Is it ok to challenge the establishment?
I've been looking at this item day after day now for more than a week, and every time I look at it, I get just a little more annoyed... the item I'm talking about is the Zeppelin giveaway. Now, I know most will be thinking "Why are you complaining about a giveaway, especially Zeppelins!?" Well, it's not the Zeppelins that bother me rather the Inflated Allure attributed to them. This giveaway describes the group as "XF-SUP" which means a minimum grade of 95. Not sure what the level of experience in grading among the readership is, but XF-Sup 95 is a VERY strong grade, and requires an extremely high degree of centering accuracy. I made a comparison of what an XF-SUP (from actual graded, certed stamps from the PF (Philatelic Foundation) is.
Now this particularly chafes my britches because... this giveaway is from the site owners. I'm not asking them to be held to a higher standard, I'm seeking that they be held to the same standard as their own policy states. I'm suggesting that, shouldn't there be a "lead by example" approach here? How can we be critical of any other seller, and expect them to be trustworthy when the owners themselves are not?
I know this is a strong allegation, and I know I could come under considerable criticism for making such a comment. But, are we here to just "sell pieces of paper to whoever will buy it at the highest price that we can milk them for" or, are we here to be philatelic leaders, worth of the buying communities trust, even when giving things away? Sure the market drives the value of the stamp. No problem there, but it is PARAMOUNT for sellers to accurately describe the material they are selling (or giving away... the bar is NOT lower).
Hey, hold me to it. I'm not perfect, neither are my staff, we sometimes make mistakes, but we always correct them.
[Paid for by the people for the Ethical treatment of tiny bits of paper].
Quiz: Which one of these groups is XF-SUP?
Now this particularly chafes my britches because... this giveaway is from the site owners. I'm not asking them to be held to a higher standard, I'm seeking that they be held to the same standard as their own policy states. I'm suggesting that, shouldn't there be a "lead by example" approach here? How can we be critical of any other seller, and expect them to be trustworthy when the owners themselves are not?
I know this is a strong allegation, and I know I could come under considerable criticism for making such a comment. But, are we here to just "sell pieces of paper to whoever will buy it at the highest price that we can milk them for" or, are we here to be philatelic leaders, worth of the buying communities trust, even when giving things away? Sure the market drives the value of the stamp. No problem there, but it is PARAMOUNT for sellers to accurately describe the material they are selling (or giving away... the bar is NOT lower).
Hey, hold me to it. I'm not perfect, neither are my staff, we sometimes make mistakes, but we always correct them.
[Paid for by the people for the Ethical treatment of tiny bits of paper].
Quiz: Which one of these groups is XF-SUP?
Comments
(For those who may be wondering, the official grade on the C15 cannot exceed VG, as by definition, if you need magnification to see if the perf is touching the design or not, then it is VG.) Then there's the matter of any other faults (whether visible or not) that may further reduce the grade.
It does seem that they are working through some issues and at least trying. Better than not trying I suppose.
I've seen plenty of ugly Zepps. I'm not judge and jury, but I'm happy that I've influenced the outcome. It's better for everyone. Language matters. The words we use, matter.
And they aren't "My rules" either. They are specified in the rules of the site.
If you want a site where they don't care about the rules, go look at eBay and see how they have decimated this industry.
If you want to see what real value is derived from "following the rules", go to Siegel. They won't even take 90% of the material here, as it doesn't meet there standards. eBay = Food Court. Siegel = 3 Michelin stars. I'd like to at least eat where there's table service... and where I order a cup of coffee I don't have to add the words "Can I have it in a clean cup please"?
Unfortunately it is easier to sell on eBay than it is here since it is a pain to list an item ( the new listing form is a piece of junk ) but I get by.
To be honest, we have seen "fewer" sales, but our monthly amounts haven't gone down. We have found there is a better quality of buyer here, or material gets a more fair price than eBay, who continue to just damage this industry more and more with the total junk they allow. They demolished their fraud program a few years ago, which I was an active member of, and the slide started from there. Since then it's gone virtually unchecked. That was bad enough, but then the material quality began to diminish, too many people ripping everyone off created an environment where buyers where afraid to take on more and more risk, it is toxic.
I have to say, I am rather certain it was this posting that resulted in the update to the listing giveaway description change, and I applaud them for it. This site is the closest to a fair market as I've seen anywhere. It has weeded out many of the bottom feeders we saw at eBay (you know the type that send offers for 10% of the value of items, and then get pissy with you when you don't accept it). This "challenge" demonstrated to me, that they take it seriously, and that is to be lauded.
I was also with Paypal when they started.. they were offering $5 to refer a friend..LOL . I see they are doing the same thing now or were a couple months ago. They have really went through some changes also.
It was their new "Managed Payments" policy that resulted in us leaving... Don't need their hand in my pocket any deeper than they already were. I think that the kind of material you deal in, eBay is probably still the best site for you, so I get that. Our "Weird Stuff" hasn't really moved at all here, but was selling regularly on eBay. But it's something I can forego, we don't "seek it out", it mainly shows up in the odd collections we get. But for the core US, we're getting better prices realized for our material here than we were on eBay, that's reason enough for me to stay here and be happy. This site has some growing pains for sure, but on the whole, I don't see ever going back to eBay. At least not as long as they continue to support garbage listings. That really damages the industry.
Amen!
This is why the forums need a moderator...
I agree.