StampStore - APS

100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, PA 16823 ● Phone: 814-933-3803 ● Fax: 814-933-6128

Thank you for your interest in selling with APS StampStore. Below you will find instructions on how to submit items as well as our Terms of Sale (bottom half of this page).

Terms of Sale also available in .pdf format.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at 814-933-3803 ext. 271 or 270 or email StampStore@stamps.org.

Seller Information and Submission Instructions

1. You must be an APS member. If you are not a member you must apply for membership.
    
2. Obtain the required submission forms and batch cover sheets – a supply order form is enclosed. Forms can also be downloaded for free using Adobe Acrobat at www.stamps.org/How-to-Sell-Online. Feel free to copy them at a local copy shop.
    
3. Complete a separate submission form for each item to be sold (sets from a country may be sold as a single item). DO NOT put several countries of stamps on one submission form. Single stamps, covers and complete sets sell best. Groups of stamps, especially if not from the same set, sell poorly and are strongly discouraged. Print clearly.
    
4. Descriptions – buyers can search by looking for words included in your description of the item. The use of standard terms and topics may lead to more buyers reviewing your material. Some terms you may consider for inclusion: booklet, coil, proof, specimen, essay, or precancel. If you are submitting a topical item use an appropriate keyword such as train, bird, truck, etc. Faults such as thins, creases, pulled perfs, etc., even if visible, must be clearly described. **Do not include Avg., F, F-VF, XF in your description — this will not be listed on any sales form unless a certificate confirming that grading is supplied with the submissions.
    
5. Pricing your items – Items must be priced at $3.00 or more see attached sheet for basic guidelines. In general, competitive prices fall within the 40%-60% of catalogue value with our more successful sellers pricing their items below the 50% level. Items may be rejected if you price your material at higher than 65% of catalogue value as the material will not compete well. And note that faults, such as pulled perfs, thins, tears, rounded corners, scuff marks, no gum on mint stamps, etc., should be noted in the description area and would reduce the asking price considerably. Do not expect to sell stamps with faults for more than 20%-25% of the catalogue value.
    
6. DO NOT list your name and APS number on the submission sheets as it will be removed. For seller security, we make every attempt to not release names and APS member numbers to buyers. Your seller ID now automatically appears with your listings encouraging buyers to view other items available for sale by using the seller ID – you remain anonymous. However, if you wish to advertise in “The AP” or other places and release your name and seller number, that is your prerogative. To locate your Seller ID log in at www.stamps.org and go to MyAPS, then MyStamps, the ID is located at the top of your MyStamp area.
    
7. Affix item(s) in the large box on the StampStore form using a clear mount. When affixing a set, each stamp must be visible. Do not use hinges, cloudy glassine materials and if tape is used on open edges consider using Scotch® MagicTM Tape which allows for easy peel off. We recommend using mounts from www.clearbags.com.
    
8. Package your items securely making certain to include one completed batch cover sheet with payment and mail addressed to APS StampStore. We recommend they be sent by delivery confirmation, or insured or registered mail.
    
9. There is a posting fee of 35 cents per submission. Make checks payable to APS. Do not send stamps or cash.
    
10. Please fill out the “in the event of death form” providing us with a name and address of the person authorized to receive your unsold items and/or proceeds in the event of death. A checkbox is provided if you prefer to donate the material/proceeds to the American Philatelic Society.
     

Item submissions constitute agreement of our Terms of Sale

Terms of Sale

1. The Society accepts no responsibility for items until they are received and reserves the right to reject any item for any reason or to change a description as it deems appropriate. Seller privileges may be revoked for repeated misdescriptions.
    
2. Submission Fee & APS Commissions - A 35¢ submission fee per item is required. Our commission on sales is 25%. There is a minimum commission of 50 cents per item. (See #10 below for fees associated with the return of your unsold material.)
   
   Minimum Sale Price - Items must be priced at $3 or more any item priced below this amount will be returned.
    
3. Grading - If a grade is placed on an item in the description (Avg., F, F-VF, XF) it must have a certificate indicating the grade otherwise this information is not included in the description.
    
4. Higher Priced Material requires Certificate of Authentication - Items priced between $500-$999 are strongly recommended to have an expert certificate. Any item priced at $1000 or more requires a certificate of authenticity and if it does not have one will be returned to the owner.
    
5. Two Year Selling Term - Seller material is posted on the site for a period of two (2) years with all unsold material scheduled for return/donation after this period. If items are not sold within the max two year period, they are returned.
    
6. Buyer Expertizing requests may result in Seller being charged APEX fee - Buyers may request that an item purchased be expertized before the purchase is final (note that expertizing is not available for items that do not have a sale price equal or greater than $50.) If expertized and the item is genuine, the cost of expertizing ($35) will be borne by the purchaser. If the item was misdescribed or faults are found that were not included in the description, the buyer may reject the item and request a refund of the purchase price/expertizing fee (seller then pays expertizing fee). An item may not be rejected for centering or any issue clearly visible from the scanned image. If the item is returned as “No Opinion” a processing fee of $8 is charged to the seller. This is why it is important to list all faults that you are aware of, as you may become responsible for expertizing fees for returns for failure to list faults.
    
7. Buyer Returns - Buyers have a 30-day money back guarantee on any item. Items returned will be re-offered for sale with minor amendments to the description or returned to the seller if there are major misdescriptions which reflect on the pricing.
    
8. Online Seller Reports - Sellers may review the status of their submitted item(s) online or change prices on items at any time prior to sale by accessing the MyAPS/MyStamps section of the www.Stamps.org.
    
9. Seller Payment Schedule - A statement will be sent to sellers each month with payment for sold items. *NOTE all items have a 30 day return period which has to expire before a check is issued to seller. So items will say "sold/payment pending" for 37 days before we push proceeds to seller accounts (this allows for returns to be received).
    
10. Unsold Material Returns/Fees - Unsold material returned to a seller will be charged 1% of the total sale price value plus full postage/handling costs to return material. *Any material returned due to misidentifications, faults, etc. will be returned each month with the same charges being applied. Seller privileges may be revoked for repeated misdescriptions.
     
11. Additional Contact Information – We recommend all sellers to complete the “in the event of death form” so that we have contact information on file for who to contact if we can no longer reach the seller. If we are unable to contact a seller or their heirs within three years after a submission is due to be returned, all unsold items and proceeds will be treated as a donation to the American Philatelic Society.
     
12. Seller Rights Granted to APS - To enable the APS to use the information you supply, including for education purposes, you (the seller) agree to grant the APS a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sub-licensable right to exercise any copyright, publicity, and database rights you have in your listing.
     

Terms subject to change

If you have any questions concerning any of the above information email  stampstore@stamps.org and we will answer your questions as soon as possible.