Scott 287- Color Of Stamp?

If he explicitly told you that the darker color increased the value, then he lied to you.

older.thank you smiles...i have to disagree with those two guys..hahahaha...He can make mistakes at times, because he does not focus on different colors ect.. but he is very good hearted and he pleases many of his clients with his private collection of books.

the cat value he had was 20.00 dollars..i did not buy it for that amount..so I am not at lost.I have met some vendors who want the amount exactly like expressed in scotts for unused or used and doesnot take in consideration of other factors.. they donot have them expertised ect. I have a rule of thumb..buy 1/3 of cost from Scotts from certain vendors.

Second rule I do: double check things if I have a question about it. Changling is usually do to a stamp due to heat, weather change ect, exposure with chemical ect. I know enough that this man did not do that to the stamp intentionally ect..It must have come out of one of his books.So I am not going to take it to heart that he made a mistake on this one..

blazenstar, couple of questions if you don't mind: Is the Swedish Christmas seal imperforated or is it perforated? Secondly, would you mind telling me what you paid for the German inflation issue and what you paid for the Christmas seal?

blazenstar,
I would never try to tell you if this dealer is a good or bad fellow. I don't know him and it doesn't even matter much because each of us form relationships in our way and with our own preferences.

But that 4 cent changling is something that even newer hobbyists would recognize. It is not in good condition (missing perfs), poorly centered, and has a straight edge (many collectors avoid straight edges).

So this dealer had to fall into one of two categories;
1. He knew it was a changling stamp and tried to sell it to you with a story.
2. He does not know what a color changling was and is not very knowledgeable or experienced.

Of course if the situation is #2 it could still be that he is a nice guy. I encourage you to try several other dealers to give yourself a broader experience, there are plenty of good dealers out there.
Don

i paid the german inflation for 10 cents and the other one 75 cents at a location he was selling the stamps..Think both are a good deal. smiles. I purchase many of the stamps he offers in lots. The christmas seal stamp was evaluated by another stamp and co company in springfield Mass that wrote it as unused and very scarce.

Blazenstar, it also has a straight edge, which is undesirable, and has perf issues on the upper top left. It also has poor centering to the bottom of the stamp, and would be considered Just Fine, or even less. If you paid more than 1/20th of the Scott value for this stamp, you overpaid. If the dealer told you it was worth more than 1/20th of the Scott value for this stamp, he lied, or (s)he shouldn't be selling U.S. Classic stamps.......

My suggestion is that you learn all you can about US Classics first, and then purchase. Not purchase first, and then try to learn about the stamps.

Hope this helps, Ray

the vendor has truly over 85-100 huge stamp books.and he also get stock books ect. I did not see this as a big deal and took it personally that he made a mistake. I don't see that he is taking advantage of me. He doesnot care if he sells stamps for a very low cost. That is his own choice. He has been very fair to me many times in the past even if he made this mistake with his assessment of this particular stamp.

Ray..i have received many mint stamps from him and he has been on target with almost all of his evaluations too. His stamps are always genuine.He is not one that intentionally over prices things. He would say to his buyers.. this huge book, 25 cents anything in it. if it is mint, used, scarce or rare..and believe me they are many rarities that people have found. He gets new books from estates and auction houses lots all the time. He has done well for himself over the years and happy to see people smiling buying his stamps. He does not usually describe every detail about each of his stamps. He had this specific stamp priced before I bought it. I am not offended by him if he made a mistake on this specific stamp. He does not intentionally scam anyone with stamps. That is not his style. God Bless that he wants other to enjoy the hobby and encourage collectors to learn about stamps too.

blazenstar, You did not say whether or not the Swedish Christmas Seal was perforated or was imperforate to answer my question. I can not tell by the scan that you posted.

Hi Al..good to see you again..perf for this one.but this little written format was accompanied with the stamp at the time in the glassine envelope. I read in past that someone else mentioned about Tatum Stamp and Co in a previous forum with catalogue ect.. I have read about that the imperforate are very expensive.

One ting you should understand is that just because someone sells stamps does not mean they they are knowledgeable in all that they sell.

I agree with you. that is so true..smiles

that is why I expressed not everyone is considered a "walking dictionary." However, there are people that are known to have memorized Scott back and forth with all its volumes, with their own special gift. Those individuals are unique!..smiles