Delcampe Tempts British Stamp Collectors Away from eBay
The success of Delcampe is, in my view, due to its narrow focus on collectables such as stamps, postcards and coins alone. As eBay have taken their eye off the ball to chase the high volume sellers of bland consumables and media items, the huge global army of small collectors and part-time dealers have felt neglected and alienated and it didn't take them long to find Delcampe and discover it is actually a very welcoming and lower cost place to list their stamps, first day covers, postcards etc.
eBay once had collectors around the world hooked as it was a unique collector's paradise but, it appears to me, too little understanding of the specialist collectable niches has cost them dearly. While eBay certainly still ranks among the best places to buy and sell stamps and covers, they no longer have things all their own way and savvy sellers and buyers are unlikely to ignore the more focused and fast growing Delcampe now.
Delcampe appears serious about playing an active and responsible role within the philatelic industry and others rather than simply look to profit from them. This is evidenced by their membership of the Philatelic Traders Society (PTS) in the UK, American Stamp Dealers Association (ASDA), American Philatelic Society, American Topical Association and other trade associations like the Postcard Traders Association (PTS).
All in all it's pretty easy to see why many stamp collectors and dealers have moved over to Delcampe as searching for stuff is simple, predictable and reliable. Listing items for sale is straightforward. Registration is fee free. Buying is fee free. Listing items for sale is fee free. Unsold items are fee free. Yet the maximum final value commission charged when items sell is about 5.5% of the final sale price which is often around half the amount eBay would charge.
Of course the site is not for everyone because it focuses on a narrow range of collectable items but for stamp collectors like me it really is a website to visit, browse and enjoy.
Delcampe: A website for stamp collectors
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