The Philatelic Foundation - Determined Value On Certs

I recently received a batch of stamps back from PF certification with a sizable balance due. Their minimum final fee is $27 per item, which is fair enough, but after an item has a "Determined Value" (DV) in excess of $490 the fee of 5.5% of DV kicks in which is fine too as long as the DV is reasonable (ie. what I think should be current retail market value).

I have always used what I paid the dealer (auction or buy) as the DV on the app and PF does not adjust it as it is "fair value" for the item. If the stamp is a FAKE, PF adjusts the DV down to $1 and they still charge the min fee and your left chasing the seller, which is the rules of the road. This time the opposite happened, an item I paid $150 for at auction was assigned a whooping DV of $3500. Sure the current Scott Cat. says (and has probably since 1975) that this is the fair value (I know that means the full retail value for a VF example stamp today). The US/BNA 2019 cat value for this stamp in this grade range (Fine) is more in line with today's market realities and is assigned $600, which is a better reflection of the current market value based on my market assessment ( ebay buy it now from trusted stamp dealers), so I feel this was not a "fair" adjustment to DV, rather they used a "blunt tool"(ie Scott Cat value) and juiced their final fee for this batch by 60%. Reading the finer print of their services, this is within PF rights since Scott pricing is the definitive price source per the policy. This unilateral adjustment cost me an extra $150+ dollars on a stamp I paid $150 so I'm not sure if I just say this is how it goes sometimes or make some noise to voice some displeasure?

To be clear, PF certification services are the best and I want to continue to use them so long term I'm trying to figure out the best strategy to "manage DV" on the applications as I don't have to overpay for a service just because a relic publication refuses to move prices to reflect the current actual market. I feel if I had paid an APS dealer $600 on a buy-it-now purchase on this exact same item they would have accepted it and charged $40 vs. $192 on this item.

Any thoughts from others on PF's DV practices are appreciated.

You need to find real prices that show current value of like stamps from auction results and get three or four prices then present them with your displeasure to get this adjusted .

When an item is submitted you accept the terms and conditions one of which is that the value is catalog value. Not ebay value or dealer price list value but catalog value. They do not mention Scott by name as far as I can recall but they do state that items of a specialized nature may utilize a specialized catalog. I am not agreeing with the valuation but they need to have a contract basis or else it could become a logistical nightmare with everyone submitting all kinds of documantatuon to knock down the fees. The problem may be with Scott but it is what it is.

Thoughts, Yes. My apologies if this comes off as strong, but why not ask them first. Why air dirty laundry here before talking to them and giving them a chance to discuss the issue?

Floortrader thx for the tip on current issue at hand. I just paid my mandatory annual fee to SANs to get access to their Extended Features (no longer free) so once that permission gets set I should have lots of good historical data in addition to ebay data.

Why is this dirty?

Redtail, if you have a complaint about a company, talk to them FIRST. Very simple.

I called them the Best too to be clear at the end. I could eat this without a call is my option. Discussion on the topic should be dirty and taboo?

Redtail - There is no mandatory fee for SAN and never has been. If you wish to access extended features that is an option. The data you receive access to when you enroll was never "free" by the way. It is one of the features created for consumption by those that wish to pay for it.

Rogdcam thank for clarification. My error again.

The tools on SANs look kick ass based on the video.

I would also add that it hardly seems fair for the PF to base their fee on slighlty more than 4% of cv. That amount seems odd as a sale price. Knowing the story behind why it went so cheap would be enlightening but that is obviously your business.

Redtail, I deleted a long response here, and will just say good luck on your own.

Okay

I was Seeking Fairness. I wanted to gain some community knowledge to inform my next move (eat it or intellectually address it to get relieve and longer term manage it as a customer) was my intent and I feel my consumer right. They are the BEST.

please accept my apology For breaching your protocol to addressing customer concerns in 2019.

We agree to disagree



.

Rogdcam

No issues sharing with you the story but not sure it will help you as a SANs purist.

I have several APS dealers saved on my phone that occasionally run penny auctions on ebay. This was won at one of them. These sellers are safe haven from ebay (I did call to complain already) stamp mindfield.

Thanks Redtail. I just never imagined a dealer starting a $3500 cv stamp at a penny. Live and learn.