"...The auction catalogue will be out pretty soon - so if you want one of these...."
For the record I have several stamp lots (both Canada and foreign) offered for sale at the September auction. The #3 is not mine. I can only wish!
@rose-dee wrote:
I think 'hlmacdon' made an important point in saying that commercial sellers have access to shipping options we smaller sellers would give our eye teeth for. But I also expect that eBay likely makes very favourable selling arrangements with its larger sellers. I don't believe for a minute that the more prominent sellers on this site are twisting in the wind with every policy change.
All in all, a far more advantageous position on every side if you're big enough.
So now I really do have to exit stage left...
This is the part that becomes a limiting factor as a seller. One problem like we have in Canada is that larger retail accounts get rates which are heavily discounted, like the deal Canada Post had with Walmart at one point which was allowing them to provide free parcel shipping on $20-25 (I forget the exact number) orders. The sort of heavy discounting that allows that to be feasible is not unique and there are marketing dollar slush funds (of course not intended to "lower the cost of shipping" but instead to promote the virtues of Canada Post by having a graphic designer spending 30 minutes on a design and slapping a landing page on your website) that get given to retailers as well.
As a seller who also uses USPS one thing I like is the more transparent nature of rates provided, with the delta between the rates nothing like the spread we have in Canada. It isn't a perfect system as I am sure there is an "amazon exception" to the rates, but there is more transparency and equality. That brings up the other problem you reiterate, whereby USPS has a low cost option that perfectly meets the needs of ecommerce sellers but is structured such that you have to be a reasonably large retailer for the service to be viable, especially if you are trying to work within the constraints of ebay top seller requirement handling times. Needless to say that being able to ship international orders at a much lower cost would be of benefit. It's frustrating as a small business as growth often comes down to logistics. I hope (emphasis on hope) with the UPU recognizing the need to carve out and maintain a low cost parcel service suitable for ecommerce goods that we see something that will filter down to our level.
@femmefan1946 wrote:My one wish for Canada Post is that they realize that if they are already barcoding LightPacket and Small Packet shipments, they are halfway to providing Confirmation of Delivery.
At least for the USA.
And with any luck as part of the TPP (which includes Australia) and CETA (European Union possibly minus UK) negotiations.
To be clear, Confirmation of Delivery is not tracking. It is recording of acceptance and recording of delivery only.
I'm not sure at this point if that is even an option based on where the UPU classifies both. My understanding is both correspond to the UPU Letter -post P,G,E class for which delivery confirmation is not an option currently according to the below. Light packet is either P or G class, whereas small packet is letter format "E" and that is the category for which the ecommerce specific goods class is being carved out as a service for physical goods but still under the letter-post umbrella. I am interested to see if they offer delivery confirmation on this as standard and how they differentiate it from Post Expres (tracked packet). They do have charts which identify non-priority parcels verus priority parcels (EMS is listed separately as premium) which seem to correspond to a difference in speed of processing but they also list value-added services as limited for non-priority parcels. Delivery confirmation is what Post Expres currently uses, so either they move that to full tracking, or differentiate based on speed and/or delivery confirmation.
@femmefan1946 wrote:Canada #3 the Twelvepenny Black.
That is a Google image, not the actual stamp, which went directly to Ottawa without a stopover here in Victoria.
The CBSA agents were impressed. They had never seen so much value in such a small item.
It will be in Sparks Auctions in September, along with some examples of #1 and #2.
Start saving!
As another aside, knowing virtually nothing about philatelics, but something about history, that stamp shows Queen Victoria as a very young woman, I'd guess ca. 1840-45. Which means the stamp was issued long before Canada existed as a country. I assume it would be rare anyway, but is that fact what gives it the enormous value? And how the heck do you insure such a tiny scrap of easily ruined paper during transit -- or can you?
"...so much value in such a small item" -- You mean this outdid what even diamond merchants carry into the country? Don't worry, I'm not a potential bidder, just curious. 
@ypdc_dennis wrote:The Province of Canada existed before the Dominion of Canada came into being in 1867.
Yes, I know. The link isn't necessary, I grew up in Upper Canada hearing all the history. 
The Province of Nova Scotia, where I now live (as well as several others) also existed as an entity prior to 1867. Nova Scotia even had its own currency prior to Confederation.
The question I was posing to the philatelists among us was whether the stamp was worth such an enormous sum precisely because it pre-dated Confederation, or for some other reason. Perhaps its value does arise because it was struck at the time of the joining of Upper and Lower Canada. I really don't know. Judging from Queen Victoria's image, that may be it.
Hopefully one of the stamp people will come back and tell us why that little scrap of printed paper is worth a fortune.
rose-dee - "... that stamp shows Queen Victoria as a very young woman, I'd guess ca. 1840-45...."
The stamp (#3) was issued by the Province of Canada on June 14, 1851.
Only 1,450 stamps were actually issued.
Printer
Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson.
Creators
Based on a painting by Alfred Edward Chalon. Portrait engraved by Alfred Jones.
Original Artwork
Alfred Edward Chalon, "Queen Victoria", 1837
About Stamp
The first postage stamps issued by the Province of Canada featured the beaver on the 3-pence stamp, H.R.H. Albert, the Prince Consort on the 6-pence denomination, and Her Majesty Queen Victoria on the 12-pence.
These stamps were produced on laid paper without perforations. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edison, the New York security printers, received the contract to print Canadian postage stamps, producing all the requirements until May 1, 1858. On that day the company name changed, following amalgamation, to the American Bank Note Company with headquarters remaining in New York City. The new firm continued the former printing contract until Canadian Confederation in 1867.
The portrait of Her Majesty Queen Victoria was reproduced from a contemporary engraving of a full-length painting by Alfred Edward Chalon, R.A. Although this work of art portrays the young Queen in her robes of state, only the head appears in various British colonial postage stamp designs, including the 12-pence for the Province of Canada.
On the occasion of Queen Victoria's first visit to the House of Lords, she commissioned Mr. Chalon to paint this portrait as a gift to her mother, the Duchess of Kent. The memorable event was the prorogation of Parliament on 17th July, 1837, the year of the Queen's accession to the throne.
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