centered common 3c purples and 2c reds. It sold as if the stamps were run-of-the-mill, and when they arrived, and I looked at what I had bought, I was THRILLED! I have sent off a couple dozen stamps from the lot to PSE for graded certs and I got back 5 or 6 100's out of the deal. Mostly, I got back 98's with a few 95's that I 'missed' on. I could sell any one of the 100's and make back MULTIPLES of what I paid for the lot. Anyway, it's good to know what one can and cannot expect from various dealers/auctioneers. Overall, I am very happy with my purchases from Modern!

Yup. The box lots can be excellent. It always puzzled me why he does not list some of the material from the box lots as singles since a lot of that material is much better than his single lots.

Exactly

Absolutely agree. But how is it that the margins are so wide? It would seem to me that they should be closer to the stamp itself.

Jack Kelley

This thread reads like stamp gambling, pretending to be collecting.

Nothing personal against the OP or the rest of you gamblers:

1) You should know your subject, especially at the high end of the market.
2) If you don't know your subject, but have access to a free informed opinion, you are lucky.
3) The (auction) house owes you no guarantee of profit. They procure consignments, market them and broker the transaction for a fee.
4) Expect to lose money in the long run.
5) Have fun.

I take exception with those who expect a full refund plus costs when their gambling venture loses.

If you're really collecting, different matter entirely.

1) You know your subject.
2) Your friends are philatelists, and you share in knowledge.
3) Your funds go to knowledgeable sellers and auction houses with value-added services.
4) Money is secondary to time well-spent.
5) You enjoy it, not just have moments of happiness when you win.

1. I do this for fun.
2. I have no expectation of making money in this venture.
3. Any hope of profit on any particular item is on me, not on anyone from whom I buy.
4. I believe I know my subject. I have been a collector for over 40 years, since I was a little kid. I have worked as an auction lot describer for a number of nationally known auction houses. I have also been a stamp dealer on my own for many years. I am currently out of the business - I want this to be a hobby for me, not something that I NEED to make a profit in order to survive. (See #1 and #2)
5. See #4.

Having said that, I understand that all auction lot describers, auction house owners, and stamp dealers are human. I will even give them the benefit of the doubt - any mis-identification will be considered a mistake, not larceny (or petty theft, depending on the amount of money involved). Although they are all professionals, there are knowledgeable dealers and not-so-knowledgeable dealers. To me, money IS secondary, but not nothing. Every stamp collector has limited funds, whether it is me, you, or William Gross. When I was selling stamps, if I ever mis-described a stamp, I refunded all money spent, and I often got repeat business from those collectors - it would have been short-sighted of me to point at some small print about, "we don't refund postage fees". So... based on the old adage, "Do unto others...", I expect all my costs to be refunded when the seller makes a mistake. Oh, and of course, not all damage, mis-id's are visible in an internet scan. Generally, a scan is only of the front of a stamp - paper types, thins, light creases, etc are simply not visible. It is at that point that we, as purchasers, have to trust the seller's description.

You are really OK with occasionally losing money in a transaction, based on the lack of knowledge of someone else??? Boy, have I got a piece of oceanfront property I'd like to sell you. Cheap, too!

Well said Mootermutt!

For a thread with over 2 dozen posts over the last two days, has any poster here contacted the auction house to have them take a second look at the item?

Not sure. I would be happy to do so.

So I am interested in the why. These are a couple of my Trans-Mississippians. The perfs don't look all that different from the perfs in the original post. They are not all in a perfect straight line, some are semicircles, but many are oblique. What are people looking at that makes them think the 293 stamp was reperfed

Willwood, you are showing the 2¢ stamp, the stamp in the original post is the $2 high value of the set. Nobody is going to reperf a cheap common stamp like the 2¢. But someone would reperf the $2 stamp to achieve a higher bid.

I know that no one would bother to reperf the 2 cent, but that was the point. The perfs look the same to me. What are people seeing in the $2 stamp that makes them think it is reperfed