Bidding in ebay is no longer fun especially when the currency you use is weaker against the other major currencies (especially US dollar and GBP). I use EURO, so its weakening means that I am slightly more disadvantaged compared to other bidders from outside Europe, especially so in ebay where even 1 cent can determine the difference between winning and losing. According to Reuters, the Euro sinks to its 18-months lowest levels against US dollar, all thanks to the growing fear of the fiscal tightening in Greece, Spain and Portugal. Even Malaysian Ringgit is stronger against Euro. I remember changing 1 Euro for RM 5 last year, but now my 1 Euro only gets me RM 3.90!

Nevertheless, the hunt for North Borneo stamps continues. The signs of recession never seem to have a big impact on ebay. You still can't get your stamps cheaply enough and the growing interest in the stamps means you'll face an ever growing competition. The latest expensive stuff that appeared in ebay is a North Borneo stamps collection of Dr. Bob. This collection reached a final price of $ 515.52. I couldn't really believe that it would reach more than $300 because the stamps are mostly CTOs although there are several rare stamps among them:

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Other pictures click here: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 11.

This is a rare Japanese occupation cover of North Borneo that appeared in ebay and ended in 15 April 2010. It reached a final price of $717.77      (€ 558), one of the most expensive covers in ebay so far. It was listed by a fellow Malaysian seller, sarawakiana. He described it as " Imperial Japanese Government (Dai Nippon Teikoku Seifu) single line overprint on the 1c, 4c, and war tax 1 cent. Cancelled by Sandakan postmark of 20.4.18 (20.4.1942) and censored at Sandakan central post office. Addressed to Lahad Datu".