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Pet Peeves, by FDCUSA

Preface: While this document was written to target Auction Sales, the points can be be applied just as well to any other selling venue.

The opinions expressed here are mine. It is an attempt to have all seasoned collectors and dealers offer first day covers with Integrity and Honesty, whether on or offline. There are several that practice this already and should be applauded; however, the majority of sellers, while offering their covers with complete honesty, are not promoting our hobby in a favorable light. We need to remember where we started from ourselves... Think about the bidders-- anticipate any questions they will have and include in your descriptions. Don't leave out any information about the item that you can provide.

Estimating Value of Covers

The most efficient way to earn a bad name is to quote listed catalog values as true values. They are estimates only. The Demand by collectors sets the value. Ideally, the catalog value would reflect an average of what people are paying.

In most cases, the catalog value ends up being double or more over the actual market value. Some conditions make a cover more valuable than a normal cover if it is a first cachet, stamp configuration combination, combination with other stamps, a first day cancellation from another city, addressed to a 'classic' cachetmaker, autographed by a famous entity. Keep in mind that these values are estimates only -- collectors determine the actual value by what they will pay!

There are many factors playing in to the bid process which inflates the ending sale price way over what someone would actually pay for it outside of the auction scene. Joe was in the Marines in 1945 and he wanted a particular Iwo Jima FDC and is filthy rich. He just wanted this one cover, and kept bidding on it up to $55.00 to guarantee he would get it. That is a value HE placed on it, and does not mean anyone else would pay that price!

I do not consider auction sales a means of determining a cover's value! An exception, though, would be rarities that only surface in auctions for sale, and have their value determined by those who can afford much much more...

Selling Uncacheted First Day Covers

Unless the cover is a classic (pre-1940) or is a popular topic, it shouldn't be listed as an auction item by itself. Posting an addressed cover that is post-1940 or a common issue is sure to get no bids or bids from those who do not know better. Posting an uncacheted FDC should be unaddressed (or neatly addressed - preferably on the right half), clean, and free of any defects. Likely bidders will be those who add cachets on to uncacheted FDCs -- please refer winning bidders to my web page on this topic - Ethics of Add-On Cachets. Bottom line -- Don't sell anything that you would classify as junk... The best homes for these covers are churches or schools where they can be used by students to practice their art abilities!

Online Auctions are not mail bid auctions!

Some traditional mail bid auction firms are postings items with an opening bid equal to what they estimate the value in their catalogues. The accepted bids for traditional mail auctions range from a minimum of 50% - 75%. To keep in line with their way of 'estimating' the value of covers, they should post the opening online auction bid at their MINIMUM ACCEPTED BIDS in their auction catalogues. Even better, I would challenge all auction firms to actually start the bidding at the TRUE estimated value rather than what they wish to get out of it... Example? How about a 1948 Scott #959 Woman's Suffrage FDC, Artmaster, unaddressed, plate block of 4 stamps-- probably hitting at about $3-4.00 relative value at most. Opening bid was $20.00. Umph!

Hand-colored / Hand-Drawn / Hand-Painted

Hand-Painted: To be hand-painted, it requires PAINT! If it doesn't have PAINT on it, it is NOT Hand-Painted.
Hand-Colored: This classification is valid if the cachet is printed and at least one color has been added by hand with a coloring technique otherthan paint.
Hand-Drawn: As it implies -- completely hand-drawn. Drawing refers to a medium such as pencil, pens, or other fine-line tools. Artwork that is hand-drawn, then printed is NOT Hand-Drawn. If it is only one-color, then it is not Hand-Colored or Hand-Painted.

Condition of Covers - What is TRASH?

The following conditions can considerably lessen the value of a cover.

SAVE YOUR COVERS FROM DEATH!!! Most older covers have stuffers inside that are made of high acidic material and can cause staining of the envelope from within. Also, thick stuffers or stiffener cards can cause permanent damage by stamping their outline in to the envelope - creating a 'raised' area inside the boundaries of the cover itself. The best thing to do is to remove any questionable materials inside an envelope and replace them with a mylar sheet of at least 2mil. Some people use wax paper, which may be fine - I don't know. If the offending material is relevant to the cover, put it in its own sleeve to keep it from transfering its staining properties.
TURN THE LIGHT OFF!. Natural Sun and ultra-violet artifical light can fade printing! Store your items out of direct light!
Torn/scraped stamps. Any effects on the stamps, except for the cancellation, can detract from the value This includes tears, pieces missing, perforations cut-off, parts of the top layer of the stamp missing or scraped, smearing of the cancellation(s), etc. Of course, the more rare an item is, the lesser degree of de-valuation will occur.
Stained/Soiled envelope-- not to be confused with natural toning (also a value killer though) over time. Can be ink smudges from the cancel, finger prints from oily handlers, semi-attractive foot prints from our favorite animal, leakage from our beverage of choice, the infamous moth holes (I've seen it!), writing of the Scott number and/or dealer pricing on the front, etc.
Slit side(s) / Torn portions. No slit is a neat slit... No tear is small tear... A roughly cut or torn envelope is pretty much worthless unless it is a unique or low production item. The ultimate slit? Just the front of the cover with the other three back folds cut off! Even a one-eighth inch tear can considerably lower the value of an item!
Incomplete cancellations. Any portion of a cancellation that is not readible decreases the value, especially the location or date portion. A bleeding or double-impression cancel is also less desirable.
Erased addresses, or addresses that have been marked out and rewritten/corrected. Don't erase an address!!! You will go to jail! Seriously though, an address applied in pencil that is erased will 99.9% of the time leave behind the indentions left by the pressure of the pencil.
Non-related markings: Including postal re-routing marks/text, inter-office routing, use of the envelope as an adding machine, unwise souls writing the catalog number and/or price on the face of the envelope, etc.
Stuck down flaps: I've heard some can be steamed open, but never tried it. The worst case is when the flap is stuck on the inside of the envelope without any protective insert-- the flap gum line will show through the front.
Torn back flaps
Gum staining which has penetrated the front paper of the envelope and is visible from the front. Can be from the envelope glue joints or a flap that has been tucked in without any protector between the inside front.
Cachets not relevant to the stamp/event: general purpose cachets are usually value at 25% of a related cachet Many FDC organizations make available general purpose cachets, and are frequently used for cancellations that offered no time to produce a relevant cachet.
Cancellation(s) not touching stamps: It's has to touch the stamp to be a 'postally used' collectible.
Toning (post 1950) -- toning is common on covers before 1950. The primary cause is not including a protector stuffer that is free of acidic material. Acidic stuffers, including paper board and newspaper clippings, can cause front and back toning for the size of the stuffer. Check recently acquired covers for these killers!
Addressed covers became "uncool" in the late 1940's. Unaddressed covers prior to the mid-1940's command a higher price than addressed, as most covers were addressed. An addressed cover can be valued MORE than a blank address if the address is related to the stamp being commemorated, the cachet topic, or the cachetmaker.

Legend of the Double Postmark

The Postal Service experimented with including a pictorial design to their FDOI cancellation, the same size of the circular location, having the two vertically centered with the FDOI cancellation bars. The initial practice ran from 1958 up to 1969, and was reborn again in the 1980's. Now, the complete cancellation can be a pictorial design! Oh, and by the way, just because those First Man On The Moon covers (C76) say Moon Landing, USA below the circle cancel does NOT mean it was also cancelled on the Moon!

Identify Cachet Maker When Possible!

I am very familiar with the majority of the cachetmakers in the past (kind of weak for the current ones) even if no information is given for it. We 'seasoned' collectors need to keep in mind that many people who bid online have no prior knowledge of FDCs. Please help these people by completely describing what you are selling! If you do not know who made the cachet, say so, and ask for input from other online collectors-- if someone tells you, add that to the description field for everyone to know! The worst thing you can do to a cachetmaker is make him or her an UNKNOWN!

Auction Listing Tips

Get "keywords" into your descriptions: If you're selling FDCs for the upcoming American Choreographers stamps, make sure you work in words like "dance," "ballet" and music." Try to second-guess what sellers will plug into their searches. Having keywords in a string (usually hidden) separated by a delimiter IS NOT KOSHER!
Put the Scott number in your lot titles: Many FDC collectors search by catalogue numbers.
Consider Nonstamp Categories: Why limit your customers to stamp collectors? Maybe your World War II Memorial cover will appeal to collectors of World War II memorabilia.
Accept PayPal, the online payment service. Buyers seem to expect to be able to pay electronically, but accepting credit cards is too expensive for most FDC sellers. PayPal is a reasonable and affordable alternative.

Show Photographs of The Items!

As the old saying goes; "A picture is worth a thousand words." And my saying is; "A partial picture is worth a few words." Every bidder would like to see what they are bidding on before they bid! For lots consisting of 1-5 covers, please show the COMPLETE COVER for their viewing pleasure! Don't use a graphics program to edit-out blemishes or faults (sharpening is acceptable). Try not to hide imperfections by covering it up with other covers (including addresses on covers). Show the bidders exactly what they are getting, and you will be a 5-Star Seller! All will praise your honesty!

I scan regular #6 envelopes at a width of 500 pixels, and adjust up/down for different size items -- not going over 600 pixels wide. A #6 cover scan will only be about 23-45k bytes, depending how many colors are in it. And I use a pink sheet backdrop, cropping the picture so to leave a 1/4 inch border around the item.

As a courtesy, leave the images in your auctions accessible for at least one month after it closes. This gives the bidder the opportunity to confirm what he received is what he won. Leaving them accessible can also generate interest in your current lots, and perhaps outside-eBay sales!

Add-On Cachets

Too much commentary to put here. It's on its own page in the FAQ Index.

Not sure what you have to offer?

It is the sellers' responsibility to include every bit of information they can about what they are selling! Simply showing a scanned image and/or saying the item is as-is is not beneficial to others who are novices to FDC Collecting!

Use Only One Email Address!

Nothing is more annoying than bidding/selling an item and have the other party reply with a different email address! Getting one of those freebie email accounts isn't the answer, as anyone can get one and register it with eBay -- even those who are up to no-good...

People have lives outside of {applicable venue}! Yes they do!!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm not online 24 hours a day just jumping to reply as fast as I can to every email! I have a full time job, and am also a Volunteer Fire Fighter. Sometimes fires are very frequent and my online time is very limited. Other things can come up, like when I was called to assist FEMA with the North Carolina flooding disaster in Jones County for a week.

ebay says allow three days for seller/bidder to respond. Some sellers specify 5 or 10 days for payment to arrive! AND, some say they will leave negative feedback if not arrived in that time! Let's get real!!! eBay is not a full-time business venture for the large majority, and everyone knows the Postal Service runs in to snags with deliveries. And, personal situation can arise which prohibits an ideal response time.

As a Seller, I send out the initial invoice, and follow-up with a reminder two weeks later. Then, after two more weeks, I post a final reminder with notice to respond within 1 week or negative feedback would be placed. That gives them 5 weeks to respond. This time-frame is well within the window to use eBay's Non-Paying-Bidder Alert system.

100% Information in Email & Snail Mail!

What I dread most is receiving payment for the item, and the bidder did not include the invoice I sent, does not provide an email address, and gives no information to what the payment is for! It's happened too many times. Bidders-- always include the seller's email notification with your payment! Sellers-- always include complete information about the auction to the bidders! A trick I use to help sort my email is using "eBay Win" and "eBay EOA" in the subject fields.

Shipping & "Handling" Charges

There is absolutely no need to send one first day cover via Priority Mail and force collectors to pay for Priority Mail! My "Shipping and Handling" charges start at 80Â¢ for one FDC. For that I provide more than adequate stiffeners neatly sealed in a Monarch (#7) size envelope. Bigger envelopes tend to get bent. Unless you are including cardboard stiffeners, do not use bubble mailers or large manila envelopes which are prone to a high degree of bending. Try to have the dimensions of your mailer & stiffener(s) no more than half an inch more than the items being shipped (small quantities 1-10 or so...). Larger quantities should be sent in a cardboard box.

Extend the courtesy to bidders to ship multiple won lots together and reduce the shipping costs!

Sellers should remember that the protective quality of their shipping can impress bidders to buy more! Similarly, poor packaging can kill sales. The worst I've seen is a #6 standard size envelope mailed in a #10 size envelope without any other material or marking on the mailer! Be sure to label packages as being fragile-- "PHOTOGRAPHS - DO NOT BEND", "PLEASE DO NOT BEND", "HAND CANCEL ONLY", or similar wording can increase the chances of a safe delivery.

eBay & PayPal Fees

Auction listing and final value fees are an OVERHEAD expense and should not be charged separately to the bidder, and please don't comment to the bidder that he/she is saving this cost!
PayPal does NOT allow adding a flat fee or percentage to a lot for bidders paying by PayPal. They do say you can bump up the shipping, and then given PayPal customers an amount or percentage off -- how stupid... Ah, PayPal looking out for the bidder...
Shipping costs have been accepted by all as an added expense on top of the amount due, as shipping can very by the destination. All other associated costs by the Seller are OPERATING EXPENSES! If you want to charge for this, bump up your opening bid to pass this expense to the bidder.

Gotta Have It! Rare! Unique! It is SCARCE! JEEZ!

99% of all the auctions that use such explicatives are not warranted the spiced up advertising! If it warrants such notification, include information to confirm such! If it is rare or unique, how many were made? If someone has to have it, why? By the way, "Wow" and "@LOOK@" are purely stupid...

Summation

Why all this commentary you may be asking yourself.... I reckone I am a modern FDC Collector with traditional values, or dare I say, ETHICS... Help those who are new to FDC Collecting. Answer questions they may have and go the extra mile with any other information! Be truthful in trading or selling covers. Try not to leave any questions to be asked later. Treat others the way you would want them to treat you. Bottom line--

PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF OUR HOBBY!

How do you feel about my opinions here? Let me know by leaving feedback. With your advance permission I will post selected replies at the bottom of this page.