Stamps listed in wrong categories.

[tony41]

It is now over 6 months since eBid management greatly increased the ghost categories for stamps which is a real improvement on the old system where the category for pre-independent issues of a British Colonial territory was found under British Commonwealth and the category for post-independent issues was found under the appropriate geographical region.
Therefore it is very disheartening to find that there are still large numbers of listings in the wrong categories. Usually it is post-independent issues listed in the pre-independent category.
This is unsatisfactory for sellers who list in the correct category. If a buyer wants pre-independent issues, they have to wade through large numbers of irrelevant listings. If a buyer (or potential new buyer) looks in the post-independent category they will find very few issues in many cases and will think that there is no point in trying to buy on eBid.
In my opinion, to list items in the wrong category or to leave older listings in the wrong category is very unsatisfactory. I am convinced that sales are being lost because of this. It also makes the site appear unprofessional.
So, for the sake of yourself and for other eBid members, can I please issue a plea for sellers to make sure that new listings go into the correct category and that old listings are moved to the correct category asap. It is relatively easy to do using Bulk Edit.

[FirstGreenIsGold]

Tony and others, I do my best to get my listings in the right categories, but some times I mess up. With my stamp listings, I'm trying to catalogue and list stamps from an accumulation and I am trying to learn as I go. My knowledge is limited. If you ever find any of my stamp listings in the wrong categories, please let me know. A question to the listing or a PM ... either would be appreciated.

[hurryb4itsgone]

Tony and others, I do my best to get my listings in the right categories, but some times I mess up. With my stamp listings, I'm trying to catalogue and list stamps from an accumulation and I am trying to learn as I go. My knowledge is limited. If you ever find any of my stamp listings in the wrong categories, please let me know. A question to the listing or a PM ... either would be appreciated.

I feel the same way. If any of my stamps or any item, for that matter, are in a wrong category please send me a PM. It would also be great if the correct category were included in the note.

Thanks for your understanding.

[tony41]

Thanks Marie and "Hurry". I already know to PM Marie after previous correspondence on this subject. I will make a note to do the same for you, "Hurry".
Unfortunately, many of the offenders do not use the forums so I am not able to send them a PM.

[FirstGreenIsGold]

I agree with hurrybe4 that, if anyone spots any of my listings in the wrong category, or any other error at all, I appreciate the help.

It's easy to make errors, no matter how careful a person tries to be.

Thanks Tony.

[purplestevie]

my knowledge of stamps is also limited so if i have any in the wrong cat please let me know

[tony41]

my knowledge of stamps is also limited so if i have any in the wrong cat please let me know

If I notice any, I will PM you. I'm not searching for wrongly listed stamps. The situation just hits you in the face when you look at the categories.

[Raymondwatkins]

I can quite understand frustrations about having to plough through lots of stamps in the wrong category. I do find, however, that the eBid categories do not really show a correct picture of the status of some countries. For example, St Lucia became independent in 1979 but from that date it became a member of the British Commonwealth in its own right. Rather than show St Lucia stamps from 1979 onwards under "South & Central America" I think it would be more appropriate to include a second line in the " Commonwealth & British Colonies" grouping eg "St Lucia (from 1979)". This, to me, would more closely reflect the status of countries like St Lucia. In this regard, can someone confirm whether or not Stanley Gibbons lists post-1979 St Lucia stamps in its Commonwealth catalogues?

I also agree with other respondents that mistakes do happen, and I have had this pointed out to me some time ago when a member found that I had listed some stamps in the wrong category. I quickly corrected the position in line with the eBid categories,and hope that everything is now in the correct category - but if anyone finds a mistake please let me know.

In regard to searching through for stamps of interest, this leads to another recent thread about whether or not catalogue numbers are useful in item headings. One way of searching for items, if specific stamps are being looked for, is to search on "country + year" or "country + catalogue number" - this could track down relevant items that are listed in a correct category, and also find items that have been mistakenly listed in the wrong category.

Just a few thoughts

Ray

[tony41]

I can quite understand frustrations about having to plough through lots of stamps in the wrong category. I do find, however, that the eBid categories do not really show a correct picture of the status of some countries. For example, St Lucia became independent in 1979 but from that date it became a member of the British Commonwealth in its own right. Rather than show St Lucia stamps from 1979 onwards under "South & Central America" I think it would be more appropriate to include a second line in the " Commonwealth & British Colonies" grouping eg "St Lucia (from 1979)". This, to me, would more closely reflect the status of countries like St Lucia. In this regard, can someone confirm whether or not Stanley Gibbons lists post-1979 St Lucia stamps in its Commonwealth catalogues?

I also agree with other respondents that mistakes do happen, and I have had this pointed out to me some time ago when a member found that I had listed some stamps in the wrong category. I quickly corrected the position in line with the eBid categories,and hope that everything is now in the correct category - but if anyone finds a mistake please let me know.

In regard to searching through for stamps of interest, this leads to another recent thread about whether or not catalogue numbers are useful in item headings. One way of searching for items, if specific stamps are being looked for, is to search on "country + year" or "country + catalogue number" - this could track down relevant items that are listed in a correct category, and also find items that have been mistakenly listed in the wrong category.

Just a few thoughts

Ray

The situation you describe with regard to St Lucia is just one of the improvements made by eBid management which I referred to in my original post on this thread. If you now look under British Commonwealth you will find St Lucia - up to 1979 AND St Lucia - 1979 onwards. A similar situation also exists for all (or almost all) British Commonwealth countries which have gained independence. The eBid categories for British Commonwealth are now better than many other selling sites and the efforts of eBid management mean that there is no excuse for not listing British Commonwealth stamps in an appropriate category.

[Raymondwatkins]

Hi Tony

Thanks for your reply. I thought that was what you meant when you described the recent improvements, but before sending my post I checked the position re St Lucia just to make sure that was what you meant. As a seller I did this by clicking on "Sell" then "Stamps" and in the drop-down menu of categories a seller has to choose you will find the situation as I described! However, following your reply, and looking at it from a buyers perspective I have just checked the "Buy" categories which show the position as described by you! It appears that sellers have a different drop-down menu to buyers! Although at the end-of-the day the stamps finish up in the same place in the buyers categories on eBid's computer. It would appear to me to be more logical and less confusing to have the same drop-down menus for both sellers and buyers.

Might I add another view to the discussion? Is it really necessary to have stamp-issuing countries grouped into Commonwealth, Europe, Asia, etc ? Why not just list the countries alphabetically, with all sub-categories for each country listed together? Sellers and buyers would then only have to look at an alphabetical index to find the countries they are looking for. Themetics could fall into this basis under "T + topic". Just a thought.