Scott #1 With Added Artistry?

This has become a most interesting conversation.




I've experienced both, where the shiny object in the sand had not previously been investigated thoroughly enough.

Don, it's sad to read that your approach is based on such cynicsm. Perhaps you haven't worked with the right dealers over the years? I have the best relationships with a small number of dealers who sell the specialty items I collect. I don't have to worry about getting anything less than full disclosure about what I'm buying, and can rest assured that anything I buy that's in less than perfect condition will be at a fair price given its rarity or general availability.

Buying online is of course a different story, but I know the stamps in my collecting field well enough to not get taken.

As for staying positive, I'd say there's jusitifiable cause for concern, which is not the same as "being negative." I recently met someone who told me the most amazing stories about the kinds of condition-altering shenanigans that some auction houses used to regularly engage in, and learned of specific details regarding the tools and techniques used by "stamp doctors" to reperforate stamps back in the day. Collectors of later generations have inherited the legacy of the seedy side of the stamp-selling business because many of those stamps are still in circulation.

I've found that the best way to preclude "getting taken" is to do the due diligence. But then again, we're talking about a hobby, not signing a real estate contract. Sometimes those impulse purchases are fun!

No easy answers...

I obviously do not see things the same way as you do nor would I make assumptions about your way of thinking. And the fact that I have dedicated the last 10 years solely to helping the hobby would seem to make cynicism pretty unlikely.

I try to always keep in mind the context of THIS community. In my opinion the vast majority of people in the community are NOT like the handful of people who actively post. The majority are non-collectors, casual collectors, or other people with less than years of philatelic experience (like the OP of this this thread). I do not think that it serves the majority of our community well to paint a picture that buying philatelic material online is easy or that finding hidden uncommon material is something that they should expect. I think the hobby has other attributes that we should be promoting but that does not seem to be our focus in most of these threads.

I also think our hobby has a long history of not discussing the bad things that go on; it may be that some feel that we should bury bad news or negativity because they think philately is barely surviving. If the hobby is not in good health (and I do not agree with that), then I feel that sweeping the issues and problems under the rug could actually be making things even worse.

This hobby is not immune to greed, fraud, and deception (and has not been since it all began). These things can make it a minefield for non-collectors, casual collectors, or other people with less than years of philatelic experience. In my opinion, one of the largest and most important issues since the advent of the internet has been the proliferation of hobbyists turned sellers and the anonymous nature of online selling. A perfect storm for making the pitfalls larger and more significant than ever before. Buying philatelic material sight unseen from an unknown, largely anonymous person halfway around the planet is difficult and potentially disappointing for many of the people in this community.
Don

I do enjoy buying stamps from around the planet! Though usually from other collectors not much $ involved and the covers sent are many times nicer than the purchased item! I can be fairly certain those covers are real! The mail is very colorful sometimes and fun to get! It is somewhat disappointing that some postal administrations around the world have discouraged and even outlawed the use of colorful stamps on their post in the name of safety somehow? Poland as one!

Oh no! Not my people!!
That is very bizarre indeed... must be a reason tied specifically to their culture?




I love to hear this. For return customers, or ones I've had nice discussions with, I like to put a colorful mix of retro/classic Japanese stamps on covers sent to them. It feels good to do it for those that really appreciate it!




Clarity is incredibly important, and I would say return policies are a "must" for high-end items.
If the pictures are crystal clear but the seller doesn't mention a flaw that I don't pick up from the picture, I can rest assured that the seller probably did not see it either and return the item without doubting their character.

This world is not immune to fraud, greed deception (and hasn't been since it all began).
The word "sincere" comes from the latin "sincerus", or "Sun Test", and stems from the deceptive practices of potters.
In order for a pot to be sturdy, it needs to be kept in the kiln for at least a certain duration of time. Some potters would quicken the process to mass produce them, but these would be full of microscopic cracks that would cause it to break after a few uses. To deter this, customers would check for these cracks by holding the jar up to the sun, ultimately checking to see if the potter was "sincere".

Complaining about deception in the world is like complaining about the rain. The best thing we can do is acknowledge it while formulating plans to skirt around it.
(Of course, these plans should be relevant to our own situation)

Consider the positive effects of making a plan for ourselves (generally speaking, not only for stamps), in turn using the plan to form logical conclusions. We have less regret in failure because those failures are part of a process!

On the contrary, using someone else's plan in the exact same way expecting the exact same results is not a good idea (again, generally speaking), and can lead to accusations, doubt, and despair.




In the picture you paint, the onus should not be on people sharing positive personal experiences but on the people making inherently bad decisions when hearing them.
But if people KEEP acting in foolishness or greed, the best thing is to direct them to the BIBLE; the greatest book on psychology and self-improvement ever known.
Edit: read in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes for those two points in particular.



It's MNH o.g. Even with the perfs it will sell for $300.

I use the ebay search function with the "Sold" option clicked on. It's a lot better than fractional FMV guesswork from a CV that's usually not close to accurate in sales.