A Personalized Stamp Dilemma

I need your help !

I have a few personalized stamps from Israel. My avatar is one and I have a copy of this stamp on cover, posted on the day of 'Issue' at a Stamp Exhibition. Only one such cover exists of course.

I also have a stamp [with tab],MNH of another design where all the others have been destroyed or discarded or forgotten [and most likely never to be seen again].

So here I need your opinions. I am not sure what you can base them on but have a go anyway and I will see how I feel come Monday !

A lawyer I met some time ago wishes to buy some of my personalized items from this exhibition because he missed out on them at the time.They have become much sought after in Israel the last couple of years and have a catalogue value of $100. This value is based on the fact that only two sheets of 14 were allowed per design. Only three tabbed stamps exist per sheet, so a max of 6. Covers with stamps, tabbed or not, are probably as scarce as MNH stamps. It is impossible to know of course.
The cover I have is with an untabbed stamp**

So what is my dilemma?
To sell or not?
Well, yes but that is a personal thing, a feeling that no one can really understand. But what would your feelings be if you had something similar in your collection [maybe you have].

The buyer has already offered me $90 for the Stamp with tab [mnh]. I refused twice, the last time a year ago. Now he is back. My wife says I should ask for $250 for the two items and see his reaction.
What do you think?
Or what would you do in a similar situation?

It might be he is looking to offload some 'Black' money and thought of stamps.....and thought of me. Maybe I should ask for more ? If he is really after the stamps and money is no object, then I could set a new precedent in Israel Stamp valuation ??
Couldn't I?

So what do you think. I would love some views before Monday when I should make a final decision....until next year at least !

Looking forward to hearing from you.......HELP !!

Londonbus1.....In a Dilemma

Please feel free to ask any questions.

** All Israel stamps can be found with or without descriptive Margins at the bottom [or two sides on some early issues]. These are known as Tabs. Catalogues will list stamps with and without Tabs. Those with Tabs are worth considerably more than those without, especially the earlier issues.

Hello London....

In my opinion.....

Take the money and run...........the personalized stamps have no exceptional value except to the creator and a very limited few others. I personally don't want any so they have absolutely no value at all to me. Who really wants a few hundred photo stamps of me, my kids, cat, favorite tree or whatever.......I suspect the list would be extremely short. A generic set of odd values on cover might be desirable to some but the personalized ones are just a novelty item in my opinion.

Thanks Tom!
Does anyone agree or disagree with Tom??

To sell or not to sell, that is the question.

Londonbus1

I tend to agree with Tom so sell them,take the money and run.

Two things to think about.
Do you need the money?
and
Will you miss that stamp when it is gone?

Steve

If you've decided that you want to sell, then I totally agree with Tom. Be greedy...... not overly greedy, just greedy.


Butch

Some questions to ask yourself before you decide.

1. Will the money change your life or even really make a difference two to five years from now?
2. If they are nearly impossible to come by, how would you ever replace them if you decided you wanted to?
3. Will selling them put a "hole" in your collection and/or your heart.

Remember, you can say "no" ten more time and you'll still have them. You can only say "yes" once.

Sell! my friend Londonbus1, sell!

For me, it isn't the money, would all the great painters be known if they hadnt sold their works? As of now your stamps have a great personal value for you, but no value yet established outside of you. Once a sale is made, your stamps would have established some public value, which can only rise in the future, and that value, would of course be protected by the next owner. (comes under standard asset management, he wont sell it for less)

My friend if things go well, a hundred years from now, theyll be writing books about your stamps!

I was told once by a bookworm,
"my friend...it's not how you appreciate things, it's how your things are appreciated..."

Have a great day Londonbus1!

I have mixed feelings about this one.

If it's a stamp that is important to you, then keep it. However if it is not an important part of your collectin and you don't feel it will be missed, then go ahead and get as much as you can from it.

Maybe you could buy a stamp or stamps you have wanted and couldn't get before.

Dianne

I think laswabbie raises the important issue - if you sell these stamps or stamp, you cannot replace it. With most other sales, at a later time you can always go and get another copy, but not in this case.

So I would be asking myself why I purchased this stamp in the first place. If it was so I could sell it at a later time, then I would certainly be taking the money now (if he pays your price).

If not, then you need another reason to be selling - do you need the money desperately, or want to put it back into your collection with another purchase you want more? These are valid reasons, so you'd have to weigh them against what the loss of the stamp will mean. Only you can really know that.

You also have to ask yourself, will you change your avatar??

Tough decision.

Balf

That's right! it really is a tough decision to let go of the one you love, or rather in this case, the stamp you love...




Go for it Londonbus1!

First, I must say thanks for the replies, I read them over and over again. You are all great.

Just wanted to answer a few questions;




Laswabbie asked these.
1].I guess the money will not change my life, not now or in the future. I will be able to have a better time at Stampex during my UK trip in September.

2].Once they are gone, they are gone. There is ONLY one such cover and ONLY one MNH stamp with Tab. This is for sure. I will though retain a MNH label pair of my Avatar design.[also unique]. Of course, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Israel Post still hold all the designs on file and could make further copies at will. Not sure of any legal standing on this though.

3]. A part of this question is the most significant. First, yes, there would be a hole in my Israel collection, but there are many holes that will never be filled so this is not so important. Indeed, there will never be a complete Israel collection. About 3,000 different designs were printed at the show and no one person will ever see them all, let alone have them all in his possession. It was estimated that 75% were used on mail, though I have no idea how they came upon this statistic.

A Hole in the heart...the all important question. I have had many offers for these items, even for the original skatty artwork that took me 1 hour to complete has had offers of over $150.
The MNH stamp in question I made for my Step-Daughter's wedding invitations. I only made 1 sheet for her closest friends and family. I was never able to retrieve any of the other 13 copies so as far as I know this is truly the only copy in existence. Let us not forget it is not like a Zazzle or the like, it was not made in a machine while-you-wait. It was on regular-gummed paper on a stamp that had already been issued by Israel post with a generic design. One had to hand the design in to Israel Post and wait up to 8 hours for pick-up or delivery. It has never been repeated at subsequent shows and never will be.
So Laswabbie touched on my Heart-strings with his question !




Dianne asked the above;
Yes, the stamp is important to me. But so are all my stamps. I am not a personalized stamp collector so this particular gimmick holds no interest in particular. Yes, As I said above, I could have a much nicer time searching for something of my interest at the big show in London.
One day of fun for a quick sale of something unique....Mmmmmm!

MmmmBalf asked;




I did not purchase the stamps with a view to selling. I got them solely to use on mail to family and friends. I think most at the show did. For the kids it was a wonderful opportunity. It was only later that some fanatical collectors started buying up as many designs as they could and making them highly sought after. A gimmick became an obsession one could say. I kept one of each for my collection and sent my daughter a cover [yes, the cover has her name on it making it extra hard to decide]. I had no thoughts of re-selling, I rarely do with stamps.

I don't really need the money, it would be nice to have for the reasons I stated above.

So, thanks again to everyone. I have been busy making other contacts over the weekend about these issues, including the odd Isreali expert and dealer. It has been an eye opener and interesting.

Oh yes, I forgot to answer one last question;




Londonbus1...not on your life !

Michael,

I just read through all your answers above. Sounds to me like you should keep all your stamps and go to the stamp show in London on a budget.


Butch

A large budget or a small budget ??

A help your self budget!


Butch

Londonbus1/Michael, as you go to the London show with your decision still up in the air, please dont forget to post a post here on your final decision after the show, this topic has me guessing which way you'll go!

Have a great trip and and a great stamp day!