Dishonest dealers!

Wayne Kiser · January 2023

I have read several times about dishonest sellers - do they ever contact the author and try to defend their actions, selling methods, stamp authenticity, etc.? I don’t believe I’ve read of anyone responding to defend his/her store!

Scott Payton · January 2023

If contacted directly about items, some will respond, and some will give any number of reasons for their material. There are clearly sellers to avoid. (There is a difference between a "seller" and a "dealer". ) Not that all sellers should be avoided, there are some that are good, but it's less likely that you have problems with credible dealers (those who belong to dealer or collector associations are more likely to be credible dealers. IPDA, ASDA, APS to name a few, or if you're in another country JPS (Japan), CNEP (France), etc. country dealers association.
Another thing to watch for are stamps that are accompanied by certs. Generally speaking, if you're not reasonably skilled in the nuance of stamp ID, or condition, if a stamp has any likelihood of having been faked or forged, if it has a value over $100, I'd suggest getting those that are accompanied by a cert from a credible source (APEX, PF, PSE, PSAG, Weiss (that's us), or Crowe. One thing about certs, DON'T accept a cert from a foreign body for a stamp that is not from their country (i.e. don't accept a Swiss cert on a Mexican stamp, or a French cert on a US stamp, etc.) I've rarely encountered one that was correct. So be sensible when buying high value stamps that have high probability of not being authentic.

Phil Merrill_ · January 2023

Wayne, I have had sellers respond to me directly, but only after I had sent messages to them. It seems that very few HS users even know about this forum board, which is a shame. If more folks read it and learned from it, perhaps we could more easily root out the bad guys, or even make bad guys into good guys.

Jacques Famery · January 2023

Hum! I've have been a seller / dealer since 1976, I've sold stamps with the old Approval system by mail, I took a 5 year break and when I came back from my trip I discovered the use of internet to sell stamps. So I started with EBay, then Bidstart, then Delcampe to finally join HipStamp when it started. But I never joined a stamp dealer association...so I guess it makes me an unlikely credible dealer?

https://www.hipstamp.com/store/directmaildiscount

Rene Bravo · January 2023

I'm working on trying not to be a "Stamp justice warrior", BUT it really chafes me to see the crap listed that is SO wrong. I've messaged and gotten back a few messages ( some pretty vile), but most just ignore the gadflies ( us). I have stopped buying from some forever. But the sellers market reflects the world. Scott's correct on Certs also. My earliest purchases were naively conducted. But caveat emptor, live and learn .

Henry Brooks · January 2023

Same here Jaques - started very part time in 1985 with ads in the back of Linn’s, A mailing list, a monthly auction, and local shows. In ’87 we started doing some 3 day shows. On and off from there through Ebay, Stampwants, Bidstart, Gibbons and finally Hipstamp, I have been a non-dealer member of APS since 1985.

We joined IPDA a few years back. The business was in my wife’s name - she had long term dementia and she was proud that she could own her own business. Unfortunately her dementia was progressing rapidly and we did not renew our membership as life was becoming a bit complicated. Anyone who has been a 24/7/365 caregiver can relate I am sure.

She passed away last year and since then I have been adding items piecemeal as time permits to the store from many bankers boxes , some unopened since the late 80’s (and buying new material - it is apparently a disease), I have other interests and have been trying to figure out whether to continue with stamps as my main interest, parcel them out in larger lots, or just call up one of the few remaining dealers I know well to take it all and concentrate on something else. Time and circumstance will tell but I just don’t feel the need to buy credibility - my steady customers (retail and dealer) network know me well

Wayne Kiser · January 2023

I was curious if any of the following legal major statutory provisions as they apply to dealers/buyers/sellers or owning, trading, etc. stamps has every been introduced on HS: Title 18, United States Code, Sections: 8, 15, 471, 472, 478, 480, 501, 502 (cited Codes from Linn’s World Stamp Almanac). The Codes are very specific and consequences can be quite serious if applicable to the individual or individuals who violates said Codes.

Roger Misner · January 2023

I collect U.S. envelopes and cut squares and regularly come across items that are misidentified. When I see these items and know for sure that they have the wrong Scott number listed,I will send them a message. Most of the time I get a positive return message from them acknowledging their mistake. I think any honest seller would be open to this type of communication. If I get no response after a couple messages,I make a note to not do business with them.

john o'neil · January 2023

Just last week I saw a Canada stamp described as a coil stamp, when it was not. I looked the seller's other wares and not many stamps. I sent him an email and he responded with his thanks.

John Eckhardt · January 2023

I'm glad that other "sellers" like myself, have spoken up and defended their credibility. Personally I'm offended by the inference that there are only "some sellers that are good" and that one should primarily deal with "credible dealers" which are defined as being a member of a dealers association. HS would not exist if it only relied on sellers that are members of an association. The vast majority of offerings presented on HS wouldn't exist if it only relied on dealers. Generally they don't offer inexpensive stamps which are collected by the vast majority of collectors because it is not worth their time to list stamps valued under $5.00.

I believe the vast majority of "sellers" are honest and trustworthy. Granted a few are not and I'm all for getting them "kicked" off this site. However, to infer the majority of sellers are not, is simply not true. Also suggesting that stamps valued over $100 should only be purchased with a certificate is nonsense. If that were the case, then many "dealers" are apparently wasting their time because the vast majority of their listings in this price range don't include a certificate.

Shawn Balmos · January 2023

Hello and good morning! I am a collector turned seller with a goal to become a reputable dealer ! Setting up my store and validating the stamps I’ve listed is mission critical! ! I purchased the tools I needed (specialized perf gauge ,a Scott catalog . Plus I downloaded the W/F IID tool! And any other reputable and or industry accepted reference materials! I ask lots of questions and learn from other experienced professionals/dealers! I agree that it is important to join the APS etc…. However I am cash poor and the extra expense not to mention the cost of doing business (listing fees, PayPal fees, shipping supplies, labor and administration and miscellaneous fees). All this ads up to a learning curve that may deter others from moving forward or taking the easy way out and just be a seller with lack of integrity or business acumen! I will say there are lots of small land mines out there and it’s easy to get frustrated and just sell without caring! (Not me ). I agree with Scott however I think new dealers or collectors/ sellers need guidance and or better way to validate listing accuracy not to mention pricing ,condition/certs and catalog #s ! Being a new dealer and reading the warnings about am dishonest sellers may deter buyers from purchasing from someone like me! We all had to start somewhere! Just like any good business it’s the owners job to represent themselves and there products with integrity, value! and maintain standards that meet and or exceed the customer’s expectations! The most important thing is to always do what you say your going todo and when the customer is wrong there always right in there mind ! Don’t lose customers over 1.00 or something small! Take the hit and move forward! Your business will grow from it and the cost is minimal! 95% of small businesses fail in the first year! It’s usually the business owners fault! I pride myself in listing with integrity, however I am human and I will make a mistake! If you see something on my site that is wrong or misleading I’ll take the feedback! This forum is critical of your new ! Rennet if you ask for feedback take it as a gift try not to take is Personal it’s not it’s good business

Scott Payton · January 2023

Shawn are you aware the IPDA (Internet Philatelic Dealers Association) is very low cost ($25 a year), and has lots of great members in it that are ridiculously helpful? (Many who are also members of this site, self included). Greg Doll and I are working on a guide to being a Philatelic Dealer in a digital environment. Coming soon, we've started on it, and are both working on the content in between "life". So stay tuned.
But in the meantime, your comments as a new dealer will hopefully encourage other new dealers to give it a try.

Wayne Kiser · January 2023

Shawn what a great attitude toward developing your store - wish you great success. Yes, sometimes mistakes happen on both sides of the line but I still feel that if there were some kind of conditions, rules posted more aggressively (e.g. legal, swifter action, etc.) when signing up on HS maybe this might detour individuals who aren’t making mistakes but purposely working on deceiving the buyer. Individuals who sell or buy from HS are trusting HS to be able to make their transactions safe and prosperous and hopefully keep scrupulous person(s) from damaging an honest person(s) business. Curious! What are the conditions if you are damaged in a transaction - does HS help you recoup your loss?

John Eckhardt · January 2023

Typically HS wouldn't need to step in because your purchases are protected by PayPal who would refund your money. However, if HS is notified of the problem, I'm sure they monitor it and react if a particular seller continues to receive a large number of complaints.

Shawn Balmos · January 2023

Thank youn Wayne I’m working on it one stamp at a time!

Scott Payton · January 2023

Hi Shawn some feedback about your store.
You're on the right track, but a few small details will make it stand out.
I noticed that some of your listings are not centered or trimmed very well. They will present better if you do that. Also, I suggest use a black background in most cases to present your stamps. The back of a dealer card or an old album sheet that is solid black are good candidates.
Your small collections are a bit overlapping, you could probably arrange them a little better. You have some photos that are also upside down.
Also when you list covers your first photo should be of the full cover and not just a closeup of the stamp. (That should be your second photo). You can save time by just doing 3 shots of a cover: Front, Back and closeup of the stamp, Extra photos of parts of the cover are not really so useful.
It would look much better if you make these adjustments.

Dishonest dealers!

Comments