How To Ruin A $400 Set Of Stamps By Poor Packaging

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Thank you so very much for leaving ebay to the rest of us to build our collections. Several gold medal level World Series exhibits have been built almost exclusively on ebay.

Story: I visit the local farmers market and buy a sack of potatoes. When I get home, I find one to be rotten. I decide to never visit that market again despite the dozens of other vendors having the freshest corn, tomatoes, and beans in the area. I cut off my nose to spite my face. An overreaction isn't it?

I must be a bad egg too. Are you leaving here?

Hi oldboldandbrash,
You can read all 31 pages of the 'Regency saga' here https://goscf.com/t/53427
Don

Random thoughts:

That is a LOT of potatoes!

One rotten potato seems acceptable as a percentage of goods received. Now if you also ended up with a wormy corn ear, a moldy tomato and beans with fungus that may change your thinking.

It is your prerogative as a free thinking human to never visit that horrible market with the rotten potato ever again. Or you can visit it more and become a vegan. Your choice and I will not judge you whatever your decision. I love YOU, not the market with the rotten veggies.




John, my dear friend, your posts are incredibly informative and I have learned much from you over our years together. You are a GOOD egg, not a BAD egg!

Love you man!

Rogdcam,

You just don't seem to get the point, but I suspect you are not as dense as you pretend in your last post, and you need to be a better shopper for veggies, but shop where you like, and i'll take it a tongue in cheek.

I don't have problems with ebay. I shop carefully. I have returned one item in the past 2-3 years and that was a used book in poorer condition that listed. It has been an incredible source of material.

Although I would admit that shopping for postal history on ebay (or at shows or HipStamp or at dealer shops) one cannot be a condition perfectionist, nor can one shop around much for an exact comparable. They typically do not exist in the market at that exact moment if they exist at all. As an example, the late date of a postmark is often a poor strike since the device is worn or damaged. Seeking certain city cancels on Scott #1 or #2 where only onr or two copies are reported necessitates buying from any seller/venue which offers it. Yep, sometimes you deal with the devil for a unique piece.

I don't think we have to accept it, and we have the power to change, via ebay and PayPal customer service. They favor customers because their money comes from customers. Dealers with no buyers are worthless to them.
Another reason to rely on eBay/PayPal is that it's easier to be refunded by them than to go to court.
If every buyer in this forum will demand what he/she deserves, we can make a difference in the seller's attitude.

And for every bad seller that quits taking advantage of others another will take their place. There will always be deceptive listings and bad sellers; in my opinion the most feasible solution is to help buyers make the best informed decisions they can. This is why buyer education is the only weapon in the war against fraud.
Don

Like John Becker, my primary collecting interests fall into the postal history arena, and ebay is my primary shopping venue, even prior to the COVID period. I typically average 10-20 purchases a month there, love the shopping environment. Sure it could be better, but the range of offerings is fantastic.

I also look carefully at the offerings I purchase (or attempt to purchase), including the condition, dealer, and particularly the uniqueness of the item. Many of the items I eventually purchase, are items which I have never seen offered at shows or dealer bourses. As a result, probably 75% of my expenditures go to ebay dealers. Traditional auctions (Siegel, Schuyler Rumsey, etc.) and show dealers end up with the rest.

I doubt I could duplicate the scope and uniqueness of my annual ebay purchases (and thus my collections) if I attended every World Series Stamp Exhibition in a year (and probably could not afford to buy anything there if I did).

The availability of ebay has broadened my collecting horizons far beyond the scope of my collecting interests pre-eBay as well. I can collect things that were literally impossible to find if I depended on shows and local dealers. And the combination of ebay and PayPal gives me assurance that in the event of a bad deal, I have protection.

I do realize that buyers of stamps have condition issues to deal with, and for that, they have my sympathy in their shopping environment on ebay. I also admire their dedication to their field of collecting, and very glad that they collect stamps and not MY postal history.

Happy New Year, and happy collecting and hunting to all....

Mike

John - I absolutely agree with you that ebay can be a great source of material and I respect and understand your choice to utilize ebay to acquire material. That material is exactly why I returned to ebay.

You are fortunate that you have had only one negative experience in 2-3 years. I on the other hand have had a percentage of negative transactions that is unacceptable. When compared to the percentage of negative transactions I have experienced in dealing with "regular" dealers and auction houses outside of ebay the difference is undeniable.

I do not purchase without performing due diligence to the best of my ability. That has not prevented experiences such as the initial subject of this thread and scans that are doctored and material not as described and recalcitrant/obstinate sellers that hate returning funds and so on.

We have each chosen different paths based upon our views. That does not make either one of us right or wrong. I will not attack you for your decisions and I expect the same in return. Fair?

PS:
= Not cool. Not cool at all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR MIKE!!!!!

Both Mike and John are postal history guys, Rog is more of a stamp guy. Perhaps postal history and stamp listing represent different opportunities on ebay?
Don

Don wrote:



I think this is absolutely the case.

For the most part, most postage stamps can be precisely specified because of the organization of stamps within standard catalogs used by both sellers and buyers, and a standard vocabulary to describe the many conditions possible for a stamp.

When buyer and seller are using the same vocabulary, I would think that many purchases can be made successfully without in-person inspection, at least a lower price levels. Potential purchase candidates can be found with a traditional ebay search and a well defined set of search parameters.

From discussions earlier in this thread, the problem is that the many amateur sellers do not know or understand the correct terminology. This is where buyer due-diligence is essential. Caveat Emptor

On the other hand, postal history has few components which can be described in a structured manner, at least once one gets past country of origin and class of mail, and multiple collectors might be attracted to the same item for a wide range of reasons. Even on ebay, it is difficult for a seller to adequately describe an item so that all potentially interested buyers can locate an item with the traditional ebay search. But even with a limited description, using the image(s) provided, one can often locate material on ebay that might never be discovered going through a dealer's inventory at a show, regardless of how well the dealer has his material organized.

If only the amateur postal history sellers would regularly scan both the front and reverse of each cover they offer.

I often buy an item on ebay for a reason totally unrelated to the keywords in the description, because that cover has a feature the seller did not appreciate or describe. That's why postal history is so much fun

If I were a stamp collector, I think I would prefer to buy face-to-face from a dealer for the reasons outlined in this thread, and I would be terribly frustrated that opportunities to do this were so scarce. Even living close to The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, I don't think there are any brick-and-mortar stores left where I could shop.

Mike

When I discuss using ebay as a philatelic resource, my comments almost always start with "The greatest thing about ebay is that it allows any yahoo to sell things. The worst thing about ebay is that it allows any yahoo to sell things." The venue has its flaws for buyers and sellers, and it requires sorting through a lot of chaff to get at the wheat....but there is really no substitute for it for many of us.

And I'll speak from personal experience to back up John Becker's comment about gold medal exhibits being built from ebay. I built a large gold exhibit almost exclusively with ebay-sourced material.

I would point out that all of the issues that I have dealt with have nothing to do with terminology or the type of item and everything to do with hiding faults, running for the hills when there is a refund looming, poor shipping/packaging practices and non-communication.

Not once can I recall having a misidentified item delivered.

I am not trying to convince one soul that ebay is the devil. I am relaying my experience and hopefully it will help someone in some form.

The juice is no longer worth the squeeze to me but if it is for you than great. More power to you.

My parameters for a retailer of any type are that they be honest and make right on their own mistakes. Simple stuff. No?

It's hard for us to learn without the username of the seller which prompted this thread.

The original poster has the answer but does not know how to use it. Simple really!

If you are a buyer of mint stamps wanted in top condition supplied by the seller you need to talk about your specialist collector needs.

Example: Need to talk about packing and condition of gum. Simple issue really!

Just needs a bit of dialogue. The original poster does not seem to be short in that area.

Just make sure the seller does not use cling wrap plastic as it draws moisture.

Am sure the original poster could add to this.