Sigh. Where Do These Wacky Ebay Sellers Keep Coming From?

They're like cockroaches that you just can't ever get entirely rid of.

Jim

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Cent-Red...AOSwm4tctycr

Hey, did you not hear?. It is the quick get rich scheme. Some one sold an unknowledgable person a collection of useless material but told them they were purchasing a gold mine. Guess who ended up making the money? Yes, definately not the guy now holding the bag or boxes of kiloware material.

And congrats on the win Jim. You got the pretty one.

That is like one I found on Craigslist. Guy was selling similar ones for like 2500 for 5 saying that the one who bought it could make a fortune by reselling them.

Sad, so many people think because it's "old" it has to be worth a fortune.

I suppose I should feel sorry for anyone who buys this stuff at such outrageous prices, but if they took the time to check out what they were buying, they wouldn't buy it in the first place.

Hey, these are a bargain compared to that 319 at just a tad under 200,000 on ebay. I'm waiting on that 300 offered at only a billion bucks. Cheap!

Hopefully anyone who can afford to pay hundreds for a stamp they know nothing about is too smart to do so.

This is why oversight on ebay does not work; the only effective weapon in this war is buyer education.
Don

As I have said a 100 times "if ebay charged a listing fee, based on start price, and lowered their final final fee, to compensate, this crap would stop !"

That is how they used to operate and items were priced to sell.

Yep, ebay needs to go back to the good old days. It seems like every new wrinkle they add to the mix actually is a step backwards.

No, wait a minute, news flash, ebay can't wait until someone buys one of these $25,000,000 lots. Their final value fees will be like hitting the lottery for them.

Have to agree... I would be fine with ebay going back to a listing fee... this stuff is just useless. I note the seller identified by Jim has a grand total of 0 feedback.
All just a scam, which won't work for them in the end anyway.
ebay buyers are stingy... not stupid.

ebay is heading in the direction of listing only new, retail items; they want to be like Amazon. In any of their recent Annual reports you can find this kind of stuff




(From 2016 Annual Report, highlights are mine)

We have to understand that ebay will continue to skew their policies and procedures to limit listings of inexpensive 'used' items. 'Used' items cost more per transaction then new consumer items. It makes no sense for ebay (or anyone else) to support low value 'used' items like stamps under $20 dollars.

And no business has ever sustained itself by standing still and not changing things. Of course you hold on to those things which are profitable, but technology companies HAVE to keep up with the constantly changing world around them. ebay is changing, ebay is trying to be like Amazon.
Don

Scott,
This generalization is certainly not true. Buyers have been making uneducated purchases since humans started selling to each other.

Specifically regarding ebay, there are thousand and thousands of examples of stamp collectors making stupid buys. You stopped selling on ebay because of stupid crap that goes on, including getting tangled up with PR (British Cartel), a guy who has made a career selling to uneducated buyers.
Don

Don, I know what you mean. I have seen auctions sell that you know are overpriced. Common items selling for high prices.
Sometimes you wonder what the buyer is thinking.

Don,
I don't disagree with you, but those people are duped by fakery (ala Ryle and the like) They mostly took proofs or other low value material, and altered it to look like a more expensive stamp. Yes, that fools people. This isn't fakery, it's just stupidity. Show me any example on ebay where someone has paid $100+ for a stamp that clearly in catalog CVs for less than $1.
These are all common stamps. No collector is going to buy them. I've had GOOD stamps sitting on ebay in the past with very reasonable amount, and no one bought those. Sorry, but these are blatant, and I haven't seen anyone pay excessive amounts for blatant common stamps. They aren't claiming these are 596's or coils. They are just saying they are old. That's not enough to sell.

One reason I'm buying more on Hipstamp/Delcampe these days, and less on ebay, is the absence of these silly listings on those platforms.

gmot,
You know, that's a good point. Maybe we shouldn't complain about ebay... it was a "distributor" 20 years ago, it's time they got their ass kicked.
I'd be happy to see them get taken down (even if it's just for stamp category) by more credible and useful sites.

It is hard to tell who some of these buyers are that pay more than they should. Then you have sellers who think stamps have to be valuable. I have seen this in other collectibles. I see a lot of just fishing for people willing to pay a price. I am not even referring to misrepresented material.