Paying Catalogue Value (Or More) For Common Stamps

Hi,

I have been collecting 50 years, but am always learning and always finding that I have a distinct lack of knowledge.

I know how catalogue value works. And sometimes I feel good, like I made a good purchase, and other times, well, I just wanted it so I didn't mind paying higher than catalogue value.

I am certainly not on a level of regularly being able to afford stamps at $10 or more apiece. (Maybe, I have 30 to 40, at most, of that level or higher).

I never met a stamp I didn't like, but am trying my best to be selective.

So, I have focused in on a series of stamps I would like to acquire. They are from Japan. From what I can see, they are not sold much in sets, but often are apparently sold as individual stamps, or occasionally from 4 to a couple dozen in a set.

What I am finding is that dealers (on ebay and BidStart and privately; I may have found some better values on delacampe, but my one purchase there wound up costing even more because the dealer did NOT accept PayPal without an extra 10 percent added!) have many of these stamps at prices considerably above catalogue value. I am talking cat. values of $1 or $2 being sold $10 and at cat. values of .25 to .40 sold from $1 to $2. (I did find one dealer with some sales prices of about 50 percent of cat. value, but he has a high shipping charge and does not seem to offer discounts on shipping multiple items.)

Is this normal?
I see so many comments from people talking about being able to buy stamps at a fration of cat. value, but that seems to be rarely the case for me.

What am I doing wrong?

Is there any kind of rule of thumb people use when purchasing what appear to be common, but popular stamps?

So sorry this is so long. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Since I'm not a collector of stamps from Japan, I can't say if this is normal or not. What I can say is you need to set some rules for yourself on bidding, then follow those rules to a tee.

Here's what I mean ...

Let's say for argument's sake, there's one spot in your album that you're itching to fill. When you search for that stamp on ebay, Bidstart, w/e, there might be 100 copies of that stamp available. The next step should be to sort the available stamps by "Auction only". Once you have done that, sort either by "cheapest" or "ending soonest".

It's now time to apply the rule you set for yourself.

In my case, it is "Bid no more than 10%".

If you apply that rule, and you have already budgeted the full catalogue value of the stamp you want to buy, you can now safely bid up to 10% on 10 copies of that stamp. The worst case scenario is that you win all 10 auctions OR you win none. The former has never happened to me.

Once you get comfortable with this, you will find yourself bidding on more and more lots, but bidding less and less % of catalogue value. Unless I really want an item, I typically bid no more than 5%. But I place upwards of 250 bids a week. At the end of the week, I usually win between 5 to 10 auctions (often times less, rarely more).

One final piece of advice ... DON'T watch your auctions! Once you've placed a bid like this, walk away. If you get emotionally involved with the bidding, you run the risk of going over-budget.

Good luck, and keep us up-to-date on your progress!

Brian

Something I do to avoid paying high prices is to look mostly through 10cent lots. This way I get a lot of stamp for my money but often have holes that last for quite a while, or holes that are filled with much poorer quality items. I also find that postage makes internet bidding not that attractive.

Buying in bulk, or buying multiple lots from the same seller will help offset the cost of shipping.

What I fail to understand is why paying $2 for first class, international postage (not to mention you get to choose your stamp from hundreds of potential candidates online) is less attractive than paying to drive across town (or paying for public transportation) and hoping that your local dealer has the same stamp in his penny box?!?

Riley has a good point about not watching your auctions.

That's why most times I bid late so I don't leave a lot of time to second guess myself.

Set your price and stick with it is the way to be successful.

Thanks for the early advice. What I found interesting is that so far, NONE of the 60 or so stamps in this set I am currently looking at is listed anywhere near catalogue (with the exception of two lots that are about 50 percent of cat. value, all seem to be more than ...) - on the other hand, MOST of the listings are from just a handful of dealers - maybe six total.

I have never bought Japan stamps before ... perhaps this is normal for that country.

I am sure myself and others would welcome any and more advice in the area - not just for Japan, but any countrie.

SORRY BLADE -------"Set your price and stick with it"--------WHAT ?????......................if its a cheap stamp {under $25.00} go in there and nockout the competion and get the stamp . It will help you sleep better at night and your not worry about that stamp again ....its not worth all the mental games and wasteing your time . BID UP and feel better .
About five years ago ,I was bidding on a SPANISH COLONY collection at a Regency Stamp Auction ,we ran the price up from the suggested $1,000 to $2,500.00 and then I got cold feet and quit at around catalog value . I was sick all summer while doing construction work and made tons of money that summer . Even today ,I think of mine putting down my hand at that auction .There has not been a better COLONIES lot for sale in the U.S. since . NOW THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN . if you know the material and it rarely comes up in the market place .......BID UP and sleep at night ,you'll feel better .

I've heard Japan is tricky. What series are you working on? Maybe a few extra eyes can help you find what you're looking for.

floortrader


That is if you want it then get it! That's what I call a target stamp collector. Some collector just buy anything because it's cheap. Cheap stamps today will stay cheap over the years and when it's time to sell the collection you will get peanuts for it. I think the best way to save on valuable stamps is to buy collections. When you get the collection and make your evaluation with cat. value then you can come up paying only 15% to 30% maybe less and you have some of the valuable stamps you wanted.

CENTERSAGE ------From your first posting above ,it sounds like you run into something that I have experience for many many years ,I also have collected worldwide for over 50 years .There are many stamps regardless what the catalog says Their value is ,they are rare and seldom found for sale . I could write a book about all the blank space in my albums because those stamps are just not out in the philatelic community . YES ,after spenting thousands and thousands of dollars for collections there is a group of stamps that are never found lose and only a major purchase of a collection at auction do these stamps show up,these are cheap stamps and some are at minium value .
It sounds like you found some ,so my advice is if you real want them ---PAY UP ,your not going to find them in a mixture lot .

Sorry if I sound too harsh ---------I bet if you got 20 life long worldwide collectors together with their collections and sat down in a room ,that you would find that everyone of those collections were missing the same stamps that catalog under a dollar. So my thinking is that after you searched the market place and did your own research you will learn which stamps to pay up for ,because they may not come around again for years .

While I don't collect Japanese stamps, my wife does and she's had no problem whatsoever finding lots of Japanese stamps on Delcampe at very, very reasonable prices. She'll get on, buy $50-60 worth at a time and get a giant packet of MNH stamps, shipped from the U.S., without an issue at all. There aren't many dealers, as you noted, but lots of those dealers have a wide range of stamps and if you're just starting out, trying to fill holes, that's really all you need.

I'll be the first one to admit, finding Japanese stamp dealers is hard. The only time that will really affect you is when you get more advanced in your collecting so that you're looking for the rarer, more expensive stamps.

centerstage98

First let me say that I am by no means a collector of Asian stamps, but I have noticed an upwards trend in the market for them. I'm a Germany collector and have been searching for some China Offices for a bit so I always look through the Asian auctions to see if any get mixed in the lots. I do have a bunch of Asian stuff I would be more than happy to scan in and see if you need any of them. They are all pickups from WW Kilo so I don't need them at all... just trading fodder.

As for the pricing thing... It's the luck of the draw really. You also have to be methodical when it comes to stalking your auctions and follow them down to the second. You can get REALLY good deals if you put in some leg work and have free time to spare. I recently got Germany B91-B92 in both MNH and M/CTO The MNH set I picked up for $40 and the CTO set I got for $15.... this is in my book a SUPER deal for either set, but I really watched that auction for six full days never bidding until the last 15 seconds.

The problem with the auctions were that the seller listed them rather poorly. The auction headline was just horrid and I too would have passed it up in a search had I not seen the pictures and it caught my eye. The secret is just look where you wouldn't think to look. I have seen many Japanese stamp lots listed under the wrong category or even labeled as the wrong country. A lot of the "lot" auction dealers are not even collectors. They buy estates or storage lockers and sell the stuff not knowing what it is. I got two boxes of prixie kilo for $5 with free shipping. These were 6 pound boxes, and it cost the seller a lot more to send it than I paid for it. So with that said... they are out there... you just need to look in all the wrong places.

Chief

I find your post refreshingly truthful and accurate
with my experience.

There is only one comment I can add, have you discovered
your local stamp club?
By far and away, I get fantastic bargains at my club's auctions,
once the dealers amongst the members know what you collect,
they come running to maintain their cash flow.
I cannot speak highly enough of belonging to a club
to access value stamps (amongst other things of course)

Nice post!

Centerstage98,

Welcome to SCF. If you haven't done so already, you might want to check the prices on the Stamps2Go site. It is a sales (not auction) site and the shipping and handling costs are limited to a dollar per dealer/order in country and $2 out of country. I just checked the Japan listings and it looks like more than 16,000 stamps are listed. The URL is http://www.stamps2go.com/default.aspx (select the "Browse Listing" link at the top of the page).

Steve

So many great comments but I think floortrader hits the nail on the head. Catalog value is one thing, but inevitability when it comes to setting prices, the law of supply and demand will always reign supreme. Though one stamp might appear to be of nominal catalog value, if many collectors lack it, and the market fails to produce enough copies, the value of the item will always exceed the norm.

When it comes to bidding, its up to you to determine the items rarity and your probability of having the chance to acquire the item in the future.

In the end, if you're on a limited budget (as you have stated) then I suggest exercising restraint. More likely than not you'll have the chance to acquire the same item again in the future, under more favorable market conditions, so long as you're patient.