Mystic Buys

has anybody ever sold collections or stamps ect. to mystic cause I saw somewhere that they buy your stamps from you I was just curious if it was worth the time or what it was like if they did

I do not know anyone whom has sold to them. I think you might have to ship your collection to them to be viewed.

A friend recently got a top offer of 10% catalog for a valuable British Colony collection. This offer was subject to lowering after viewing and the collection had to be mailed/shipped to them.

Gee Craig...

Here's a math quiz...

If a collector purchased all his stamps from Mystic, then years later sold the collection back to them, what would Mystic's profit be ?

A) 400%
B) 1000%
C) Obscene
D) Illegal

I don't know if it's illegal but it sure is immoral!

I have sold to Mystic with no problems. I accurately described what I had and was asked what I would like for it. I told them my benchmark, they agreed, I shipped, they quickly mailed a check. Discussing with a few local dealers that had occasionally sold items/stock to Mystic, I heard the same results. They also agreed that I got a good price.

I think the key is that you accurately describe what you have, especially the premium items -- because you will get next to nothing (or even lose value) if you have excessive common stamps (i.e., under $1 catalog value). A lot of times, you are better off using the common items for trade or donation.

Also, to get top dollar, you have to know what they are currently pursuing. Just sending a random collection to them will NOT get top dollar.

That's been my selling experience with Mystic -- totally positive.

I always encourage collectors to know what they have. It does make a difference when you sell (you will also know who to sell to). Otherwise, dealers will simply make a baseline wholesale offer for your stamps.

By the way, unless you have a rare item, it's usually not a good idea to sell a specialty collection to a dealer that specializes in that area. Seems counter-intuitive, but the reason is simple, they are usually well-stocked in most items.

Oh, yes, I...

NEVER BUY from Mystic!

To their credit, they have made major contributions to the philatelic world, and they have also introduced quite a few people to the hobby and also to APS.

Even I bought a couple of items from them when I started the US part of my collection, because I simply did not have access to stamp stores.

But now with the internet, it is hard to understand why anyone would continue to buy from Mystic.

Mystic has its place in the stamp collecting market. They have just about everything. They're overpriced but for collectors who can't be bothered searching shops or the internet, Mystic "fills the bill". But I don't buy from them, mostly because of the high price but also because of low grade stamps. I have seen what a good friend of mine purchases from mystic, of which she buys only used. Half of her purchases were Fine or less in centering with heavy or distracting cancels. They were sound as far as not having tears, creases, thins, etc, but for mostly common stamps, definitely not worth what she paid for them. She was quite happy though and that is all that matters to a stamp collector.

I think the reason a person would buy from Mystic is that they are a known quantity. Purchasing from the internet and ebay in particular is not for the faint of heart. You never know who you are dealing with. This is not meant to disparage in any way established dealers who have websites where they sell stamps nor is it meant as any criticism of anyone who uses the internet for stamp purchases.

Even overpriced, you know exactly what you are dealing with with Mystic (same for Littleton in the coin dept.)

It always scares me to do business with a company that spends so much on advertising. They have to buy low and sell high just to cover overhead. That said, I also bought some stuff from them way back when I was young and stupid (as compared to me now - old and stupid).