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Philatelic Web watch

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Philatelic Web Watch

     The Philatelic Webmasters Organization actively collaborates with the Universal Postal Union in order to stop the issuing of illegal stamps. Because Internet became one of the principal means of publicizing and selling of illegal stamps, the PWO started an initiative, called the Philatelic Web Watch (PWW), that makes this harmful activity more difficult and eventually risky for some reputations.

   In its fight against the illegal stamps the PWO has taken several measures, as follows:

  • A work of explication about what the illegal stamps are, how to identify them and about why are they damaging for the stamp collecting. A special subsite of the PWO main site, treating the problems related to illegal stamps, was designed and published.
     

  • The creation of the Philatelic Web Watch (PWW), expected and demanded by the stamps collectors worldwide, is an important step in the necessary direction. 
     

  • A special e-mail address was reserved for the use of stamp collectors, permitting them to notify the PWW as soon as they spot an illegal issue on any philatelic or auction site. Please click here in order to send to PWW your notifications.
      

  • The PWW in its turn quickly notifies the injuring sites and/or auctioneers, asking them for removing the publicity for illegal stamps or the lot(s) of illegal stamps from auctions. The first results were positive and encouraging.
     

  • The PWW send warnings to bidders on eBay who show interest for illegal stamps, informing them about what these stamps actually represent and inviting them to read the relevant information published on the PWO site.
     

  • The PWW publishes on on its subsite a list of sites that are selling or displaying illegal stamps.

     Thanks a lot in advance to all collectors, philatelic sites and organizations for participating at the PWW activity. We make this in the name of all stamp collectors who have already been affected but especially of those who run the risk of suffering losses because of sometime unsuspecting, but too often of unscrupulous people who have a negative effect on our precious hobby - the stamp collecting.


Published: 09/13/2001. Revised: 11/27/05.
Copyright © 2001 by PWO and 
by Victor Manta, Switzerland.
All rights reserved worldwide.