01-12-2017 05:44 PM
I have started a new section on the site that images illegal stamps. It is a new concept. Taking a verified UPU Circular and showing every or almost every illegal stamp the circular defines. By imaging the illegal stamps it is the perfect reference for collectors, dealers and auction sites to use as reference to root out sellers of them.
Up until now the UPU and various other sites have stated that the illegal stamps should not be shown in images for various reasons. All of those reasons are INVALID and it is now proven that what has been done is not stopping the sales of illegal stamps. Some who say that they should not be imaged have made these statements by design. Corruption in stamp societies and even the UPU are behind this denial.
For years now the problem has evolved into a massive availability of illegal stamps as the sellers have become emboldened because of no retaliation from eBay or many other venues. Just look at Benin or Madagascar for example and you will see that what the circulars define as illegal stamps are blatently being sold right here on eBay. For certain years you will find that 99% of say, 140 lots, for that year alone are offers for illegal stamps.
Many sellers evade detection using other terms and will not post the year in the title. Some will evade by not even posting the country name in the title. Almost all are targeting topical collectors.
The ones who post the lot by the "year of issue" are indeed very bold and think they have some sort of "right" to sell them. according to international laws...they support criminals.
Madagascar just posted a new circular in 2016 describing certain stamps that are illegal. Those stamps are blatently being offered here on eBay right now! The evidence shows that the sellers who are offering them have direct ties to the producers or are the producers themselves. Just look at them yourself and compare with the imaged illegal stamps on the 2016 page on the site!
It is time for all legitimate collectors and dealers to go to war against these people. Many of these sellers are major sellers with "reputable" reputations. Many sell legitimate stamps as well. For those sellers I say don't buy ANYTHING from them if they sell illegal stamps. Let them know you will not do business with them BECAUSE they sell illegal stamps. If you do then you are only supporting the illegal stamp trade which is basically a stamp dealer who is bent on ripping you off!
Please visit the introductory page and check out the linked country pages at the bottom of it. I would like feedback and opinions on what is there. I have already received commendations from some leaders in the philatelic world including some tied to the U.P.U. itself! so I think I am on the right track.
It is still in the early stages of developement and there are many circulars to go. Ebay can use the reference to root out these sellers. All the imaged illegal stamps are verified by the circular which is posted as a pdf file for viewing on each page. And if you don't believe it, go to the UPU site and get it yourself. The WNS site is linked as well.
The reference pages are strictly based on the circulars. Not the WNS system which has faults.
This is my contribution to stamp collectors worldwide. Here is the link to the introduction page.
ILLEGAL STAMPS (An Introduction)
Thank you.
01-13-2017 03:59 PM
02-21-2017 10:00 AM
Hi, will it be possible to denounce such dealers to eBay so they can stop this practice? It is very easy to detect these items. There is an option on the listing "report item" but the choices offered are very limited and do not clearly include "illegal" items as per eBay's policies.
02-21-2017 05:53 PM
Reporting them seems to fall on deaf ears. I have reported numerous items as prohibited and restricted items-Stamps, currency and Coins-other currency and stamp concerns. Nothing happens. these are bigtime dealers. My take is the UPU should step in and force sales of this junk to be stopped using international means.
As far as reporting this stuff....maybe if more people here on eBay got involved and DID report this stuff on a massive scale eBay might take notice. I note that these sellers sell a LOT though so stopping them will take a bite out of profits for eBay which apparently is not in their interest to do. As long as there is no major players like the UPU or government involvement or massive protest by the stamp community itself, sites like this will continue to allow these rip-offs to continue to sell.
Also some of these sellers have been banned before but have simply changed their accounts and start up again. Until sites like eBay develop a system that detects this stuff as soon as a seller tries to put it up (image detection) and blocks them immediately this junk will be here. That is why I am developing a site using images. They could easily just collect the images from my site and put them into a detection program and easily see who is selling this stuff.. It is the only way to stop them now. They cannot sell the junk without images and therefore they are easy to detect.
This not only involves illegal stamps but fake British Locals and fake reproduction which have flooded the market. some of these sellers are involved in all three types....rrrr.
07-13-2017 11:36 AM
07-16-2017 05:56 AM
09-29-2017 08:26 AM
06-23-2019 09:26 AM
As of June 2019 I have completed and/or upgraded the following illegal stamp sections
You can now reference what is legal and what is fake before making purchases for the following countries.
BENIN
CONGO REPUBLIC
DJIBOUTI
IVORY COAST (COTE D'IVOIRE)
MALAWI
MALI
RWANDA
The fight against the counterfeit illegal stamp industry is now stronger than ever before. The main producers and distributers are being identified. Major associations like the ATA and ASDA are now beginning work to counter this two decade old problem in the stamp market. eBay and the other venues are now much more aware of the problem and are taking steps to counter it.
We have a long way to go but progress is being made. Sadly there are new producers out there that are creating a mass of newer fake issues in the name of the above countries and many more. My advise is to be wary of any new issues becoming available for most African nations, many Arab nations and now generally all nations that are known to be having these problems. As a collector or dealer you MUST do the research to verify their authenticity.
The producers and distributers are wreaking havoc on eBay and the other online auction venues constantly. These are their primary sources of income. They try to avoid detection by not using the country names in their titles and descriptions. When stopped or shut down they create new user names and start selling again. Some have multiple user accounts.
We are having good success in stopping sales by U.S. based sellers but are still having problems with foreign (outside the U.S.) sellers of which the majority of illegal stamps are coming from. This problem is being addressed within eBay and hopefully soon will be remedied.
At present the removal of illegal stamps is still in an "experimental" stage. Countries being used are Djibouti, Ivory Coast and presently Benin has been added. Thousands of sales have been removed and on eBay you can now browse those countries by their name much more safely.
There is still the problem with new listings which will always be there as there are millions of these fake stamps in dealers stocks and in collections all over the world. Advise is...if it looks odd compared to the general listings it is time to research it BEFORE you buy it. ALL illegal stamps are mainly geared to attract TOPICAL COLLECTORS. therefore if you are one of them you need to become much more aware of the problem and avoid buying the illegal stamps. If you buy them you are only supporting criminals.
Avoid listings that do not use the country of origin in the title. Not listing the country of origin within the title and/or description is AGAINST the eBay stamp policy. Selling counterfeit illegal stamps is against eBay policy. They are NOT cinderella stamps. They are NOT private issues. They are NOT local issues. Anyone who is stating they are is attempting to deceive you.
I will continue to help the stamp community to identify the counterfeits. Presently I am adding new pages for the Congo Democratic Republic. Over 1000 images of them! Please be aware that I do not have images of every single one out there. The site gives you an excellent reference to identify the majority of them.
A word of warning to illegal stamp dealers that are abusing eBay and the other online venues. We are aware of who you are. We will not relent.
As time goes on we will attack your sales and remove more and more, country by country until you have nothing left to sell. We are raising the awareness to such a degree that you will have thousands of collectors and dealers worldwide who will not deal with you and will alert others not to do so either. The people you have ripped off all these years will be coming after you as well.
I started this new war against the counterfeiters. It is fast going....out of my control now which was and is my intent. I have shown one person can make an effect against them. Soon....there will be thousands....
Your days ARE numbered.
http://golowesstamps.com/reference/Illegal%20Stamps/illegal_stamps.htm