Inaccurate item description - why don't these listings get removed?

[blue_wister]

The following item has an inaccurate and misleading description which falsely represents the value of the item.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=141273254133&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:CA:1123

Canada Post has confirmed that the face value of the "P" or "Permanent Rate" stamp is $0.85, therefore the face value of this lot is $85, not $100.

Several vendors on Ebay have been selling P stamps and claiming they have a face value of $1. They claim that this is because Canada Post charges $1 for a single domestic letter rate stamp at the post office.

What they aren't telling you is that when Canada Post charges you $1 for a single stamp, they give you a $1 stamp. You can not buy single "P" stamps.

I have now talked with 3 separate Canada Post representatives and all three say the same thing.

I have reported these items to Ebay, but they remain. Why aren't these vendors required to edit or remove their listings? How long does it take for them to correct these kinds of things?

[pocomocomputing]

I am surprised at your post just commenting on the face value of the stamps in a listing title?

The stamps are used stamps (off paper no gum means uncancelled stamps from envelopes that were mailed) so they cannot be used as postage again. If you are considering buying these stamps or others like this to use as postage, you are breaking Canada Post rules if not laws.

You should be commenting on the fact the seller is selling these stamps as valid postage (carefully avoiding to say this).

[femmefan1946]

What they aren't telling you is that when Canada Post charges you $1 for a single stamp, they give you a $1 stamp. You can not buy single "P" stamps.

When Canada Post sells you a single stamp, you get an 85 cent stamp and a 15 cent service charge. Plus tax.

And while in theory you can't buy single "P" stamps, a busy Postal Outlet clerk is as likely to rip up a "P" booklet as to rummage in the drawer for the correct value. Or she might give you a 50 and a 35. Or a 60 and a 25. Whatever is handy.

No gum stamps are used stamps. A stamp is a reciept for a service that will be performed in the future. If a stamp has performed that service, whether or not it was cancelled, it is no longer valid.

[pierrelebel]

Tempest in a teapot.

The real problem with these stamps is not that the face value may be considered $0.85 (if purchased in quantities - booklets or rolls) or $1.00 (if purchased individually BUT the fact that they have been used in the mail and should NOT be reused again.

It is clearly against the rules to knowingly reuse uncancelled stamps that have been through the postal system.

I wish eBay would ban the sale of these stamps but it has nothing to do with the misunderstanding  or interpretation of the face value. I suggest you read the June 3 edition of Canadian Stamp News on the subject.

What is the face (postal) value of those "A" stamps issued in 1981?

What is the face (postal) value of the "Fortress of Louisbourg" stamps, issued in booklet form in 1995 and showing no denomination?

What is the face value of the Canadian Flag stamp without denomination also issued in 1995?

What is the face (postal) value of the Christmas stamp issued in 1994, in booklet form, showing a Solist and without denomination?

What about the 2001 seld-adhesive Christmas stamps reading "Domestic Lettermail" (no denomination)?

As it turns out, you may find different interpretations from staffers at Canada Post on the current face (postal) value of the stamps.

Nothing is as black and white as your post suggests.

What is black and white is that these stamps, being used, should not be offered for the purpose of using them on the mail again because they were not cancelled on their original trip.

[pierrelebel]

This morning I took a quick look at the original poster recent listings and now understand what the problem really is:  a competitor selling the same type of lots (uncancelled stamps) is showing a different "face value".  ($100 vs $85)

Either way, checking the description, I see this statement:

"This would cost you $96 ($85+HST) at the post office. "

With all due respect, this is a very misleading and untrue statement.  Canada Post does NOT sell ungummed, uncancelled stamps that have already been used in the mail.  What Canada Post sells for $85 plus tax are mint stamps with full gum (water activated or self-adhesive).

This is clearly a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

As an experienced and respected Canadian stamp dealer who has sold hundreds of thousands of dollars Canadian mint full gum stamps in lots offered below face, I truly resent those misrepresentations. They hurt all honest sellers.

[pierrelebel]

Interesting discussion on the subject: http://forum.postcrossing.com/viewthread.php?tid=81075

[blue_wister]

I would assume these stamps are worth their accepted denomination at the time of issue. ie. the A stamp would be worth $0.30, the Fortress of Louisbourg $0.43, and so on.

The staffers at Canada Post are not differing on the question of face value of the P stamp. They may, however, be differing on which stamp to actually give the customer when they buy a single for $1.

The price I pay for a stamp has no bearing on its face value. If I pay $1 + HST for a stamp, it doesn't mean it now has a face value of $1.13