Need Advice On Selling.

I, too, have a large collection of U.S. and foreign stamps from 1847-1945. A local collector said he would sell the collection for me and is asking for a 50% commission. I know I don't have the time and knowledge that he does. I just wondered if the commission seemed a little high. Thoughts? Thanks.



Just a few of the US stamps. Have many, many more. Including Scott #1.

Hi Paul.

Without seeing the rest of the collection, it would be hard to say whether that commission is too high or not. Basically, there are two ways that a seller can be compensated for assisting in the sale of a collection - time and materials (costs to list and sell the collection), or percentage. That percentage can vary, but it basically will have to come out to some equivalent of the time and materials calculation.

Based on what you showed, there is really not a lot of value there. Most, if not all, of the stamps have flaws and defects which will knock down the value (and realizations) greatly. As such, 50% of that page is really only compensation for an hour or two of work to list, sell, pack, and ship the material.

Scott #1 does potentially have some value. Again, condition is probably everything. If your copy has four clear margins, a light neat cancellation, and no creases or thins, it could sell on its own for a few hundred dollars. However, if the stamp has been cut into the design, has creases or thins, and a manuscript or heavy cancellation, the realization may be under $100.

If you're willing to post more of the collection (and the value will probably be in the pre-1910 material), I'm sure that people here will be happy to opine as to the likely realization and with that knowledge, you may be better able to decide whether 50% is a fair commission.

Hope that helps.

Chip

Thanks for the good advice, Chip! The guy has already spent about 10 hours going through my collection (which he thoroughly enjoys). But only asked for a few cheap stamps in return.

Here is my Scott #1. Hope the image is large enough. (The white on two of the edges is actually the mat on my scanner.)

Thanks again.

More of the US.