If there ever was an example of Caveat Emptor...
Anthony's appear to be somewhat morally/ethically challenged at times... they come from the Bill Langs and Apfelbaum, Inc. school of stamp dealing.
The first warning is the wording of their return policy. WALL OF TEXT CRITICAL HITS YOU FOR 1000 DAMAGE. YOU DIE! They have an unspecified restocking fee as well as a zillion other terms and conditions.
Second, they frequently overstate the catalog value of bulk lots and collections, some more so than others, and some laughably so.
Third, they are very poor about responding to inquiries in a timely fashion, instead encouraging you to call in by phone, presumably so they can make the sale circumventing
ebay's fees.
They have a tendency to only show small portions of large lots, hoping your imagination will "fill in the blanks" to get to their stated catalog value.
The only times I have ever purchased from them has been when what I see on screen makes the lot worthwhile, or more accurately: worth a gamble.
Case in point:
Just last week I made the first purchase from them in well over 5 years (might be closer to 10). It was a 4-binder dealer stock of classic Sweden, supposedly $9,000 in Scott. I collect used Sweden for the socked-on-the-nose cancels, so this was in my wheelhouse.
The amount of material shown was a very small amount compared to what 4 sales binders would hold. What was pictured showed some promise, but my assumption (not just with Anthony's but ANY bulk lot from any source not viewed firsthand) is that major key items will be faulty. Then it becomes a question of what percentage of Scott you are willing to pay for the whole vs. what you think you can pull out and/or flip.
When they first listed the lot it was priced close to $1,000. They inched it lower over time until it got to it's current point of $666. Then after a period of time they listed it with a 30% off sale, dropping it to $466. That would be just over 5% of Scott *IF* their stated total was accurate.
Closer, but still too much of a gamble, IMO. However, they left the Best Offer option intact even during the sale. I made an offer of $250 to see if it would be autodeclined. It wasn't and they came back with a counter of $350. That said to me that they were motivated to move the lot, so I countered again with $300. Sold.
Upon arrival, I inventoried the lot to see how far off the estimate was. Some of the prices in pictures were clearly overinflated (much Scandinavian material has taken a serious tumble over the last decade). That said, many of the earlier items had actually increased since the lot had been catalogued.
When I was done and tallied everything up, the catalog value actually slightly exceeded their estimate, at roughly $9,600. Yes, there is quite a bit of faulty material, but at roughly 3.1% of current Scott, it's hard to go wrong.
So at the end of the day, I say be VERY cautious when evaluating their offerings, but if you are patient and scrutinize things, deals can be had.
Posted 03/29/2016 1:33 pm
