I had a strange message on my answering machine last month.

A gentleman called me. I presume it was from his cell phone because he had a soft voice and his message kept breaking up. I played the message several times to try and understand all of the bits and pieces I was gathering. He mentioned having valuable stamps, but he was not at home at the time of this call. He would contact me later about what he had. He did not leave his phone number, but I had it on my caller ID.

To date, he never called back.

The message was rambling and disorganized. I assume he wanted to sell these stamps, but he was not specific.

Even though I have his number from the caller ID, I am not calling him back. His message was rambling. He seemed unsure about what he had.

Moral of the story: If you are going to call a dealer about something, please be prepared to discuss what you have. If you are leaving a message, leave a return phone number. Not everyone has caller ID. If you say you are going to call back, please do so. Otherwise, I assume you are not eager to discuss the material. I am less likely to call back after a single rambling message.