I see this idea dying an easy death. Then again, the "Can I buy today and pay on payday" crowd will be happy.
Stamps dealers have been doing it for centuries. Yes, centuries.
We send stamps "on approval".
Soon after receipt the collector selects the stamps he/she wants to keep, return the rest with payment for the stamps kept. The typical turnaround is three to four weeks.
Others prefer to use the circuit route where you prepare the stamps you want to sell in circuit books - sent to collectors over a period of time - again they pay for what they keep and pass the rest of the book to the next person on the circuit list.
http://stamps.org/Buy-and-Sell-by-Mail
Typically a good book will take twelve to eighteen months to make the circuits of interested collectors, That method does not work too well if you need cashflow to pay the rent or mortgage next week.
For example, if a dealer prepares ten (10) books each containing $500 worth of stamps (at selling price), one should expect to get $2,000 to $3,000 within eighteen months while unsold stamps are returned.
Many dealers prepare and send new books every month assuring themselves a good and steady cash flow over time.
" Is this process still used currently? "
Yes. If you check the APS link, you will notice thousands of collectors and sellers still use the circuit books.
Being retired I no longer send approvals but many dealers still do. If you ever get to a philatelic magazine (Canadian Stamps News in Canada or Linn's in the USA) you will find dozens of offers for "stamps on approval".
The philatelic market is definitely not what it used to be but.... many dealers and collectors are still very active sending and receiving approvals.
Yes, it is the "honour" system at its very best.
Worth repeating:
"one has to build processes and margins in to cover/minimize loss through dishonest buyers. "
