For those of you who follow or bid on Scout material on certain online auctions....

Please know what you are bidding on and what it's worth!  It frustrates me to see common material and see our own SOSSI members bidding more than what the item normally sells for...and I see the same thing happen every single day.  Telling them about it individually takes too much of my time...and, of course, once they placed a bid, they are required to honor it.

Especially common are folks bidding up covers. US Scout First Day Covers (FDC) with quite common cachets (notice how the descriptions frequently say RARE L@@K!!!!) that we retail for $2-4 that end up taking bids of $5-10.  Items are sometimes listed as FDCs that are not.  Ridiculous starting bids such as $1.00 for a used USA Scott #995...the list goes on and on and on.

While hopefully the more experienced Scout collectors are not fooled (regretfully that's not always the case, though, but I won't name names) our newer Scout collectors are sometimes getting bamboozled and it can only hurt their enjoyment of the hobby in the future.

Imagine spending $10 for something and then seeing the exact same thing the next day for $2 at the corner store....you would be burning and with some justification. But with an auction...you set the price so how can you complain later on when you didn't do your homework and paid too much?

I know auctions can be addicting, they can also be dangerous to your wallet!  Caveat Emptor.....

Editors Note: The majority of the older classic issues can now be found on the internet auctions, but there are forgeries or they lack certification usual for high priced philatelic items.  If in doubt about the value or worth of any auction item, send an email or call another SOSSI member that you trust who knows more about these items than you.  It doesn't hurt to ask your traditional Scouts on Stamps dealer either about prices and authenticity.  They might just save you money.