Stamps

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Bob's stamp collection, pictured before being sold piecemeal so Chris could buy more toys.

Stamp collecting was a hobby enjoyed by both Bob and Chris. In March 2017, Chris began selling pieces of his late father's collection on eBay, lying several times about needing to pay bills, but actually spending his profit on toys instead. He followed up by offering his own stamp album for $1,000. He also hatched a new business scheme, consisting of a raffle in which participants could enter by purchasing stamps for a chance to win a Son-Chu figure and/or merchandise of Chris's Skylanders avatar.

The hobby

Bob started his collection in the mid-1930s, when he was around eight years old. It began with a stamp from Romania, and the collection continued to reflect his interest in foreign countries and the United Nations. By the time of his death in 2011, he had amassed six boxes worth of stamp books[1]. The Romanian stamp, which he had kept through the decades, was still in his possession.[2]

Chris began his collection in 1992, at the age of ten. Bob had introduced him to the hobby, as he wanted to share his interests, and purchased a beginner's stamp album for him. Chris had filled in dozens of spaces in the book, indicating that he liked the hobby.

Sales

Chris's first stamp album. Look at those digits.

In 2017, Chris began offering stamp covers from Bob's set and his own stamp album on eBay, ostensibly to pay bills. However, this was quickly proven to be a lie, as he had actually used the money to buy toys, as soon as one day after the first batch of Bob's stamp covers were listed.

He set prices for Bob's pieces at wildly fluctuating levels, some starting at $2, with others as high as $30. In a display of his ego, he then tried to sell his personal stamp album for $1,000, despite the fact that Bob's stamps were decades old and more valuable whereas Chris's consisted of more recent releases.

Bob's stamp collection

Stamps original.mp400001.png

On 1 March 2017, Chris began selling pieces of Bob's stamp collection. In a video advertising the sales, he mentioned having six boxes of stamp books. Initial responses were good; in the first day, he made $63 in sales from eight listings. However, sales quickly stagnated, bouncing back only after subsequent mentions on Facebook. On 19 March, following ten days of no sales, he begged for more, and white knights swiftly responded by purchasing $41.50 across seven stamp covers. This was followed by another lull, and sales shot up again on 27 March after Chris announced a raffle ($35 in a day). However, on two subsequent mentions (the Son-chu Review video and more pleas for sales following a tantrum over his refusal to get a job), he received $0 for his efforts.

An example of one listing's description is below:

Region: United Nations
Year of Issue: 1967
Topic: Flags, National Emblems
Cancellation Type: First Day of Issue
Color:Rainbow
Quality: Lightly Hinged


United Nations Pavilion EXPO cachet 1967 first day cover, Gold Seal; part of a collection from my late father; it is in Great Condition; will ship in envelope between cardstock sheets for protection. Make multiple purchases to save on shipping fees.

Number of stamps offered Number sold Sales revenue Revenue after fees, shipping Promotional expenses[3] Net profit Profit wasted on toys[4] [5]
67 55 $341 $269.17 $790 Negative $520.83 $90

The following is a list of stamps Chris put up for sale, along with notes on pricing and when they were sold. All listings offer free shipping (meaning a piece of his revenue goes to cover shipping, about 50) cents per sale).

List of stamp covers offered for sale
  • United Nations Pavilion EXPO cachet 1967 first day cover, Gold Seal
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $6
  • Sold: 1 March
  • United Nations 25th Anniversary 1951-1976 UNPA first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $8
  • Sold: 19 March
  • United Nations Geneva Air Mail cachet 1977 first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2
  • Sold: 1 March
  • Relisted: 1 March
  • Sold: 1 March
  • United Nations Official Geneva cachet 1970 first day cover - Silver Seals
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 1 March
  • United Nations Central Hall London cachet 1958 first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $8
  • Sold: 19 March
  • United Nations regular postage cachet 1962 Security Council first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $8
  • Sold: 19 March
  • United Nations Water Conference cachet 1977 first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 19 March
  • United Nations 25th Anniversary World Federation of United Nations Associates cachet 1951-1976 first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $8
  • Sold: 1 March
  • Relisted: 1 March
  • United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization, L'Organisation Mondiale De La Propriete Intellectuelle, cachet 1977 first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 1 March
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1977 Combattons Le Racisme first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Relisted: 4 April
  • Price: $20 (Chris revised it down from $30)
  • Note: A Kiwi Farms user placed a Best Offer of $5. Chris declined it.[6]
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1977 Conseil de Securite first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $20
  • Sold: 1 March
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1977 Conference des Nations Unies Sur L'Eau first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Relisted: 4 April
  • Price: $20
  • United Nations WFUNA cachet 1977 Hall Groat first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 6 March
  • United Nations WFUNA cachet 1977 Combat Racism first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 1 March
  • United Nations WFUNA cachet 1977 Security Council first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 1 March
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1970 United Nations Postal Administration first day cover, with FOUR Stamps on it
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Relisted: 4 April
  • Price: $25
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1970 United Nations Postal Administration Blue first day cover
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Relisted: 4 April
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 12 April
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1969 UNPA Grey first day cover, with Four Stamps
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Relisted: 4 April
  • Price: $20
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1969 UNPA first day cover, with Four Stamps
  • Listed: 1 March, as Buy It Now
  • Relisted: 4 April
  • Price: $25
  • United Nations WFUNA cachet 1977 Combat Racism (Grafitti) first day cover
  • Listed: 2 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 2 March
  • United Nations WFUNA cachet 1977 Security Council first day cover
  • Listed: 2 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 2 March
  • United Nations WFUNA cachet 1977 Water Conference first day cover
  • Listed: 2 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 19 March
  • United Nations WFUNA cachet 1977 WIPO first day cover
  • Listed: 2 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 19 March
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1977 Combat Racism first day cover
  • Listed: 2 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 3 March
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1977 Conseil de Securite Cables first day cover
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2
  • Sold: 9 March
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1977 Conseil de Sur L'Eau first day cover
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1977 Intellectual Leonardo Da Vinci first day cover
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $20
  • United Nations Security Council-Waldheim Succed Thant 1971 first day cover
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $30
  • United Nations Commerative 1981 first day cover Sources D'Energie
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $20
  • Sold: 9 April
  • United Nations Commerative 1981 first day cover EnergieQeellen
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $20
  • United Nations Commerative 1981 first day cover New and Renewable Energy Sources
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $20
  • United Nations Commerative 1981 first day cover New and Renewable Energy Quellen
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $20
  • United Nations 1975 International Women's Year Cover f/s0.60
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 17 April
  • United Nations 1975 International Women's Year Cover f/s0.90
  • Listed: 9 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $20
  • United Nations 1973 first day cover 25th Anniversary Declaration of HR 40fs
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 21 March
  • United Nations 1973 first day cover 25th Anniversary Declaration of HR 80fs
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $7.50
  • Sold: 31 March
  • United Nations 1975 First Day Cover Peaceful Uses of Extra Space Atmosphere 60fs
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $7.50
  • Sold: 31 March
  • United Nations 1975 First Day Cover Peaceful Uses of Extra Space Atmosphere 90fs
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10.00
  • Sold: 1 April
  • United Nations 1972 Fist Day Cover Environment 80fs
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold 19 March
  • United Nations 1972 Fist Day Cover Conserve Our Human Environment 15c
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5.00
  • Sold: 8 April
  • United Nations 1971 UN International School First Day Cover 25th Ann UNICEF
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1971 First Day Cover Art featuring Alexander Rutsch
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1972 Fist Day Cover Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 27 March
  • United Nations Geneva 1972 Fist Day Cover Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
  • Listed: 19 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1973 FD Cover Against Drugs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1974 World Population Year 60fs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations Geneva 1972 FD Cover Economic Commission for Europe
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1973 FD Cover Vounteers of UN
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1974 FD Cover ILO Travel Bureau 60fs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations Geneva Law of the Sea Official Geneva Cachet 1974
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1972 Jose Marie Sert FD Cover 15c
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1974 FD Cover Postal Union 60 fs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $2.50
  • Sold: 28 March
  • United Nations 1974 FD Cover World Population Year 80fs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $3.50
  • Sold: 31 March
  • United Nations 1974 FD Cover Bresil Art 1.00 Fs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 14 April
  • United Nations 1974 FD Cover ILO Travel Bureau 80fs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $3.50
  • Sold 29 March
  • United Nations 1974 FD Cover NAMIBIA
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 10 April
  • United Nations 1973 Decade of Disarmment
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • United Nations 1972 Jose Marie Sert FD Cover 40fs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 8 April
  • United Nations 1972 Jose Marie Sert FD Cover 80fs
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • United Nations 1972 FD Cover Economic Commission for Europe
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $5
  • Sold: 8 April
  • United Nations 1972 FD Cover UN Air Mail Da Vinci
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 10 April
  • United Nations 1972 FD Cover UN Air Mail Pilatre de Rozier
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 14 April
  • United Nations 1972 FD Cover UN Air Mail Otto Lilienthal
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 12 April
  • United Nations 1972 FD Cover UN Air Mail Sir George Cayley
  • Listed: 27 March, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $10
  • Sold: 16 April
  • United Nations Geneva cachet 1977 INTELLECTUAL LEONARDO DA VINCI first day cover
  • Listed: 4 April, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $15
  • Sold: 10 April

Chris's stamp album

Two days after offering pieces of Bob's stamp collection for sale, generally for $5 per piece, Chris listed his personal stamp album for a whopping $1,000. Unsurprisingly, it failed to sell and the listing expired from eBay the next month. Chris then relisted it, still asking for the full $1,000 price, eventually cutting the price 50%. It again failed to sell, and he relisted it again in May; a day later, he slashed the price to $250.

  • Listed: 3 March 2017, as Buy It Now
  • Price: $1,000, reduced to $500 on 17 April and reduced to $250 on 5 May.
  • Shipping: Free

As owned by Christine Weston Chandler, formally known as Christopher, followed by Christian, as signed back in 1992 at 10 years old; she is to become famous for her art and comics of her very own Sonichu and Rosechu characters, is this unique copy of "A First Stamp Album for Beginners", from Robert Obojski, published in 1984. As shown in the images, and in between the remaining pages, are a variety of select stamps personally added into the book's pages, and then some with additional pages, and a few loose stamps that remained in there from as early as June, 1992. As a collectible, and educational material, you can take a page from my book to get a start in your own Stamp Collection, and the enclosed stamps are quite valuable too; more than a hundred various stamps included. Very Sentimental too.

A troll asked a stamp collector friend to contact Chris and attempt to inform him that his asking price was too high. Chris responded[7]:

As the actual person, herself, I wrote my original name way back in 1992, before I had my name legally changed from Christopher to Christian, and I added the "ian" shortly after that name change. And I added my current name recently. I have created Sonichu and Rosechu; more than eleven books of content about them and all related therein. I have been famous for them as early as March, 2000. I am still talked about by thousands to millions of people online. So there. If you don't like it, you don't have to buy this actual item from me. Have a good and safe day now. :)

On 13 March, Chris tried to sweeten the deal by offering some of Bob's stamps as a bonus.

**BONUS**

Set of Seven commemorative packs of gently used stamps (an $11-plus value). And Ten randomly selected UN Stamp Covers, counting the two predetermined covers in the photo above (a $100-plus value)

-1971 UN International School UNICEF First Day Issue Pablo Picasso stamps

-1971 UN Eliminate Racial Discrimination First Day Issue

On 7 April, he again added to the bonuses:

-Bonuses for Son-Chu Giveaway: Son-Chu Figure, CWC Skylander Figure, matching Funtional Card, and T-Shirt. See above photos.

He removed the Skylanders bonuses after the raffle concluded.

Reviews

One of the buyers, who bought a stamp cover for #2.50, reported that it had been crumpled up and stained, with a smudge of possible bodily fluid on the mailed envelope. He posted to Kiwi Farms:

Stamps came in today and the collectors value of the stamps themselves have been ruined. The envelope which the stamps are on has been crumpled and stained lightly, even within the protective sleeve. This means at some time, Chris took the stamps out of the sleeve, mishandled it, put in back into the three fold sleeve and shipped it.

The mailing envelope it came in on also has some type of smudge that I haven't dared to figure out what it is. It kind of looks like dried bloody snot, I dare not touch it.

All in all, Chris has ruined the value of the stamps just by handling them improperly, and has possibly attached something disgusting to his package.

Would not recommend buying from again.

Also, I purchased only one set of stamps, I'm not the mass buyer.[8]

Some people left feedback on his eBay profile, mostly positive, although a few had complaints.

came okay, clearly mishandled though, but in a decent enough condition
  • Regardless, the feedback was rated positive. The sale had been for "United Nations Pavilion EXPO cachet 1967 first day cover, Gold Seal" for $6.
Never sent item, never responded to email, payment refunded. Avoid.
  • Negative feedback, for the $5 "United Nations Water Conference cachet 1977 first day cover."
ship it faster man
  • Neutral feedback, for the $5 "United Nations 1973 Decade of Disarmment."

Raffle

Near the end of his first month of stamp sales, Chris announced a giveaway contest, in which people could enter between "March 27, 2017 and April 31st, 2017 at 11:59 PM, Eastern Standard Time; 3:59 AM Pacific Time."[9]

Number of sales Number of participants Sales revenue during the raffle Revenue after fees, shipping Promotional expenses[10] Net profit Notes
33 12 $209.50 $165.76 $790 Negative $624.24 18 of the stamp covers, at a cost of $76, were bought by one person.

Cost of entry was described as buying one of the stamp covers or the album, with a limit of one entry per person. The prizes are as follows:

  • A person who buys the $1,000 album would win a set of all three.

See also

References