I just don't understand some people

A while back I had this IPY sheet from Finland on auction, you know where.
After some serious action from 5 or 6 bidders, this sheet realized, yet again, a higher selling price on auction then what I am selling it at my store.
3 days ago I received an email from one of the bidders asking me for a "second chance". I responded that I could not do it because I would loose too much at his final bid.
He got back to me offering me $3.50 for the sheet. at the beginning of this blog I mentioned that my intentions were to be transparent in my opinions and dealings. and this not only on this blog but in all my dealings.
So, I'm selling this sheet at $3.95, I explain to this customer that if he orders from the store and uses his coupon code for an instant 15% discount he would be paying $3.36 for the sheet instead of the $3.50 he is offering. Moreover I offered him to combine his winning lots with his purchase at the store.
Guess what? I haven't heard from him in 2 days. Can somebody explain to me the logic of some buyers?

So you still think eBay is the best place to shop!!

SO YOU THINK EBAY IS STILL A GOOD PLACE TO SHOP?

On July 6th 2009, Canada started a new 3-year series featuring well-known Canadian Roadside Attractions. This sheet represents the first 4 attractions and there will be 8 more coming in the form of souvenir sheets of 4 in 2010 and 2011.

The selling price for this year's issue is 4 x $0.54. This is our current 1st class internal rate for up to 50gr. So, the cost for the sheet is $2.16 plus taxes, yes dear readers, we do pay sales taxes on our stamps, making a total of $2.44 canadian for this souvenir sheet.

So why am I asking you the question above?

Yesterday I was browsing different dealers on eBay and this one person has these stamps in his eBay store selling at $3.09 USD.
Not only is he taking advantage of his customers but to make matters worse he sells these stamps as a block of 4 and not as a souvenir sheet. Now why is he doing this , I don't know but I do know that this seller has a 100% positive feedback, he's a Power Seller and, if you ask me, simply stealing from buyers also at a 100%.
In his description he mentions that the sheet has been issued at only 250,000 copies. So what? Most Canadian souvenir sheets are issued at 250,000 copies, nothing unusual or exciting about it.
Now here is the kicker. His S&H charges are $2.00 for Canadian destinations, $2.50 for US destinations and finally $3.00 for the rest of the world. Plus, an additional $0.25 per extra items.
Can you now tell me if you did a good deal by ordering this set of 4 on eBay, when you can have a complete MNH Souvenir Sheet from me at $2.80 plus $0.85 S&H to Canada, $2.10 to the US, and $2.50 to the rest of the world. And if you want more than 1 sheet it will not cost you a penny more in shipping charges.
Come and visit me at http://stamps4yourpleasure.auctivacommerce.com and start saving today. This item will be listed at the above mentioned price in a couple of hours.
Furthermore, tomorrow I will put it up for auction on eBay at $0.99 and let you know the results in 7 days.

SO YOU THINK EBAY IS STILL A GOOD PLACE TO SHOP?

How to find these and many more stamps?

Just a reminder about my store. You can reach me by following this link:

http://stamps4yourpleasure.auctivacommerce.com

If you wish to start saving right away, communicate with me at:

edek01@distributel.net indicate "Customer Loyalty Program" in the subject line and I will send you a pamphlet in .pdf format which will indicate to you how to start saving your hard earned dollars on your very first order and all orders thereafter.

Since I don't believe in "one-time" offers you will discover that I am looking at forging long-lasting relationships with all my customers and having loyal customers is worth a lot to me. and a lot to you in the form of escalating discounts.

Another booklet from Cyprus

Also in last week is this booklet of 8 stamps from Cyprus. It comes unfolded and has, inside, a description of the usage for the two different values.

If you have no interest in booklets, although they always make a nice addition to any collection, you can consider purchasing only the stamps which come from a sheet and not the booklet.

Prestige booklet from the Netherlands

The Netherlands in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) has recently issued this awesome Prestige Presentation Booklet containing no less than 9 different stamps and a wealth of information.

All 9 stamps are presented in a mini sheet format of 3 stamps per sheet.

Each group of 3 stamps comes with a beautifully designed descriptive opposing page written in English.

As a matter of fact, the whole booklet is written only English and probably designed to appeal to the international market.

These 3 stamps above are the last in the booklet and as you can see the first one on the right represents the official logo for the International Year of Astronomy (IYA)

Scott Catalogue - 2010 - Vol.4

According to Lynn's Stamp News, the Scott Catalogue 2010, Volume 4 contains more than 23,000 price changes.
Even as a stamp dealer I do not bother buying the Scotts every year, but I feel that this year it is worth the expense due to these high numbers of price changes.

Scott Catalogue - 2010

The 2010 Scott catalogue, Volume 3, for countries G - I has recently been released. almost every country included in this volume have price changes.

Most notably, Germany with 6,200 changes, Indian States 5,400 changes, Hungary 2,111, Italy 1635, Guadeloupe and Indo-China with 629 and 551 respectively.

Good news for collectors of Hungary, you can now find prices for the popular imperforated issues of this country.

What's hot - CANADA

Back in April of this year, Canada issued its contribution to the International Year of Astronomy.

The issues consist of a booklet of 10 stamps (5X2) with self-adhesive stamps, 1 regular souvenir sheet seen here, 1 overprinted souvenir sheet with the IYA logo in the UL corner, seen below, and an uncut press sheet.

6 million booklet stamps have been issued, 250,000 regular souvenir sheets, only 80,000 overprinted souvenir sheets, and 7,500 uncut press sheets.

Although fairly easy to find, the highest bid I received on eBay was $4.27 while selling this issue at $1.65 at the store.

Now, the hot item in this issue is this souvenir sheet. As mentioned it is overprinted with the IYA logo in the upper left-hand corner, but it can only been seen under a black-light or a UV lamp.

With naked eyes you can differentiate the 2 sheets by observing the bar code. The regular sheet has a bar code with a white background, while this one has a yellowish background for the bar code.

As mentioned a very limited quantity was printed (80.000) and it sold out at the Philatelic Center in matter of days. Although still available at my store for $3.25 I am seriously thinking about increasing the price after putting this item up for bids on Ebay at $1.99 and closing the auction with a high bid of $10.51

What's hot - Peru

I recently received this beautiful horizontal strip of 3 with a label on top featuring some of Peru's most beautiful and well known canyons.
Appealing to those collecting Landscapes/Sceneries, Earth's Physical Features and others, this set sold out within a week.
I have re-ordered some but I'm not sure if they will come in. If interested in acquiring a set or 2 get in touch with me and I'll put one aside for you.
Selling price $3.55 + s&h.

Dare to compare - International Polar Year

CHILE 2009 VERTICAL SE-TENANT PAIR

Sold on eBay $3.97

My selling price $3.30

PERU BEAUTIFUL SOUVENIR SHEET OF 4

Sold on eBay $4.87

My selling price $4.95 (lost on this one)

SLOVENIA 2009 SOUVENIR SHEET OF 2

Sold on eBay $2.50

My selling price $1.90

INDONESIA 2009 "HEARTBREAKING" SOUVENIR SHEET OF 2

Sold on eBay $2.02

My selling price $1.20

MOLDOVA 2009 SET OF 2

Sold on eBay $3.25

My selling price $3.00

GREECE 2009 SOUVENIR SHEET OF 2
Sold on eBay $4.25

My selling price $4.15

LATVIA 2009 SOUVENIR SHEET OF 2

Sold on eBay $1.90
My selling price $1.90

Dare to compare - International Year Of Astronomy

LUXEMBOURG 2009 SET OF 2
Sold on eBay for $4.25

My selling price $3.05

MONACO 2009 SET OF 2

Sold on eBay $3.38

My selling price $2.75

MADEIRA 2009 SOUVENIR SHEET OF 1

Sold on eBay $3.50

My selling price $2.95

AZORES 2009 SOUVENIR SHEET OF 1

Sold on eBay $6.50

My selling price $2.95

PORTUGAL 2009 SOUVENIR SHEET OF 1

Sold on eBay $5.01

My selling price $2.95

eBay and the stamp collector...

As mentioned yesterday most of us are under the false impression that if we buy something at Walmart we get the best possible deal. Well I hope I showed you that it is not always the case and shopping around could prove to be rewarding. Let's hope now that by giving you some very recent figures on my own sales you will consider doing the same when it comes to your stamp collection.

I still use eBay to put some items on auction, mainly to promote my on-line store at http://stamps4yourpleasure.auctivacommerce.com and communicate with thousands of collectors. I take the risk of using those items as loss-leaders to get in touch with people around the world.

With this in mind, last month, I listed over 60 new issues mainly about the International Polar Year and the International Year Of Astronomy. I started most items at $0.99, realizing that I stood the chance of loosing a lot if they were to go for the minimum bidding price. Was I in for a surprise?

After careful examination of the final bids and the selling price at my store, 95% of all items listed sold for more than what they are listed at in my store. I was even able to send out "second chance" offers to many and still get a better price for those items.

So, am I satisfied? Certainly am, but being a stamp collector myself, I feel that we should not be taken advantage of and that people should know that eBay is not the only place to find good deals. I promote my store as a place for collectors to feel good about their purchases and the prices they pay. Why? Because as a stamp collector that is how I would like to feel when dealing with an internet dealer.

Coming up pictures and price comparaisons.

So you think eBay is the best place for deals!

As a stamp collector myself I always thought eBay was the place for the best deals around the globe.

As a consumer I also thought that Walmart was the best place to save money.

Well, as a stamp collector/philatelist and a consumer I was wrong on both assumptions. Just to show my point, let me tell you about Walmart first.

I have 2 dogs and I used to buy the dog food at Walmart, 18kg bags twice a month. Now one must admit that they are marketing geniuses and they can make you believe just about anything they want you to believe. So most us are going in and picking up just about anything that they have on display. Well my friends start looking closer and start shopping around a little bit more.

When we had the tainted dog food problem out of China, Walmart, for some reasons, was constantly out of its brand. Then when it came back in stock it was about a dollar more expensive, and it has been creeping up ever since.

This is just one example. I will not start outlining all the other items that you can find elsewhere at better price but, if you feel like it conduct your own survey and see what conclusions you will come to.

What about eBay then? The story is about the same and as a dealer with an on-line store as well as an eBay seller come back in a day and you will find out in my next post.