GB Market Update and Blog - 20th January 2025

 

Today we have increased or buying price for 1st class commemorative stamps to 64p each from 60p each. 2nd class remains at 50p.

 

 

IMPORTANT MESSAGE REGARDING COUNTERFEIT STAMPS IN CIRCULATION

 

It has come to our attention that there are several apparently small online sellers offering for sale complete sheets of very modern counterfeit commemorative stamps. Unusually these stamps are sheets with lick and stick gum. The prices reported to us are simply too good to true at around 40% to 50% face value or even less with free Special Delivery on all orders. It could be that there are unlimited supplies of these fake stamps. It is just simply impossible to purchase, never mind sell genuine stamps at such low prices.

 

It is possible that most if not all of these small traders (none being registered as businesses) are acting as the front end to a much bigger operation. Their plan is to get people to buy small amounts (just a few sheets at first) but when you receive the fake stamps there is marketing material encouraging you to purchase larger quantities by dealing direct. Our sources say that stamps are being sent from a different company to the person you purchased the stamps from on the Internet platform, in our situation the platform is eBay. We have no doubt that there will be a massive investigation going on behind the scenes, by various authorities.

 

As experienced recognised professional stamp dealers we know that you just can't buy any modern stamps issued from say 2020 to 2025 in wholesale quantities. They just don't exist, end of story. Many of the recent higher face value stamps we perhaps only see 10 to 20 examples per month, added to stock. Genuine stamps really are that scarce. There could be the odd exception to that rule (e.g. a stamp dealer selling off their own stock) but there is just no guaranteed regular supply of any genuine postage stamps.

 

The Royal Mail just don't give big discounts, and you only get very small numbers of modern stamps from splitting up genuine stamp collections. There are very few good modern collections out there these days and as a result we perhaps only get offered one decent collection per month. Most collectors stopped collecting stamps between 1999 and 2010 (mainly due to the rising cost of buying stamps and the ever-increasing number of varieties needed to complete a collection). There have been very few new collectors since then and most of them are becoming very selective in what they now purchase or collect.

 

There are FRAUDSTERS out there who seem to be able to copy just about any stamp at will, generally the most popular themes which they think will sell well to the public. Typically, it is topics like Cat's and Dog's, Kids TV and other well-known TV/Cinema and Music themed stamps, which are being offered. We hear rumours through the philatelic trade of large quantities of fakes stamps being imported from the Far East. If true, this makes the practice very hard to stop.

 

This is an extremely worrying development as to our knowledge only stamps with self-adhesive gum were known to exist up until now. Also, more alarmingly the quality of printing and ink colour dyes used are almost indistinguishable from the real Royal Mail stamps. They now even have proper phosphor ink bands printed on them, which react purple, as expected when viewed under UV light. Without a shadow of doubt, these current fakes could easily trick even the most experienced stamp dealers.

 

The only way you can tell the difference is to examine the paper surface at an angle to the light. Most genuine Royal Mail stamps are printed on quality coated paper and the stamps tend to have an overall slightly matt sheen. The counterfeit stamps tend to be printed on much poorer quality thin paper which has a more glossy/shiny surface. This is easily seen when the fake stamps are compared to genuine stamps when held at an angle to a good light source.

 

Under ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT the fakes also look quite convincing, that is until you look a bit closer. The phosphor ink bands appear wider than the bands on the genuine stamps. They do react to UV light which was never the case before. Sometimes it was just a varnished strip on the stamps. The biggest giveaway for us is the four margins around the sheets of stamps, these have a distinct mottled look under UV light, whereas the genuine stamps have an even all over flat uniform tone, no mottling at all.

 

Please DO NOT BUY ANYTHING from these fake traders, they do not give purchase receipts or provide any contact information. They do not give refunds or answer any complaints. It’s just like throwing your money away. Buying from them could potentially damage the genuine and trusted real philatelic market we and other good stamp dealers work in. If you use fake stamps your mail could be surcharged by Royal Mail or even confiscated if you are caught using large quantities of the fake stamps. It is likely that when these fraudsters are eventually caught (and they will be) they will get quite lengthy jail sentences. Stamps are legal tender just like bank notes so copying, selling, handing or using them is a very serious matter, with severe consequences.

 

This is an area where the philatelic trade and public in general should work together to help the Royal Mail and stop the fraudsters for good. We must call these people out and get rid of the scourge for ever. If not, we could possibly see an end to the use of postage stamps altogether. Rest assured we will weed out all the bad eggs, it just seems to get harder and harder as printing technology improves.

 

For me this current situation is somewhat soul destroying especially as we have spent many years building up a genuine discounted postage stamp business and have earned the trust of so many regular and valued customers. Perhaps we should consider this a good reason to stop selling stamps for postage but that would be allowing the fakers win.

 

The biggest worry and deep concern for me is that genuine Royal Mail stamps somehow get misidentified as being counterfeit and as a result a few packages sent by our customers using genuine stamps end up being surcharged. If that were to happen frequently it would pretty much spell the end of the discounted postage market, for me anyway. The result would be a loss in confidence by the public and businesses to use postage stamps at all on their mail and perhaps be forced to buy postage labels online instead. That would be the saddest of days for the true philatelic trade. Stamps brighten up your packages and make you stand out from the crowd.

 

Let us know if you have any interesting stories to share.

 

Until the next time, Dave - MD Philatelink Ltd

 

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We have increased our buying prices for stamps with face value of 40p to £2.55.

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WE STILL URGENTLY NEED TO BUY Barcoded 2nd Class, 2nd Class Large barcoded and 1st Class barcoded stamps.

 

All of our buying prices and percentages of face value have now been updated to reflect the new Royal Mail postage rates which came into force on Tuesday 2nd April 2024. 

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Royal Mail 'Swapout' Scheme

This has now been up and running for around three years. Recently we have noticed a change in how this initiative is being managed. Many of the smaller Machin sized stamps which were being swapped previously are now being returned to us with a covering letter stating that they are still valid for postal use. The image below shows a range of stamps recently returned from RM Swapout, which Royal Mail now tell us, after two years of swapping them, they remain 100% valid for postal use in the UK. There could be more to follow so we will keep you posted!

ROYAL MAIL HAVE TOLD US IN WRITING THAT ALL OF THE ABOVE STAMPS REMAIN 100% VALID FOR POSTAL USE IN THE UK - PREVIOUSLY THEY WERE SWAPPING THEM.

 

GB Commemorative and Christmas Stamps

The current postage market for traditional stamps appears to have bottomed out so hopefully prices will now remain stable. Judging by our latest June 2024 auction sales you could almost set your watch on the percentage of face value lots of GB postage realise. It doesn’t matter what we sell it all seems to sell for roughly the same percentage of face value.

Until next time,

Dave Waldie - MD Philatelink Ltd

 

eBay Auctions and Selling Service

 

Just a friendly reminder that we still provide a very popular eBay commission selling service. Please feel free to send us any decent items you wish to sell and we would be happy to list them on eBay for you.

We have a huge following on eBay with some 63,879 positive feedbacks recorded and not a single negative or neutral comment in the last five years, that equates to around about 25,000 perfect transactions in a row.

We have many regular clients who use our selling services on a monthly basis. We offer high quality listings, a bespoke service, we achieve high realisations and provide quick payment following the sale of items.

 

Advertising

 

Having been in business for nearly 25 years and advertised heavily throughout that period we now think it is time to pull right back from advertising, especially in the monthly philatelic press. 

 

We believe that most people now know that we have a regularly updated website and therefore would automatically go there for our latest buying prices.

 

Interest  in magazines is not what is used to be and with the demise of the Philatelic Exporter last year I guess the writing is on the wall. 

 

We still plan to be on Yell Ltd and in the annual Stanley Gibbons British catalogues but are dropping all other advertising.

 

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Media Communications

 

I am seriously considering introducing some video content or perhaps setting up a YouTube channel to help customers and suppliers understand GB stamps a bit better and to explain how the secondary discounted postage market through the Philatelic Trade actually works. 

 

I was recently asked to appear on the BBC, RIP OFF BRITAIN show (10th January episode) where I was introduced as a "Philatelist Expert" from Galashiels.  The topic was how to avoid buying and how to spot counterfeit barcoded stamps. It turned out to be quite an enjoyable experience which made me think I might try my hand at some media communications.

These counterfeit stamps keep popping up and it seems almost any stamp can be copied at will and imported into the UK very easily. This whole topic scares me to death as some of the fakes are so good they would fool 99% of the UK population including Royal Mail Staff and professional GB stamp dealers. 

For me the barcoded stamps are just so new we don't really know in some cases what the genuine stamps are supposed to look like. Who knows what genuine varieties the Royal Mail will issue. This is even harder for any stamps not supplied via the Royal Mail's "Swap Out Scheme" for example stamps like the £3.25 and £4.25 high values. We have been told that fakes of these exist but if you have not seen the genuine stamps how do you know what you are looking at?

 

The only way to be sure is to buy full sets of all barcoded stamps direct from Royal Mail and keep a reference book to use as a guide, which is what we have done. This could well be a good time to start a brand new specialised collection.

 

Please contact me at sales@philatelink.co.uk or 07510 312271 if you think this idea would work and any ideas you have for some useful content.

 

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Definitive stamps are no longer valid for postal use in the UK.

Click on the image below to get your copy of our detailed update on Machin Definitive and Regional stamps in PDF (Version 2) form:-

Commemorative and Christmas stamps will remain valid for postal use after 31st July 2023 however we are concerned that due to the sheer numbers of different commemorative stamps issued from 1971 to date that mistakes could be made leading to valid commemorative stamps being surcharged. We raised this issue with the Swap Out Team and they pointed us to a website which they appear to be using. The site is Collect GB Stamps. This site lists all of the decimal stamps issued from 1970 to 2023 and importantly clearly shows which stamps are definitive issues and those which are purely commemoratives. Perhaps we can use the content to tell The Royal Mail and Post Office staff if and when mistakes are made from August 2023 onwards.

Please note we have been treating all of the small size stamps (except for Christmas stamps) as definitive stamps even though technically some of them are actually commemoratives e.g. the Wilding 50th anniversary mini sheet stamps and regional stamps from smiler sheets.

Importantly the Royal Mail Swap Out Team have been swapping all of the small size stamps regardless (except for Christmas) so just be aware that perhaps all small sized stamps other than Christmas stamps might be deemed to be definitive stamps and end up being surcharged after July 2023. Royal Mail have been unable to provide a full list of stamps which will remain valid. Therefore, how this massive change will be effectively communicated throughout the Royal Mail Network and to all Post Office staff is a huge task and will no doubt take quite some time to bed in.

Best wishes to all - Dave Waldie

 

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The Royal Mail has confirmed that stamps containing the Queen's profile will continue to be valid therefore there should be no need for panic selling. Royal Mail issues guidance on stamps and postboxes (royalmailgroup.com)

At last the new barcoded stamps are starting to sell so we are keen to keep buying them in large quantities. New BARCODED British Stamps from 2021 onwards (philatelink.co.uk) 

Royal Mail link: Reinventing stamps for the future | Royal Mail Group Ltd

Please call 01896 759703 or 07510 312271 for more information.