Once stamps exceed several hundred dollars each, quality becomes more important than many buyers seem to realise. I use the analogy with cars - one can buy a 1960 VW or a 1960 Rolls, but you would not expect to pay the same for each.

There is a problem with the auction of valuable stamps. It is that not all of the quality factors can be shown on eBay by scans and description. The condition of the gum is almost impossible to show by scan, yet it can be the major factor affecting quality. On the other hand, centering and perforation regularity can be shown perfectly well in a scan. Between these extremes are factors like shade or colour, which depend on the scanning or photographic equipment used, and freshness, which is easier to see on a large scan than a small one.

To help buyers assess quality, I list using Vendio, which allows for quite large images that can expand a stamp to be a larger than the monitor screen. This allows details such as die variations and so on to be seen. But, not many buyers know that you can copy and paste these images into a program like PhotoShop or CorelDraw or Paint Shop Pro, that allow you to magnify to 100% (when one dot from the scan takes one pixel on the monitor and gives the ultimate clarity of image).

Quality can be so important that a top example can sell for FIVE TIMES the price of the average example of the same stamp. You cannot get all the information you need from the eBay page, so you should be ready to ask the seller if you can view the stamp on an appraisal basis, or if you can have an expert opinion that could result in a return or refund if the expert can give reasons for marking it down.

Sellers of quality stamps will usually accept these conditions. I am trying to make the point that buyers looking for quality stamps should not dismiss high opening bid prices on eBay as an attempt at a quick profit. They should concentrate on the higher opening bid prices and then seek as much information on quality as can be gained.

The Rolls is more likely to gain value with passing time than the VW. The quality stamp is the better investment.