Mad bidders on worthless eBay stamp lots

[The Pom]

OK, we've got the ebay dreamers thread for people asking a fortune for junk. How about a thread for people bidding loads for stuff that's worthless/cheap?

I should clarify that in this thread, no criticism of the seller is implied - only daft bidders.

Here's one to start:

$33, and still 4 hours to go!




==================

Admin later note -

And for newer members, do not forget we have another classic and super long thread here, with some 350,000 page views, called -

"eBay and Other On-Line Dreamers - A Photo Lot Compendium"

https://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=379&start=1750

Showing all kinds of totally worthless 5c junk that is being listed on ebay at $1,000 or $10,000 - or much higher - there was one this week offered for $200,000 -- 365 days a year.

And sadly, some of it SELLS.

If fairness to these cretins, they mostly do offer FREE POSTAGE!

Admin

[fromdownunder]

I have seen this sort of thing a few times, especially, for some reason the 3 1946 Peace stamps and the 1946 Gloucester set, which on occasion have reached $10.00 - $15.00 with 10 or more bids.

I just shake my head and wonder what are they thinking? I wondered at one point if some of this could be shill bidding, but for such small amounts of money, it is hardly worth it.

Norm

[petercollects0]

See this sort of stuff quite often - what I want to know is how to attract these sort of bidders to MY auctions

[fromdownunder]

Peter, you need to use the following words, in upper case only and bolded:

Valuable Collection
Rare
Unique
Investment Opportunity
Variety (without further clarification)
Very Old (usually refers to 1960's kid's collections}
"I don't know much about stamps" (Warning! Danger Will Robinson)
"Very Fine Used" - regardless of condition
"Perfect Centring" (see above)
"This could be genuine - but I'm selling as is" (or variations on this theme)

Here is one I saw a few months back for a number of "50 cent per 100" stamps, and I am still shaking my head over it (note none of these stamps ever attracted a bid:

"Used, nearly mint" HUH?



Norm (Disclaimer: This post is not to be taken internally)

[avarua]

I may be daft but why would this postcard be worth bidding a thousand Aussie bucks for?



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[iomoon]

At least the message is legible.

Seriously that looks like a somewhat rare origination point during a significant period of Pacific history.

[gavin-h]

That's a starting bid, and the same bidder has put 2 bids in - presumably the second bid being higher still.

Possible explanations:

1. Rare postmark - Tahiti 1914 must be uncommon; most would be for Papeete, so Makatea must have been "uncommon within uncommon".

2. The message - references to German bombardment etc, uncensored in the early days of WW1 - must have HUGE historical value - and rarity.

3. Delivery actually took place - 3 weeks from Tahiti to Melbourne with the Pacific crawling with German warships - this must be quite some rare achievement. The postmark and receiving dates are clearly legible

4. The postcard. Not exactly the image of "paradise" we associate with Tahiti, is it? How many "Indistrial Tahiti" postcards do you see?

[GJ50]

Commercial mail from Tahiti is quite rare and as Gavin has mentioned for a number of reasons.
A very nice postal history item.

[iomoon]

OK guys you made me go to the auction to get a look at what you were writing about.

The card is even rarer than I thought.
It is not from Tahiti (I originally thought Makatea was a town on Tahiti) but from Temao on the island of Makatea which is part of the Tuamotus rather than the Societies.

I guess that Tahiti was where the government for French Polynesia was situated so card went through Tahiti.

Looking at Wikipedia, the phosphate industrate on Makatea dates from 1917 to 1976, so this card predates when the industry got going full swing.

Thus it looks like the bidders are after a good thing.

Whether it is worth what they are bidding is up to them.

[pertinax]

eBay item 320136987552


Look at this piece of rubbish. A faked GB Mulready envelope. Are there really people around who think the postage GB to Holland in 1840 was 2d?! This is a well known reprint of some kind, worth less than £2 in my view, that pops up from time to time. It even has FACSIMILE on the reverse.

Embarrassingly, the buyer (at US$385) ukgb is the large well-known GB dealer Arthur Ryan - doesn't engender confidence in his knowledge, now does it!


Scott

[iomoon]

Back to Makatea.

I found the following image on the internet.

Image link inactive. Removed

From Pacific-promotion.com
With the following caption:

Une vue aérienne de la darse de Temao à Makatea ; c'est de là que le phosphate extrait de l'île était chargé dans des navires grâce à des installations aujourd'hui détruites.

It doesn't look like anybody is home!

[GlenStephens]

OK, we've got the e.bay dreamers thread for people asking a fortune for junk. How about a thread for people bidding loads for stuff that's worthless/cheap?

I should clarify that in this thread, no criticism of the seller is implied - only daft bidders.

Here's one to start:

$33, and still 4 hours to go!

Amazing it sold - and had 4 bids!

That clueless bunny whitmona who overpaid for that £2 roo from stampcollectorboz was the unlucky runner up:


antgirl2 ( 1258) US $28.95 15-Jul-07 00:40:09 AEST


whitmona ( 116) US $27.95 14-Jul-07 10:47:44 AEST

[SimonDunkerley]

Well picked up Scott .. I am certainly no GB expert however, quite apart from the 'FACSIMILE' inscription on the reverse, that mulready does look too good to be true. In addition, both postmarks look so evenly inked and fresh that they also 'scare' me ...

Perhaps Australia's equivalent, the NSW 1838 'pre stamp' envelope has many reprints and one certainly needs to be careful in buying those.

[iomoon]

Interesting, card sold to postcard and postal history dealer in London whose eBay sales currently seem to be naked ladies on postcards.

[GJ50]

Most likely he has a client to sell it onto.

[stampnut]

Why would Arthur Ryan buy this Mulready if it is not genuine?

[pertinax]

Simply because he, or a member of staff, has not looked closely enough!

Quite frankly, I can't see him leaving purchasing up to anyone other than himself. How many of the dealers here delegate purchasing to others - very few if any I would think.

[stampnut]

I will take others word for it that ukgb is Arthur Ryan as I have never bought from that seller but I don't really see how anyone could miss the word 'facsimile' printed so clearly on the back.

I note that there is no mention on his listings that he is a dealer or even the words Arthur Ryan. He is also shown as a private seller.

[pertinax]

There is no question of the identity of ukgb. I have bought and sold to them.

[stampnut]

There is no question of the identity of ukgb. I have bought and sold to them.

I believe you, I was just wondering why he is anonymous on eBay. You would think he would have greater credibility if he disclosed his identity and linked to his web site (which I have visited and looks very good).

I do think also that business sellers are supposed to dislose this in their listings as different legal rights apply in the UK when buying from a business seller.

[pertinax]

Maybe he's embarrassed by the prices he's charging! lol.

[stampnut]

Well some dealers are embarrased to be selling on eBay I think, and not just because of the prices. I think they often see it as a threat, on the other hand they want a slice of the action and if they can sell for more than they would show in their retail price list why wouldn't they?

[SimonDunkerley]

My experience has been that it is very rare that you get a higher price on eBay than retail - yes it does happen sometimes generally when 2 bunnies have a fight over something, but it is indeed very rare. In vthe vast majority of cases buying on eBay is cheaper than retail. And more often than not, so is the quality.

Also, you are not actually allowed to link your website to your eBay listings - I have seen lots taken off for that reason and know of sellers banned for a time peiod because of it. You are able to mention your website in your 'About me' page on eBay but that's as far as it goes. Indeed if an auction does have a sellers website on it if someone reports the item, it would normaly be taken off and the seller given a warning.

As to why some trade sellers keep there identity secret there would be a number of reasons, however, why certain ones do it is really speculation.

[gavin-h]

Maybe he's embarrassed by the prices he's charging! lol.

Or by the "facsimiles" he's buying lmao

[stampnut]

In the vast majority of cases buying on e.bay is cheaper than retail.

I take your point, which just makes it all the more strange that such a well known dealer is doing it.

I agree that blatant linking to off eBay is against their rules but mentioning your trading name in the listing certainly is not. I do not want to labour the point and I have nothing against this seller, it just seems odd that he is incognito.

[librarianc]

..... it just seems odd that he is incognito.

There are many dealer that are very visible as to who they are when they are the seller. They may have a separate identity for their seller ID and one for their buyer ID. The main reason, many have said, is that if a buyer (or even a customer) sees that a known seller is bidding on an item, it attracts attention to the item (Gee....I wonder why he's interested in that lot?). In some cases unwanted attention, to the point where collector (or customer) is now interested in this lot if the "known seller" is interested and the bidding war begins. Now you have the seller bidding to a level that he feels allows some room for resale and his customer bidding against him to take the price up TO the expected retail. (The afore mentioned cover is not the example I would use for this). If the known seller can remain somewhat anonymous, then if there is an item that is deemed a "bargain", it can be had without the "curious" boosting the price.

This response is directed solely at Stampnut's question, and not a comment on what ukgb purchased .

John A

[stampnut]

Now we are getting somewhere.

I see that he has feedback 9229 as a buyer but only 1275 as a seller so he would certainly have an incentive to keep his identity private in order not to attract unwanted competing bids.

Nonetheless it would surely make more sense to have separate buying and selling accounts, an anonymous buying acount and a selling account trading off his good name.

[erich]

That is it exactly when it comes to dealers hiding their ID as a bidder. People think "If a dealer is bidding on it, it must be good/cheap/something" and they want in on it.

[fromdownunder]

I am happy that this thread was started, as it gives me a chance to post this:



Described in both the header, and the detailed description as a facsimile, this 2 Pound Roo from the ANPEX Minature sheet has 10 bidders, and is currently $US51.00 plus postage (say $A60.00 all up) with 8 hours to go!

Norm

[The Pom]

Oi - I was going to post that one! The 1972 ANPEX £1 Roo from the same seller is currently at US $31. How come I never get bidders like that?

[admin]

These are clueless idiots pure and simple.

These sheetlets sell for a couple of dollars a sheet of 3 usually. 3 different colour numbers were used for the numbers and 3 sheets were in each folder.

These are UN-WATERMARKED and printed on thin card, not paper and have rough perfs and a farcical deep black shiny cancel.

so others can see where these come from, this below is one set I advertised recently that was IMPERF on one sheets .... the only one of those I have ever seen:

[fromdownunder]

The £1 Roo went for $US38.25, the £2 for $US67.00. About $AU115.00, and presumably the 5 Bob Bridge would go for something as well (if he still has it).

Not a bad days work for a $2 investment. Especially if he has more of them and puts out some second chance offers.

I might join ebay and put mine up.

Norm

[stampnut]

Well I don't think the seller is in any way at fault if he described them as facsimiles. He would not have known what price they would reach.

It is what the buyers do with them that would concern me.

[SimonDunkerley]

Although I haven't sold any for a while, I have found over many years that at around $15 per 'miniature sheet' retail they sell OK and $50 for a set in the three colours (ANPEX 1972 and the number were printed either in black, red-brown or blue - the black being the hardest to find).

I don't mind admitting on eBay I used to start the kangaroos at 1¢ per 'facsimile stamp' and they generally were bid up to about $10-20 each.

I still have quite a few left so maybe it's time to put some more on

[fromdownunder]

Well I don't think the seller is in any way at fault if he described them as facsimiles. He would not have known what price they would reach.

It is what the buyers do with them that would concern me.

We all agree stampnut. That's why this thread is headed:

"Mad bidders on worthless e.bay lots."

It's the bidders we are having fun with, not the seller.

As for the buyers, if they attempt to pass them off as "real", and flog them on ebay, somebody on this board will pick it up and post it in the appropriate thread. And there are enough ebay members here who would be willing to take the appropriate action.

If they sell privately, well...caveat emptor.

Norm

[fromdownunder]

Simon, I got my last one for nothing, well... sort of. it came as a free gift with a $100 purchase, and the purchase is one I would have made without the ANPEX sheet anyway.

Norm

[stampnut]

Well, if I may say so I think the whole tone of this thread is more than a little patronising to the buyers who are variously described as 'mad' and 'clueless idiots'.

The Tahiti card turned out to be rare and the imprint block is an attractive item even if overpriced.

Surely the question is has the buyer got a good quality item which will complement their collection, even if they paid more than most would?

Who appointed anyone on this board the arbiter of what is sensible behaviour or what anything is worth? (or an eBay policeman?)

To many people the price is just not that important.

These items show that in the real world prices are far more dynamic than the dealer's price list or the catalogue would have us believe.

[The Pom]

Who appointed anyone on this board the arbiter of what is sensible behaviour or what anything is worth? (or an ebay policeman?)

These items show that in the real world prices are far more dynamic than the dealer's price list or the catalogue would have us believe.

So you're saying nobody has the right to express an informed opinion?
When every dealer in the country is selling a paricular item for a dollar or two, and people are bidding it up to $30 or $40 on ebay, I think it's pretty safe to point this out as daft. That's not a case of being an "arbiter", it's a case of simple philatelic general knowledge.
The item like the imprint block I opened the thread with does not show us that the market is dynamic, it shows us that a couple people are in need of a price list for Christmas.
REMEMBER - you know how dumb the average guy in the streeet is? Statistically, 50% of people are dumber than he is.

Here's another I've decided to be the arbiter of the value of (50c on most price lists, and that's mostly handling charge).
AU$5.50 and still a few hours to go.
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[fromdownunder]

I think that this one deserves a spot on this thread. It sold for $11.15 including $1.00 postage and attracted 10 bids!

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Norm

[fromdownunder]

And yet another £2 FACSIMILE Kangaroo (see above for picture) which with well over a day to go, has already reached around $A43

The same seller has the facsimile £1 Roo. wihich is well over $A20, and the 5/- Harbour Bridge facsimile which is $A4+ at present.

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The present high bidder - aonghusog - has certainly thrown away some money on ebay in recent times, if anybody can be bothered looking at some of his/her recent purchases.

Norm

[The Pom]

Someone fetch the gun.....

The £2 Roo facsimile mentioned in the post above went for US$51, the £1 Roo being sold at the same time went for US$102.50 and the 5/- Bridge for US$57.

That's US$210+ (A$250+) for a few bucks worth of copies. I may have to give up drug dealing and switch to something with better profit margins........

[erich]

Someone fetch the gun.....
The £2 Roo facsimile mentioned in the post above went for US$51, the £1 Roo being sold at the same time went for US$102.50 and the 5/- Bridge for US$57.
That's US$210+ (A$250+) for a few bucks worth of copies. I may have to give up drug dealing and switch to something with better profit margins........

I can only guess that people are not aware of exactly where these come from...but still, they were clearly listed as facsimiles. You have to wonder what the bidders thought they were.

The only thing I can recall that is even close to that was some guy a few years ago cut up a "stamps on stamps" themed Chad airmail, aged the cutout, and made a "fake US #2" that went for good money on eBay. There was a Linn's article about it.

[fromdownunder]

Someone fetch the gun.....
The £2 Roo facsimile mentioned in the post above went for US$51, the £1 Roo being sold at the same time went for US$102.50 and the 5/- Bridge for US$57.
That's US$210+ (A$250+) for a few bucks worth of copies. I may have to give up drug dealing and switch to something with better profit margins........

[bolding mine]

That $250 would get you a FU REAL CofA £1 Roo. I wonder which ones will be worth more in 10 years?

Norm

[erich]

I'm pretty sure I know why.

This seller showed both the individual stamps AND the souvenir sheet, and explained where and when they were issued. Full disclosure. So bidders aren't that interested in something that came from a philatelic expo in 1972...

The guy who got lots of bids on his facsimiles ran them as single stamps, and only described them as "facsimile" -- he did not show or mention the souvenir sheet, did not mention that there was a subtantial issue of the facsimiles, or that they were from 1972. So bidders not familiar with the souvenir sheet think they are something earlier and more interesting than what they really are.

I had never seen one of the sheets until they were mentioned on this board -- just like you probably don't see a lot of cinderellas from US stamp shows in Australia, not too many of the Australian ones end up here.

[fromdownunder]

I hope the people who purchased the earlier three we raised saw this lot and are quietly kicking themselves.

Norm

[The Pom]

It's just been re-listed if you fancy it.....

[ozstamps]

Well I don't think the seller is in any way at fault if he described them as facsimiles. He would not have known what price they would reach.

The sellers call these 1913 Kangaroos .. as they have no watermark that is NONSENSE.

Of course they plan to mislead the bunnies, or they would specify no year and make it CLEAR they are coarse perfed on NO watermark paper from a fundraiser unofficial sheet.

A 1913 £2 FU sells for $4000 and a 1936 CofA for 10% of that even when genuine. Facially the same to a novice.

[erich]

The bidding on this Falkland Islands cover went completely nuts and it ended up at $566!

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This looks like a fairly ordinary Registered cover with common stamps on it. Am I missing something or are non-philatelic Falkland covers that hard to find?

[David Benson]

erich,

it is extremely rare and most probably unique. The underbidders are most probably kicking themselves why they didn't bid higher.

David Benson

[GJ50]

Agree with David. In fact surprised it did not go higher. KGVI material on cover from falklands is well sort after.