Another APS Stamp Store Disappointment

I bought three U.S. 1st Bureau Issue stamps on Jan 25 and submitted them for certification due to their age. It's a good thing I did. ALL were mis-described and one was definitely altered. Here are the APEX results.
==========================

"APEX has returned the item(s) you submitted for expertizing during your StampStore purchase; the results are as follows:

· Described by the seller as US Scott Number 283, unused, NH - APEX Cert #228443 returned indicating - United States Scott No. 283a, vertical watermark, unused, genuine, regummed, cleaned, color altered.

· Described by the seller as US Scott Number 284, unused, NH - APEX Cert #228442 returned indicating - United States Scott No. 284, unused, previously hinged, original gum, genuine in all respects.

· Described by the seller as US Scott Number 282c, unused, NH - APEX Cert #228441 returned indicating - United States Scott No. 283, Type II, horizontal watermark, unused, previously hinged at gum side top left, original gum, genuine, sulphurized color.

As all three items are misdescribed, we assume you wish a full refund of the items and expertizing fee? Please let me know as soon as possible so that we may either mail or process a refund."
=====================================

This is the second time this has happened with expensive stamps purchased through the store. Apparently there is little or no oversight regarding the accuracy of the sellers' descriptions by APS. There is however excellent customer service by APS. I was notified promptly of the bad results and offered a full refund.

I think I'll shop elsewhere in the future or else buy only APEX certified issues. I don't have a lot of confidence in the sellers' descriptions.

At least you were careful enough to buy them on extension, and the expertizing part of the picture protected you well.

Extremely informative and reinforcing for me. A big thank you to you.

My experience with the APS stamp store is that, although one might be protected from misdescribed or misidentified stamps more than,say, ebay, it is still "Buyer Beware".

The APS stamp store does not have the ability to screen what is sent in by sellers.

However, they are very good at accepting returns, and refunding purchases. And, obviously, a requested APEX certificate is a must for expensive items.

So I still use them, but keep my eyes wide open.

I see that today the APS Store has 329,036 items for sale.
Each of those items were submitted by members like us.
How many hours would it take to vet that many items?

If you read the "How to sell online" section you will see what the APS does for the seller:

"Our online store provides members with a hassle-free selling experience to sell philatelic material worldwide - no internet experience or special equipment needed. We do the work for you. Sellers simply complete a submission sheet for each item and mail them to the APS. We take care of scanning images and uploading item descriptions, advertising, answering buyer questions, payment processing, shipping, and handling returns/refunds. All communication with the buyer is handled by the APS; the seller remains anonymous and is identified only through a seller ID number. Sellers can view reports, change prices, and receive monthly payments for items that sell."

And what the APS is paid:

"Submission Fee + Commissions + Return Fee for unsold material
A 15¢ submission fee per item is required. Our commission on sales for items is as shown in the table below. There is a minimum commission of 50 cents per item. (**Fees are also charged for the return of unsold items and misdescriptions - see the terms of sale for complete information.)
Tiered Commission
Item Price Commission
up to $100 20%
$101 - $250 17.5%
$251 - $500 15%
$501 - $1,000 12.5%
$1,001 + 10%"

Further reading of "StampStore Terms of Sale" will reveal more details of the seller's agreement, including that the seller pays for APEX fees on misdescribed items and that "Seller privileges may be revoked for repeated misdescriptions."

Then there is free standard shipping and handling to the US on purchases over $100 and only a 1% insurance fee.


Great service for both seller and buyer, pro-buyer attitude, and many reasonably priced items from fellow collectors. I have returned misdescribed items (and kept a few misdescribed in my favor) and will continue support the APS.

Here was a description of the APS Store submission process posted in another forum last year.

If members scanned their own images and entered their own data via an online form significant resources would be saved. For members who do not have online capabilities, APS could continue to offer the scanning and data entry but for an additional fee.
This would at least free some resources to apply to more oversight. (But obviously it would never be possible to offer 100% oversight.) Perhaps offer an extra-cost listing review feature to sellers for stamps in a $50-$500 range? Stopping short of a full certification, but providing a 10 minute review?

In my opinion APS has always had a huge opportunity with the APS Store; unlike ebay the APS actually has vetted sellers. It would be a tragedy if this opportunity is lost due to not being able to exercise more control over the quality of the service.
Don

(wrote this before I saw Don's response) I've read somewhere recently that there are APS members in the Bellfontaine area who do spend some time reviewing submissions for accuracy. Due to the volume, they probably barely make a dent.

The Stamp Store staff is very appreciative of any help they get from members. Last few years, I've twice noted Portuguese colonial issues from the late 1870s for sale; the Crown issues; that were Fournier forgeries. Both stamps were priced as if they were genuine. I brought it to staff attention, explaining why they were forgeries. They thanked me and removed the stamps from sale. Overall, I've had really good luck both buying and selling through Stamp Store, and continue to use them.

A further search shows only 350 or so are attached with APEX, PF, PSE or PSAG certs. And of those 350, about 90 pct have been returned with faults. Not a very good scorecard.

The last statement is rather telling. The stamps with certificates are very probably mostly classics.

Any person buying unexpertized classic stamps anywhere with the belief that they are probably o.k. (NOT in some way damaged, altered or repaired) will always be in for some big surprises.