Australian Duck Stamps Offered on EBay as Postage!

[fromdownunder]

Australian Duck Stamps Offered on EBay as Postage!

..and because of the ebay.au policy, nobody can contact the two idiots bidding on this lot that what the seller is claiming is totally, incredibly illegal - and I might add, what the seller in doing, has the potential to land him in Prison.

Mod - Dead link deleted

Add to your collection or use for your postage.

The Stamps were 100% Official issues by the Federal Government.

Norm

[Slayer]

Hi Norm

For us Poms who have no idea why these are illegal- what's the score? Are they illegal as resale or illegal as postage stamps?

[GlenStephens]

Norm .. lots of dealers have and sell these and have been for years. A large lot came on the market a few years back from an investor or agent etc,

Kevin Morgan gave away CTO blocks of this same issue in a recent "Stamp News" magazine mail-out. 8)

I have sold lots of these over the years to bird/duck collectors and still get good orders - at about 10% face as a collectible in bulk lots:

I sell a LOT to the USA where duck stamps of any kind are super popular. The Sam Houston Duck Company bought a large lot off me, who are the USA's largest Duck Stamp dealers.

The high bidder could get the same single sheet off me for $75, that is bid right now up to $127.50! That's ebay for you. 8)

They were of course issued by the Australian Federal Govt as this seller says. Just not issued by the PO -

They were approved and sold at face value by the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, which changed its name in 1993 to the Australian Nature Conservation Agency. Both governed by the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1975. Monies from their sale went to Federal Government consolidated revenue.

It looks like seller had one sheet of mint, and sheet of Specimen o/p, and that is it. All other ebay sales from this seller are kids toys, action man figures, Ninja Turtles and old TV sets etc it looked like to me - no stamps.

I doubt anyone, anywhere could get these used on mail today, as there would be no helecon etc in them to activate cancel machines, and they do not ever look like regular postage stamps. They say right on them they are from a Conservation Agency.

They are like a revenue stamp basically. The seller is foolhardy saying they can be used for postage, but just may not realise.

The PO itself is issuing round stamps, plastic hologram stamps, Gold stamps, Silver stamps, imperf stamps ......

[erich]

I don't think there is any country where Duck Stamps are valid as postage.

[ozstamps]

Erich - the way the USA Duck panes have gone in recent years who would even THINK of it when you buy for $15 and someone offers you $150 same day!

I saw Michael Eastick in Washington DC in 2006 hand over 10 he'd just paid $150 or whatever for to the PO, to Dana Okey or someone for about $1,500!

Okey was walking the room and buying whatever folks wanted to sell. This was 1st day of issue. Amazing to see.

I can' think I have ever seen NH Federal USA Ducks trade under face from ANY era now I come to think on it. The earlies are $100s apiece, and even the 70s and 80s trade well above face IIRC?

The 2005 x $15 pane (cost $20 from PO) got as high as $A2,500 on ebay at the time as I reported widely:

[ozstamps]

Norm .. the odd thing is that these may well have originally been sold by AP Philatelic at face.

I do know that the guy mostly involved with these - Jim Jude (now deceased) who was a Sydney dealer, DID get AP to offer some of his lines via the Stamp Bulletin for sale.

Jim was a very good marketer in the Kevin Duffy style.

I do recall around that time of the middle 90s Jim was behind a series of Australian Flying Doctor Fund Stamps, or something like that. You see these a lot come up in auction or dealer stock.

They also looked a lot like regular stamps. Those were certainly sold via the Bulletin to collectors at face value, and AP I imagine took at flat % cut from sales, as is normal in such deals.

Jim was behind the Kakadu Duck thing and flew often to the USA to consult with Same Houston etc.

Often collectors who buy one of everything from the Bulletin die, and another family member inherits the stamps, and simply assumes they are all good for postage if the word Australia is on there somewhere.

[PeterS]

I have sent this guy a message suggesting he amend his description. See what happens