Listing and selling stamps on eBay™

Most stamp collectors have a secret desire to make a living selling stamps. And what could be more fun? Fortunately, most of us never have to make our living that way. Collectors can, and do, supplement their collecting budget by selling surplus philatelic material. Stamp collecting starts with saving stamps off of envelopes and this gives rise to duplicates. eBay is the perfect outlet for worthwhile duplicate material which a collector may acquire.

You can set the length of the auction (3, 5, 7 or 10 days), the minimum opening bid amount, and the reserve price (the minimum you would be willing to sell the stamp for), if you want to include one. It's best to be realistic in setting the reserve price so you don't discourage bidders, but be sure to set it at an amount you are comfortable with and really willing to sell your stamp for.

One of the keys to selling stamps on eBay is to find ways of attracting attention to your auction. Tips for Finding and Buying leads to the conclusion that the words in the title are crucial to attracting attention. The title is what the buyer sees when browsing the listings. It is also the object of searches used to find items of interest. No one can go through the auction pages for all the listings so you must catch the eye and imagination of the buyer browsing the listings and get him to click on the item. Here are a few guidelines for writing titles which will attract bidders.

First, the title must use the proper philatelic terms. Don't call a "plate block of four," a "numbered square" of stamps. The reason for this is that people like to deal with a seller who knows what he is selling so that the buyer can expect to be informed of exactly what is being sold. This is particularly true of defects. Sellers are expected to identify any defects in their offerings. Buyers will bypass an offering by someone who indicates little philatelic knowledge simply because of the possible difficulty of a wrong description on a lot. One of the ways to become skillful at writing good titles is to be a critical reader of titles in the Stamp category.

Second, certain words should be present in the title. The country of origin (except for possibly U.S.) should be identified even though it may be self-evident from the subcategory. Remember that the listings often group categories for review. Catalogue numbers (from the catalogue appropriate to the country) should be present to identify specifically what the stamp is. If the catalogue is other than Scott's, the catalogue used should be identified. Whether the item is mint or used should be noted. It should be noted whether the item is a sheet, plate block, packet, etc. The wise seller identifies the condition of any older stamp. The condition should be consistent with the standards described in Scott's catalogue or some other established source. (See Describing Stamp Condition for guidelines.) Consistent grading is important in establishing a long term selling relationship. If the stamp is a space filler, say so. In the long term the auction will be better received.

The catalogue value may be used in the auction title if desired but it is not essential. It is also helpful to identify which stamp or set is being offered. The reason for this is that many collectors have not memorized the catalog and need a reminder to tell them what the item is. Also, foreign collectors often use different catalogues and need to be able to find the item in their catalogue of choice. If you think the item has topical interest, use the keywords in the title. Oftentimes this attracts people who are not stamp collectors to the bidding because of their special interest in the subject. If you wish, a comment may be made reflecting the attractiveness of the lot.

Here are samples of what would be recommended:

• U.S. Scott 114 Unused No Gum Very Fine Railroad Locomotive, Crisp
• Malta SG 266-82 Mint Hinged Fine-Very Fine 1956 QEII Definitive Cpl.
• Worldwide Collection 10,000 diff. mint and used, fine or better, Good Starter

As you can see, some common abbreviations can be used which are understood by collectors who are familiar with the items. As your experience grows you will learn the abbreviations which communicate with stamp collectors. Don't forget, however, the words are important as collectors will be using the search system, and, if you use the wrong word or misspell it, the search system will overlook your lot and the lot will go unnoticed.

The auction page is the next opportunity to attract the attention of the buyer. It should emphasize the offered item with clear text which describes the item and its quality. You are expected to discuss any defects. Tell as much as you can about the item which would be interesting to a collector. For example, the fact that a cover has the cancel of a Dead Post Office (DPO — one which no longer operates) is important to collectors. If you add the dates, it saves the buyer the research effort and also conveys that you do know what you are talking about.

An offer of complete satisfaction or money back has been a good one for mail order sellers for years. Most mail order stamp dealers do business this way as well. Whenever possible, have a picture of the item on the ad page. This will help resolve any questions of centering and perforation damage beforehand. It will also help the buyer determine your view of centering and cancels. Suitable scanners can be had for less than $100 and can make your auctions more successful. They're also nice for sending pictures to the relatives and friends.

Also pay particular attention to your shipping charges. A specific domestic shipping price should be included on every auction page. Use the USPS rate calculator to make sure what the rate will be if there is any question in your mind. Most stamp buyers are used to receiving stamps through first class mail. Stamps are light weight. 33¢ for the 1 oz first class rate will send a number of stamps — even with the stiffeners which should be included. Bulkier items require the packaging that normally accompanies such items. Fair packaging, shipping and handling costs are expected by most buyers. It doesn't cost $3 to send a block of stamps to a buyer. Some buyers will just ignore such lots or lower the price to reflect the exorbitant shipping and handling costs.

Another irritant to customers is a long list of qualifications on payment. This sort of approach may make the seller look like someone who won't be easy to do business with. Holding checks for 10 days is unreasonable and to use that standard makes the seller look unreasonable. Better to risk an infrequent loss than to refuse to accept checks based on good feedback. Bad checks from stamp collectors and dealers really are infrequent. The American Philatelic Society, with over 50,000 members only kicks out a few — much less than 10 — members each month for failure to take care of a philatelic debt.

One of the ways to learn to write good auction pages is to read other's pages. Try to decide what appeals to you and use the technique in your pages. A professional looking page makes your sale look professional as well. It is the only way you have to speak to a potential customer.

Most users have some experience with HTML. Use it sparingly on your auction page. Most users also will be turned off by sound files. Simplify the preparations by making up some templates with the standard text you want to use regarding terms and things like shipping. Make up the pages off-line in a word processor (NotePad will do just fine) and then cut and paste when you are on-line submitting your auction. You can make up a whole series of auctions in the same file by cutting and pasting successive templates. Then you only have one file to deal with when you are submitting auctions.

Don't use Java applets on the auction page — some buyers have older computers which don't have the capability to process them. Also, there is little need for animated gifs on the page. In preparing scans of stamps take the steps necessary to compact the files. Few stamps require more than 10k bytes for a good image. The page should load rapidly and big files from slow servers are a turnoff. Pegasus has a wonderful, free On-Line JPEG Wizard which is simply amazing in compressing .jpg files like stamps. Try it!

Finally, be communicative with customers. You may be asked a question concerning a lot or a policy. Answer it politely and promptly. If the question is likely to be about something which would help other bidders, add a supplement to your auction with the answer. When the lot has closed, contact the buyer promptly and make arrangements for completing the delivery. People do expect to pay in advance but they also appreciate prompt shipment.

One thing to remember, is that "although the customer may not always be right, he is always the customer." It is better for your peace of mind to make a prompt and generous settlement of a complaint. Most of us don't often sell items which can be the difference between eating and not so it isn't worth the effort to have a large argument either as a buyer or seller. Find a compromise and take care of the problem quickly.

The last thing to do is to give feedback. It will be appreciated by everyone. It is the way people are known in the eBay community and it is one of the unique things that makes eBay work for all of us.

There are escrow services available for a small fee which may be used by the buyer or seller if either is concerned about assuring that the transaction is successful. The buyer can see the stamp and accept it before payment is released. If the stamp is not accepted, the buyer must return it quickly and the escrow service returns the funds to the buyer. Accurate listings help assure that sales go through. See the escrow section for more details.

The preceding material was written by Jim Watson. These are the opinions of the author, not the opinions of eBay, and therefore eBay does not validate the accuracy of or endorse these opinions.

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