Which Catalogue Do You Use For Pricing Your Stamps?

This has been on my mind for some time so wanted your perspective. This pertains to the valuation of stamps by different sources.

The question of value came up in one of our own SCF auctions, which can be assessed by numerous sources. In North America, most collectors and dealers use the Scott catalogues to identify and value stamps. In the case of specialists, we are likely to use specialized catalogues from the country we collect (Unitrade for Canada, Michel for Germany, Stanley Gibbons for The British Empire, and so on).

What your take on this subject? Do you value an item based on a specialized catalogue from the country of origin, or do you use what's most commonly used in your country?

When buying, selling, or just evaluating, what catalogues do you prefer to use?

Here's an example of what I mean:
Germany B292-B293 (Scott catalogue)
Mint/hinged - $15/pair
Mint/never hinged - $65/pair
Used - $1800/pair

Germany 909-910 (Michel catalogue)
Mint/hinged - 20 Euros/pair
Mint/Never hinged - 90 Euros/pair
Used - 2400 Euros/pair

The links include ebay.com (US) listings using Scott and Michel catalogue numbers, including current and completed listings. The final link is to ebay Germany listings containing only the Michel catalogue numbers. No Scott numbers were found for these stamps on ebay Germany.

Scott: Germany B292-B293 on ebay (current listings)

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...0.m270.l1313

Scott: Germany B292-B293 on ebay (completed listings from past 30 days)
http://www.ebay.com/csc/Germany-Are...3286.c0.m283


Michel: Germany 909-910 on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...0.m270.l1313

Michel 909-910 on ebay Germany:

http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_nkw=...0.m270.l1313

Brian

For general all-purpose identification and valuing I use my Scott 6-volume Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.

For specific US stamp information and pricing I use the Scott Specialized Catalog of US Stamps and Covers

For US Plate blocks, I use the Durland plate number catalog.

For 19th century US postal stationary I use the Unite States Postal Stationary (USPS) Society's 19th Century Postal Stationary catalog.

For Australian stamps I use the Stanley Gibbons specialized catalog of Australian stamps.

For German stamps I am now using a 2008 2 volume Michel Specialized Catalog of the postage stamps of Germany (thanks to PostmasterGS).

For Canada . . . I am still using my Scott catalog, but am looking to get a Unitrade catalog.

When it comes to Germany I go by a case 2 case basis. Certain Stamps in Scott are soooooo way off it's not even funny. Most serious German collectors use Michel for value.

For Canada I use Unitrade specialized
For USA I use Scott Specialised, Mind you I have still not worked them out.
For New Zealand and Australia I use Gibbons
For Hong Kong, I use Yang but it is so out of date that I will probably buy a Gibbons.
I am going to buy the four volume Australia specialized

Regards

Horamakhet

I certainly don't disagree with this. However, I find it interesting that most of these are priced at Scott cat price and lower no matter what catalogue is used to identify it, or where it's being sold. This is only one example. I'm certain I could compare actual online prices for other stamps all day and find the result to be quite similar.

I just picked up a Facit catalog. It was not on my list of reference materials but it made sense given my intereste in collecting Greenland and Iceland (maybe Denmark too).

I use the Scott catalog, since my primary interest is in US stamps. The Scott Worldwide catalog serves my purpose reasonably well given that I have only a limited collection of worldwide stamps.

In fact, I seem to recall a recent post on another web site suggesting that some catalog publishers sell both stamps and catalogs for certain countries and have, in recent years, artificially boosted up their catalog prices. In that Scott does not sell stamps, their listings should be more in line with market values, than a catalog publisher who may change their annual catalog pricing to blend in with their retail sales of stamps.

Of course, we are all aware that even with Scott catalog prices, stamps are generally worth a small % of catalog "value" (with the exception of scarce and/or rare items, which are often an exception to that rule.)

Made a copy from one of the cheaper dealers price lists that I liked in 2009. That is about 20% below catalogue for reasonable centered Australia King George V stamps compared to a 2007 ACSC catalogue. And going down wards in price for minor faults. Bulk joined KGV stamps have been selling for about 400% of single stamp prices. All prices are for listing only.

With Australian Decimal it has been trial and error. A 5 stamp letter rate set in fine used condition is 99c per set. High values to $3 again in fine used condition is 30c per stamp. International Post high values to $3 is 50c each in fine used condition. High values above $3 are about 50% face value plus. We only sell fine used in decimal. Australian minisheets or souvenir sheets in fine used condition is double face value. The market place has determined these prices and are listing prices.

Always Happy Stamping. KGV.

For the Indian States, the cheap stuff is cheap stuff, no matter what catalogue you use. For the scarce to rare stuff, look up Gibbons' prices, then forget them and think of a number - any number

I'm collecting major only Europa stamps (Germany, France, Austria, Great Britain) and extra Australia. I'm using Michel to have an idea of the prices (usually 20% of Michel) and to organize my collection. I find it really great even for Great Britain and Australia.
I must say, I have a bit older Scott I bought it cheap but, after been used with German rigorousness, it's for me difficult to find something in there.

This is an interesting subject but what is value? Is it the price you would like to sell it at or the price you would like to buy it at?

Most catalogues seem to quote prices that market forces make a nonsense of. Usually items are bought and sold at fractions of the "Catalog(ue) price" on other occasions a stamp or other piece of philatelic catalogue fodder will sell far in excess of its published value.

Pricing stamps is for the dealer - enjoying them is for the collector. The fact that our collection is catalogued at £1,665,000 and only cost me £4.97 is neither here or there

Seriously, We use catalogues for information and identification of our stamps. the only time I want to know how much something is when I want to buy it. I first ask myself what I am prepared to pay for it and then if I want a benchmark I will go to the internet and see what is being sold for - usually by looking at ebay etc to see just what it really made at the time of sale.

All this of course is irrelevant, if I want a particular item (and I consider it is worth the money to me) I will buy it and pay the money. Of course if I find I have been ripped of later I will just go round there and sort the bloke out.

Ralph,
Cell 15a, Leavenworth.

Thanks to Rileysan for those links, through them I just bought the pair for about £15..cheapest I've seen them by far, and as Germany is one of my main focuses, I've been trying to get those stamps for a sensible price (sensible to my budget anyway) for a few months now :)

As for catelogues, at this early stage of my collecting I use catelogues purely for identification puroppses rather than valuations :)