A Discrepancy On A Bill Langs Listing?

Hard to view this as a one sided "witchhunt" when a stamp is purchased for $175 (with a cert pointing out a hard-to-see fault) then turned around and offered up for $750 (cert goes MIA) without pointing out the hard-to-see fault). Clearing up the listing after an observant person spots it should be the end of it. Attacking the online community for spotting it and pointing it out seems very much out of line.

I also scratch my head at the $750. The full SMQ is $175 for a fault free stamp. The entire thing is bizarre.

Despite the change in the listing, the original point about the "missing" PSE cert is still out there. The seller can provide the cert # but not the cert itself?

BL may have the goods but they may not be the goodies.

I think what's going on here... In the latest Linn's ad - Posner is looking for ebay listers. Maybe Bill is working as an intermediary to facilitate? He checks all the boxes for pushing large quantities of material for the highest prices. For some stamps there is no avoiding him. He knows it too, and knows how to corner, but that is "collecting".

As nefarious as I think dealers are, in this case it's probably a nothing burger.

Actually Lang does buy items from Posner. Scott Trepel even joked about it at this week's Siegel auction. There was another thread on SCF recently about a multiple (534B if I recall correctly) that was listed by both Posner and Lang because Posner had forgotten to remove it after transfer. Lang's price was double Posner's.

Good afternoon Gentlemen,

I am officially now registered on the Stamp Community Forum...

I welcome and am open to any and all critiques and comments regarding my ebay and Hipstamp store listings on line...

I apologize to any members who may have been offended by my comment regarding philatelic chat boards in general. The comments were based on past experiences on Lloyd's chat board that was dominated by the late Bill Weiss and still active Ken Lawrence, and a few others.

I am definitely interested in engaging in dialog that is mutually productive, positive, respectful, and cerebral... In that spirit I will do my best to answer inquiries regarding my listings while also offering and sharing my 48 years of philatelic experience upon request....

It has taken 22 years to build the 81000+ listings in the stores.. Statistically, it is a certainty that some of the listings will have errors in the descriptions, omissions intended and unintended, and pricing... Please contact me when you notice item(s) that require editing so that I can maintain as clean a store as possible.

There are times that I do not agree with a certificate opinion. I will mention if the stamp had a new opinion that I disagree with in my listings going forward to be as transparent as I can.

I hope that this post will open the door for a productive exchange of information that will result in making the on line experience more efficient for all of us...

Respectfully,

Bill Langs

Welcome Bill. Perhaps you could answer the question that I just posted as another topic?

https://goscf.com/t/69986

Welcome, Bill. I expect that a lot of SCF members will have questions for you. Glad you're hear to answer them!

Personally, I always liked dealing with Bill and was surprised by the recent criticisms. While he may be trying to save his business, we should give him the benefit of doubt and let him present his side(s) of the story.

Jack Kelley

The title of this thread should be changed....
The original poster "DID NOT SEE Bill" throw away a cert....
He viewed 2 listings and the cert was not shown in both.
A phone call/email/text to Bill should have been done before
accusing "any seller" of that.
My opinion....

Bill,
Welcome, it will be helpful to have your perspective represented in the community. We have a lot of collectors and collectors-turned-part-time-dealers represented but having someone like yourself, who has seen an incredible amount of material pass across your desk over the years and is a full time dealer, helps everyone better understand philately and the marketplace.

Kevin,
I agree that the thread title could be improved, especially now that Bill has offered clarity. I stand ready to modify the title if the original poster requests the change.
Don

Nice to see you here, Bill. As a collector who has bought a few relatively higher end stamps from you (my idea of relatively higher end at this juncture is $300-1200 for what that is worth) I think it will be helpful to all of us to be able to put a name with a face, albeit electronically.

I will only speak for myself, but as a collector where the above values/sale prices are going to increase in some of the stamps I purchase in the future; I think it will be mutually beneficial to myself for issues like this to out in the open, and to have you and/or other well-known sellers to be able to have your side of the story told.

I know these forums are not for selling stamps directly; but think it will benefit everyone with dealers like yourself here.

~Andy

Sheetguy2 - On Gary Posner's original listing, it did show and come with the cert ...

I think the thread introduces an interesting topic about retaining certs with stamps. Obviously tossing away a cert is nothing new, it happens all the time even with fresh certs.

But this forum has had plenty of examples of incorrect certs; and we are well aware how the expansion of the knowledge base and technology can make older certs obsolete over time. Removing incorrect or outdated certs helps drive procurement of new, more accurate certs. But on the other hand, tossing old certs represents a potential loss of provenance and may result in the appearance of something shady going on. In my opinion this topic has valid pros and cons. Thoughts?
Don