Always a fun search to do - at this moment in time there are 484 postcard lots on eBay UK with this word in the title. Expand the search to include descriptions as well as titles and the number shoots up to 2,114.
Even taking out the alternative uses of the word (e.g. postal losses are extremely rare) that still leaves a lot of rare cards available.
Rare postcards on eBay
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kevinramsdale
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Rare postcards on eBay
Kevin
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MichaelDay
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Interesting thought Kevin, perhaps 'rare' is a term you can't really use with postcards at all. I tried to think about what I would call a 'rare' card and initially thought of anything I'd only seen once or twice in the past 30 years... but then again everytime I buy a new collection there are usually many cards in it that fit into that bracket. ie. as in all those years I've only seen a tiny fraction of all the cards ever produced, most cards are rare.
Also I think I'd only use the word if the card were both scarce AND desirable - which would be incorrect.
..Also 'rare' could easily mean not easly obtainable... so if we tried to prove many of these ebay sellers wrong by unearthing several copies of these same cards how succesful would we be?
Another term that gets misused regularly is 'Early' - which to most of us means at least a pre 1902 undivided back, or possibly court or intermediate sized... on ebay it seems to mean anything up to 1950.
Also I think I'd only use the word if the card were both scarce AND desirable - which would be incorrect.
..Also 'rare' could easily mean not easly obtainable... so if we tried to prove many of these ebay sellers wrong by unearthing several copies of these same cards how succesful would we be?
Another term that gets misused regularly is 'Early' - which to most of us means at least a pre 1902 undivided back, or possibly court or intermediate sized... on ebay it seems to mean anything up to 1950.
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kevinramsdale
- Posts: 157
- Joined: Mon May 22, 2006 7:09 pm
- Location: Lincoln
In fact I doubt it does much to boost sales, especially for those sellers who describe every card as "rare".
Possibly the term can only meaningfully be used in relation to cards of the same genre - for example a card by Quinton could be rare compared to another one by the same artist. Or in the topographical field there are rare and common views of specific places.
But of course you could have a rare view of what is a commonly featured location - Blackpool Tower from an unusual angle perhaps - which wouldn't necessarily increase the desirability of the card all that much.
Possibly the term can only meaningfully be used in relation to cards of the same genre - for example a card by Quinton could be rare compared to another one by the same artist. Or in the topographical field there are rare and common views of specific places.
But of course you could have a rare view of what is a commonly featured location - Blackpool Tower from an unusual angle perhaps - which wouldn't necessarily increase the desirability of the card all that much.
Kevin
Re: Rare postcards on eBay
One of the first "How to sell on eBay" articles I read advocated hyping up the article on offer - a bit like an estate agent advertising a house. As a seller I stick to plain facts, as a buyer I'm put off by hype.
Minutes before reading this thread, I came across this on Australian eBay: "A beautiful Envelope from England issued in 1918 at Army Base Post Office 5 (Special Cancelled Envelope). A must for any serious collector of Military Covers with cover in fine to very fine used condition. This lot has an unknown current catalogue value and as such this cover is offered at a fraction of its true believed value."
In fact the illustration shows a tatty envelope, with creases, torn corner and sellotape, and a poor postmark strike. To give the vendor the benefit of the doubt, he may have forgotten to alter a description for a previous listing. As to it being a "must", I collect some such covers but such was this one's condition that I couldn't be bothered to check whether I wanted this particular postmark. But the starting price was low.
Moonraker
Minutes before reading this thread, I came across this on Australian eBay: "A beautiful Envelope from England issued in 1918 at Army Base Post Office 5 (Special Cancelled Envelope). A must for any serious collector of Military Covers with cover in fine to very fine used condition. This lot has an unknown current catalogue value and as such this cover is offered at a fraction of its true believed value."
In fact the illustration shows a tatty envelope, with creases, torn corner and sellotape, and a poor postmark strike. To give the vendor the benefit of the doubt, he may have forgotten to alter a description for a previous listing. As to it being a "must", I collect some such covers but such was this one's condition that I couldn't be bothered to check whether I wanted this particular postmark. But the starting price was low.
Moonraker