Same Seller... #97 F Grill Used, George Washington F-Vf

http://www.ebay.com/itm/United-Stat...em484a89a0d6

Nice stamp... at 1/3 of Scott
and probably worth more...

Even with that heavy cancel?

Scott price is $275.00 for that cancel...

Oh OK. But there must be some reason the stamp hasn't sold. In my experience, "good buys" don't last long on ebay before they're snapped up. This stamp has been looked at more than 200 times and still hasn't found a buyer? (not being confrontational - just trying to understand).

The reason it hasn't sold is simple...

Market prices are 10-15% of catalog...
so the (real) price of this stamp is
from $27.50 to about $42.00...

Problem is, that if people don't see
BEST OFFER, they by and large do not
take the initiative to message the
seller and make an offer...

I message offers to sellers all the
time... sometimes they take it, and
sometimes they don't, and sometimes
it becomes a negotiation...

As the old saying goes...

"If ya want it, ya hafta go after it"...

So first you say "at 1/3 of Scott and probably worth more" and then you say "the (real) price of this stamp is from $27.50 to about $42.00"?

I don't understand why you would hype a stamp that you yourself say is overpriced (best offer or not).

And I really am trying to learn.

IMO the $85 is too high for this example; if you could get it around $35 it might be worth picking it up. Here is one that sold in that range
http://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-97-Used...047675.l2557

Don

I see irate letters to the editor (American Philatelist) about people wanting dealers to buy their collections and being upset when dealers are only offering 10 - 15 % of catalog. I see the prices on ebay (and other venues) and comments about pricing as in this thread, where people expect prices to be in the same ballpark.

Hopefully this may shed a little light on why dealers may be offering 10 - 15 % === they need to have a base to mark up from, and also need to accept faulty, off-center, etc. stamps in the mix. Very hard to make any profit even at this low of a buy percentage.

In all fairness about that listing, my (attempted impartial) opinion is:

1. The centering is about fine, hard to tell, may be average - fine
2. There appears to be a pulled perforation at right
3. There is no back scan, so you can't tell if there are other faults
4. There is a cancel which some may consider fancy enough to raise the value, and for others to think obliterates the stamp, so lowers the value

Given these three observations, and since the standard Scott CV is for VF with no faults, the price should be fairly low (my take is about half the listed price).

Please also note that Scott has a pricing guide for stamps with other centering than VF, so there is a reference for both better and worse centering valuation.

The 2014 Scot Stamp Values - U.S. Specialized by Grade values this stamp, if sound as $125 for fine and about $100 for very good to fine (perforations touch but do not penetrate the design). Off center copies of the 1868 grills are so common that they sell at a large discount relative to well centered copies. Examples with heavy cancels, fancy or not, will sell for less. Damaged, off center copies are likely to yield 5 to 10 percent of catalog.

It is not a good idea to buy an 1868 grill without a back image or if the image fails to meet ebay minimum size guidelines. If the seller is an APS member, he or she would be obligated returns if the stamp is damaged or not as described.

Clark

Especially since from this scan you can't even prove it's grilled. And assuming that if there the grill is genuine in the first place.

Thanks everyone! I'm pleased to learn that my instinct that this stamp is not quite the "bargain" initially implied was correct

About prices: in my opinion, a seller can ask whatever they want for a stamp - smart dealers will price correctly and quickly turn over inventory while others will offer the same tired overpriced stock year after year. You can guess from which dealers I buy.

Does it cost the seller more to post a second picture. I just can't imagine buying this stamp without seeing the back. I can't imagine trying to sell a stamp without offering a picture of the back.

I have to agree about back scans and image size/clarity. If you want someone to bid/buy your higher priced item, you need to show both front and back. Yes, it takes longer to scan the back, crop and upload it, but not THAT much time.