Need Advice For Online Stamp Auctions

i am new to stamp collecting and need some basic advice for online auctions.
1. the scott value listed im sure is for an ideal specimen. what % should I deduct for a realistic price? for things like short perf, re-perf, trimmed, repaired, off center....etc.
2. are re-perforated stamps hard to resell since they have been altered from original state??
3. Why are some stamps listed extremly high compared to other stamp sites? example:2c battle of braddocks field, mint fine superb is estimated $85 on auction site. I just purchased this stamp thru mystic, mint fine superb nh for $2.90.....is this a rouse by auctions to sell cheap stamps for inflated prices?

Welcome,
Actual market values for common material (like the Braddock stamp shown) is much less than Scott catalog value (10%-50%?). That stamp, in typical condition, sells for less than $1 in most cases. Many retail dealers, like Mystic, are going to charge more because it takes a lot for them to stock and handle a stamp. In some cases, like where a stamp has been graded in extraordinary high condition, people will put very, very high prices on them. Many collectors think that grading stamps is a travesty, others do not.

It is hard to determine where the 'marketing fluff' starts in a lot of the selling activities. Words like 'superb' and 'fine' often a defined by different people in several ways. A lot of collectors just ignore these types of descriptive terms and make their own judgement as to the centering and grade of the stamp. In other words, they simply look for what they feel is nice 'eye appeal' and would look good mounted in their album.
Don

Edit; Also keep in mind that a 'asking price' is much different than a 'sold' price. Folks can ask whatever they want for a stamp but that has little reflection of true market value. When folks search ebay and other online auction sites for 'sold' or 'completed' listings to get a feel for a stamp's market value.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Stamps/260/...045573.m1684

I'm not familiar with Scott price for example you scanned but centering is at best Vf-XF or XF. The term "superb" is used for a stamp with almost perfect or perfect box centering which this example certainly does not have.

My general rule is that Scott prices are inflated 100 percent for "very fine" stamps. So at auction you did ok if you get a very fine stamp at 50 percent catalog. Scott #1 and #2 follow this rule very well (most of time). XF classics sell around Scott prices. XF-superb sell significantly above Scott prices. This is a general rule for common classics. When you get to the super rare stamps, one of a kinds etc, this rule doesn't apply.

Scott prices are for sound stamps without fault. Any fault dramatically reduces it to 10-20 percent catalog depending on fault type.

Scott catalog in my 2010 is 1.40$ NH for this stamp. You paid retail price. If stamp was graded 98-100, perhaps auction would sell at 85$ or more. Agree with Don. I would never pay 85$ for a 1-2 dollar stamp but apparently there is a market for it.

sweetstamp, the Scott catalog values are not for ideal specimens but for stamps that are fault-free in VF condition. Nice stamps but not gems. They are also based on retail prices and auction results, both of which have overhead built into the numbers that factor into the value assigned by Scott. So you can figure that catalog value will be significantly higher than the amount you should expect to spend for a sound VF stamp from a low-overhead source like an ebay seller. I think the 50 percent rule of thumb mentioned by rgstamp is a good one. Stamps with faults, alterations or repairs should go for around 10 percent of catalog, if that. And, as Don says, pay attention to the actual selling prices rather than the asking prices in getting an idea of true market value. This forum has fun calling out and heaping deserved ridicule on sellers who set ridiculously high asking prices for ordinary stamps.

"is this a rouse by auctions to sell cheap stamps for inflated prices?"

Yup.

The sole purpose of "grading" is to tell the owner of the stamp, "It could be better," so that the owner will then go out and spend more money for another stamp, that has a higher "grade," even though it looks no better to the naked eye than the first stamp.

The stamp in question has very attractive centering. Most would probably call it "Very fine."

Welcome to stamp collecting! It will probably take you years of paying careful attention to the market and the stamps that you collect to realize that there is not a simple answer to your question. As an example, and only one of an infinite number, the rules that apply to your 2c red do not apply to the stamps of the 1847 issue. It is much easier to obtain a nice Scott #688 at a substantial discount from cat. value than it is to obtain a #1 at that same discount.

I would like to also respectfully take issue with using the completed listings to ascertain the value of a stamp. Once again, I don't think it is that simple. Often times, the only thing you can glean from that type of price research is what the stamp was worth that day, from that seller, as it was described, and at that venue. With that said, the guy that offered that advice is no dummy.

Here is a stamp that will be fun to appraise. I urge readers of this thread to put a value on this stamp. I will eventually tell what I paid for it.

Top row, relief A. Va? ...awesome stamp. Unbelievable centering... graded, cert with it???
I'm gonna plate it and get back to you with what I think it would go at auction (without cert or grade assuming it is sound)

Sinclair, I love that stamp mainly because the guide line across the top! At the left end of the guide line is a vertical line - is that normal?


Peter

THINKING TYPE V NOW

Hm. Top row Plate 5 Type Va. Probably left pane (can't plate it based on photo). Superb centering, unheard of for these stamps. Assuming no other faults. Several hundred dollars at a name auction, I would think.

I think Sinclair put this stamp up here to make my Superbowl Sunday a mental mess.
I agree Dudley, my gut instinct was definite top row, relief A of Plate 5, thus type Va. Side scratches no play here.

and a wonderful copy!
However, I can't match it. Thus, Is it just a type V, relief A top row, from lets say, plate 8 (5L8?)

I cannot "appraise" it without knowing if its a V or Va. Help

I have never plated the stamp but believe it is a Plate 8 stamp. It is sound, without any kind of cert, and is from ebay. Top row Type Va stamps have very strong right side ornaments. I will try to plate it.

5L8 it is. Shame on me for owning it all these years without plating it

Peter, this is a pretty normal appearing top row stamp. The vertical lines were on the transfer roll though and not part of the layout of the plate. They are artifacts from the layout of the original die used to create the transfer roll.

I'm sticking with type V stamp. If sound, I think centering is gradeable at "95" level. Siegel has sold 1 or 2 similar used graded "95" centered copies of Scott 24 at the 400-600$ level.

(If it was a type Va, I think generally 600$-800$, but for top row example with those cool guide lines, maybe 1000$)

Without a graded cert, it may go for 20-30 percent less (my estimate).

If you got it at ebay for less than 200$.... and it is sound... good deal!
If you got it less than 100$... miracle!.
If you got it under 50$, you are my idol.