Stamp Buying Dos And Don'ts?

I wasn't sure about the etiquette of piggybacking onto sprak26's thread, so I decided I'd start my own. I hope that's OK.

I see that sprak26 was advised to avoid Mystic, and be wary of stamp approval offers.
ebay and other auction sites were mentioned as good sources of stamps, as well as flea markets, yard sales, etc. Are there any auction sites or online dealers people have had especially good experiences with? Any that I should avoid? Anything else I should be wary of?

Are there any rules of thumb about how much to spend on a stamp or stamp lot? I have the pocket Scott catalogue for US stamps. but suspect that that is not the whole story when determining a stamp's worth. On ebay I have seen stamps go for prices both far above and far below the Scott value. Is this just because ebay makes no sense (which could well be true, judging by prices of other items I've seen), or is there more to it than that?

If it helps to answer my questions any better, right now I'll be focusing mainly on US stamps from 1950 and earlier (I do have other interests, but think I should focus on one area for now rather than tear about in several directions at once). I do not intend to spend more than a few dollars at a time (not until I get better educated about stamps, or develop an obsession with any "must have" stamps, that is )

Hello chicken,relaxed attitude to deal with your interests.Stamps Catalog Price bring you reference,it is drawn up in accordance with broad market prices,it will avoid you spending too much money for your want.Of course,we can not ask it is precise,because market conditions are constantly changing.
Take easy and study hard.

Hello chicken......







Scott Cat values are just a starting point for collectors. All listings are based on "very fine" condition. This refers to centering only.



In my opinion........

ebay itself has no real effect on any stamp.....every bidder is free to decide for themselves how much any stamp is worth to them. Very nice material can easily reach multiples of Scott vals.....centering, color, hinge marks/remnants, light/heavy cancels, short/missing perfs, and a multitude of other faults can affect everyone's judgement of an item.

These are my general rules for bidding.....

If you think it's over priced....pass.
If the pictures are pathetic....pass.

For anything of real value....if there is no photo of the back...pass.

If the description says no faults but the picture clearly shows several...pass.

I NEVER buy ANYTHING just because someone claims it's a great deal. One persons opinion is just that...one opinion.

I avoid sellers that claim everything they have is RARE. There are very few items that qualify and if they truly were, they would not be selling for pennies on the dollar.

If you ask a question well before a listing ends (several days) but the seller never responds....pass.

I bid once and only once....my maximum bid.....with 15 seconds or less to go. If I win great.....if I loose it's only because someone else was willing to bid more and I can find something just as good or better in a very short time. I generally win about 80-90% of everything I bid on.


Scott lists this Smokey Mountain for $3.75 MNH '08........a year or so ago there was an article in Linns about a guy that paid $1200.00 for one graded at 100%........is that really worth that much more than mine ???? I don't think so....is mine worth more than $3.75 ?? I believe it is but surely NOT $1200.00
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Ultimately, a stamp is worth only what anyone is willing to give for it.

Sage Advice. Wise man-NR. use many of those same principles, myself.Once in a great while I will bid some dingbat
sniper up caused he teed me off but only rarely. The only reason I bid on some items early is sometomes they'll list a good item cheap, then pull it off sale because they felt it was too cheap but it can't be done if there's a bid on it. however, I've
have had a couple of great buys that I got and they said got lost in the mail. Makes me wonder, sometimes.
Actually, I don't do too much auction anymore. I use BIN or best offer. And I only sell BIN.

Does this mean I can't tell any chicken jokes?

I wouldn't rule out Mystic either. Mystic has a place in the stamp world. The buyer just has to have knowledge when dealing with any seller when it comes to price, grading, faults etc.

I do buy some stamps from Mystic though I'm careful not to just shell out money without researching prices. I do love their US stamp album which I consider the best value in the market place.

I don't have one single source and I always look for the best possible stamp in the price range I'm will to spend. Some of my best deals have been gifts hich I am very much appreciative for.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Sounds like I need to continue doing what I've been doing, which has been to make sure I know what the Scott value is, and how much I am willing to spend. It helps that a lot of the stamps I am interested in are so plentiful. When in doubt, I let it pass, knowing that there will be another chance.

Stampaholic, I guess it depends --what kind of chicken jokes were you planning on telling?

All good and sage advice. I would simply add as in all things experience is the best teacher. My personal bugaboo is snipers and I refuse to play the game. It is best avoided by not falling in love with any particular item and making your best and highest bid for any item and hoping for the best. There are very few pieces that any of us can probably hope to have that are so rare they will not come around again. And anyway isn't acquiring that elusive item somewhat anti-climatic?

Only know 1 chicken joke that I can't tell on here and have forgot all the others, even if I did remember them, they would be
corny.Basically I'm a Hee-Haw kind of guy.
cgr and all; I have a certain limit I'll go on a stamp and stop
after that. It took me ten years to get U.S. #72. Got sniped 100 times. Finally got one a couple of months ago for 11 bucks.
then I got a #30A for 20 bucks & after I got it, turned out to be
a #29. both took me 10 years to get.

IMHO, ebay is OK for higher priced items and larger lots, but for the most part, for inexpensive or single issues StampWants and StampOffers give you a MUCH better buy.

For the average U.S or worldwide stamp I think 25 - 50 percent of Scott is about right depending on the quality and how bad I want the item. I've paid over Scott for something I haven't been able to find or to fill a single hole on a page.

On a single (or group of single) 20 cent stamp(s) I don't mind paying 14 or 15 cents for the simple reason that the seller has to put a ton of time, money and effort into listing, preparing and shipping that kind of item.

Wherever you shop, BEWARE of the shipping and handling policy. Sometimes there are hidden or small print fees. Make sure they will combine shipping on multiple items. StampWants alows the seller to combine shipping but charge an extra handling fee for each item. I've seen these as high as 50 cents per item. In this case, you'd be paying over $5 to ship $1 worth of stamps.

I'll shut up now.

I do great, with the circuit books. My club gets
four, each month.

There you go again bragging again because you have a club to go to!

mkfarm, I agree with you concerning Mystic. I have bought from them. You just have to be careful and not pay too much. One thing really positive about them is their service. Very fast. Also, I too have their Heirloom three volume album and it is an excellent printed album.