Scott 539 On Ebay Listed By Anthony's.

Ebay 141939432565 lists a stamp implying that is has a PF cert. They even list the cert number and a partial picture of a cert. Bottom line is this stamp does NOT have a cert and Anthony's claims it's too late to pull the listing but they won't close the deal. It's at $200 plus today. Closes later today.

A seller can always add to the listing at any time (i.e. with a 'Ask A Question'). At a minimum they should inform the winning bidder that the listing was incorrect.
Don

Did the seller admit in a private message that it has no cert. The PF database doesn't go back to that number, but the matchup of the pic is spot on. Presumably cert 50277 was for a negative opinion?

I don't know about the legitimacy of this particular listing, but Anthony's has many dubious Washington-Franklin listings. In particular, the W/F perf 12 coils are almost always obviously fakes from the photos given. Granted, that doesn't in and of itself indicate fraudulent behavior by the seller. However, what turned me off to this seller is that although it says "returns accepted", the fine print states that a "restocking fee" will be assessed: "TO THE EXTENT THAT CUSTOMER HAS PURCHASED THE GOODS THROUGH THE USE OF A CREDIT CARD OR PAYPAL ACCOUNT, CUSTOMER HEREBY AUTHORIZES ANTHONY'S TO DEDUCT THE RETURN SHIPPING CHARGES AND RESTOCKING FEE FROM THE CREDITED AMOUNT". So personally, I would stay away unless the stamp comes with a Cert that is also clearly shown.

I have had a bad experience with Anthony's in the past. I don't pay any attention to their ads any more and do not do business with them any more.
Peter

Way out there....but could cert #280088 be the same stamp, replacing an older cert?

Ray

Here's the listing. I've seen several questionable listing from this seller. I personally will not buy from him.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141939432565?ru=http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D141939432565%26_rdc%3D1

This cover below (that he keeps re-listing) has been posted on the forum before and he has been informed more than once (I believe--see Stamp Smarter) that it is not a legitimate cover. The stamps did not originate on the cover.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Register...AOSwGYVW9gIx

Less than four hours to go and there are 31 bids. I guess they aren't SCF people or they would know better. Thanks for the info on this outfit.

Jack Kelley

Thanks for the warning!
I have noticed that some of their listings have been
questionable. I have bid and wondered about some
of their # 500 listings. I got out before the end for those.
I did bid and won a # 573 used, $5.00 block of four, from them
two or so weeks ago. It was delivered promptly and seems
to be as described. After reading this thread, I will be more
careful. I do love to buy stamps. It is sometimes exciting to be involved in the chase! I would guess, that the chase, is not so
great, when you end up being burned.!

I don't know where this Anthony get my email adress but he spam me 3 to 4 times a week

RLM, I have seen multiple stamps being sold by them that look legit. That carefully worded return policy scares me away, though.

How can someone like this have 99.9% positive feedback?

Simple,when a buyer realizes that their purchase is not as described the seller keeps things out of ebays court and settles with the buyer. If said buyer does not realize that their purchase is not as described then seller usually comes out on top. There really is more to a seller than good feedback.

If there ever was an example of Caveat Emptor...

Anthony's appear to be somewhat morally/ethically challenged at times... they come from the Bill Langs and Apfelbaum, Inc. school of stamp dealing.

The first warning is the wording of their return policy. WALL OF TEXT CRITICAL HITS YOU FOR 1000 DAMAGE. YOU DIE! They have an unspecified restocking fee as well as a zillion other terms and conditions.

Second, they frequently overstate the catalog value of bulk lots and collections, some more so than others, and some laughably so.

Third, they are very poor about responding to inquiries in a timely fashion, instead encouraging you to call in by phone, presumably so they can make the sale circumventing eBay's fees.

They have a tendency to only show small portions of large lots, hoping your imagination will "fill in the blanks" to get to their stated catalog value.

The only times I have ever purchased from them has been when what I see on screen makes the lot worthwhile, or more accurately: worth a gamble.

Case in point:

Just last week I made the first purchase from them in well over 5 years (might be closer to 10). It was a 4-binder dealer stock of classic Sweden, supposedly $9,000 in Scott. I collect used Sweden for the socked-on-the-nose cancels, so this was in my wheelhouse.

The amount of material shown was a very small amount compared to what 4 sales binders would hold. What was pictured showed some promise, but my assumption (not just with Anthony's but ANY bulk lot from any source not viewed firsthand) is that major key items will be faulty. Then it becomes a question of what percentage of Scott you are willing to pay for the whole vs. what you think you can pull out and/or flip.

When they first listed the lot it was priced close to $1,000. They inched it lower over time until it got to it's current point of $666. Then after a period of time they listed it with a 30% off sale, dropping it to $466. That would be just over 5% of Scott *IF* their stated total was accurate.

Closer, but still too much of a gamble, IMO. However, they left the Best Offer option intact even during the sale. I made an offer of $250 to see if it would be autodeclined. It wasn't and they came back with a counter of $350. That said to me that they were motivated to move the lot, so I countered again with $300. Sold.

Upon arrival, I inventoried the lot to see how far off the estimate was. Some of the prices in pictures were clearly overinflated (much Scandinavian material has taken a serious tumble over the last decade). That said, many of the earlier items had actually increased since the lot had been catalogued.

When I was done and tallied everything up, the catalog value actually slightly exceeded their estimate, at roughly $9,600. Yes, there is quite a bit of faulty material, but at roughly 3.1% of current Scott, it's hard to go wrong.

So at the end of the day, I say be VERY cautious when evaluating their offerings, but if you are patient and scrutinize things, deals can be had.