How Do Stamp Companies Come Up With Prices??

F.Y.I. - If you notify them you are no longer interested and to stop sending approvals and they continue, you can do one of two things. 1 waste your own $ to send them back and continue to notify them again. Or, Keep them as unsolicited merchandise and keep them. After you keep them and send the next 2-3 bills back to them(postage due of course) stating they were unsolicited they will leave you alone.
US Law states that you are not responseable for, nor obligated to return or pay for unsolicited merchandise.

This is exactly how I got Kenmore off my back. I wrote in a letter "I will treat all further merchandise as unsolicited", put in the upper-right of the envelope "Collect postage from addressee", dropped it in the mail, and they stopped sending me stuff.

Exactly...and that's where some dealers get their wares sold at inflated prices, from the beginners that may not be fully aware of the market value for such things.

Here's an interesting exercise. I searched the four stamps in the original post on the Mystic Stamp Company's web site (assuming Mystic is a direct competitor to Kenmore) and Mystic's prices for the same stamps are (301) $21.50 v. Kenmore's $19.50; (331) $13 v. Kenmore's $11; (372) $17.50 v. Kenmore's $17; and (411) $12.50 v. Kenmore's $13.50.

Interesting that all but the last one are more expensive from Mystic's inventory than Kenmore's, yet most all of us know we can buy them for less from many dealers and/or auction sites. In fact, ebay has a "buy it now" listing for a MNH Scott #372 for $8 (which almost cuts in half either Kenmore or Mystic's price) ... and no bidders.

That being said, there are some very good, reasonably-priced approvals dealers for serious collectors left. I'm not going to list names, especially given that I've criticized two dealers in this thread -- but they exist.

Bargainstamps charge $27us to ship a single a stamp to Canada, what a rip off, there's a stamp dealer I deal with in Canada who seems to have a good system with approvals. You tell them what your interested in and the amount you want to spend each month. As a new collector they keep sending me stamps I don't have and end up buying at CV. I like approvals but there are better avenues to purchase stamps.

They wrote me a note recently saying that they must be doing something wrong or selecting the wrong stamps for my collection and how could they be of better service... so..I responded (but politely)and
they stopped sending me stuff because I wrote a reply to Their letter stating- "I'm not buying anything because for 2X the catalog value you think the centering would better!"
I have yet to get another approval.

Are you kidding me?!?! Kenmore, of which I almost never buy anything from, called me at home yesterday and said I owe them 7.00! They have got to be kidding! 7 measly dollars?? I use my credit card for any purchases so unless it's their fault I don't owe them jack! I am going to absolutely nix this company from any more mailings and send them a cashiers check for the 7.00 so it's undisputed that I paid them and do what revstampman suggested about the unsolicited mailings. Man this has me mad!
I ALWAYS pay CASH_ON_THE_BARREL for EVERYTHING!! I'm really insulted over this. I just went through all my receipts and nothing. What do owe them the honor of that payment for?? Well I just don't care and will send it to shut them up...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr