How Can People Sell Stamps On Ebay For Less Than The Usual Price

[Thunderchild]

I've seen prestamped envelopes on ebay and I've bought stamps on ebay before for less than the normal price. How do they do it ? is it likely to be something illegal or is it like they get a discount rate for large volumes ?

[boxtops]

There's one listing at the moment where someone is selling unfranked stamps that they stuck on envelopes but then didn't need. Just cutting their losses, I guess - better to sell at below face value than be stuck with a pile of stamps you don't need.

[Thunderchild]

yes but there seem to be a few people who make a bit of a business of it, or do people really buy that too many stamps and then find they don't need them, one listing makes a point of saying they are unfranked but have minor damage.....

[Graham-W]

Buy loads from the Post Office before the price rise, then sell them a couple of years later at a mark up.
1st and 2nd class stamps aren't marked with a price any more so continue to be valid.

[grasscarp]

You can buy stamps from sites on line at less than cost price from post office. Also superdrug have them sometimes cheaper.

[boxtops]

That's a thought, Graham - I only ever buy stamps which say 1st or 2nd, what I paid for them 2 years ago was a lot less than they are worth now.

[ladybirder]

Costco sell them cheaper as well.

[sunny-dave]

I suspect that many of them have been through the postal system once already ... but appear to have been missed by the franking machine.

I certainly wouldn't buy them - and (if I was tight/foolish enough to do so) wouldn't use them on anything important ...

[dotty.]

some may be the books of stamps people on benefit were entitled to buy at last years prices. my daughter could buy 3 books of 12 stamps at the previous price on showing proof of her ESA. I actually paid for them and used them for posting my ebay sales. I therefore made a small amount of profit on the deal.

[dotty.]

it's quite probable that the offer was taken up by people who are then selling the stamps on ebay. why not, it's quite legal.

[boxtops]

some of the stamps on eBay are special commemorative issues according to the pictures - it could be stamp collections no longer needed...?

[Thunderchild]

well I bagged 100 prestamped with second class stamps envelopes for £38. considering I'm buying the envelopes as well and they have to be sent, the old price for stamps was 34p each so they've made no profit if they were on the old price.

I've seen listings before for large quantities of non gummed stamps.

[joko]

i would test them by sending one to yourself and see if it arrives - they may well be fake stamps

[Thunderchild]

if they are that good the post office won't know either, I would hope they are not fake, I want cheap postage but not illegal ;)

[joko]

they will know.

i heard of some fool who made their own, spend ages making perfect replicas - same paper, exact colour, size etc etc 'looked' perfect and he printed loads - but didnt realise that real stamps have some sort of invisible strips on, only visible under a certain light - that tell them if they are real and if they have been previously used

[Thunderchild]

that might be a bit of an exagerated story, if they can tell if they have already been used why did they spend thousands developing the new "security" stamps so that they get ruined when people try to remove them ? (and still you can sometimes.

[Answerprancer]

Blimey! Do people still do stamp collecting?!

[EDDIE51]

This comes up reguarly , there are always dozens of listings for 'unfranked stamps' on ebay, there is even a special listing category for them. Some times stamps do not get 'franked' so people cut off the stamp and the paper surround and sell them. At least 6 items of my mail over Christmas had unfranked stamps. They sell for around 1/2 the normal price 1st or 2nd class.

[Answerprancer]

Wow - that *is* sad!

[EDDIE51]

This is just 1 of over 300 listings on ebay now
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-x-1st-First-Class-unfranked-stamps-on-paper-sent-recorded-post-/150964596728?pt=UK_Stamps_BritishStamps&hash=item232630eff8
There is always the get out clause ' these stamps are for collecters intrest only ' in the listing to keep it legal !
Ha, Ha , pull the other one it's got bells on !! What collector wants 100 indentical stamps ? But it is fully legal as long as the listing says '' for collectors intrest only'' .