Design and content accolades for Durbano Stamps

Design and content accolades for DurbanoStamps.com.

Durbano Stamps receives a very welcomed, and unannounced, design and content digital review of its website www.durbanostamps.com. The entire article is reprinted below with permission from Canadian Stamp News.

 

Dealer’s well-designed site helpful on many fronts

Reprinted with permission from Canadian Stamp News. Volume 47, Number 18: December 20, 2022

StampNet Column – Article by Randy Heimpel

Every segment of the collecting world is filled with specialists. Because of the sheer numbers of individual items in philately, the number of specialists is equally impressive.

The average worldwide collector owns many samples of the stamps that specialists crave. As a result, it follows that many of these energetic generalists may have curiosity about websites run by these authorities.

One good example of such a destination is Durbano Stamps, found at www.durbanostamps.com. When the home page appears, we immediately learn that the company is owned by Patrick Durbano, a “Perfin Specialist.”

It is very impressive that a short scroll down brings us immediately to the section we should almost always seek before doing anything else: “About Us.”

Every website should start this way! We are visiting a place of business, and we need to know as much as possible about the operations, and more importantly, with whom will we be working if a business relationship develops.

Durbano greets us “at the door” with a company back story and a personal bio. We learn that the firm has been active for 30 years and is located in Markham, Ont. They provide all the expected personal services and provide excellent guarantees on their products. In these times of frequent fraudulence, this provides some comfort.

The owner is a lifelong collector and a frequent award winner for his perfin exhibits. It speaks very well that he has recently been invited to join the executive of the Canadian Stamp Dealers Association.

The design and colour scheme of the home page is appealing and efficient. There is a header sporting the company’s promo line “The Perfin Specialists,” accompanied by three icons to the right: Search, Login and Cart.

Interestingly, above these items is an isolated question in small print that is intended to catch attention and leads to another page. The query is, “Did you inherit a stamp collection?” A click on this calls up a well-written and comprehensive solution if a visitor answers “Yes.” Something to keep in mind, since in my experience, there seems to be more and more aging collectors who have no heirs for their precious stamps.

Back at the home page, to the left of a beautiful block of six perforated Bluenose stamps, there is a list of 10 hot links. These include What We Do (what a great title; should be on every business page), Book an Appraisal, News, Want List Services, Search, All Products, Canada Stamps, Canada Perfins, Newfoundland Stamps and Worldwide Stamps.

The What We Do page is a concise and appealing précis of the company services. In a moment, a visitor can see how they operate and how she or he can be helped.

Sliding to the bottom of the home page, we see the common “company contact info” and a link to memberships. Here we learn that Durbano belongs to four other professional organizations besides the CSDA: the British North America Philatelic Society, the USA’s Perfin Club, the U.K.’s Perfins Society and the Philatelic Specialist Society of Canada.

Along with the stock on hand here, there is also a web store on eBay. The items for sale are not just perfins, although that kind of stamp is definitely a major component of the company’s supply.

What a pleasant visit! This site offers a great example of a design intended to streamline the shopping and learning experiences for clients. Send in your want list and they will do the rest for you. There is even a “Chat” connection if you feel the need or are in a hurry.

Returning to the issue of “inheriting a stamp collection” for a moment, one of the important points that Durbano makes is that there are options to consider. Do not rush to decide what to do. There are reliable, trustworthy people to assist you.

First, he recommends visiting the Canadian Stamp Dealers Association website to find a member near you. Some, but not all, buy collections, and many will visit you to appraise them. Sometimes this service is free.

Once you have an idea of the value, you can opt to donate them. The charity group Oxfam is one of the best because the manager, Bill Woodley, runs an auction for stamps, which is attended by dealers and other avid buyers (go to oxfam.ca). But any charity group will gladly take them.

It may be suggested to send a more valuable collection to auction. But usually, you will receive an offer from the person/company with whom you are working. But realistically, this may be disappointing. Watch a few eBay auctions to see the difference between catalogue values and realized cash.

Unless the stamps are very common, and there are literally millions of these, one thing is certain: Store them safely and chances are very good that the value will increase. Durbano has found that a reasonable assessment of most collections can be made within an hour, so he generally does this at no cost if there is not a big distance involved. It takes moments to connect with him.

This site is another excellent example of a superior design with customers in mind. Congratulations to Durbano, and thanks.

Keep well and try to share some stamps with a young person this week.