PF Expertizing Turnaround?

I sent in several stamps to PF on July 12 of this year and have not received the stamps or certificates back yet. They were modern US error stamps issued in 1981. The certificates showed up on their website using their search tool in early November.

Is this normal? What is the average turnaround?

Turnaround time is variable, with 5 months not being an unheard of time. However, in my experience you get the items back BEFORE the certs show-up on the website. I would call the PF, the items might have been lost in the mail.

I would certainly contact them. I allow 90 days and then find out the status for my own piece of mind. It is certainly odd that they are in the public database but not in your possession.

If you are going to call tomorrow I recommend calling before 11:30 or after 2; I happen to know that tomorrow is the employee holiday lunch.

I sent them a stamp in October and heard from them this past Wednesday.

Questions for those who use PF regularly, or any other service that does reviews. There seems to be a basic "conflict" going on here. I know that the major expertizing services do have a tendency to take their time, shall we say. There generally are good reasons, especially since a "patient" may visit several reviewers.

My experience also tells me that auction houses aren't going to wait forever to have an opinion rendered, when one asks for an extension. It's almost enough to deter a collector from purchasing, at auction, items that may need expertizing review.

I also wonder about the responsibility of auction houses to obtain certs themselves for rare issues that are commonly forged. Case in point: several years ago, I bought one of the rare Portuguese Guinea overprints at auction (Scott #s 1-7). The stamp was sent to the APS for review, and the auction house was patient. As feared, but also expected, the stamp had a forged overprint and I got my money back.

There were 3 other P.G. copies in that auction, from the #s 1-7 set. My best guess is that 90%+ of the copies of these issues, in existence, are forgeries. What should be the responsibility of an auction house with stamps like these? Thoughts?

Auction houses can usually get expedited service since they have legitimate time constraints.

revcollector: see my modified post.

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At the reputational risk of saying something thoughtful & considerate of the auction houses, the debates on this forum (let alone elsewhere on the net) suggest that getting 'a' cert might not resolve anything.

I would be inclined to let buyers certify thru the agency that they prefer (for that sort of item, etc) rather than put out the cash for a cert that some buyers might not need and that other buyers might not accept.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey (who also knows that not every lot sells, so who pays for that cert?)

I sent a stamp recently purchased at auction to PF for certification ... mailed it on Nov. 24. Received it back with a good certificate on Dec. 7. I did pay an extra $10 for priority service, which I most certainly received. Two weeks, in my limited experience, is unheard of. One or two months is what I have come to expect. While my sample size is admittedly small, PF has been marginally faster than APS. I haven't yet tried PSE.

PSE is also slow - at least for individuals. I suspect but cannot confirm that they give priority to the auction houses, who submit in bulk.

I have had three U.S. stamps there since Oct 30 and they are still "in process" after 6 weeks. That's 2 weeks longer than usual.

My last two submissions of Canal Zone stamps - which PSE cannot expertize in house and which must be sent out to several of the very few remaining CZ experts (the same ones PF uses) - took 8 and 10 weeks to return certs. I've also had 2 more CZ stamps at PSE since Oct 30, and based on prior experience, I don't expect to get those certs until mid-January.

Thats it! I am going to certify my own stamps!!!

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Q/ May I be the first to accept your certs?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Yes Mr Pikey Sir, you may!

APEX seems to say 90 days, and my last two items came in at exactly that.
I have a Newfoundland overprint there right now, submitted September 14, so we shall see....soon.....

As to the original post, I wonder how PF mails the returned stamp? Any sort of tracking or registration?

That seems too long and, as a previous poster advised, you should call them and check. PF usually returns items via a shipping method that demands a signature release. They do insure all items, as well/