Buying On Ebay/Hipstamp

I will gladly put the philatelic quality of my posts up against rogdcam's any day of the week.

I would buy a $3000 stamp with certificate from "cfrphoto" or Ed Reiser (Century Stamps) on ebay any day of the week, if had applied my knowledge to determine it was the correct stamp. I would buy a $3000 stamp with certificate from Kelleher on SAN any day of the week, if had applied my knowledge to determine it was the correct stamp. I would buy a $3000 stamp with certificate from Century Stamps, by phoning Ed and providing a credit card over the phone, any day of the week, if had applied my knowledge to determine it was the correct stamp. It is not the quality of the channel, it is the quality of the seller. Know your seller. Research your seller. Ignore all the noise on here about channels. What those critics really mean is that certain sellers are disreputable. But there can just as easily be a shark in the London Silver Vaults as on Canal Street.

I would add Rupp Brothers to Chris's list.

John - Yes, the quality of your philatelic posts is outstanding.

I can't disagree with Rupp in general, but I find their prices uncomfortably high in comparison to the market, so I've stayed away thus far. I can simply do better at the same quality level with Century or others. Perhaps their prices represent a notch up in experiential issues, like buying a sports coat at Bergdorf Goodman rather than Brooks Brothers.

As a relatively new & ignorant collector - I've taking the approach of identifying a few vendors in major channels - e.g. ebay, Delcampe and SAN - for non-cheap items ($75+) and building some kind of relationship with them. I'll buy a couple less expensive items first as a "trial" - and if I'm happy with the results - which includes good service & communication, not just correctly described product - I'll buy more regularly and higher-end stuff (relatively higher-end, my stamp budget is not massive...). That seems to be working out very well so far, and any issues I have had have been promptly resolved to my satisfaction. My belief is that a vendor will do more for a regular customer then they would for someone "random".

Cheap stuff I'll buy from whoever online unless there are obvious warning signs - and if there are any issues with service or identity that are not resolved - never buy from them again. (Didn't mention Hipstamp above, as I buy only a few cheap items there, use Delcampe as much more in the way of French-related stamps available- but the same applies).

I track details on all purchases - including delivery time - and add notes in case of either very good or poor service, excessive shipping charges, etc. Very helpful as my memory is not as reliable as it once was...

I still like the 1 cent opening bid ebay sellers and don't consider it a circus. If it's junk, it's junk and it never sells. If it's a desirable and sound stamp, there's enough bidders out there on ebay that the price should rise to a relatively true market value. I simply like the fact that the market will dictate value, not a catalog. The few non-ebay online auction houses that I've used basically start at $0 for opening.

Of course formal auction houses should still be the go to place for higher end stuff. I 'm not there yet - still in the <$100 world.

I wish that this was true. Unfortunately, better stamps sell for half or sometimes much less than market value at ebay auction while junk sells at a much higher percentage. Trash lots sometimes sell for more than they are worth. Sellers who have paid fair market values for their inventory generally offer stamps on ebay as Fixed Price listings. While it is true that many sellers entertain offers, offers below about 70% of the listing price are seldom accepted. It is also true that sellers wishing to turn over their inventory may gradually mark down prices of stamps that have not sold for whatever reason. Other sellers stubbornly maintain high starting prices and constantly accumulate inventory, much of which may never sell.

Also, I believe that professional sellers should maintain an affiliation with the APS as a member dealer, NSDA or the ASDA. An organization for on-line sellers also exists with a code of ethics, but they are enforced. A few sellers on ebay are former members of one of the previously named organizations because of an ethics violation. Buying from a dealer who is a member of a professional organization gives the buyer some recourse, if the buyer can determine if a stamp is as described. If not, buyers should stick with dealers with impeccable reputations.

Andyrich, you might try looking here: http://www.collectorscorner.com/Stamps/

Pricey, but reputable dealers (some of whom are ebay sellers as well).

" ebay is Great!" "No, ebay SUCKS!" "I love ebay!" "I loathe ebay!"

Time for the weekly SCF ebay slap fight.



ebay is great for some people, not so much for others. Great for some types of material, not so much for others.

Meh.

If you are serious about buying bigger ticket items, this site will give you some idea of prices.
http://www.usphila.com/
The more valuable US stamps can and have really fluctuated over the years.
Patience might pay off especially in non US sites like Delcampe and many other overseas auctions sites.
Build a relationship (key factor) with a particular seller you like and then you can negotiate. I am not sure you can easily build a relationship on ebay.
Stamp clubs may be a good source or a brick & mortar dealer (somewhat rare these days)
You might also join Stamp Auction Network and bid on items that may come up but don't expect too many "deals"

For those truly interested in highlighting fakes, etc. on ebay and elsewhere for educational and not bashing reasons, why not have a thread that where someone posts a philatelic stamp (not obvious ones) and just highlight what is not right as a guide to other readers and leave it at that. No commentary on the seller, any dealer affiliations, selling platform, etc.

The obvious ones are reperfs, removed cancels, wrong die variety, etc. Of course since we are dealing with less than ideal images, much can be said as looks suspicious to keep it open minded.

Al,
In my opinion it also important to learn about sellers. I do not believe that 'all sellers are alike and you do not need to know who you are buying from'. This perspective has nothing to do with bashing anyone; it is about countering ebay marketing which facilitates deceptive practices.
Don

Jiminy Christmas....ok, thanks all for the advice. (I say that tongue and cheek, just based on the variance of opinions!) Very much appreciate all the commentary though. Read and learn, as they say.

That said, it does seem that auction houses seem to be the more popular option for something I am willing/prepared to spend $3,000 + for, but why are auction houses any better than ebay or Hipstamp when a cert is not part of the sale? Do they independently verify that a US 356 (as an example) is really as advertised?


And for what it is worth; I do have a group of sellers that I tend to buy from on ebay and Hipstamp. Maybe sounds naïve; but by research and experience it does seem to be obvious who the sellers are that are offering what I would consider fair prices for what I would call mid-ranged priced stamps (say $50-500) versus those who are not so knowledgeable. The few times I've had to return stamps, they also tend to be very accommodating when the photos don't represent what is advertised.


Above that price range; I frankly don't realty trust any one; especially someone offering a stamp for say $2,500 that does not bother to take a photo of the back of said example. Some don't even bother to reply with a photo when requested; so obviously pass on that offering.

An auction house will allow you - assuming that you've alerted them in advance - to obtain a certificate for an expensive item. Or, I understand, the auction house may itself obtain the certificate.