Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
"1879 Hong Kong to London 8 cent cover on postcard hand stamped to front with number 3 on April the 8th 1879 and to the back April 13th 1879. Some minor creases etc, otherwise in great order."
"8 cent cover". What?
"Stamped to front with number 3". A bit wishy washy!
Very lucky for the seller that he benefitted from modern day technology; computer images in particular:
This is in fact a rare postal stationery card with a 3c on 16c postcard definitive. Not only that, it has been cancelled with the treaty port F1 obliterator from Foochowfoo, plus a Foochowfoo CDS.
The existence of a used card of this type, with treaty port markings, can probably be counted on 3 fingers, which is evident from the price realised:
That's US$ 6,500.
I just wonder if the seller had to undergo heart massage after seeing that.
Somehow I think the 'Standard Delivery' postage charge of £1.25 might need to be revised.
EDIT
I've posted an image of an unused 3c on 16c postcard definitive, to give a clearer(?) view of the stamp in question. In this instance it is on the red bordered version of the postcard, which is not as scarce as the yellow card. Even this unused one commanded a healthy £260 (US$390) on eBay two years ago.
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Now, why can't I find a seller like that with material like that, where no-one else finds it too?
Rhetorical question.
Great find, Ningpo!
Peter
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11:44:41am
Do you think it would have gone for more if offered in a major stamp auction?
Roy
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HK QV on cover is a very hard area to find genuine articles. Here is such an item; I'm actually surprised it is less than $400 at present, with about 6 hours to go.
HK QV cover on eBay
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Roy wrote:
"Do you think it would have gone for more if offered in a major stamp auction?"
I'm really not sure. Having watched eBay auctions for a good few years, there has been a shift in the type of buyer making bids. There are some big players out there now, particularly those that collect postal history.
One influencing factor might be the upwardly spiralling costs of auction houses. I have read so many accounts of buyers miffed by the final price of a lot, once all the extras have been added on top of the hammer price.
A hammer price of say $500 with just a straight 20% commission charge, then VAT, plus a charge for paying by credit card, then handling/shipping charges plus VAT. The invoice amount may be close to $800 (depending on the country). Consequently bidders may well be looking elsewhere.
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cocollectibles wrote:
"I'm actually surprised it is less than $400 at present, with about 6 hours to go."
The calm before the storm perhaps!
From what I've seen with highly desirable material, the last hour sees a mad sprint for the finish line by the frenzied bidders. Then up pops the sniper to take the finishing tape.
As for the cover you posted; if we were to be totally detached from all the bidding nonsense and we were completely honest, this in the cold light of day, is a pretty boring and tatty article.
I'm sure non Hong Kong collectors would totally bemused by its high price.
EDIT
Well this ended with a final price of US$462. The seller even stated "ROUGH CONDITION WITH CREASES AND SOILING, ALSO SOME SMALL TEARS".
This does I think illustrate how difficult it is for the average Hong Kong collector to obtain earlier postal history material in any condition. I for one would NOT pay anywhere near that amount for such a dreary uninteresting cover, just because it's Hong Kong.
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philb wrote:
"He may have been clueless but the bidders were not. He could not have been too disappointed ."
Looking at the other stuff this seller has listed, I'd imagine he wasn't too disappointed. He appears to concentrate on coins and military artifacts. He also has one old Japanese postcard. The highest bid on anything is £10.
I'll bet this was a truly chance find.
I for one would be extremely nervous about sending this to the winning bidder; what with the ever increasing amount of false claims of non receipt, on eBay. I wonder how he is going to handle this. I guess the only option is to cover this with a special insurance.
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Send it via restricted registered mail with insurance. It requires delivery to only the addressee who must sign for it.
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As long as this is trackable outside the UK, to comply with Paypal's refund policy. This is not something I am familiar with though, as I have never sold anything on the likes of eBay.
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This postal stationery card (PSC) sold on eBay a couple of days ago. Looking at how the seller described it, he did not have a clue what he had in his hands:
"1879 Hong Kong to London 8 cent cover on postcard hand stamped to front with number 3 on April the 8th 1879 and to the back April 13th 1879. Some minor creases etc, otherwise in great order."
"8 cent cover". What?
"Stamped to front with number 3". A bit wishy washy!
Very lucky for the seller that he benefitted from modern day technology; computer images in particular:
This is in fact a rare postal stationery card with a 3c on 16c postcard definitive. Not only that, it has been cancelled with the treaty port F1 obliterator from Foochowfoo, plus a Foochowfoo CDS.
The existence of a used card of this type, with treaty port markings, can probably be counted on 3 fingers, which is evident from the price realised:
That's US$ 6,500.
I just wonder if the seller had to undergo heart massage after seeing that.
Somehow I think the 'Standard Delivery' postage charge of £1.25 might need to be revised.
EDIT
I've posted an image of an unused 3c on 16c postcard definitive, to give a clearer(?) view of the stamp in question. In this instance it is on the red bordered version of the postcard, which is not as scarce as the yellow card. Even this unused one commanded a healthy £260 (US$390) on eBay two years ago.
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11:11:38am
re: Hong Kong: Nice big profit for clueless eBay seller.
Now, why can't I find a seller like that with material like that, where no-one else finds it too?
Rhetorical question.
Great find, Ningpo!
Peter
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
07 Mar 2015
11:44:41am
re: Hong Kong: Nice big profit for clueless eBay seller.
Do you think it would have gone for more if offered in a major stamp auction?
Roy
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12:09:16pm
re: Hong Kong: Nice big profit for clueless eBay seller.
HK QV on cover is a very hard area to find genuine articles. Here is such an item; I'm actually surprised it is less than $400 at present, with about 6 hours to go.
HK QV cover on eBay
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re: Hong Kong: Nice big profit for clueless eBay seller.
Roy wrote:
"Do you think it would have gone for more if offered in a major stamp auction?"
I'm really not sure. Having watched eBay auctions for a good few years, there has been a shift in the type of buyer making bids. There are some big players out there now, particularly those that collect postal history.
One influencing factor might be the upwardly spiralling costs of auction houses. I have read so many accounts of buyers miffed by the final price of a lot, once all the extras have been added on top of the hammer price.
A hammer price of say $500 with just a straight 20% commission charge, then VAT, plus a charge for paying by credit card, then handling/shipping charges plus VAT. The invoice amount may be close to $800 (depending on the country). Consequently bidders may well be looking elsewhere.
Login to Like
this post
re: Hong Kong: Nice big profit for clueless eBay seller.
cocollectibles wrote:
"I'm actually surprised it is less than $400 at present, with about 6 hours to go."
The calm before the storm perhaps!
From what I've seen with highly desirable material, the last hour sees a mad sprint for the finish line by the frenzied bidders. Then up pops the sniper to take the finishing tape.
As for the cover you posted; if we were to be totally detached from all the bidding nonsense and we were completely honest, this in the cold light of day, is a pretty boring and tatty article.
I'm sure non Hong Kong collectors would totally bemused by its high price.
EDIT
Well this ended with a final price of US$462. The seller even stated "ROUGH CONDITION WITH CREASES AND SOILING, ALSO SOME SMALL TEARS".
This does I think illustrate how difficult it is for the average Hong Kong collector to obtain earlier postal history material in any condition. I for one would NOT pay anywhere near that amount for such a dreary uninteresting cover, just because it's Hong Kong.
Login to Like
this post
re: Hong Kong: Nice big profit for clueless eBay seller.
philb wrote:
"He may have been clueless but the bidders were not. He could not have been too disappointed ."
Looking at the other stuff this seller has listed, I'd imagine he wasn't too disappointed. He appears to concentrate on coins and military artifacts. He also has one old Japanese postcard. The highest bid on anything is £10.
I'll bet this was a truly chance find.
I for one would be extremely nervous about sending this to the winning bidder; what with the ever increasing amount of false claims of non receipt, on eBay. I wonder how he is going to handle this. I guess the only option is to cover this with a special insurance.
Login to Like
this post
07:15:04pm
re: Hong Kong: Nice big profit for clueless eBay seller.
Send it via restricted registered mail with insurance. It requires delivery to only the addressee who must sign for it.
Login to Like
this post
re: Hong Kong: Nice big profit for clueless eBay seller.
As long as this is trackable outside the UK, to comply with Paypal's refund policy. This is not something I am familiar with though, as I have never sold anything on the likes of eBay.
Login to Like
this post