Ebay Precancel Seller!

I was reviewing precancels on ebay for the 1st time in a long time.
I found dated precancels of different types being offered between $10-15. each when I found catalog values running between .25-1.00 each.
What gives? Am I missing something? I've purchased many, many precancels from this seller over the years. Always been satisfied?
If you see this email my as to whats up?

Misplaced the decimal point perhaps? Without a link to the seller, or some pics............we can't tell really?

I say don't buy them if you think they are too expensive, that is free advice!

Have a Good One,

Skilo54

Hardly a decimal error, 4 times, that I saw so far, not likely.

Your free advice is worthless! Since I never said I was considering to buy!

Those who look will know & the seller will too.

Hey there warrehouse,

My comment about the free advice was totally meant to be a joke, so I hope it didn't get you bent out of shape. If so I apologize.

I take it the seller is a member here, and hope your point gets made.

Have a Good One,
Skilo54

I've seen them, too. Likewise, I've scratched my head as to why anyone would want them for the prices listed. I suppose anything is fair game on ebay, though.

As we all know there are unsuspecting or unknowledgeable collectors that will occasionally pay the price, whether it is for stamps or any other collectible. (Check out the prices of some cinderellas or poster stamps for proof of what some of that material goes for on the secondary market).

We stamp collectors have often said that value is not what the catalog says, but what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to accept for an item. If the item is above catalog value -- even if it's common -- and someone's willing to pay the price, then the catalog value is meaningless.

I just wonder if these seemingly outrageous prices will eventually make their way into future catalog values, which is typically based on previous sale records.

How would you evaluate this precancel listing for a stamp with faults? The price seems low for the precancel type shown, but then again, the faults do detract from its catalog value:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-303-used...t_500wt_1156

WT: I would say 3 $ or so is fair for the Lansing Spider. The seller put it up for 99cents which makes sense, The bidders decide the value. I would not buy it myself, because it is not terribly scarce - but I have paid a higher percentage of catalog for worse condition stamps.

warre: I follow ebay precancels closely but I can't fine these dated items, so cannot commment. Many ebay sellers are clueless about market values.

Chasa, MA

Skilo54 No trouble! It hit me the wrong way at 1st.
Thanks for your contributions!

Thanks for the info. on the Lansing Spider precancel. I wasn't particularly interested in that specific stamp, I was just curious as to the going price for such an item, as there aren't that many Spider precancels that hit ebay all that often.

Precancel pricing on ebay is all over the lot. I have seen many items offered at a hundred times fair value, and a handful offered at 1 percent of fair value. ebay can be an excellent source for price/value data, but only if you examine the sold-items list. The BIN price, or start prices can be nonsensical. Some otherwise competent stamp dealers have misinformed ideas on what precancels are worth.

chasa,
I agree!

I have found that most stamp dealers at browses or even some online, are clueless about precancels. I for one hope they remain that way :-) I have 2 on my radar now that I "stalk".

The old adage (something is only worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it) always holds true. With that said recently I have paid well beyond cat values for several items just because I got tired of searching for something better to fill the hole. Sometimes I just cut the loss and move on to keep my momentum. Sometimes I will go days up to months without touching any of my collections to relax while other times it's almost obsessive and if I don't fill hole X or Y I'm just going to flop on over and die.

I know that sounds a little extreme, but sometimes you just want what you want and don't care what it costs you. On the other side of the story people like myself often hurt the community we wish to protect by going to such extremes. People see that X or Y sold for 10x their cat value and poof they up theirs as well causing an upward moving trend in the market. I have seen this happen on ebay often and I refuse to use it as a guide for marking trends.

Before silver was on the move up I was buying 2 & 5 mark Third Reich coinage at less than silver value and often well below the numismatic values as well. All because people are afraid of a little swastika on the backside. I amassed about 23 lbs of them before people realized what I was doing. As soon as they did the ebay trend moved upwards. I made a good bit of money dropping them back into the market and kept a reserve for myself as well.

As for the precancel dilemma I think there was an article recently put out about US and Canadian precancels moving upwards. There was also a mention about the Germany stamp trends going downwards (I can only hope) and that Liechtenstein stamps were going to make some serious trends upwards. Normally I don't pay mind to these types of articles, but I have picked up several souvenir sheets Germany B102 through B106 all in total for under $50 plus the shipping. If that's not well below market I don't know what is :P

i don't know about the U.S. pre cancels moving upward..most pre cancel dealers I have seen are pretty fair...charging minimum value for most stamps and towns..of course when you get into the better stamps that are pre cancelled or the scarce town cancels expect to pay more..i am a bottom feeder I like to get a stockcard full for 2 or 3 dollars !!

Interesting discussion.
My humble opinion is that it doesnt have one simple answer ranging from.

Biddders make up the price.
Seller/ sellers doesnt always have the knowledge of the value and price.
And how could they. The Lansing Spiders is a good example that it is impossible to know.
And of course it is as Chief.Fontenot points out. Sometimes you just want what you want as a buyer.

I think it is good that the prices fluctuate both ways it makes it much more interesting and dynamic to sell or buy stamps.