Poorly Faked Scott 353

I purchased this stamp through an online auction (not ebay) as a Scott 353. I should have noticed before I bid on it but I didn't see the problem until it arrived.

I found, of course, that 353 should be a "Two Cents" variety and that there shouldn't be a vertical perf 12 coil in the "2 Cents 2" stamp. Looking more closely the perfs look funky and the crooked cut at the top suggests to me that this is a 482 that someone perfed and sold as a 353. I don't see a watermark either. I didn't pay very much for the stamp but it is a lesson I will remember -- I'll keep it as a clearly labeled curiosity if the auction house doesn't want it back. Are my conclusions correct?

Thank you, Eric

"I didn't see the problem until it arrived."

You have got to be joking.

What "auction house" sold this as a 353?

I'm not sure I should reveal that until they respond to my question about it. I really should have seen it immediately before I placed a bid.

Maybe the "auction house" should have seen it before they sold it as a 353?!

They haven't responded. Maybe I'm not big enough fish for them to worry about. It was Rosenberg Philatelics.

They are constantly running lots of 3 and 6 day auctions on HipStamp; one right after the other.

I keep noticing that many of their stamp images show yellow, tan, or gold perf tips. I can't tell if it is due to their lighting or if it is toning or foxing, neither of which I want in my collection. I won't bid on one of those, even if it looks good otherwise. Caveat emptor.

"They" (Rosenberg Philatelics) is Mark Rosenberg, and he is Founder & CEO - Hip eCommerce (HipStamp).
Don

This is no surprise. This seller constantly misidentifies the US One-Cent 1851-61 issues.

I also noticed rosenburg philatelics currently has a Canadian #16 for sale. I am not an expert but this is almost certainly #17. What does everyone else think?
https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/ca...sed/30231545

They did send an apology and offer to refund. Volume causes quality control issues.

Perhaps so. However, my messages regarding incorrect identifications go unanswered and, much worse, the lots remain up for sale unchanged.

At some point, I started getting all kinds of e-mails from Hip Stamps trying to get me to visit the site. I have visited a few times and have seen numerous 'issues' with the descriptions. It appears to me to go beyond "Volume causes quality control issues" and approaches the realm of "something is hinky here'. With all the issues that I can see in a scans, I wonder how many issues there are that I cannot see in a scan. I now 'auto-delete' their e-mails. I won't bid there.

Hi Don

If I read your comment correctly, Marc is selling his own stuff on Hip Stamp?

To me that would be an absolute red flag.

Similar to the currency dealer certifying his own notes and selling them.

Dutchman

It looks to me like Rosenberg is acting as a conduit for another large holder/dealer to offer up US material in an auction format. His feedback has gone from low to 17k in the last short while... all driven by "no reserve" auctions. Previously he showed not much inventory... now all of sudden it is gushing out.

Perhaps there is an innocent explanation. Like, I am trying to get some auction activity going to drive traffic to the fixed priced listings... That would be OK I guess. All I know is that the purveyor of the marketplace becoming the largest seller is pretty troubling.

I would love to hear what Mark has to say about this. I know that Elizabeth Warren(not like I love most of her policy rhetoric) has pointed out the antitrust activities of Amazon... doing exactly the same thing... ie being a competitor on your own platform. The imagination can certainly run wild. Especially when you consider the opaque nature of realized prices on Hipstamp... it has many advantages over ebay but sorely lacks in that area.

Bob

Whatever the backstory is the main issue here is that Mark is selling stamps that are stunningly misidentified at best. That is a very bad example to set when buyers are looking for a site that runs a tight ship and the owner of the site has listings that make NYStamps look like RAS.

I still do although I can't remember visiting their site. No big deal, I just delete them. So I guess I'm not the only one. I haven't bought a stamp from any online venue in at least a year.