Advise For Those Selling Stamps On Online Auctions
Jul 10, 2020 18:02:28 GMT -5
Philatarium, theindestore, and 4 more like this
Post by coastwatcher on Jul 10, 2020 18:02:28 GMT -5
I’ve been thinking about starting this thread for some time, but the events of the last two weeks have prompted me to go ahead. I have had several bad experiences with several sellers lately and thought that I would post this list of, what I consider to be, good and bad practices for a seller. Selling stamps is like any other business, you must make sure that your customers are happy in order to be successful.
Since I became disabled and can no longer do many of the things that I used to, my stamp collection has become a surrogate for a full time job and I have bought thousands and thousands of lots on eBay, HipStamp, delcampe and StampoRama. As an example, I won my first lot on StampoRama on June 18 of last year and have won over 6,000 lots since then. As a result, I have dealt with just about every type of dealer and situation that you can imagine.These are my thoughts on what a seller can do to make their customers happy and keep them coming back. Some of the things I have listed may not matter as much to some and others may wish to add things that I haven’t but, overall, I think that most buyers can identify with this list.
1) Don’t overdo it with the tape! I realize the need to secure the contents of an envelope/package, but some sellers use so much tape that it would take a nuclear explosion to get inside the package. Just yesterday, I received some stamps that were loose in a corner cut from a heavy Priority Mail envelope and wrapped in so much tape that I damaged 2 of them trying to get it open. Use enough tape to make things secure, but no more.
One thing that a seller might want to consider doing is folding over one end of the tape so as to create a small flap to grasp and make removing the tape easier. Another is to use blue painters tape. It holds well enough to secure the contents, but is easily removed.
2) If you have a printer, include an invoice. I sometimes receive stamps in an envelope and nothing else. As most people use their real names, not their online seller names, on the return address, I sometimes have trouble identifying exactly where the stamps
came from and have to go through all my purchases on several different sites to find out. If nothing else, include a note with your username on it and the invoice number.
3) Don’t use red or blue envelopes that will discolor stamps when soaked.
4) Use commemoratives as postage! If you don’t have a stash of older stamps to use as postage and have to rely on Forever stamps, buy commemoratives instead of definitives. They cost exactly the same and will make your customers happier. Whatever you do, don’t use those labels they print at the post office counter! Even definitives are preferential to these, although kacyds may make an exception for the Liberty Bell Forever stamps!
5) Use enough postage! I have rarely run across this problem but, today, I received a letter with 30 cents postage due. I paid the seller $2 to cover postage and the envelope had a single Forever definitive on it. I’m very unlikely to ever buy anything from him again. It might not be so bad if the USPS still used postage due stamps, though.
6) Don’t use Priority Mail envelopes as stiffeners. Not only is this illegal and could result in a fine for you, but it contributes to the deficit being run by the USPS. Start saving your cereal boxes, soda/beer cartons and anything else that might end up in a landfill that will serve the purpose.
7) Describe your stamps accurately and be honest about any faults. I realize that stamp grading is subjective, but don’t describe a stamp with missing perfs as VF.
8) Make sure that the items are in the envelope when you mail it. I once received a completely empty envelope from a seller and, after contacting him, he looked around and found my stamps laying on his desk. As this is more of a slip than an intentional act, I don’t really fault the seller.
9) Ship the stamps in a timely fashion. I realize that most sellers are average people who have full time jobs and family obligations and can’t get to the post office or get stamps packaged for shipment as often as they’d like, but try to get the stamps shipped within at least 8-10 days. I’ve had sellers take as long as a month before even shipping them and I’ve had a few that just plain forgot. As I’m at the age where memory lapses are becoming more common, I can forgive the latter.
10) Try to be as accurate as possible with stamp identifications. Some stamps are extremely hard to identify properly and a mistake here can be understood. What I can’t tolerate, though, is when a sheet stamp is identified as a coil or booklet stamp.
11) Keep track of your inventory. I can see misplacing a stamp or two now and again, but I once placed an order on HipStamp for 12 stamps and the seller couldn’t find 7 of them. This is totally unacceptable to me.
Well, that’s it for my list. Can you think of anything that I missed that should be included or something on the list that should be deleted?
Since I became disabled and can no longer do many of the things that I used to, my stamp collection has become a surrogate for a full time job and I have bought thousands and thousands of lots on eBay, HipStamp, delcampe and StampoRama. As an example, I won my first lot on StampoRama on June 18 of last year and have won over 6,000 lots since then. As a result, I have dealt with just about every type of dealer and situation that you can imagine.These are my thoughts on what a seller can do to make their customers happy and keep them coming back. Some of the things I have listed may not matter as much to some and others may wish to add things that I haven’t but, overall, I think that most buyers can identify with this list.
1) Don’t overdo it with the tape! I realize the need to secure the contents of an envelope/package, but some sellers use so much tape that it would take a nuclear explosion to get inside the package. Just yesterday, I received some stamps that were loose in a corner cut from a heavy Priority Mail envelope and wrapped in so much tape that I damaged 2 of them trying to get it open. Use enough tape to make things secure, but no more.
One thing that a seller might want to consider doing is folding over one end of the tape so as to create a small flap to grasp and make removing the tape easier. Another is to use blue painters tape. It holds well enough to secure the contents, but is easily removed.
2) If you have a printer, include an invoice. I sometimes receive stamps in an envelope and nothing else. As most people use their real names, not their online seller names, on the return address, I sometimes have trouble identifying exactly where the stamps
came from and have to go through all my purchases on several different sites to find out. If nothing else, include a note with your username on it and the invoice number.
3) Don’t use red or blue envelopes that will discolor stamps when soaked.
4) Use commemoratives as postage! If you don’t have a stash of older stamps to use as postage and have to rely on Forever stamps, buy commemoratives instead of definitives. They cost exactly the same and will make your customers happier. Whatever you do, don’t use those labels they print at the post office counter! Even definitives are preferential to these, although kacyds may make an exception for the Liberty Bell Forever stamps!
5) Use enough postage! I have rarely run across this problem but, today, I received a letter with 30 cents postage due. I paid the seller $2 to cover postage and the envelope had a single Forever definitive on it. I’m very unlikely to ever buy anything from him again. It might not be so bad if the USPS still used postage due stamps, though.
6) Don’t use Priority Mail envelopes as stiffeners. Not only is this illegal and could result in a fine for you, but it contributes to the deficit being run by the USPS. Start saving your cereal boxes, soda/beer cartons and anything else that might end up in a landfill that will serve the purpose.
7) Describe your stamps accurately and be honest about any faults. I realize that stamp grading is subjective, but don’t describe a stamp with missing perfs as VF.
8) Make sure that the items are in the envelope when you mail it. I once received a completely empty envelope from a seller and, after contacting him, he looked around and found my stamps laying on his desk. As this is more of a slip than an intentional act, I don’t really fault the seller.
9) Ship the stamps in a timely fashion. I realize that most sellers are average people who have full time jobs and family obligations and can’t get to the post office or get stamps packaged for shipment as often as they’d like, but try to get the stamps shipped within at least 8-10 days. I’ve had sellers take as long as a month before even shipping them and I’ve had a few that just plain forgot. As I’m at the age where memory lapses are becoming more common, I can forgive the latter.
10) Try to be as accurate as possible with stamp identifications. Some stamps are extremely hard to identify properly and a mistake here can be understood. What I can’t tolerate, though, is when a sheet stamp is identified as a coil or booklet stamp.
11) Keep track of your inventory. I can see misplacing a stamp or two now and again, but I once placed an order on HipStamp for 12 stamps and the seller couldn’t find 7 of them. This is totally unacceptable to me.
Well, that’s it for my list. Can you think of anything that I missed that should be included or something on the list that should be deleted?
Stamps - the bear necessities of life.
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