Page 558 - Demo

Fools%u2019 Journey552(mostly in the form of miniature postal sheets) that countries around the world had produced during the run-up to the 2020 election, as well as during Trump%u2019s first term in office. These were all adulatory, and many celebrated the various official trips he took to meet with foreign dignitaries. At one point, I read an article about a Florida man who had created a catalog of Trump philately. He said there weren%u2019t many people interested in such material which, to me, was the best reason to start the collection, because it would be something few other people hadI found the Trump materials not only on eBay, but also HIPstamp.com, and other sites catering to philatelists, with sellers from both the U.S. and a number of European countries. Two items were advertised as coming from Lithuania, but were actually mailed from Russia. As my orders began to arrive, I started having trouble with one particular company%u2014Marlen Stamp and Coins of Great Neck, New York. In all, I placed several different orders with them, for a total of 23 items, over about a three-week period. Just days after placing one order, it was cancelled (and refunded) because they said the items were not in stock, and they were listed by mistake. When I hadn%u2019t received anything at all from them after two weeks, I sent the company several messages (one for each order) asking why there was a delay, and they replied that my orders would be shipping within another two weeks. When I still hadn%u2019t received anything, they cancelled and refunded another order, saying those items were out-of-stock. This was a lie, because they still had most of the items listed for sale%u2014but at a higher price. Another time, I was told that three items would ship soon, then was issued a refund instead several days later. After additional waiting, I contacted them once again, and they said they were waiting on a shipment of stamps from Europe, and would fulfill my order as soon as it arrived. After yet another delay, they shipped me two partial orders, saying all the other items were outof-stock, and I%u2019d receive refunds for them. Again, most of what they said were unavailable were still listed for sale, but at a higher price, and I never received a refund. By now, more than two months had elapsed, so I tried to telephone them, but the phone number they advertised was disconnected.