Worthless Stamps ?

This is a great thread. Wonderful to read every one's opinions and still keep the conversation polite. I love it!

I like and agree with the following:
(Just my two cents LOL)


Quote by jamesw:





Quote by wt1:

I agree with many that post on this thread. When I decide to collect a country or a topic I buy the minimum value stamps and the higher values when I can afford. Every stamps is important to me. Catalogue value is just a reference and you will get way under it when you sell specially if you want quick deal. If you get $200 from a dealer for a collection that has a $1000 cat. value than you feel that not only the minimal value stamps are worthless. Of course you didn't pay a $1000 but you still don't recuperate the full amount. On top of that the album you bought or you build is not considered in the deal. The money you spend on that is just a loss. So for most of us stamp collecting is just a hobby not an investment. Finally I can mention that selling to a dealer is probably the less profitable transaction for a stamp collector but if you have a detailed listing he can make an offer on the spot and there you go with your cash. If you can afford you get home dreaming about what new collection your going to start after of course stopping in a pub or "brasserie" as we call it in Quebec and have a nice cold draft beer or two.

Reading this topic prompted me to answer a recent posting in Craig's List. More on that after a few opening remarks.
I don't think any stamp is "worthless". If it wasn't for the penny approvals I received in the early 1950's I wouldn't be enjoying stamp collecting now. The problem with "catalog value" is that the value of "catalog value" has little value. (Hmmm - better read that again!) For example, I have seen a stamp cataloged at 20.50 with another one at 20.00. Not much difference and not anything to get upset over. However, all stamps valued at 20 cents on down are lumped together because the powers that be decided that the catalog value reflects the dealer's effort in locating and providing the stamp to the consumer. So the problem is you really don't know the real value of the stamp - is it 1 cent or is it 20 cents. That is a big range! I don't care how much time a seller has spent in time and effort, I will not lay down 20 cents for last year's cancelled Christmas stamp! Ideally, a catalogue would reflect both the actual stamp value as well as the dealer "premium".

Good point ncbuckeye, thanks for your interesting comments.

Yesterday morning, I was scanning through the local Craig's List. There was an entry for several sheets of common 2007 - 2009 stamps advertised at a little over the catalog value. I called the number and talked to a middle-aged lady who had absolutely no philatelic background. I discussed with her as to how she arrived at the asking price. Her answer - She happened to see a Scott catalog lying on a table in the local library. She was convinced that the catalog price was what collectors paid for them and thought what an easy way to make money so she bought many sheets at the post office. She truly could not understand why after 10 months she hadn't sold any of them. I didn't want her to hurt her feelings, so I just said most collectors already had them. She did offer me a 25% discount. Most collectors understand catalog value but it the uninitiated who fall to the hawkers.
So I have to agree with you, lithograving. The real value of the stamp is only in your mind. I like the Pacific arena and am willing to pay a little more for what I want. I don't collect European, so wouldn't pay near what somwone else may.

Take a look at web site http://www.squidoo.com/football-postage-stamps
This person has an account where he can print his own postage with a picture on the stamp. For $20 you can purchase a sheet of customized 44-cent stamps with a picture on it. That is a $11.20 profit, and he doesn't even have to maintain an inventory!

That's a good story about the woman selling stamps who had no idea as to their worth.

I read somewhere back either here or on another forum about
a collector who advertised in the local paper looking to buy
stamps/collections.

Most had a total unrealistic price in mind for their stuff and
were mad & insulted when the collector offered them what he considered a fair
current price.

One guy was so upset that he actually pulled out a knife & stuck it
in the table, yelling that the collector was trying to cheat & rob him.

Yes there are a lot of people out there that live in a dream world
when it involves the value of their stamps.

I came a bit late into this thread but along the lines of the OP, I was about to go through India awhile back and noticed that almost everything post-(I think 1950 ish) was around the .50 to $1 range according to 2011 Scott's. Anyone know why that is? It was almost discouraging in a way as I tend to keep anything listed at $1 or more in the cats and throw the rest in common boxes to get rid of. I had no idea how to manage India and it just seemed like everything was over-inflated for some reason so I left it uncat for now. Anyone know what the deal is?

If memory serves me correct, I think Ireland was similar in the catalogs but I can't recall for sure. It rings a bell though..

A stamp's worth is in the eye of the beholder - doesnt matter what anyone else thinks - I love my stamps for what they are and not for what they are valued at

So how do you put a "value" on stamps - we all have different views -So as an exercise what value would you place on the below cover - It is from a country with a worthless currency etc etc

How much is a stamp worth to me? Precisely the sum I'm willing to be pay for it.

Regarding Zimbabwe - A guy had Zimbabwe notes for sale recently including a $100 Trillion note. I must pick one up
I haven't a clue how much the cover is worth but despite the problems there they are still able to produce a decent stamp.

Also remember that Catalog values are all over the board and should be used as a rough guideline only. Take China for example, I just sold the Confucius set of 3 or 4 for over 20 times catalog value. But on the other hand, try to sell the 5 Shilling Sea Horse of Great Britain and see if you can get even 25% of Catalog value. Catalogs do not and can not forecast trends in the market either and I for one have paid over full catalog value for pieces that I really wanted and a nice example was available.

Every person has 3 values for a stamp (or cover, or cinderella, or cancel or...) Quite probably, only one of those three agrees with anything anyone else can come up with and they may bear absolutely no relationship to one another.

They are:

#1. What you are willing to sell that stamp for if you own it.

#2. What you are willing to pay for it if you don't own it.

#3. What the catalogue says it's worth.

If two people, in the same room, at the same time, with a following wind, happen to agree on any one of these, a sale may occur.

No, the return on my investment is enjoyment and it too has no real relationship to value. I have let my family know what my idea of values number 1, 2 and 3 are for my collection and it shall become someone else's problem when I am no longer around to object or agree.