Cheap stamps on eBay

[Tom57y]

Wasn't sure where to post this so apologies if this is not the right place...

I have a part time business selling on eBay, I am selling low value items that can be sent using a large letter stamp, for ease I buy stamps a few hundred at a time and I just put the packages in a nearby postbox. This works great for me as I can easily fit it around my job.

I have seen large letter stamps for sale on eBay that are 20 - 30% cheaper than RM prices, they are brand new not reused/unfranked and the sellers in question are selling 1000's. Out of curiosity I have bought some and as far as I can see they are the real deal.

However, when you take into account the costs associated with selling on eBay the sellers must be buying at a 50% discount (at least), so how is this even possible?

For me this represents quite a saving, but I am concerned there is something not quite right about them (i.e. have not been legitimately sourced).

Does anyone have any knowledge on this, am I right to be concerned?

 

[Mr D]

You could investigate the seller.
You could choose to buy from someone else.
You could buy from the seller every time.
You could try becoming a stamp retailer.

Have you ever looked at a Royal Mail online business account?

 

[Prime81]

my brother used to 'work' for RM by testing the post system. Basically RM would send blank envelopes to him to see if they got there. He got paid in stamps, loads of them. Maybe others do the same and sell on the stamps. Just a thought.

 

[cbe21ok]

If you do not mind me saying if you are buying large letter stamps on ebay 20-30% cheaper than the post office then they are most likely previously used and not legal. If they say 'off paper' or 'for philatelic use only' then it is best to stay clear.
You quite often see stamp dealers on ebay selling mixed value postage stamps in packs of £20/£50 etc and these are normally fine - only problem is you have to make a few stamps up to the value you want but still worth it if you can be bothered.

 

[dan19900]

Yeah I've bought those in the past. No idea how they're doing it but they're definitely unused. Maybe they're just stealing them. I see there's a guy selling 100 1st class large letter for 79 pounds now, he'll only end up with a little over 65 pounds after fees and postage.

 

[Newchodge]

Costco used to sell stamps for less than the face value (they may do so still, but I haven't been there for a while) so it is certainly possible.

 

[UrbanRetail]

The price for retailers for a 1st class large letter stamp in 2018 was 94p each, but that's at the basic discount level. If they're selling thousands they may be getting them for much cheaper.

 

[Mr D]

The price for retailers for a 1st class large letter stamp in 2018 was 94p each, but that's at the basic discount level. If they're selling thousands they may be getting them for much cheaper.

You would hope retailers buying them to sell are indeed buying them a lot cheaper than selling price.

 

[dan19900]

I doubt anyone is buying 1st class large letter stamps from Royal Mail for 65p or less, they cost 1.01 at the post office now.

They must either be fake or stolen in my opinion which is why I stopped using them. They do look exactly the same and definitely aren't used though but then I've seen fake 20 pound notes that look convincing too.

 

[Barry12345]

I sell them sometimes, they come from my office clearance jobs

 

[Mr D]

I doubt anyone is buying 1st class large letter stamps from Royal Mail for 65p or less, they cost 1.01 at the post office now.

They must either be fake or stolen in my opinion which is why I stopped using them. They do look exactly the same and definitely aren't used though but then I've seen fake 20 pound notes that look convincing too.

So how much are retailers buying them to sell for?

 

[dan19900]

So how much are retailers buying them to sell for?

I don't know, maybe 90-95p. I imagine they're a low profit item. I've seen Royal Mails bulk rates and they're nothing like 65p and that's when you're sorting everything our nicely for them and doing half of their job.

 

[Dimo]

I'm sure people have various sources for selling genuine RM stamps on Ebay. There are also numerous sellers offering "unused" stamps which were formerly unstamped on mail. I believe RM is clamping down on this by instructing post office staff to handstamp new mail - I see this regularly every time I take in a batch of my pre-stamped packages.

When buying stamps on Ebay you might ask the seller if the stamps are genuine or forgeries. If forgeries it will go very quiet! But there are, in fact, actual forgeries listed as such for 'collectors' (ahem!) and to an untrained eye are as convincing as officials. I bought a book of 1st class forgeries last year and almost accidentally used it last week. Mint forged stamps generally command much higher prices than their face value.