Users of GMail and other Google applications will be familiar with promoted advertisements appearing in various places - indeed if you are using a desk-top device then you will see Google produced ads on this blog. It's a relatively unobtrusive way for us to generate some micro-pennies of income!
As some readers will know, in addition to the norphil email address I also use a gmail one. I read my mail on my phone or my desk-top, in the latter case through a web browser, in my case Firefox. Adverts are displayed at the head of some categories of email lists - usually the tab headed 'Promotions'. Last week - and again today - I saw this:
I don't usually click on these but it seemed likely to be interesting, and so it turned out. This website 'stampssaleonline.shop' uses the Royal Mail logo, and images, and offers new stamps at half-price.
A separate source says that stamps like these, and booklets, are now being shipped to customers direct from China* - here are images of the stamps he received - 1st class and 2nd class booklets of 8, 2nd class and 2nd class Large business sheets of 50.
*I've since been told that these were sent to the Yodel warehouse in the NW and delivered to customers from there.
I don't have precise evidence that the stamps shown came from the website shown, but that has been inferred to me.
So much for making the stamps forgery-proof, they look indistinguishable from genuine ones.
ReplyDeleteBut if the purchasers don't realise that if something appears too good to be true - e.g. half price - then it is too good to be true then they're not going to realise that the true purpose of the barcode is to stop forgery and re-use, especially if Royal Mail has only told us about scanning it for Shaun the Sheep.
DeleteIt just doesn't make sense to me.
The forgers clearly haven't noticed that the 1st class booklets only have 1 elliptical cut out, rather than 2...
ReplyDeleteIt's going to become apparent very quickly for Royal Mail whether all the investment was worth it. Presumably they must think they can catch forged stamps and weren't just hoping that the forgers would suddenly think it was too difficult and give up?
Looks like the Matrix codes are different from stamp to stamp, but maybe they are not readable. I do not have a way to read the codes.
ReplyDeleteHave scanned the barcodes on the 1st Class booklet displayed. All have different barcodes. Stamps allegedly printed 17/11/21 when price of stamp was 85p.
DeleteClearly just producing a copied original stamp book. The same probably goes for the sheets.
Booklets are great MBIL not MEIL and just highlight the joke Royal Mail are and perhaps our unguarded societies are . These particular forgers are doing it Worldwide something needs to change , perhaps a return to responsibility which would certainly bankrupt Big Tech.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165744727928?hash=item269727d778:g:S5AAAOSwwF1jWV4O&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoBeoVAAQS8PdzOM1A4VSjfjtYG3EUWOm5KM8%2Fsje27M6PUHEvmw83LTbSufRKJLaUkibUVyhmXa4ikXgSbWPeES1jsO69mBC6VRgBEiPtIoUPFeimz6UgpxgYHnLyluZio9P1JfWyLIoJ5SrRPvX6ZrFEJ8laBgTqPDJRb1saGiZGrvGlfWFTbgm6toCn0boezvdQqD2vPk98sobxoqdtV0%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7Cw9dKCYQ
ReplyDeleteDirect from China cheaper and free shipping!
I don't know whether to laugh or... at some of the comments/reviews for listings on Amazon...
ReplyDeleteGiven International Distributions Services PLC liabilities are they trading whilst insolvent ?
ReplyDeleteI've received a batch of the second class books, they look great, very well printed, a few easy ways to distinguish them from the real thing but overall a non-philatelist would not have a clue. All 8 barcodes are different within the book but all the books have the same set of barcodes.
ReplyDeleteThe pain in the neck is that it's *impossible* to tell whether you're purchasing genuine datamatrix stamps on eBay because the seller cannot show you the goods to prove the codes are useable without opening themselves to those being cloned. Good luck working around that one, resellers!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that some of the eBay sellers are now actively stating they're selling forgeries (if not in as many words!) and providing detailed photos of the goods (e.g. 155230401110, 304679154357). Hopefully this will set alarm bells ringing for some members of the public to be more cautious...
Today my next door neighbour had a small parcel delivered with 10(ish) forged stamps of the old kind, RM red alternating Royal Mail in reverse on the security print. I spotted them immediately, the parcel had come through the post and hadn’t been picked out. Our postman could see nothing wrong with them. I hold out no hope! Ian is that forgery listing still available? If it is are the new details being updated do you know?
ReplyDeleteThe link is still valid and goes direct to the same page as always so I would not be aware of any changes. The URL stays the same (unlike in our own Machin checklist). Use the email link on the home page to contact the author.
DeleteI tried going to the site stampssaleonline.shop just now and McAfee WebAdvisor told me it was a suspicious site. I hope that might put some potential buyers off purchasing the stamps.
ReplyDelete