- Report: #786454
Complaint Review: American Philatelic Society - Bellefonte Pennsylvania
Reported By:
Josephine Annette -
, California, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
American Philatelic Society
100 Match Factory Place, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Bellefonte, 16823 Pennsylvania, United States of America
Phone:
8149333803
Web:
http://www.stamps.org/
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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American Philatelic Society APS Swindled, Lied, Cheated, Ripped off, Unfair, Scammed Me, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Report Attachments
I was nearly swindled by The American Philatelic Society also known as APS. My grandfather was a member of this organization all of his life and amassed a stamp collection consisting of 54 large specialized stamp albums by Scott. When he passed away he left me the collection. Inside many of the albums were labels that stated to contact The American Philatelic Society after his demise. Not having any previous knowledge of the society I called them and was referred to an advisor who took my name and phone number saying an official appraiser & dealer of APS would contact me.
I received a call from a man saying he was a member of APS and was a certified appraiser. He told me there was a modest appraisal charge only if he did not purchase the collection. The caller was very friendly on the phone and I made an appointment with him. He came to my home and spent about two hours looking at my Grandfathers lifetime collection. I was completely shocked when he informed me only after several hours it was basically a hobby collection with a few better stamps. He told me he would pay me $5000 for the collection. My first response was no and suddenly this very nice man became very angry and went on to tell me I had wasted his time and I owed him for the appraisal. After further conversation it was agreed I would like another opinion and should I not sell him after a second opinion would pay him the $250 he wanted.
I called The American Philatelic Society back the following day and requested they have another appraiser contact me and another man did. The second man spent even less time than the first and offered me $5300. Unfortunately having fully relied on APS and my grandfathers membership I asked for $5500 and he agreed. I thought I could pay the other party for his appraisal. I told the second dealer he could come by in a week to pay me and pick up the collection. The dealer was upset and wanted to write me a check right then and take away my collection. I wanted my children to see it one time before I sold it but also something was bothering me which I at the time could not understand. Over that weekend I showed the collection to my children one of which was in college and having related the experience he suggested I contact someone not affiliated with APS. I found someone online who agreed to come over early the next week and that is when I discovered how I would have been cheated by APS. A very nice young man came by, the APS dealers were in their sixties. He spent nearly half a day with me and only reviewed less than half the collection. He told me he needed to come back the following day to finish. He came back and spent nearly the entire day with me and after he finished offered me $22,500 for my collection. I happily accepted the offer and told him my experience with APS. His response was a smile and a single remark, he said they are known for this and whomever buys the collection must "accommodate" APS in some way or another. I hope others out there who
read this and have had a similar experience will comment here.
I received a call from a man saying he was a member of APS and was a certified appraiser. He told me there was a modest appraisal charge only if he did not purchase the collection. The caller was very friendly on the phone and I made an appointment with him. He came to my home and spent about two hours looking at my Grandfathers lifetime collection. I was completely shocked when he informed me only after several hours it was basically a hobby collection with a few better stamps. He told me he would pay me $5000 for the collection. My first response was no and suddenly this very nice man became very angry and went on to tell me I had wasted his time and I owed him for the appraisal. After further conversation it was agreed I would like another opinion and should I not sell him after a second opinion would pay him the $250 he wanted.
I called The American Philatelic Society back the following day and requested they have another appraiser contact me and another man did. The second man spent even less time than the first and offered me $5300. Unfortunately having fully relied on APS and my grandfathers membership I asked for $5500 and he agreed. I thought I could pay the other party for his appraisal. I told the second dealer he could come by in a week to pay me and pick up the collection. The dealer was upset and wanted to write me a check right then and take away my collection. I wanted my children to see it one time before I sold it but also something was bothering me which I at the time could not understand. Over that weekend I showed the collection to my children one of which was in college and having related the experience he suggested I contact someone not affiliated with APS. I found someone online who agreed to come over early the next week and that is when I discovered how I would have been cheated by APS. A very nice young man came by, the APS dealers were in their sixties. He spent nearly half a day with me and only reviewed less than half the collection. He told me he needed to come back the following day to finish. He came back and spent nearly the entire day with me and after he finished offered me $22,500 for my collection. I happily accepted the offer and told him my experience with APS. His response was a smile and a single remark, he said they are known for this and whomever buys the collection must "accommodate" APS in some way or another. I hope others out there who
read this and have had a similar experience will comment here.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Ken Martin
Bellefonte,Pennsylvania,
United States of America
Estate Assistance
#2UPDATE Employee
Tue, October 17, 2017
The American Philatelic Society is a charitable nonprofit member association. It does not offer appraisals, nor does it buy postage stamp collections. We do offer members labels which they can use to indicate persons the member recommends their heirs contact to help handle their estate.
If the member has not provided a name or names of indivdiual to help with their estate, the heirs of an APS member may, within one year of the member's demise, call upon the APS for advisory assistance. We will attempt to find someone to visit the heirs and review the collection and offer advice at no charge. The advice does not include an appraisal, and the individual conducting the review, should not make an offer to purchase the collection. (Doing so disqualifies them from serving as an Estate Advisor in the future.)
We recommend that anyone selling a collection get multiple offers before deciding to sell a collection. Additional information is available from our website at https://stamps.org/Estate-Advice
StampDealingGeorge
Colorado,United States of America
I have had the same issues with this company..
#3Consumer Suggestion
Sat, October 15, 2011
Don't be fooled by the APS response. They may have advisors but those advisors recommend only APS member dealers who will swindle you like the above complaint states. Also, if you are a member beware, this organization keeps meticulous records of all your transactions. As an example if you purchase stamps and are late paying you could be suspended permanently and badmouthed to any callers who inquire about you in the future. If you are a dealer who is suspended as I was in the past for paying late, (I was out of the country at the time), APS does not give you a chance to argue your position if a member calls in a complaint; you are labeled a crook. That's OK when you really screw up as Darrell Brown operating as American Stamp & Coin Appraisal Institute did by robbing someone and being arrested but a former member should not be put in the same category for paying a vendor late.
Ken Martin
Bellefonte,Pennsylvania,
United States of America
American Philatelic Society Estate Advisory Service
#4UPDATE Employee
Mon, October 10, 2011
The American Philatelic Society does not buy collections, nor do we get commissions for referrals. We offer an estate advisory service to the families of deceased members. The volunteers who serve in this capacity will review a deceased member's collection and provide general advice on options for disposal. The Estate advisors do not perform appraisals nor should they be making an offer to purchase the collection. If an Estate advisor does offer to buy a collection we should be notified so they can be removed from the list of advisors.
Ken Martin
Executive Director
American Philatelic Society
