Am I Cheap Or Just Budget Minded?

I've been needing glassine envelopes for awhile now. I've looked everywhere on the net and I'm either real cheap or just too budget mined for my own good. In the thread that was for "You know when your a stamp collector when.." and I put....."when you run out of glassine envelope and start using sandwich baggies." That is the honest truth.

I found this on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/FIVE-Hundred-50...em2eb0595c71

The seller is asking $23.50. That's about .21 a piece., but it's $5.10 for s/h. Is that a good deal? I think the reason that I am being so undecided on this is because it was so easy to just pinch a couple from my mother or grandmother when I was a kid when my supply ran out.

Maybe I should just pass the hat and hope a passing collector would take pity on me and throw some envelopes my way.(btw, that isn't a hint....but then again maybe?)

Donna

I say you go hog wild and then send US some...

IHOBBY http://www.ihobb.com/cgi-bin/ws400C...+STAMPS
Glassine Envelopes - Size #4.5 (quantity of 5000)
(5 1/16" x 3 1/8")

Quantity: Price: 179.99

PS, this is .03 1/2 cents a piece...

I don't have a lot of them, cheap, lazy, but I paid 9 cents a piece when I bought a hundred from an ebay seller in the USA, including shipping.

$ 0.021 a piece is great I think. Getting 500 at a time is a lot to me, but you could resell them for more or to a local collector maybe, if you did not need that many.

They do go quick when you do use them though.

Oops, I misquoted the price. That link you posted says 500 glassine for $23.50 plus $5.10 shipping to the US divided by 500 = 0.0572 each, which still is OK by me, but I am not a big buyer of them yet.

Did anyone do the math on freezer baggies?

BeeSee, Can Stamps be frozen? Think about it. When I pull out the hungarian gulash I can pull out the stamps from Hungary with it...lol

Puzzler, I guess I will order from ebay. I need my sandwich baggies back!

Edwin, I don't need 5000. The 500 will be just what I need. Believe me, all of them.

Donna

***UPDATEI just ordered the envelopes from the dealer on ebay. The dealer is a member of the My Store Rewards. I qualified to get a 2% cash back on my purchase because I use Paypal. I get all of .57 back...lol I'm in the money now, boy!!

Donna, in my book there's no such thing as "cheap", and Budget Minded is always a good thing to be I like the way your mind works!
Everything has a price, and everything has a value. Balancing the two is always tricky...
I'm off to do my maths, I need to buy some more glassines too. I've found some (UK) about the same size as yours at .04 pence (.06 cents) each, includng shipping. So about the same. So it sounds like a good deal.
And thanks for the reminder - I am in a rewards type scheme as well, but I keep forgetting to login before I checkout at ebay and miss my rewards

(Edited for maths - I'm not awake yet..)

These seem fairly cheap...
http://www.prospectstampsandcoins.c...-glas45.html
They are smaller than the one on E-bay though.
Even if you have to add $20 or $30 for postage, still only makes them 16c to 17c each. Could be cheaper if they are charging 10% GST, because you don't pay that if the item is exported. If the Aussie dollar falls again, that could make them cheaper still.

Steve

Hi Donna,

I looked at the ebay lot. Personally I would not buy them. If you look carefully they seem to be 'wrinkled' which can happen if they get damp or wet.

Besides IHOBBY take a look at:

Subway
http://www.subwaystamp.com/products.asp?dept=1142

Brooklyn Gallery
http://www.brooklyngallery.com/cgi-...keywords=all

Maryland Stamp and Coin (Potomac Supplies)
http://www.mdstamp.com/index.php?ma...Path=225_380

There are others but these are some of the biggest selling stamp supplies.

If you are going to use them for single stamps I personally find the the #2 glassine is more than adequate. An advantage is that they fit very comfortably in a plastic 'business card' file. In any case I would not go above a #3 glassine. If you need larger sizes you might find a supplier that will sell a mixed lot; i.e. 25 #2,
25 #4,etc..

Also make sure they are the kind that opens at the top. There is nothing wrong with side opening if you prefer but top opening is more convenient.

Jerry B

Look its Donna. Do you want to hear my answer to your question Donna?

One thing I realize now is that Stamp supplies are NOT cheap. Jeez. There doesn't seem to be any money left over for the stamps!

One thing I do for this sort of thing is to try to buy from my local dealer. I only have one in my area. He charges 10 cents for the letter sized glassines - so I can use them for covers and also for those stamps that I just don't know what to do with....

It's more expensive than you're quoting, but I can go in and buy 1, 50 or 500, shoot the breeze with the guy and look over the stamp albums and try to find something the old codger missed......

And why wouldn't I Spock? It wouldn't be a logical day if I didn't hear the logical wisdom of one of SCF's sentient members.

Thanks to all the SCF members that helped me through this tough decision....lol

Prince Afa, Where I live I can look across the street from my high rise and see where a stamp shop use to be. It was the one that my grandmother and I use to go to purchase stamps and supplies. That was years ago. When I moved into this neighborhood I realized that was where I use to go. The owner, over the years, had retired and the store was torn down. I am almost kicking myself when I think how easy it would have been if he was still there now that I have started over again with my stamps. You have the convenience that I wish I had now.

Donna

well if you must you are neither cheap nor budget minded you are thrifty :)

Well, thank you Spock. It does pay to be thrifty. In addition to getting the whopping rebate of .57, the seller miscalculated the s/h. I'm getting another.25 back. I'm happy, real happy now...lol

Donna

I have never purchased a glassine, ever.
I just accrue them. I never have a lot, but I am never without.
I have all sizes and never seem to be wanting no matter how much I exchange, buy, sell or store.

If anyone comes across advertising glassines, please let me know.
I collect the poor blighters !

Glassinebus1

I snagged these plastic "glassines" at the local dollar store, 100 for $1. They are 4"x3" ziplocks. The company is "Time4Crafts". They are said to be "non-Toxic", but made in China of course. I do not know how archive-safe they are, but I find them great for mailing stamps as they are water/moisture tight. I insert a piece of cut heavy stock stiffener as shown.

Other sizes are available, up to 5"x 7"