Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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If the stamps cannot be safely removed, which is likely, and their "affixtion description" was not accurate, I would return them to the seller. A few times I've been unhappy with eBay purchases and complained, and always got good results.
Bob Ingraham
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Dear Larry,
If you paid through Paypal, you will also have some protection from them should Bob's suggestion not pan out. There is a time frame to submit a claim should you decide to go that route.
Dan C.
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An afterthought: In a lifetime of collecting, I don't think that I've ever succeeded in removing stuck-down stamps if water didn't work. For common stamps, it's not really worth attempting.
Bob
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Larry,
I agree with Dan and Bob. Unless you MUST HAVE these stamps and cover, return them for full refund, assuming that they were not identified as stuck down.
If you want to keep them, some people have more luck with watermark fluid or the much cheaper lighter fluid (ronsonol seems to be the favorite) in loosening things, but there's no guarantee it will work on the substance binding your stuff, and there are the FIRE hazards and VENTILATION risks, which have been discussed with great vigor on these pages and elsewhere to consider if you go this route.
If, however, the stuff is common and it was properly identified as permanently stuck, consider this a learning opportunity.
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OK. I might try the lighter fluid. I've been working on the FDC's in the book. The best I've been able to do is to just cut them off the page by cutting around the glued part and leaving part of the album page stuck to the back of the envelope. Since I don't know much about FDC's, I don't know how much this influences their value. The front of the envelope (on most of them) is OK. They just have a tab of paper stuck to their backs now. I also wrote an e-mail to the seller. But this was just one album among a bunch of other (nice) stuff in the lot so I don't want to make a fuss. I did let him know, though, that the bidders should have been told.
Larry
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Larry,
Generally speaking, ordinary FDC's even in excellent have minimum market value. I know a dealer who sells official Canadian FDC's for double the face value of the stamps on them; many collectors I know would consider that excessive.
An FDC with paper adhesions has virtually no value as a cover (and many collectors would not bother with stamps with official first-day cancels). Paper adhesions always lower the value of any philatelic item.
A cover front is just considered a very badly damaged cover, and is worth only a fraction of a complete cover.
Bear in mind that I'm talking only about market value. I have badly damaged covers and stamps in my collection that I wouldn't part with, simply because they have attributes that I consider worthwhile.
Bob
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Larry,
if this was part of a much bigger lot, many sellers customarily provide little description, and many are sold as is. It sounds like this may be the case; and since you're already dissambling the album, you may already have made a decision.
I still think the seller ought to note aspects of box lots that bear on their value when listing them. Glue on the back is never visible in a picture and should be highlighted. Still, it's poor business in my view.
As to your question about FDCs, there are run of the mill FDCs by ArtMaster and Farnum and others that generally have little or no aftermarket value, unless the stamp itself is in great demand; there are also limited run FDCs by cachet makers well known in the AFDCS that can sell for hundreds of dollars, and here it's a matter of matching the cover with the buyer, and there are the home-made FDCs, like I occasionaly do, that have no aftermarket value, unless its construction just happens to picque another's interest. Both the Farnum and home-made cachets can be found in dealer dollar boxes, where they're universally considered to be priced about a dollar too high. A common FDC is further diminished by faults, such as stuck paper.
David
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David,
You used a term with which I am not familiar.."well known in the AFDCS". What does AFDCS stand for?
I e-mailed the seller last night and he responded quickly with an expression of regret and offer to pay me the profit he made from this consignment sale. Because of his "straight up" behavior, I told him forget about it. Seems to me he made an honest mistake and wasn't trying to rip me off. Makes me feel a lot better. This was just part of a large lot and the rest of the lot was fine.
Still, too bad about the stamps and FDCs. It was a pretty complete album.
Larry
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AFDCS means American First Day Cover Society. (I didn't know that either, so I googled it.)
I have found that most dealers are ethical and reasonable. Be sure to give him good feedback.
Bob
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Agree with Bob, make sure you give great feedback for anyone willing to stand behind their stuff and return the profit. Can't ask for more; and if it was a box lot consignment, there's a good chance he didn't look hard.
David
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11:18:02am
To find out if an FDC has any value, I go to http://www.jamesmccusker.com/ and either search by cachetmaker or if I don't know the cachetmaker, I search for the scott number and hope that it shows up (most times it does). Of course these prices are retail, but it lets you know the relative value. I just did a search for Scott 1197 (Louisiana Statehood). The price range goes from $1.58 for an Artcraft Cachet and $675.00 for a Dorothy Knapp Cachet with many different values in between.
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I bought a collection on eBay and, upon arrival, found the stamps and covers have been affixed to the album pages with neither hinges nor a water-soluable glue. Does anyone know what I could try to dislodge these rascals? (I mean the stamps, not the seller).
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re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
If the stamps cannot be safely removed, which is likely, and their "affixtion description" was not accurate, I would return them to the seller. A few times I've been unhappy with eBay purchases and complained, and always got good results.
Bob Ingraham
Login to Like
this post
re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
Dear Larry,
If you paid through Paypal, you will also have some protection from them should Bob's suggestion not pan out. There is a time frame to submit a claim should you decide to go that route.
Dan C.
Login to Like
this post
re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
An afterthought: In a lifetime of collecting, I don't think that I've ever succeeded in removing stuck-down stamps if water didn't work. For common stamps, it's not really worth attempting.
Bob
Login to Like
this post
re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
Larry,
I agree with Dan and Bob. Unless you MUST HAVE these stamps and cover, return them for full refund, assuming that they were not identified as stuck down.
If you want to keep them, some people have more luck with watermark fluid or the much cheaper lighter fluid (ronsonol seems to be the favorite) in loosening things, but there's no guarantee it will work on the substance binding your stuff, and there are the FIRE hazards and VENTILATION risks, which have been discussed with great vigor on these pages and elsewhere to consider if you go this route.
If, however, the stuff is common and it was properly identified as permanently stuck, consider this a learning opportunity.
Login to Like
this post
re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
OK. I might try the lighter fluid. I've been working on the FDC's in the book. The best I've been able to do is to just cut them off the page by cutting around the glued part and leaving part of the album page stuck to the back of the envelope. Since I don't know much about FDC's, I don't know how much this influences their value. The front of the envelope (on most of them) is OK. They just have a tab of paper stuck to their backs now. I also wrote an e-mail to the seller. But this was just one album among a bunch of other (nice) stuff in the lot so I don't want to make a fuss. I did let him know, though, that the bidders should have been told.
Larry
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this post
re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
Larry,
Generally speaking, ordinary FDC's even in excellent have minimum market value. I know a dealer who sells official Canadian FDC's for double the face value of the stamps on them; many collectors I know would consider that excessive.
An FDC with paper adhesions has virtually no value as a cover (and many collectors would not bother with stamps with official first-day cancels). Paper adhesions always lower the value of any philatelic item.
A cover front is just considered a very badly damaged cover, and is worth only a fraction of a complete cover.
Bear in mind that I'm talking only about market value. I have badly damaged covers and stamps in my collection that I wouldn't part with, simply because they have attributes that I consider worthwhile.
Bob
Login to Like
this post
re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
Larry,
if this was part of a much bigger lot, many sellers customarily provide little description, and many are sold as is. It sounds like this may be the case; and since you're already dissambling the album, you may already have made a decision.
I still think the seller ought to note aspects of box lots that bear on their value when listing them. Glue on the back is never visible in a picture and should be highlighted. Still, it's poor business in my view.
As to your question about FDCs, there are run of the mill FDCs by ArtMaster and Farnum and others that generally have little or no aftermarket value, unless the stamp itself is in great demand; there are also limited run FDCs by cachet makers well known in the AFDCS that can sell for hundreds of dollars, and here it's a matter of matching the cover with the buyer, and there are the home-made FDCs, like I occasionaly do, that have no aftermarket value, unless its construction just happens to picque another's interest. Both the Farnum and home-made cachets can be found in dealer dollar boxes, where they're universally considered to be priced about a dollar too high. A common FDC is further diminished by faults, such as stuck paper.
David
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re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
David,
You used a term with which I am not familiar.."well known in the AFDCS". What does AFDCS stand for?
I e-mailed the seller last night and he responded quickly with an expression of regret and offer to pay me the profit he made from this consignment sale. Because of his "straight up" behavior, I told him forget about it. Seems to me he made an honest mistake and wasn't trying to rip me off. Makes me feel a lot better. This was just part of a large lot and the rest of the lot was fine.
Still, too bad about the stamps and FDCs. It was a pretty complete album.
Larry
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re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
AFDCS means American First Day Cover Society. (I didn't know that either, so I googled it.)
I have found that most dealers are ethical and reasonable. Be sure to give him good feedback.
Bob
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this post
re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
Agree with Bob, make sure you give great feedback for anyone willing to stand behind their stuff and return the profit. Can't ask for more; and if it was a box lot consignment, there's a good chance he didn't look hard.
David
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Immediate Past President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
09 Nov 2009
11:18:02am
re: Stuck Stamps, FDCs, minimum descriptions of large lots, and more
To find out if an FDC has any value, I go to http://www.jamesmccusker.com/ and either search by cachetmaker or if I don't know the cachetmaker, I search for the scott number and hope that it shows up (most times it does). Of course these prices are retail, but it lets you know the relative value. I just did a search for Scott 1197 (Louisiana Statehood). The price range goes from $1.58 for an Artcraft Cachet and $675.00 for a Dorothy Knapp Cachet with many different values in between.
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