Stamps on eBay

NBLondon

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Looking at the 2 booklets to hand (1st and 2nd), by the Queen's head it says MI8L. The ROYAL MAIL on the backing goes in waves, with some upside-down and alternating large/small font line by line. I have ordered various booklets from RM so when those arrive I'll be interested to see how they look.

That's normal; the variations just depend on the printer or how the printing machine was loaded.
Mimi's reversed one sounds like this forgery.

Spoonie_Turtle said:

EDIT: behind the crown says MSIL for 1st, MTIL for 2nd. Also found another booklet (1st, Marvel) with MI9L by the Queen's head, and MCIL behind the crown. Backing is the same.

Yep - there are various codes to say whether it came from a Counter Sheet (at a post office), a Business Sheet (50 or 100 stamps bought from RM), booklet of various types etc.   Some collectors want to have all the variations for each issue year ( like this guy 

Spoonie_Turtle said:

I have seen booklets on eBay with the backing printed in completely straight lines and only with the larger sized font, not smaller, also in black not grey. I assumed those were fake. 

I would agree with you there!

mimi1234

I checked over the weekend and loads more have gone up, and they are still flying off the shelves even at about £40!!  I wonder why eBay don't check the new listings.

hermante

mimi1234 said:

I checked over the weekend and loads more have gone up, and they are still flying off the shelves even at about £40!!  I wonder why eBay don't check the new listings.

They get a 10% cut (well maybe sometimes only £1 or less) so until RM complains they don't care.

mimi1234

Do these look genuine or are they fake too?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-First-Class-Postage-Stamps-Pack-of-100-SDN1/373451660803

emmbrook

mimi1234 said:

Do these look genuine or are they fake too?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-First-Class-Postage-Stamps-Pack-of-100-SDN1/373451660803

Well he’s got 12 packs at least and selling them for £16 under face value. The pictures aren’t that clear and of course might not be the actual item - I wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.

NBLondon

Difficult to tell - the picture is not close enough to zoom in and check the security printing.    If you look at the feedback and other items for sale - this is not a stamp dealer.   It could be they bought stamps to send out catalogues and no longer need them.
Biggest red flag to me is when you look at the seller https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/licunn50  and click on the business details.

mimi1234

Is this one definitely fake then? It says 20 and MBIL in the backing. Also the white paper at the back says Royal Mail on it?

Spoonie_Turtle

mimi1234 said:

Is this one definitely fake then? It says 20 and MBIL in the backing. Also the white paper at the back says Royal Mail on it?

The features you point out are what I'd expect from genuine stamps (though admittedly my small knowledge of this is all very recent!).

mimi1234

If I bought them from the said person, is there somewhere I could get them checked or would they arrest me? 

Sod it. Just bought some from the Post Office. Not worth the hassle.

NBLondon

mimi1234 said:

Is this one definitely fake then? It says 20 and MBIL in the backing. Also the white paper at the back says Royal Mail on it?

Those codes are right:  M20L for 2020 printing, MBIL means a Business Sheet (which is what the image matches).    The backing paper is right alternating size and orientation.  The perforations are right - notice there are two longer elliptical spaces on the sides; fakes miss these or have them straight.

What would happen if you unknowingly bought fakes and used them?   There's a good chance that they would just get through.  If they were detected at the sorting office the recipient would be surcharged.   If they reported you as the sender, RM might ask you to a) identify the seller and b) hand over any remaining ones to them.