Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I feel that a seller that does this doesn't really care about the quality of the stamps that they sell. They are just after the collector's money and could less care about the hobby.
Sellers please do not destroy a stamp by doing this.
Gary
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Are you sure it was the seller you bought from who did this? It could have been a prior dealer/owner.
That is annoying and in a word, no- it is perhaps in the seller's interest but not the buyer. It is an archaic practice that was commonplace 50 years ago but is ridiculously outdated now.
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I did recently have a book of approvals where the previous stamp owners had written the year date in pencil on the reverse, but I noted this on the page where it applied.
Don't think 1973Lindale was one of the purchasers.
I agree that it is irritating but is it any worse than an expertisers mark stamped on the reverse?
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12:18:06pm
Just an FYI. If you don't like pencil markings on the back of stamps you can never own an Inverted Jenny. Every one of them have their position marked in pencil.
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It is not the catalog number that irritates me; it is the catalog price that they recorded on the stamp.
"sheepshanks": I didn't buy these from you.
Gary
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It sure beats the lot I bought where a previous owner had recorded the Scott catalog number on plate blocks... on the front side in the spare selvage... in pen! I'll bet this guy thought he was downright efficient!
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Ouch Tom, but at least you could tear off the selvedge and they would not have any notation. perhaps worth a little less though.
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I've seen similar kinds of notations made on FDCs, too--on the front, not the back!
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You can also find pencil and pen notations on the front and back covers of Booklets too.
Jim
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I have had some disappointing purchases on Stamporama. Like life, you take some lumps and move on. No use complaining about it.
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I have no problem with pencil notations on the back of used stamps,pretty common place back in the day.
If anybody has high end US used stamps that have pencil notations and no other nasty faults that are priced at a deep discount from stamps that don't have pencil graffiti, such as grilled bank notes Scott 137 through 144 or even Scott 1 and 2, Columbians 241, 243, 244 and 245, and Trans Mississippi 293, I am a cash buyer of such.
I probably have many hundreds of pre 1950 Worldwide stamps with pencil notations on the back mounted in my Minkus Master Global albums, and I don't even know which ones they are now that I mounted them (with hinges of course). I am sure I have several early US used stamps mounted in my Scott National album, that have notations as well, just don't know which ones now.
Now,covers that have pencil notations on the face bug me, cat number, perf, year and price, aaaaackk.I erase all that if possible with one of those white soft easers.
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I actually make notations on the back of stamps on very rare occasions. But I wouldn't sell one without indicating that fact (or showing the reverse).
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I find it annoying when someone has written on the gum of an unused stamp. On a used stamp, who knows how many owners back the writing wss done..i doubt the person who wants to sell the stamp would mark it.
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".i doubt the person who wants to sell the stamp would mark it."
I see plenty of APS sales books where the seller wrote the catalog numbers, and sometimes the catalog value as well, on the backs of the stamps in the book. When I see that, I don't even touch that book (translation - lost sales for the seller).
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Humans and their foibles. EH!
We are dealing with human beings after all.
We all have our wee foibles, beliefs, our way is best, I know better, you should know what I want, you will do it this way, because I am more intelligent, I should be ruler of the world, in fact I AM the ruler of the UNIVERSE..........!!!!!!
(They shouldn't have changed my medication) hee! hee! hee!
In all seriousness, once a stamp is mounted, who sees what is on the back?
OK a high priced stamp, ($50+), I would expect to see/be told but otherwise....No!
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Hear hear, I purchase a stamp to fill a void on a page..and when is the next time I open to that page ?
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There are legitimate reasons to mark the back of a used stamp. Some of the world's most valuable stamps have markings and continue to be marked by their owners. I might mark a stamp that is a forgery, has a forged cancel or even has a very difficult to discern variety. The marking is for my benefit, is always light pencil and easily erasable.
I find it odd that folks get roiled at pencil marks, expertizer/owner marks and such, but are perfectly willing to accept other people's saliva laden hinge remnants or even their own.
Now, pen marks and pencil marks that are clearly incorrect is very annoying and pencil marks that aren't erasable also not ideal. Most incorrect markings I have found are attempts to stamp a common stamp as a rare variety, and that is not ideal either.
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02:23:33am
".... OK a high priced stamp, ($50+),
I would expect to see/be told but otherwise....No! "
The angst about notations on the stamps reverse
is due to the whims of the gum fetishists.
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"The angst about notations on the stamps reverse
is due to the whims of the gum fetishists."
While there is some validity in that statement, and probably more so for some than others, I think there is more reasoning towards the disdain for notations on the back of stamps for most.
I once bought a pacific island collection. All stamps were noted as MNH. Pictures of the stamps were great. When I got the collection, I found that the catalog number for each stamp was written on the back in red ink. The seller did not note this.
I have seen stamps where pencil notations were written so heavily on the stamps that one could see the notations on the front, but those stamps were sold as MNH. The sellers did not note the markings on the back.
Very light pencil notations on the backs of used stamps I can usually remove with my mechanical drafting eraser. To erase such markings from the back of stamps with gum further disturbs the gum condition (the pencil markings are also a gum disturbance). I don't give a rat's behind if there has never been a hinge on the stamp. If there is any marking on the back of a stamp that has gum and never seen postal use (except for CTO, but that's another issue), the stamp is not MNH in my book. It is unused.
The other problem with notations with catalog numbers, catalog values, inked stamps of owner or authentication marks is that the catalog numbers are often wrong, the catalog values are from who knows when so those are worthless, and the ink stamped so-called authentication marks are often forged.
Best thing is to leave the backs of stamps alone. Make notations in the space when the stamp will be mounted on an album page. If using stock books/pages, get some acid-free paper, cut the paper down to small squares and make the notations on the paper, which is placed next to the stamp.
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The desire to own something ‘like new’ transcends stamp collecting. Vintage toy collectors seek out and pay premiums for toys in original boxes and packaging. Car collectors seek out low mileage original, untouched cars. Comic book collectors desire books with fresh covers. Old book collectors look for books with fresh dust jackets. The list goes on and on.
And while I personally do not collect ‘gum’ I appreciate fellow collectors and whatever their collecting desires might be; we all should be able to collect the way we want in a non-judgmental way. So if others want truly ‘post office fresh’ stamps I support their collecting methods.
Don
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I agree. Collect things the way you want. It's your hobby. However, I do not appreciate people who do not disclose defects like writing in pencil, ink, whatever on the backs of stamps and try to pass such a collection off as "pristine". It isn't. That's my only gripe about this subject. Thusly, as a collector, I choose to bypass items that are in that condition.
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"However, I do not appreciate people who do not disclose defects like writing in pencil, ink, whatever on the backs of stamps "
Isn't this a pretty plate block? High value airmail from 1949
Until you flip it over... no gum and the writing is in ballpoint!
I don't think the guy who did this had any malice against future owners. He simply thought he was identifying his stamps and was ignorant to the fact that he destroyed any future value. And now it's pretty much a dollars worth of postage!
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Maybe the guy that wrote in pen on the plate block was one of those collectors that does it for fun and not for future value.
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11:24:30am
I recently purchased a group of stamps from a seller here on SOR that the seller (or someone prior to their acquiring them) had put the catalog number and price in pencil on the back of some of the stamps they sent me.
I feel that a seller that does this doesn't really care about the quality of the stamps that they sell. They are just after the collector's money and could less care about the hobby.
Sellers please do not destroy a stamp by doing this.
Gary
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
Are you sure it was the seller you bought from who did this? It could have been a prior dealer/owner.
That is annoying and in a word, no- it is perhaps in the seller's interest but not the buyer. It is an archaic practice that was commonplace 50 years ago but is ridiculously outdated now.
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Approvals
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
I did recently have a book of approvals where the previous stamp owners had written the year date in pencil on the reverse, but I noted this on the page where it applied.
Don't think 1973Lindale was one of the purchasers.
I agree that it is irritating but is it any worse than an expertisers mark stamped on the reverse?
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Immediate Past President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
08 May 2017
12:18:06pm
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
Just an FYI. If you don't like pencil markings on the back of stamps you can never own an Inverted Jenny. Every one of them have their position marked in pencil.
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12:30:12pm
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
It is not the catalog number that irritates me; it is the catalog price that they recorded on the stamp.
"sheepshanks": I didn't buy these from you.
Gary
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
It sure beats the lot I bought where a previous owner had recorded the Scott catalog number on plate blocks... on the front side in the spare selvage... in pen! I'll bet this guy thought he was downright efficient!
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Approvals
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
Ouch Tom, but at least you could tear off the selvedge and they would not have any notation. perhaps worth a little less though.
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this post
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
I've seen similar kinds of notations made on FDCs, too--on the front, not the back!
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this post
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
You can also find pencil and pen notations on the front and back covers of Booklets too.
Jim
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
I have had some disappointing purchases on Stamporama. Like life, you take some lumps and move on. No use complaining about it.
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
I have no problem with pencil notations on the back of used stamps,pretty common place back in the day.
If anybody has high end US used stamps that have pencil notations and no other nasty faults that are priced at a deep discount from stamps that don't have pencil graffiti, such as grilled bank notes Scott 137 through 144 or even Scott 1 and 2, Columbians 241, 243, 244 and 245, and Trans Mississippi 293, I am a cash buyer of such.
I probably have many hundreds of pre 1950 Worldwide stamps with pencil notations on the back mounted in my Minkus Master Global albums, and I don't even know which ones they are now that I mounted them (with hinges of course). I am sure I have several early US used stamps mounted in my Scott National album, that have notations as well, just don't know which ones now.
Now,covers that have pencil notations on the face bug me, cat number, perf, year and price, aaaaackk.I erase all that if possible with one of those white soft easers.
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
I actually make notations on the back of stamps on very rare occasions. But I wouldn't sell one without indicating that fact (or showing the reverse).
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Auctions
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
I find it annoying when someone has written on the gum of an unused stamp. On a used stamp, who knows how many owners back the writing wss done..i doubt the person who wants to sell the stamp would mark it.
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12:00:14am
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
".i doubt the person who wants to sell the stamp would mark it."
I see plenty of APS sales books where the seller wrote the catalog numbers, and sometimes the catalog value as well, on the backs of the stamps in the book. When I see that, I don't even touch that book (translation - lost sales for the seller).
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06:20:47am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
Humans and their foibles. EH!
We are dealing with human beings after all.
We all have our wee foibles, beliefs, our way is best, I know better, you should know what I want, you will do it this way, because I am more intelligent, I should be ruler of the world, in fact I AM the ruler of the UNIVERSE..........!!!!!!
(They shouldn't have changed my medication) hee! hee! hee!
In all seriousness, once a stamp is mounted, who sees what is on the back?
OK a high priced stamp, ($50+), I would expect to see/be told but otherwise....No!
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Auctions
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
Hear hear, I purchase a stamp to fill a void on a page..and when is the next time I open to that page ?
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
There are legitimate reasons to mark the back of a used stamp. Some of the world's most valuable stamps have markings and continue to be marked by their owners. I might mark a stamp that is a forgery, has a forged cancel or even has a very difficult to discern variety. The marking is for my benefit, is always light pencil and easily erasable.
I find it odd that folks get roiled at pencil marks, expertizer/owner marks and such, but are perfectly willing to accept other people's saliva laden hinge remnants or even their own.
Now, pen marks and pencil marks that are clearly incorrect is very annoying and pencil marks that aren't erasable also not ideal. Most incorrect markings I have found are attempts to stamp a common stamp as a rare variety, and that is not ideal either.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
12 May 2017
02:23:33am
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
".... OK a high priced stamp, ($50+),
I would expect to see/be told but otherwise....No! "
The angst about notations on the stamps reverse
is due to the whims of the gum fetishists.
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11:13:06am
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
"The angst about notations on the stamps reverse
is due to the whims of the gum fetishists."
While there is some validity in that statement, and probably more so for some than others, I think there is more reasoning towards the disdain for notations on the back of stamps for most.
I once bought a pacific island collection. All stamps were noted as MNH. Pictures of the stamps were great. When I got the collection, I found that the catalog number for each stamp was written on the back in red ink. The seller did not note this.
I have seen stamps where pencil notations were written so heavily on the stamps that one could see the notations on the front, but those stamps were sold as MNH. The sellers did not note the markings on the back.
Very light pencil notations on the backs of used stamps I can usually remove with my mechanical drafting eraser. To erase such markings from the back of stamps with gum further disturbs the gum condition (the pencil markings are also a gum disturbance). I don't give a rat's behind if there has never been a hinge on the stamp. If there is any marking on the back of a stamp that has gum and never seen postal use (except for CTO, but that's another issue), the stamp is not MNH in my book. It is unused.
The other problem with notations with catalog numbers, catalog values, inked stamps of owner or authentication marks is that the catalog numbers are often wrong, the catalog values are from who knows when so those are worthless, and the ink stamped so-called authentication marks are often forged.
Best thing is to leave the backs of stamps alone. Make notations in the space when the stamp will be mounted on an album page. If using stock books/pages, get some acid-free paper, cut the paper down to small squares and make the notations on the paper, which is placed next to the stamp.
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
The desire to own something ‘like new’ transcends stamp collecting. Vintage toy collectors seek out and pay premiums for toys in original boxes and packaging. Car collectors seek out low mileage original, untouched cars. Comic book collectors desire books with fresh covers. Old book collectors look for books with fresh dust jackets. The list goes on and on.
And while I personally do not collect ‘gum’ I appreciate fellow collectors and whatever their collecting desires might be; we all should be able to collect the way we want in a non-judgmental way. So if others want truly ‘post office fresh’ stamps I support their collecting methods.
Don
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01:56:05pm
re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
I agree. Collect things the way you want. It's your hobby. However, I do not appreciate people who do not disclose defects like writing in pencil, ink, whatever on the backs of stamps and try to pass such a collection off as "pristine". It isn't. That's my only gripe about this subject. Thusly, as a collector, I choose to bypass items that are in that condition.
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
"However, I do not appreciate people who do not disclose defects like writing in pencil, ink, whatever on the backs of stamps "
Isn't this a pretty plate block? High value airmail from 1949
Until you flip it over... no gum and the writing is in ballpoint!
I don't think the guy who did this had any malice against future owners. He simply thought he was identifying his stamps and was ignorant to the fact that he destroyed any future value. And now it's pretty much a dollars worth of postage!
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re: Does a seller have the buyers' best interest in mind when they put the stock number and price on the back of the stamp?
Maybe the guy that wrote in pen on the plate block was one of those collectors that does it for fun and not for future value.
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