Frequently Asked Questions

Primephila is a global marketplace built for collectors and dealers of authenticated philatelic rarities. It combines an AI-powered stamp identification tool, a secure Marketplace with buyer protection, and a private digital Collection manager, all in one platform.

Yes. Registering an account, whether you plan to buy or sell, is completely free. There are no subscription fees, and listing an item on the Marketplace is free too — Primephila only takes a small commission when an item actually sells.

No — you can freely browse and search the Marketplace without registering. You'll only need a free account to buy or sell an item, save Favorites, message a seller, submit an Offer, or build your personal Collection.

Prices can be displayed in Euro (€) or US Dollar ($) using the currency switcher in the top navigation bar. Payments themselves are processed securely through our payment gateway at checkout.

Yes — buyers and sellers from any country can register. Most listings can ship internationally, but always check the "Ships To" information on a listing's Shipping tab for the exact destinations that particular seller supports.

Open any listing on the Marketplace and review its Listing, Details, Seller, History and Shipping tabs. Then add it to your Cart or buy it directly, choose one of the shipping options offered, and complete checkout through our secure payment gateway.

On many listings, yes — you can submit an Offer directly to the seller instead of paying the listed price. The seller can then accept, decline, or send you a counter-offer.

My Collection is your private digital catalog of stamps you own — whether purchased on Primephila or elsewhere — used purely for your own tracking and record-keeping, and never shown publicly. Favorites is simply a saved-items list for Marketplace listings you're keeping an eye on.

Every purchase is backed by Primephila's Comprehensive Insurance. If an item doesn't match its listing description, you're fully covered, including the cost of shipping.

Yes — Primephila guarantees your Right of Withdrawal, so eligible purchases can be returned under our buyer protection policies if the item doesn't meet your expectations.

Open the product page and use the "Contact Seller" button. This starts a new conversation you'll find under Messages, with a notification badge in the navigation bar. New conversations can only be started this way, directly from a product page.

Yes — listing is free and lifetime. There's no fee to publish, keep, or relist an item on the Marketplace.

Primephila charges just 6% when an item sells — you keep 94%. If the buyer chooses one of your offered shipping rates, the 6% is calculated on the item price plus that shipping cost. If the buyer arranges their own shipping independently, the 6% applies to the item price only. Offering free shipping to your buyer doesn't change how the fee is calculated.

Funds are collected securely at checkout and released to you once the sale is completed, with the 6% platform fee already deducted — no manual invoicing required on your part.

It's our AI-powered identification tool. Upload or photograph your stamp and it is analyzed instantly, drawing on objective details visible on the stamp and general philatelic knowledge — typically within about two minutes. For the most accurate result, use a clear, well-lit, high-quality photo, and always double-check the suggested identification before publishing your listing.

When you register you choose an account type. Private Seller is for individual collectors selling occasionally. Business Seller is for professional dealers and companies, and is displayed with a distinct badge on listings and profiles so buyers know they're dealing with a professional.

You can remove any of your active listings at any time from My Dashboard → My Listings. Direct editing of a published listing isn't available yet — if details need to change, remove the listing and create a new one with the correct information.

Basic ID is free and uses one photo of the front to give you a quick starting point — country, year, a Primephila Reference Number, the theme and an indicative value estimate. Extended ID is a deeper analysis that requires 3 photos (front, back, and a backlit back shot) and adds watermark detection, a perforation estimate, printing variety notes, a condition assessment, and a confidence level for each finding. There's a full breakdown in our Extended ID guide.

No. The numbering systems published by Scott, Stanley Gibbons, Michel and Yvert et Tellier are protected by their publishers' copyright, so Primephila never generates, looks up or auto-fills those numbers. Instead every identified stamp receives a Primephila Reference Number (for example PPH-IT-1945-DEMOCRATICA-001), built only from objective public facts — the issuing country, the year of issue and, where it can be established with confidence, the official name of the postal authority's issue. If you personally use an external catalog, each piece in your collection and each listing has an optional free-text field, My catalog reference, where you can note your own reference for personal use. We never fill that field for you.

Watermarks are invisible under normal light — the only way to see them is with a backlit (transmitted-light) photo. The normal back photo lets us assess gum, hinge remnants and cancellations for condition. See our photo guide for step-by-step instructions.

Extended ID uses a prepaid credit system. You buy a credit pack once, and each Extended ID identification uses 1 credit. Basic ID is always free and doesn't use credits.

10 credits for €2.50, or 50 credits for €10 (better value per credit). Credits don't expire.

If something goes wrong on our end during an Extended ID analysis, the credit is automatically refunded — you're never charged for a failed result.

Credits are non-refundable once purchased (except for the automatic refund on a failed analysis described above) and are tied to your account — they can't be transferred to another user.

All payments are processed securely through Stripe; Primephila never stores your card details.

When creating a listing, sellers can offer one or more shipping rates for a chosen package size, or allow buyers to arrange their own shipping independently. At checkout the buyer picks from whichever options are available on that specific listing. Once the item is shipped, the seller must enter a tracking number or tracking link on the order — this is what triggers delivery confirmation and the payment release timeline described in Payments & Security below.

Small — envelope up to 30×25 cm, max 1 kg. Medium — box up to 40×30×20 cm, max 3 kg. Large — box up to 40×30×60 cm, max 10 kg. Choose the size that matches your item's actual dimensions and weight when creating a listing.

Yes — sellers can enable free shipping for an entire shipping zone or for an individual listing, using the toggle next to the Package Size selector when creating a listing.

Item Location always reflects the seller's registered address — the city and country entered on their account at registration — and is used automatically on every listing. It isn't something a seller sets per item.

Many do. Check the "Ships To" field on a listing's Shipping tab to see exactly which countries that seller supports before you buy.

Payments are processed through an encrypted, secure gateway and held in escrow until the transaction is confirmed complete. Both sides of every transaction are covered by our protection policies — Comprehensive Insurance and Right of Withdrawal for buyers, and secure, guaranteed fund release for sellers.

Every payment is held securely in escrow the moment a buyer checks out. After shipping, the seller enters the tracking number (or a direct tracking link) on the order in My Sales — this is required and lets the buyer follow the shipment and gives Primephila proof of delivery. Funds are released to the seller as soon as either: (1) the buyer clicks "Confirm Receipt", or (2) 3 days pass after tracking shows the item as delivered, whichever happens first. This means sellers are always paid on a predictable timeline, and buyers keep the ability to confirm early or flag a problem before the automatic release.

No. Your street address and postal code remain private on your account and are only used for shipping calculations and label generation. Only your city and country appear publicly, as the listing's "Item Location".

Start by messaging the other party directly through the conversation tied to your order. If you can't reach a resolution, contact Primephila Support — we'll step in, backed by our Comprehensive Insurance and Right of Withdrawal guarantees.

Go to My Dashboard → Profile & Address. From there you can update your personal details, shipping address, account type and password at any time.

Use the black chat button in the bottom-right corner of any page to send our team a message directly, or email us at contact@primephila.com.