Woo Hoo I've survived to ebay selling 25!!
Summary: ricarmic celebrated their 25th anniversary of selling on eBay, reflecting on their journey and the evolution of the platform over the years. Many participants congratulated them, sharing their own milestones and experiences, with some having been on eBay for over 20 years. Discussions included the historical aspects of stamp collecting and the nostalgia of early eBay days, with comparisons to present times. The conversation also explored the collectible nature of old stamps, hinges, and even prior eBay promotional items and services. The thread reminisced about past eBay experiences, giving a sense of community among long-time sellers.
25 years ago today I started selling here!
Given I've been selling for 46 years now, one must remember that ebay is simply a "branch" of the stamp "empire" but it is a significant one at that for me.
As with everything here and everywhere else for that matter for the last 25 (46) years, one must continue to evolve with the times to continue to survive!
I supposed 50 is possible given I'm still a "pup" stamp seller wise, to some at least, but time will tell!
brettjet38
·2 years agoAnd to get on the site you may have used AOL 4.0, this is how it was in 1999
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years agoI still use my aol account(s). Dial up is starting to get clunky. Can I interest you in a set of AOL Disks? Assorted versions.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/154891115668
hansatrade
·2 years agoAnd do you remember this sticker? I still have mine, somewhere 😃
Imagine, people sell it now for 45 USD - as SUPER RARE 😄
https://www.ebay.com/itm/155468669073
brettjet38
·2 years agoAnyone remember these, alomst 1/4 of a century...
recped
·2 years agoEvery new gripe has been griped before!
Even with that increase in 2000 USPS was still dirt cheap.
brettjet38
·2 years agoI was waiting for a few of these comments, keep looking, whats old is new again, lol
ricarmic
OP2 years agoMany days I wake up wishing I was new again!!! 😉😉
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@brettjet38
I've been on eBay just a little over 20 years. First time I heard they were even a thing. Strangely there are copies available/sold on eBay. Find them between issues The New Yorker and Town in Country under solds.... but not valuable enough to get excited. Were they one of the first "things" under options and perks eBay suddenly discontinued? Hope when the aliens do finally arrive that is not the first thing they see!!! 👽🛍😕
brettjet38
·2 years agoAnd this was the way we used the site until 2002 and I do remember using this, LOL
OH and this is a great site go look...
https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/gallery/ebay-in-1999
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago😱Are you suggesting what we have now is a downgrade? At least back then they attempted to welcome new users!!
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@brettjet38
Spring forward 25 years:
sparx_63
·2 years agoCongratulations on your milestone!!
May all your philatelic endeavours be free from evolutionary worries and non payers 😉
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoBoy did we get derailed fast!
DH used to call that a "nephew collection" meaning a collection best passed to a youngster (nowadays more likely a girl) along with a magnifying glass,a pair of tongs (not tweezers) and a stockbook.
Saying that you enjoyed it when you were their age and identifying how old some of the stamps are (Look that's the King's grandfather!). Any Newfoundland in there? Does the kid know that you were around when NL joined Confederation? And that a lot of Newfies would have preferred joining the USA?
See @ricarmic you started up more interest in philately. Best wishes for the next 25 years.
intimewithmusic
·2 years agoHa ha.. Aww shucks @reallynicestamps .. At my age I'm glad to be anyone's nephew. @ricarmic gave me some useful advice that didn't involve lighter fluid. I'll let you know if I have any Newfoundland. Maybe I have the King's grandfather's exiled mistress.. or would she be on an Australian stamp?
I'm going to enjoy revisting the collection and try and find a treasure or two. Is there a Google lens for stamps? The cool thing about selling stamps is you can stick the new ones on the outside of the envelope to include free shipping...
Right?
needsmorerobots
·2 years agoCongrats Ric!
I hope you have many more years igniting collector passions.
triber
·2 years agoI beat you by just one year, I reached 26 years on Dec. 2nd. I have slowed down a lot, but just keep pressing on. Many, many changed in those years.
vintagenorth
·2 years agoWell done! Only 15 years selling here for me but it's starting to feel like 25!
brettjet38
·2 years agoI made my first sale on here in 2001 so not far behind ya...
But, I do remember these days in the Wild, Wild, West of online sales, mailing cash, Money orders, not even PayPal back then, and the FB minefield, lol.
Congratulations you survived!
I wonder how many of us there are on here in the 2 decades-plus category?
The Boycotts that went nowhere, Postal Strikes...
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoI'm sure you remember Richard Lamb of London ,who once told DH that he did as much business after he retired at 90 as he did ten years earlier, mostly from estate appraisals and referrals.
hansatrade
·2 years agoCongrats! I am close to 25, too. I got something like this from Ebay a few ears ago.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@hansatrade
Is it still possible to even qualify as a "Power Seller"? Didn't that poof shortly after your 19 year award?
hansatrade
·2 years agoYes, exactly, the PowerSeller program was discontinued shortly after and replaced by TRS. We had a very usuful PowerSeller discussion board on US Ebay. For unknown reason, it has been resolved and replaced by some kind of "Experienced Sellers Board", by invitation only. I left the group qickly, because it was completely useless and unbearable, full of weird sellers with inflated egos.
ricarmic
OP2 years agoHmm I don't ever remember being invited to anything, must not be "big" enough to count!
The days of THX for your tenure in eBayland are also behind us, nary a word from anyone/thing in ebayland, one would have maybe thought 25 years would at least garner an email congrats!
Good thing I've got peers here to help me "celebrate!" 😄
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@ricarmic
Best we can do is give you a hearty Congrats and one of those official thumbs up. Collect 1 Million of them and you qualify for a 5 dollar off voucher for any purchase over 1000.oo. Expires yesterday. Ooopsie, nm..back to reality. Best thank you I got was 2 eBay TY stickers at Xmas a 5 years ago. I was almost overwelmed!!!
Maybe someone should throw a suggestion in the fancy eBay suggestion box for holiday pay for sellers who survive 5 years and longer!!!
-Lotz
msau4301
·2 years agoCongrats! Explains why you are always such a wealth of knowledge!
Me, I've been here exactly half of your time, a mere 12 1/2 years. Seems like 25 sometimes though!
busybeas_books
·2 years agoCongrats on the 25 years. I'm also just over 22 years here. I remember buying used stamps packs back in the late 1960s or early 70s, looks like exactly the same mix. Lots of Spanish 'big head guy' and small Japanese animals.
lucitabby
·2 years agoCongrats to you for surviving this delightful platform. I can't believe it but I'm at 22 years 🙄
intimewithmusic
·2 years agoCongrats you old "Tweezer"!
Wow! 25 years here. That's pushing the envelope...
OK smarty stamps, a test, what is worth more in this photo, the stamps or their tobacco can?
I'm thinkin" the can...
Way to go Ricarmic!
IT
ricarmic
OP2 years ago@intimewithmusic HAH! Neither!
The most valuable thing in the picture is the "Dennison Hinges", there's a long story why but if they're not stuck together, a full pack of original Dennison (not the modern imitation "Dennisen" style) is easily retailable for $25 $C, so it is worth whatever portion is still inside.....
intimewithmusic
·2 years agoHa ha . Youre probably right my friend. When i was eight ( 1963) I mailed in the coupons in the back of Superman and Spiderman comics hence the stamps. There's a Woodwards price tag on the Dennison hinges. I remember my parents taking me to Vancouver from Nelson where we lived. Thats when I bought the hinges. I havent dumped out the stamps since. As a seller of historic memorabilia with children I wish I could help them see value in our collectibles. At times I wonder if they would be better saved in an underground cave rather than sold on eBay.. I mean our collectibles, not the children... no... wait.. ya I meant the stamps . lol.. Very cool, Ricarmic, I appreciate what you do. Thanks.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@reallynicestamps
@ricarmic
@intimewithmusic
What about the value of either of these 2 items? Hmmm? The mounts are product of Liechenstein. A bunch in assorted sized. The original price on the hinges was .57 Woolco. Ahhhh, the things we "inherit" due to our ummm years on eBay!!! 🤔
Anyone miss the days of eBay when this paid off?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FItdgMQCYVI
-Lotz
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoCollectors still use the Showgard mounts and they are commonly available.
Not sure about photo corners. They are used for postcard and cover exhibits, but usually the clear ones .
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoThe packet of hinges.
I'm serious.
intimewithmusic
·2 years agoHA ha. It's nearly full too.. Who Knew? A lot of the stamps were cut from postcards that would have value. If only I had the other 95 % of them ;>}
ricarmic
OP2 years agoIf you sell them assuming they aren't stuck together, take pictures of some of them out of the envelope, make sure to say in the title Original Dennison hinges those are the important words. They were the best ones ever made the traditionalists love them still....and will pay for them, nothing modern is as good as them....
intimewithmusic
·2 years agoThank you folks for the pro advice on the hinges! The pack is nearly full and they look viable. I'll photo them on my glass table. It's going to be fun going thru the albums. (6 decades in storage). The stamps likely have little value. I was pretty amatuer.
The books and paraphernalia may bring some interest. In the 60s I found the stamps I ordered from various US vendors rarely fit into my stamp albums I bought from local western Canadian dealers. The RS Mason Test book appears ot be a 1st edition august 1951.
Afer a few years of trying to fit them into these books I gave up. I sorted them by country and put them on hinges into blank notebooks. Fortunately, and by accident I'll add, the notebooks appear to have been made of acid free paper. Along with the collection are some 1960s magazine articles. You can see one in the photo from "Weekend Magazine 1966.
I'm not really sure on where to go from here.
ricarmic
OP2 years ago@intimewithmusic See PM for suggestions.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years agoCongrats on the big 2-5 @ricarmic . The first 25 are the hardest. After that, it's all gravy!!! Just think when ya find your niche!!! 😄
recped
·2 years agoHaving hit the 25 year eBay mark in January I would say that the first 25 was the easiest!, I've had the slowest first three months of the year EVER and it pretty much started on exactly the anniversary date (1999/01/22)....
Why is eBay punishing me so? Why does eBay hate me? It's so unfair!I may be forced to burn all the eBay swag that they sent me back in the good old days.
I bet eBay will be dead soon (first heard on May 24 2004 when I came to these boards).
mrdutch1001
·2 years agoCongrats and best wishes for many more years of participation in your passion!
marnotom!
·2 years agoA toast to you, @ricarmic!
joels-retrocade
·2 years agoCongrats on the Milestone! Only a measely 5 years for me lol but I have been a collector for 20years.
mrdutch1001
·2 years agohave been collecting/buying/selling for over 60 years but just a mere 22+years selling here on eBay...
no longer collecting, no longer buying...just selling and donating while I still maintain a presence here on earth...