New Format When Listing Stamps

Richard Pauls

After not listing any stamps for a couple weeks, I just went in to start listing those that will appear for sale on March 1 (I only have new items show up in my store once every two months). After listing thousands of stamps over the past 15 months, I was surprised to note a few changes to the online submission form for new store sales. One addition was for marking whether or not the item has a certificate (good idea) while the other was for the centering of the stamp (horrible idea). This category is just way too subjective. I have never mentioned centering in my descriptions other than to identify a stamp having "poor centering" when the margins are sufficient for the perforation holes to be well away from the stamp design but yet they are very close or even cutting into the design. The form does give me the option of leaving this field "not specified"; I will use that as my standard when filling out this new version of the submission form.

Ted Tyszka

I'm wondering who will be the first to describe the centering as "Captain America."

item_specifics_08_centering string No superb, xf-superb, xf, vf-xf, vf, f-vf, fine, vg-below, not-specified
Centering
Applicable in the following categories, and their sub-categories:
Africa; Asia; Australia & Oceania; British Commonwealth; Canada; Caribbean; Europe; Great Britain; Central & South America; Middle East; Worldwide; United States; Topicals

Values must be from the "Allowed Values" column, or they will be ignored. Note that if a value is displayed to the left as captain-america, it is also acceptable to enter the value as "Captain America" in your file.

Michael Generali

From my experiences, sellers tend to inflate the conditions of their items (I'm talking about anything, not just stamps). They often justify high prices with the use of such terms as "vintage", "antique", "rare", "stupendous", "crisp", "post office fresh", and many others. Many times, defects are not described. The condition of an item is best left to the eyes of the buyer, while unseen defects must be described by the seller.

Rod Tilyard

Surely you mean just 'some' sellers Michael. All my descriptions are accurate, condition is accurately described and prices are reasonable. I'm sure there are many sellers here likewise, especially all those members, like yourself, of the Internet Philatelic Dealers Association (IPDA).

Michael Generali

Rod, yes, "some" sellers is correct, and I inadvertently left it out of my statement. I apologize to the sellers who do the right thing who may have taken exception to that omission..

Rod Tilyard

I knew it had to be a slip, but a great opportunity to mention the IPDA.