1 out 5 ain't good.... is it...
I argued with myself whether to spend the time composing this. Then thought it might be useful to sellers and collectors. Hopefully there are plenty of you reading the Forum.
I had the pleasure of getting 5 Hipstamp orders in the mail this morning. Been adding a few stamps to my aviation collection as I write about aircraft on stamps and sometimes I see a gap to fill.
Anyway, it is always enjoyable opening the orders. Well usually.
Of the 5, 4 were not as described in the listings;
1 order of 1 stamp, the stamp was described as MNH - it had a very clear hinge trace.
1 order of 5 stamps 4 MNH were ok, the fifth had a crease across the reverse.
In another order of 4 stamps, 3 stamps were ok one had a very light bend showing on the reverse. Sadly I overpaid given that.
And one order of 2 stamps, described as Mint Hinged - with no reverse image I might add - had very heavy and large hinge traces – just guessing, perhaps I now know why the reverse image was not shown - would have put me, or probably others, off buying.
That is 4, I said 5 didn’t I. Yes the last one was a group of stamps, each in a 102 card, nicely packed and presented and all as described. Oh, and yes, from an IPDA dealer. (Internet Philatelic Dealers Association accredited member)
I know I am taking a chance on quality when buying from casual sellers, who, let’s be honest, often do not know a lot about philately – that is ok of course everyone has to learn and grow with their hobby business - but surely a complete and accurate description and with reverse image would help them get sales, and then repeat sales. 4 sellers wont be getting me back in their stores.
But, the IPDA dealer will get me buying from them if they have what I am looking for.
Sellers, improve your game. Collectors look for IPDA dealers if at all possible or look carefully at the descriptions and images presented with a listing.
I had the pleasure of getting 5 Hipstamp orders in the mail this morning. Been adding a few stamps to my aviation collection as I write about aircraft on stamps and sometimes I see a gap to fill.
Anyway, it is always enjoyable opening the orders. Well usually.
Of the 5, 4 were not as described in the listings;
1 order of 1 stamp, the stamp was described as MNH - it had a very clear hinge trace.
1 order of 5 stamps 4 MNH were ok, the fifth had a crease across the reverse.
In another order of 4 stamps, 3 stamps were ok one had a very light bend showing on the reverse. Sadly I overpaid given that.
And one order of 2 stamps, described as Mint Hinged - with no reverse image I might add - had very heavy and large hinge traces – just guessing, perhaps I now know why the reverse image was not shown - would have put me, or probably others, off buying.
That is 4, I said 5 didn’t I. Yes the last one was a group of stamps, each in a 102 card, nicely packed and presented and all as described. Oh, and yes, from an IPDA dealer. (Internet Philatelic Dealers Association accredited member)
I know I am taking a chance on quality when buying from casual sellers, who, let’s be honest, often do not know a lot about philately – that is ok of course everyone has to learn and grow with their hobby business - but surely a complete and accurate description and with reverse image would help them get sales, and then repeat sales. 4 sellers wont be getting me back in their stores.
But, the IPDA dealer will get me buying from them if they have what I am looking for.
Sellers, improve your game. Collectors look for IPDA dealers if at all possible or look carefully at the descriptions and images presented with a listing.
Comments
While I'm sympathetic to your experience, I can't overlook "I know I am taking a chance on quality when buying from casual sellers". But my question to you is, have you ever "won" because of the same issue? (I know I have, regardless of intent). Part of the "risk" of buying (especially as you say, from casual sellers), is they have no idea how to ID in many cases, and certainly not assess condition correctly. If I stack the "Well that sucked" versus the "Oh wow, look at that" scale, I know overall, I'm still winning.
Just to be clear, I don't buy "individual stamps" as a seller or collector. I evaluate "unseen" (i.e. not in person) photos of collections at the lowest probably value, and that way, when it turns up, I'm never letdown. Seller is happy, so that is important, and I get the value I'm looking for. (I've never lost money on a collection). That's not bad, that's smart.
I don't rip off sellers. I've been to MANY shows (and found many listings) where I've advised the seller that they have a mis-ID (in their favor) and how it may be adjusted. But for collections... that's a different matter, and a different dynamic. So strategy shift?
And just to be clear... this IS the secret to an amazing collection. I have a massive US collection (and a few other obscurities). I won't mention it's actual value, but I will tell you this. I have paid exactly $0 for it. Why? Because I don't by "an item". I buy a collection that has material in it that I want, I remove that material to the extent that it won't prevent me from being profitable from breaking it up. This is where the hard part, and the real discipline is... sometimes you have to let material go that you want. So figure out your margin, figure out how much you can remove from that, price your material RIGHT, and then recover the cost + (so you can buy the next collection) and bank the material that is important to you from that collection.
I once bought a collection with a 5A in it. I really really wanted that 5A because it's the only collection I've ever seen with a 5A in it. BUT... I sold it. Why? Because that 1 stamp paid for the ENTIRE COLLECTION. Everything else I wanted to keep from it (and there was a lot) I did. But selling that covered my cost, I got material I wanted, and I still made about 30% margin off the whole deal.
So if you're not on that scale of probability where you're winning more than losing, then maybe you can adjust your strategy and shift that dynamic. It's all about discipline.