Newsletter Archive
1-11-2021 NobleSpirit Newsletter: This Week's Featured Collection, and the Impact of the Postal Service on American History
January 11th, 2021
The Latest Episode of Conversations with Philatelists:
Ep. 32: Dr. Christy Pottroff: Postal History as a Teaching Tool and Literary Influence
In this episode, Dr. Christy Pottroff, a literary professor at Boston College, discusses how she uses postal history as a teaching tool in her classes to analyze the work of great writers such as Edgar Allen Poe.
She also discusses the great influence that the postal service has had on American history, including westward expansion and the development of the travel writing genre.
This Week's Feature Collection For Sale:
Colossal $125,000 WW 7 Volume A-Z Scott International Album Collection
NO RESERVE
Auction ends Saturday, January 16th, at 7:16PM EST.
See over 2,360 photos in the eBay listing
12-28-2020 NobleSpirit Newsletter: NobleSpirit Partners with Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History
December 28th, 2020
Announcing a New Partnership Between NobleSpirit and the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History!
We are thrilled to announce an exciting new partnership between NobleSpirit and the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History! NobleSpirit is proud to have been selected as the official event sponsor of the Spellman Museum for 2021.
These two organizations have enjoyed a long and flourishing relationship, with the Spellman Executive Director, Joe Mullin, appearing as a guest on Conversations with Philatelists, which is co-hosted by NobleSpirit vice president, Michael Cortese. This new partnership will not only further strengthen an already prospering professional relationship, but also benefit the philatelic community greatly.
Located in Weston, MA, the Spellman Museum first opened in 1963, and is home to many interesting exhibits of postal history. The museum hosts events throughout the year to benefit the public, including philatelic symposiums, various stamp shows, youth programs, and special featured exhibits.
NobleSpirit is excited to take part in this partnership and contribute to events that will educate and engage the philatelic community both young and old.
"It is a thrill to partner with our good friends at the Spellman Museum. Each and every day, their efforts make a huge difference in the hobby as they cultivate new generations of young collectors. It is humbling to be a part of such an experience."
– Joe Cortese, President of NobleSpirit
Watch the Conversations with Philatelists episode with Joe Mullin, Executive Director of the Spellman Museum.
The Latest Episode of Conversations with Philatelists:
Ep. 30: Jenny Lynch: USPS Official Postal Historian
In this episode, Jenny Lynch, the official postal historian for the USPS, discusses the USPS library and artifact vault, and the history of some major changes to the postal service.
12-16-2020 NobleSpirit Newsletter: Conversations with Philatelists Wins Creative Concept of the Year PTS Award, LIVE Q&A with a Dealer Tonight!
December 16th, 2020
Conversations with Philatelists Wins PTS Award for Creative Concept of the Year
We are thrilled to announce that Conversations with Philatelists has won the 2020 Philatelic Traders' Society Award for Creative Concept of the Year!
This award is a huge accomplishment and honor for both Michael Cortese of NobleSpirit, and Charles Epting of HR Harmer. The Creative Concept of the Year award "celebrates the best innovations in philately – for the trade and the hobby." This was the most competitive category of the awards this year, receiving eleven nominations in total. Michael and Charles received very honorable praise from the award judges, Scott English and Chris King:
Scott English, President of the American Philatelic Society (APS) made notable comments about Michael, Charles, and the podcast during the award ceremony:
"I always like to brag about Charles and Michael because they are both alum of our Young Philatelic Leader's Fellowship, and that's a program we do here at the APS. Now, we didn't make them great, we just let the rest of the hobby know how great they are. They should be very proud of how far they've come so far, and the accomplishments they've made. They've done a phenomenal job with Conversations with Philatelists, because they touch on the community aspect of the hobby that we all know and love. Both Michael and Charles have an intuitive sense of blending a good knowledge of philately and a very warm presence to make people comfortable to share more than just the stamps."
Chris King, Former President of the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) also commented on their win:
"Anyone who can bring Daisy Todd and Gordon Eubanks into the same series has done brilliantly well. And bringing these people into our studies, into our stamp rooms, into our homes, during the pandemic has been absolutely fantastic...Wonderful, wonderful work."
Congratulations to the Runner-Ups in Creative Concept of the Year category:
The Royal Philatelic Society of London
For their fast-acting movement to launch virtual content and meetings for their members, encouraging people to engage with the hobby.
The Museum of Philately provides an abundance of information and digital access to private collections for hobbyists.
Also a huge congratulations to the other category winners:
– Ambassador of the Year: Markand Dave and Bill Barrell
– Legacy Champion of the Year: Graham Beck
– PTS Contributor of the Year: Spink Auctions
TONIGHT, 12/16 at 6:30pm EST: Don't Miss the LIVE Q&A With a Dealer on APS Stamp Chats!
If you have questions about buying or selling collections online or at auction, make sure you tune in to the LIVE APS Stamp Chat TONIGHT at 6:30pm EST! Michael and Charles will be there to answer all of your questions, and provide insight into the operations of the e-commerce stamp market and auction houses!
Tune in to the LIVE Q&A and submit your questions on Zoom, the APS Facebook Page, and the APS YouTube Channel!
11-25-2020 NobleSpirit Newsletter: How To Sell a Stamp Collection, Stamp Restoration – Identifying Conservation vs. Forgery
November 11th, 2020
Conversations with Philatelists
Ep. 24: Daisy Todd: Understanding Stamp Restoration
In this week's episode of Conversations with Philatelists, Michael and Charles talk to Daisy Todd, an experienced paper and book conservator who specializes in philatelic material. Daisy has worked for historical institutions throughout the UK, including the Smithsonian and the British Library.
Listen in to this episode to learn:
How to properly store a stamp collection to avoid damage and wear
The careful process of stamp restoration
The difference and grey area between stamp conservation and forgery.
If you have a stamp collection you're looking to sell, take a peek at our latest blog post to understand all the available avenues through which to sell your collection! Weigh the pros and cons of selling or consigning to a private dealer vs. an auction house, and get inside tips on how to best prepare your collection for sale.
Recent NobleSpirit Sales
High CV Value France Scott Specialized Album 1949-1994
Sold November 23rd, 2020 for $1,025
Colossal – $50,000 A-Z Handmade Better Classics Album
Sold November 12, 2020 for $3,205
Beautiful US No. 476A MH 30c Franklin = $2,000 CV!
Sold November 11th, 2020 for $1,000
Wonderful China & RoC 1894-2000 M&U Album = $2,600+
Sold October 21st, 2020 for $1,247
US BOB RS153a "Kelly's Old Cabin Bitters" Revenue = $2,250 CV
Sold October 3rd, 2020 for $1,801
10-9-2020 NobleSpirit Newsletter: Conversations with Philatelists in National News, New Arrivals, the Future
October 9th, 2020
Conversations With Philatelists: In The National News
By: Joe Deziemianowicz
Special to Newsday
Updated October 8th, 2020
Congratulations, to Michael and Charles! The cream rises to the top. To be on the cutting edge is the thrill of a lifetime, made all the more exhilarating when your achievement is recognized by voices that matter and make a difference.
This affirmation by an industry luminary such as Wade Saadi, confirms the secret sauce proof of model. Conversations With Philatelists plans to continue to leverage -uniquely qualified- important and interesting value.
The power of fireside chat storytelling is unsurpassed in its ability to form connective tissue. Conversations With Philatelists will continue to seek out those most compelling resources. And, amplify them with a vast array of available visual assets.
"Since the pandemic began, collectors have found new diversions, including APS Stamp Chats and Conversations with Philatelists — each on YouTube — that have sprung up to help fill the gap left by canceled stamp shows and club meetings. "There might have been podcasts before," Saadi said. "But before no one had time. Now we do, and they’re teaching us new things."
This just in....a massive ex-dealer stock dormant for years! Check our listings daily as you join us in unfolding this amazing journey of discovery over the next few weeks. We have no idea what is in here; however, we are guaranteed to find out together!
9-28-2020 Newsletter: Celebrating 22 Years on eBay, CwP Ep. 14: Scott English, APS
September 28th, 2020
NobleSpirit Newsletter - Celebrating 22 years on eBay Anniversary; CWP Episode 14: Scott English (APS) American Philatelic Society, Executive Director
Today September 28,
marks our 22nd Anniversary on eBay!
From (0) Feedback to nearly 1/2 million sales!
When we bought our old rambling New England colonial farm house built in 1787, we found this Civil War soldier's pocket bible on a ledge of the old barn attached to the house. Normally, one would keep such a historically as well as personally significant antiquity. Instead, we had a mission for the bible. We sent it on a journey of good fortune to launch our new inaugural business on eBay.
Some 440,000 eBay sales ago, this was our first ever sale. I remember our first sale on eBay as though it was yesterday.
Within the retaining band, the front inside leaves were inscribed, "This book went through the Great Rebellion with its owner, A.W. Bartlett. Bought in the city of Concord, 1862".
It was instantly clear that eBay not only captured our target demographic collector/investor, it encompassed the perfect auction model within a vibrant and comprehensive vertical and lateral cross merchandising marketplace. Soon after we decided eBay delivered a perfect global distribution system, we started to replace all those staples in the top left margin by investing many $100,000's in our Meridian software. It was a time well before professional business solutions existed on eBay around the turn of the century. Where each staple told an admin story, technology made it possible to run complex operations with seamless automation. Once we noticed the astonishing loyalty that provided unprecedented consistent daily, weekly and monthly traffic, we committed 100% to the platform. Exclusively. Who wouldn't when customers are in the 10's of millions and page views are in the hundred's of millions!
Our eBay NobleSpirit username was adopted from a boat I named in my father's memory. It was fitting that the business he fostered should continue his legacy.
Prior to eBay, dealing in stamps here in the US and abroad, Europe, South America, Middle East, and beyond meant that if you weren't prepared to drive 100's of miles or fly 1,000's of miles, you weren't in the stamp business. This was the norm for NobleSpirit for decades before eBay provided global access at one's fingertips.
It was 1997 on an overnight sleeper train on one of my regular trips to visit with clients in Florida that I found myself sharing a dinner table with the Chief Marketing Officer of Amtrack. The usual exchange of queries regarding respective occupations, led him to share his story describing how he spent his free time selling his military memorabilia on eBay, which was on the Internet.
"What's an eBay?", I exclaimed.
"You just take photos, create the listing, and the checks just keep rolling in...", he explained calmly.
To be sure, on reflection, I now feel delighted, I never followed with a question asking, "What is an Internet?"
It wasn't until a full year later on this very day in 1998 that I decided to see what all the eBay chatter was about. The journey from (0) feedback to (100,000) plus does not actually tell the full story.
The reality is many 100,000's of sales to over 150,000 customers in nearly 80 countries around the globe, encompassing 100's of millions (100,000,000's) of page views over the years. We ship 55,000+ packages a year.
If there is any doubt that eBay has fundamentally reconfigured the stamp industry at its very core, think again. With over 200 million sales in stamps, eBay has sold more stamps for more money than all other secular markets combined over the last 22 years. You can actually now search Stamp Market Index to access each and every one of those sales.
That eBay has transformed our industry along with virtually every other collectibles sector and maintains the leading first mover role is indisputable.
It has been an incredible journey on eBay since that remarkable dial-up modem started screaming for a better way to communicate on this day back in 1998. In 2003, I founded a trade organization of professional eBay merchants. The Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PESA). We amassed over 8,000 members world wide turning over some $20Billion GMV. We held 12 conferences in the US and Australia. It was a first of its kind organization that shaped how marketplaces would draw benefit from uniquely qualified engagement with its merchant and service provider resource. Several eBay Presidents delivered powerful keynotes, bringing their C-Suite management teams with them at these summits to tap into the vast seller base knowledge bank of experience and expertise that drives the eBay engine at its core.
That the possibilities are limitless going forward regarding the core foundation and innovation that will continue to put the global eBay marketplace at the fore of the stamp industry is a factual certainty.
Now, to celebrate 22 years as a thriving company on eBay, we have launched a brand new NobleSpirit website!
Visit the new NobleSpirit website!
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NobleSpirit in the National News, USA Today and NH Union Leader on USPS Delays,
'Like somebody turned off a switch':
"In this 2019 photo, US Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, tours the inside of NobleSpirit - a Pittsfield - based eBay seller of rare stamps, coins, and antiques - with the Business's managing partner, Joe Cortese. Cortese spoke with Hassan during a recent roundtable on the impacts to businesses caused by the USPS slowdown." - NH Union Leader file photo
Read the articles here:
USA TODAY: ‘LIKE SOMEBODY TURNED OFF A SWITCH’: SMALL BUSINESSES SAY USPS DELAYS ARE HITTING THEM HARD
“For rural businesses like NobleSpirit, the USPS is a lifeline.”
UNION LEADER: NH BUSINESSES HIT BY USPS SLOWDOWN, POLS PUSH FOR SOLUTIONS
“Think about how much money is frozen out of the economy when that economic machine stops moving because somebody unplugged a sorting machine somewhere.” – JC
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Conversations with Philatelists
Episode 14: Scott English, Executive Director (APS) American Philatelic Society
There are 3 types of leaders;
-Those who take the helm and sink the ship on the rocks they failed to see below the surface.
-Those who take the helm and merely steer the course.
-And finally, those who take the helm and venture into uncharted waters, to new discoveries.
Scott English is the latter visionary thought leader, taking the APS at its most pivotal time in its history forward into a future full of opportunity and adventure. The APS indeed is, as all stamp collectors are, fortunate to have Scott at this key moment in its history.
If you collect or invest in stamps, and are not a member,
you are leaving both money and the knowledge that drives informed decisions on the table.
Tap into the vast resources at your fingertips at the APS, join today!
Disclaimer: NobleSpirit does not have any economic affiliation with
Two young visionary entrepreneurs, watch as Michael Cortese (30 yrs young) and Charles Epting, HR Harmer (27 yrs young) usher our industry into the future. Watch the podcast weekly as this new generation of young philatelists share insights from the most accomplished luminaries and resources in the world of stamps, in a unique new conversational format. For those wondering what the future of the stamp industry looks like, this is the place to find the answer to that question.
_______________________
Visit our NobleSpirit booth at Stampex
Virtual Stampex is the first ever virtual international stamp show. Bringing together internationally recognized dealers, auction houses, societies, and specialists from all over the globe, this 72 hour event will allow you and fellow philatelists from around the world to come together to buy, sell, learn, explore, network, showcase, and enjoy a philatelic experience, all from the comfort of your own home. There will be over 100 PTS Members and affiliated philatelic organisations and societies taking part.
Virtual Stampex is live 24 hours a day from 1st to 3rd October (UTC-8/GMT-8).
London: Open 08:00 on 1st October, closes 07:59 on 4th October
New York: Open 04:00 on 1st October, closes 03:59 on 4th October
Los Angeles: Open 01:00 on 1st October, closes 00:59 on 4th October
Hong Kong: Open 16:00 on 1st October, closes 15:59 on 4th October
Sydney: Open 18:00 on 1st October, closes 17:59 on 4th October
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Announcing: Meridian Ecommerce Management
Do you run an eBay business? Are you looking for a method to streamline your sales management?
We have a solution for you.
www.usemeridian.com
Announcing: Meridian, a state-of-the-art online sales management tool.
Whether you're a single user looking to take your business to the next level, or a multi-national company, you can automate your business with the push of a button. Meridian is the ultimate solution for online auction management.
Meridian allows you to manage every step of the management process in one convenient place, from inventory tracking and consignment information to customer contacts, payment tracking, and shipping.
Some of Meridian's Easy to Use Features:
Meridian offers several state-of-the-art features that will make your selling process more efficient:
Cloud Hosting
Access your data anywhere, anytime – even on the go – no installation files necessary.
Discounted Postage and Shipping Insurance
Enjoy the benefits of the partnership between Meridian and the USPS: First Class and Priority postage rates up to 25% lower than you get at the Post Office!
Inventory Management
Keep track of current listings, record costs and keep track of ROI.
Consignment Management
Running your own consignment business? Meridian lets you customize your consignment terms, quickly generate payout reports, and offers complete transparency to your consigners, allowing you to bring in more business!
Analytics and Reporting
Meridian offers in-depth reporting on sales numbers and workflow, easily allowing you to keep track of daily profits.
Customer History
Boost customer retention rates by tracking and utilizing customer purchase history and contact information!
Plus many, many more!
Why You Should Sign Up:
Receive a FREE two week trial period with no payment upfront!
Be one of the first to try our state-of-the-art software, and provide essential active feedback on its functions!
You'll be ahead of the curve in ecommerce management, beating out your competitors in efficiency and productivity.
Search the largest database of stamp prices realized ever compiled
and made available to the public
Our mission is to excite you on eBay!
Do You Have a Collection to Sell outright or Consign?
We're always looking to buy and consign collections and large estates!
NobleSpirit's commitment to excellence, expertise, and efficiency breaks from traditional consignment models to bring you directly into the process of selling your material with the most comprehensive and transparent state-of-the-art reporting system.
Servicing 150,000+ customers in over 76 countries, NobleSpirit is eBay's #1 no reserve high volume Titanium PowerSeller of coins, stamps, and collectibles.
We travel throughout the continental United States and Europe.
We guarantee 100% buyer and seller satisfaction!
Phone #: (603) 435-6672 consignment@noblespirit.com
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