Our attention has been drawn to an eBay listing showing what is described as a Cinderella (ie non-postal stamp) using a Union Flag Post & Go stamp as its base, produced for (Autumn) Virtual Stampex.
The legend 'Autumn 2020 Virtual Stampex 1st - 3rd October' has been badly printed on a genuine blank Post and Go label which should not have been available to collectors or dealers - although we all know that they have been quite freely available in some places. The seller is offering them at £3.50 each, and strips of 6 were offered at £8.75 or best offer. (Listing.)
I'm sure Royal Mail and the PTS will look at this, the first for using labels with their name and the Queen's head on, and the second for use of the Virtual Stampex name.
The creation of Exhibition Souvenirs is nothing new: Rushstamps have done it for decades, overprinting PSBs and 'Boots' labels, but these were always items which they had bought at the proper price.
But this is different - it would be the same as overprinting a blank Horizon label. Whilst the eBay description is correct, it IS a Cinderella (ie not a genuine legitimately issued postage stamp) the base label should not have been available to be used in this way.
Given the diminishing number of collectors still buying genuine Post and Go stamps I am surprised that this happened at all. The seller must have some dedicated customers, which makes me wonder why he didn't just contact them direct, instead of exposing his deeds on eBay.
UPDATE 6 October
As GONJ points out in the comments, we have reported a forgery here previously but that was a fish of a different colour - it was a postal forgery actually purporting to be a genuine 30g stamp, which passed through the post.
Print your own. Over 300 blank listings on eBay
ReplyDeleteViral Stampex would be more topical .
ReplyDeleteI would treat these as forgeries and bring those responsible to account. This kind of activity is not what we need. I presume I can now go out and get a quantity of genuine Victorian stamps (i.e. the P&G blank labels ARE genuine) and start overprinting 1880s stamps with say I.R. OFFICIAL and that would be ok!!!!???? (So long as I described them as Cinderella Labels) Doug (Enfield)
ReplyDeleteWe have had forged airmail rates pictured on this very blog , these do not indicate a value like those , these are just an example of the open back door which gives most readers of this reply with blanks in there collection if you don't have any try eBay no. 154027132611 ...... or D D D or D !
ReplyDeleteI accept that there has previously been a forged airmail rate shown here (https://blog.norphil.co.uk/2013/01/first-forged-faststamp-surfaces-down.html), but that was to defraud the postal service, was clearly postally used and appeared in Australia.
DeleteThese are entirely different animals aimed at getting cinderella collectors to spend money.
And I have also had an email pointing me to similar cinderellas on eBay from a well-known dealer who ought to know better.
Although never featured on this blog , forged 1st exist with the generic data strings of the pack stamps . This is a flaw in the whole ethos of pack stamps whilst NCR and Wincor all have data strings which should be traceable , pack stamps are all the same. I am sure all of these are just for fun and not a commercial attack against Royal Mail . The forged pack stamps mix up the codes with other issues the airmail Union Flag featured is for a non existent weight , the latest labels we discuss have absolutely no resemblance to postal values and hence no different using a blank . In short we are a hobby of school boy & girls who just like a bit of wheeze . Smile its a hobby :) There is serious fraud against RM costing many £10M's its FAKE STAMPS.
ReplyDeleteI would hazard a guess that another substantial loss for RM loss is due to their inability to postmark mail and the subsequent re-use of stamps as evidenced by the number of sellers of them on eBay (although the savvy ones have the 'for philatelic purposes' disclaimer to protect themselves). Anyway you are missing the point, the blanks shouldn't be available and certainly not in the quantities you see advertised on various platforms.
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