How to get your stamps - #5 Ebay

As some of you will know, I have been looking at different ways to get your stamps. So far, I have considered: 1. Approvals 2. Kidstamps (if you're a young person!) 3. Philatelic Bureaux 4. Stamp fairs Today I have going to look at Ebay and ask how this compares to the others.

Lots of people are buying stamps online and Ebay has millions of listings - just today I found 840,000 listings for GB stamps, and that is without looking at the rest of the world. That's a lot of stamps being sold.

I sometimes buy stamps on Ebay and there are some good reasons to use it.

What are the advantages of buying stamps on Ebay? I think the obvious thing is the wide selection that is available, and you can find pretty much exactly what you're looking for. This is perfect if you are a collector with very niche interests (I heard yesterday about a man who only collects stamps showing Friesian cows) or who are looking for a very specific thing. Whether you're looking for a rare 19th century stamp or a modern cover, you'll probably find it on Ebay.

It can also be very convenient, and you can purchase from home without having to visit a local stamp shop (if you're lucky enough to have one) or go to a stamp fair. It's also really easy to browse and compare prices. You can buy from people all around the world - my grandma buys Russian stamps and she gets them from someone in Russia who really knows about the historical Russian issues. It's helpful for her because most UK stamp dealers don't have that level of knowledge about Russian stamps, and also because a lot of these stamps aren't easily found locally.

The Ebay feedback system is quite good because it allows you to look at other buyers' experiences and comments.

You can sometimes get discounts on Ebay for multiple purchases, but I don't know if that's such a huge advantage as I find you will get better deals at stamp fairs.

But there are also disadvantages! My dad bought some USA "forever" stamps last year that turned out to be fake. And not very good fakes at that. He was really annoyed, especially as he was buying them as a gift for someone. There have been lots of cases of people selling supposedly unused "GB stamps for postage" that have actually turned out to be fake - in fact, I'd guess that most of the fake stamps our there in the last few years have been bought and sold on Ebay. No doubt these scammers are aiming more at people who want to buy cheap postage, but it can have a knock-on effect on collectors too. Another problem is that not all sellers are honest about the condition of the stamps and photographs don't always give a true reflection. Try complaining afterwards and you could be told "they're sold as seen" or something like "I took a photograph, what more do you want?" Sometimes the people selling aren't actual stamp dealers and so don't know much about stamps, which isn't their fault but it doesn't help collectors who are buying and want to know things before they make the purchase.

Another disadvantage is the postage costs. I think most sellers' charges are reasonable, but it's still an additional cost (especially if you're buying from abroad) and sometimes you come across sellers who refuse to combine postage and charge you over £10 for posting out a small envelope with a 2nd class stamp. Yes, that has happened to me. My dad kicked up a fuss (I use his account) but Ebay's decision was that the seller isn't required to combine postage, but that when I placed bids I was contractually agreeing to buy. So basically they can charge whatever they like.

There are some sellers on Ebay that proudly display their PTS shield, which is very useful. But many sellers don't offer expert authentication and if you're buying more valuable stamps these may not come with proper grading. Not all sellers accept returns, which is another issue.

I helped my sister buy some stamps on Ebay recently. She wanted to buy some Vatican City stamps and she had been to a stamp fair where she hadn't managed to find any. So we looked on Ebay and she found this miniature sheet that she liked:

We were able to look at the different listings, compare the wildly different prices for exactly the same sheet and get a good deal from a reputable dealer (and yes, he was actually a proper dealer). She got the sheet a couple of days later and she was really happy with it. Do I recommend Ebay? All I would say is make sure you buy from reputable sellers. Yes, there are some very good sellers on Ebay and it can be a great place to buy stamps especially if you know exactly what you're looking for. But it can also be a very risky place to buy stamps, so be careful!