I’m a regular browser of eBay for the most cost effective stamps and wanted to share them with everyone. I figured I couldn’t be the only one, so…
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I like the idea generally, but I think discount stamps in some places are mostly a mirage. I now understand that on EBay, uncancelled stamps are mostly just washed stamps that are re-sold which is illegal. It’s big business to defraud post offices everywhere sadly which ultimately costs us more in the long run.
I gather even pretty good fakes are produced & sold by the millions to chain corner stores etc.
So although I’d love my postage costs to be reduced, I’m not sure it’s very possible in most cases in some jurisdictions.
I definitely understand the concern.
I’ve personally bought Mint Hinged stamped from eBay. These were forever stamps still in the originally sheet packaging and I bought them for $0.35 per stamp versus the $0.55 face value.
I’m very careful to make sure that none of the products I purchase or recommend are uncancelled stamps washed and resold.
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What’s so annoying is the customer has to figure this out for themselves. I like to trust vendors, but I’ve realized that a large chunk are not sourcing things legitimately.
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Yup~
That’s why I thought about putting the Wiki together. I use some very reliable sellers on eBay and wanted to share them so that our fellow PCers didn’t have to do the work.
The only stipulation is that I only search for US stamps, which is why I included the [USA] in the title. But if it works out well, I’d love for it to be PC-wide.
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I have seen several that offer discount stamps on ebay. I would caution to research the seller, the legitimate sellers typically are authentic philatelic dealers and mostly offer an overstock of various denominations or stamps that would not be appealing to an actual collector but still good for attaching to your mail. Most of those with this style of listing will also offer and have a lot of items listed and not just a handful.
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as the pandemic started to slow down (until recently with the delta), stamp shows are starting up again. this is a great place to get postage stamps as face and some cases discount prices. here is a website https://www.istampshows.com/ and find the closest near you. but as the delta is starting to spread like crazy, best call to see if that stamp show event is happening. at the show, look for dealers selling american (and in canada - canadian) stamps and ask if they have any mint (unused) stamp ad face or discount prices. these dealers usually don’t display them but will bring out if asked (if they have them). some may ask why the dealer is selling as such a price. they are buying collections and choose what is valueable - and want to get rid of what is left. please note, i do not know if dealers of stamp shows outside of the usa and canada offer these discounts. hope this message is helpful.
Did the wiki ever get started? I didn’t see any mention of it in the replies.
I’d bought US stamps from an on-line store (not eBay) at 50% of list (+ extra gifts with purchase!) They’re clearly not used/washed, they’re still on the original release-sheets.
There was some talk on reddit that suggested some of these sellers are counterfeiting. These look completely legitimate.
Does anyone know how much the USPS discounts to retailers? Is this store just operating on narrower margins than everyone else? They seem to have everything in the USPS’s catalog.