sv,
I can't afford a lot of what I want :)
Right now I have a few holes in my 1861s and 1869s. I *_REALLY_* want a nice used 90c 1861, since the ones I want on cover cost a lot. I figure a 90c that I LIKE (I own one that's F-VF, I don't like it) is going to cost me a pile of money. So I am saving up... It'll probably be a year or so before I have the funds ready to buy one. I have a "wantlist" of stamps.. among them is a $1 Trans-Mississippi. I'd rather wait and save up and buy nice ones.
OK, remember that 10c Orange Brown with the green cancel that I posted a pic of? My father bought that when he was in Law School in, I dunno, 1971 or 1972. At the time I think he paid $50-75 for it, which was a huge price for an Orange Brown back then. I was just offered $1,000 for it. It's NEVER going to be for sale while I'm breathing, but think about it. REALLY nice classic stamps have proven to be a good place to put your money, look at what great stuff brings at Siegels, compared to 10 years ago.
For what your budget allows if it were me, I would buy a lot less stuff buy buy nicer stuff. And there's a logic to it. Should you ever need to sell your stamps, you'll find that nice ones have gone up in value, and will bring a strong price. On top of that, they will be easy to sell. A REALLY nice #76 cost me about $125 10 years ago. I could sell it today for $200-250. During the same time, poorly centered ones were $10-15 and those are the kinds of items that, regardless of price, were not good selling items.
The point is, I watch your posts (WIth interest! :) and it looks to me like you're spending some money. I think that financially you would be better served and much safer by buying higher grade items. Look, you do the same stuff I do, you spend what seems like more than just funny money on your stamps, I do it with stamps and coins myself. I do not plan on ever selling my stuff, HOWEVER, none of us have a crystal ball. What if I get married and find out my wife needs $50,000 in medical care to save her life? I'd be on the phone with Heritage and Siegel so fast your head would spin.
That's why I harp on this... the sad facts are...
If you have a low quality collection, and you go to sell it, you'll find that dealers will largely evaluate it based on the high valued items. My friend the coin dealer just bought a collection of Barber Quarters. First coins he looked at were the 01-S, then the 13-S then the 96-S. Did he look real close at the 16-D? No.
Then, go and take a close look at what a collection of lower grade US actually brings at auctions where the dealers do their buying... these sorts of lots go for absolute peanuts.
Point is, being a bit choosier and taking things slower will end up saving you a lot of money in the long run. The only stamps that I can justify buying in poor shape are those where there's just no other option (Look at sale 1001 on Siegel's website for a bunch of great examples of this) but I would strongly suggest you save up and buy a NICE copy of that stamp. Budget $200-250 to do so. 10 years from now it will likely be worth $500 while the $16 stamp will be worth $20. Take $1,000 spent today on fillers and 10 years from now those will be worth $1,200 perhaps while 4 or 5 really nice stamps bought for $1,000 today will be worth maybe $2,000 or more. It's been proven, look at Auction results from 10-20 years ago and see how much bigger the premiums for high quality material have become in today's market.
Bill
And I STILL want a nice 90c :( |
Posted 11/24/2010 1:53 pm
