New Collecting Topic...goofs I Have Made Purchasing Stamps

I think its time for a new collecting area...mistakes I have made buying stamps....on another thread I showed some labels that I purchased Saturday..i paid too much but thats normal for me...but I thought they would fit in my Guatemala back of book spot...so I e mailed the Guatemala lady guru in Switzerland and she gave me a thumbs down ...if she says they do not qualify then they do not... I don't mean to start a trend..but I know theres a few of us around that could start similar collections !!

Every picture of every stamp in my collection I probably over paid according to popular opinion. I really don't care much and I'm a lot more versed in stamps and their values as per condition so things have got a lot better in recent times. I think we all make mistakes and that's how we learn isn't it? I usually do research on a particular item that interests me and have an idea of what I'm looking for and what I'm willing to spend.

Phil, was it really necessary to remind me of this!! . Just kidding.
I have made my fair share of purchasing goofs: most I can laugh about and learned from them. Two or three, I am still crying about but at least learned from them as well.

Marty, I refuse to change ...my wife and friends carry want lists to shows...i look for the unexpected...cinderellas,covers etc !

Phil, I know we have all made some bad deals but we have also made very good deals so it evens out. Recently, I have gotten caught up in an auction or two and bid a little more than I should at the last minute but c'est la vie. I still got stamps that I needed.

Phil, I'm with you. Even if I made a list, I am so unorganized I would not be able to find and would spend too much time fretting about lost lists. I function well with the unexpected.

Mhc99 thats true, in Ottawa I made a fine deal with a dealer who did not want to carry a Minkus supreme album and a large carton of covers home..i do not mind lugging if the price is right !!

My main mistakes have been in selling a collection and later regretting it. I sold a Great Britain collection missing only the high value QV and EVII pound values. Needless to say that years later I have regretted that decision.

I got enamored with an item I saw in a "catch all" box at a stamp show that was worth about $10 - but the box was $75 - I figured I would make my money back on the rest of the stuff in the box - well, I still have the rest of the stuff in the box and it is a constant reminder of a bad deal.

Well I have my own story. This was from a purchase about a month ago. It was for a 'mystery collection". When I received the package everything appeared quite good from initial viewing and I was happy. However,there was a huge bag of stamps of newer USA stamps on paper and in great duplication so I put it aside to sort at a later date. Yesterday I got that bag out and to my horror discovered about 2 lbs of stamps had been cut so close that entire tops (perforations) were gone! I could understand a few stamps like that but not 2 lbs of stamps!!!
Anyway the good news is I did contact the seller and mentioned my discovery to which he replied there was no way he could have known and was willing to send me stamps to make up for those. I wonder now what to do with these stamps???? perhaps it will have to be put to some creative art.
Lesson learned: always check your "mystery purchases" because there's got to be a mystery in there!!

Every collectors make mistakes during his collecting life. At a stampshow I bought a suppose mnh stamp that is very lightly hinged stamp. The dealer looked at it but sometime the light in the stampshow is not that good. I didn't check myself. Anyway collecting is not for worrying. Collecting stamps is a hobby and a hobby is to relax not to be a headache

Edit: I saw that dealer in Ottawa and I knew by the list he was going to be there. You imagine me telling him look at this stamp you sold me 3 years ago at another stamp show ...