Sick And Tired Of Auction House Games....

I recently bought a US RW5 from an auction house that described the stamp thusly:

"Hunting Permit, 1938, $1 Pintail Drakes (Scott RW5), o.g., never hinged, fresh and attractive, Very Fine, with 2017 P.F. certificate.
Scott $375."

My email to the auction house that immediately followed my opening the package when the stamp arrived yesterday, which is self-explanatory:

"This stamp was received today and it needs to be returned as completely mis-described:
1) There is an undisclosed gum bend/crease that affects both the front and the back of the stamp. As this is not visible in the auction image where only the front was scanned, this should have been disclosed in the description.
2) Even more egregious, the PF certificate has been altered. This stamp was certified as a "Top margin single" although there was no mention of this in the description, nor was the Cert pictured. All that was pictured was the stamp sans selvedge. The selvedge has been removed from the stamp and was enclosed separately with the stamp received. The phrase "selvedge removed" written on the Cert in pencil alters the certificate making it pretty much useless as it no longer matches the stamp. This goes beyond a being a simple oversight...I'm not happy!
Please advise on the procedure for returns, and if I will be getting a refund on my return postage costs as well (which I would expect)."

Aside from the disappointment of not filling the last space in my Duck Stamp collection, I now have to go thru all the annoyance and wasted time of returning this stamp via Certified Mail. I don't get why supposedly reputable auction houses pull this kind of BS. I'm sure the stamp will be re-offered until some sucker just keeps it.

Should this be reported to the APS or the ASDA, or should I just let it go? Clearly, this was no "oversight," but more along the lines of fraud, imo.

Please share the name of the auction house. There is no honor in protecting their identity. If you prefer to wait until you have your refund, I understand.

You have my condolences.

That's too bad. No evidence of the bend from the picture on the listing; it looks nice, but you can do better on centering and the bottom perfs, anyway, so you're better off. (Does that help?)

I would definitely follow up with the house, request a refund and then, depending on their response, report the situation to the APS and ASDA. They obviously should have provided full disclosure. Since I have been considering using this house to dispose of my U.S. collection, I would definitely be interested in how they respond to your situation.

I have purchased quite a bit of material from this auction house and my experience is that almost all of it has been OK. There have been two significant exceptions - a stamp sold as unused which recently came back from the PF as used, regummed over thins and a crease, and another which had a side reperforated. The sale was a while ago so I don't fall under their usual rules for timing of returns. Fortunately I didn't pay a lot for these as apparently others more perceptive than I refrained from bidding so I'm content with keeping these for learning experience. Particularly on the issue of immediately requesting extensions for expertizing.

The auction house did blow it in terms of describing my items accurately but in a charitable moment I can perhaps understand why; in their process to pull together thousands of items for an auction, they might not catch everything without the resources and expertise of an expertizing outfit. Maybe I'm being too lenient but stuff happens; just need to protect your self. The "unused" stamp which turned out to be used looks like a pretty good deception. They have a 95+% success rate with me so be it.

The difference here I think is that the action by the house on your item appears to be more deliberate than just an oversight, so I would definitely follow up.

Sorry to hear of your experience and good luck.

I am puzzled. Why is this an issue worthy of posting before the auction firm even has a chance to respond?

Venting is therapeutic.

I also had a similar experience with Kelleher recently. In their defense the issue was quickly resolved and I received a full refund. It is a pain in the butt though. In the same time period I had more serious issues with Spink and Schuyler Rumsey. Schuyler Rumsey has had the stamp back for quite a while and I have yet to receive my refund. I gave up on Spink and will never deal with them again.

The auction house did respond quickly with a "We're sorry you're not happy with your purchase" and will provide a full refund (including return costs). No mention was made of their "error."

John Becker: This was worth posting about since this was an obvious attempt at pulling a fast one, not a simple error which could be easily excused since we all make them.

Edited to add: I've been dealing with this firm since back in the Nutmeg days, and have let a few small issues slide over the years (all on covers; this was the first stamp purchased from them). I intend to continue using them (assuming I'm not blocked as a result of this), but will probably stick to postal history when I do.

docgfd, your original post did not mention anything about receiving their response - just saying.

John Becker - At the time of my 1st post, I was awaiting a response.

is not the term I would use! It is too kind!