Scott Catalog Value For Presidential Series ?

I bought this series from ebay "Scott# 803 - 832 Plate Blocks FVF MNH" for $56.50 (shipping included).

I saw plateblock stamps quoting $106.50 for the set without shipping so I went 50% of the PB's price and got the item !

Seller is saying "2009 Scott catalog value is $179.35" but I do not have a Scott catalog so I don't know.

Your comments please.

I'm on the road and only have my 2007 Scott US Specialized with me. For 2007, the catalog value is $168.65 for VF MNH; so the catalog value quoted by the seller sounds about right.

KHJ,
Feeling a little better. Though one of my friends said $45 would have been a bargain.
31% of CV is not a "I screwed up completely" price.

When you receive the stamps and have an opportunity to examine them, that's when you can really decide whether you got a "bargain" or not. I've occasionally thought I "overpaid" for some lots, only to find out later when I finally got around to going through them, that they turned out to be much much better than expected in terms of quality and value.

Eventually, you will see that the "price you paid" must be qualified by the actual quality of the material provided by the seller. You will discover that some sellers consistently provide good quality/service, while other sellers only bring you headaches (even though their price may be very low). The great sellers, I sometimes will bid higher than I normally bid, simply because I have confidence that what I get will be better than normal.

Of course, we're ALL looking for that seller that provides great quality/service at super low prices!

KHJ,

I'll post the pictures after I receive this item.

Few questions that was bothering me for sometime :

1) Why Martha Washington is included in Prexis and not any other first lady despite the fact that Martha Washington opposed her husband's election as President of the United States preferring private life at their home in Mount Vernon ?

2) Why Benjamin Franklin was included in this series ? He was never an president.

3) Why #833 named after Warren Harding, president with the most corrupted administration, has been assigned $1 value when Washington, Lincoln got few cents (maybe a stupid question but what is the point of assigning high denomination to "not so good" president though I understand stamp value assignment may not be based on a president's performance or popularity but deep down I feel this is weird ! )

I came acorss this funny story while studying the history of Prexie series.

Calvin Coolidge (Scott# 834) or "Silent Cal" was well known for being a man of few words. In a dinner, one guest challenged, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you."

Coolidge replied, "You lose."

1) I'm just guess here, but probably because she was the first "First Lady" (in quotes because I don't think that term was actually used then).

2) Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General of the US.

3) Correction, Warren Harding was the $2 value. The stamps are issued in order of their presidency, not their importance. The 1c-22c values happen to correspond to the president number. After that, the denominations correspond to practical usage. It stops at Coolidge because Hoover was still alive at the time.

KHJ - Thanks a bunch.

Guys, I need some more online material to study Prexis. ordinary googling is not bringing any new results. Help !

Time to think about investing in some catalogs and other philatelic literature.

Please let me know your recommendation on catalogs and other philatelic literature. Any good book that I can buy from ebay/amazon ?

Sonalee, if you don't have a Scott specialized for US, that would be a consideration. The amount of info in that catalog is amazing. You don't necessarily have to get a 2010, if it is a little on the pricy side. You can find on Amazon recent ones at very reasonable costs.

Someone help me out here. I got a copy of the Encylopedia of United States Stamps. Can't recall the authors off the top of my head. It is a really neat book. Tons of information. Anyway, it is on Amazon, too.

"Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and stamp collection"
by Rodney A. Juell and Steven J. Rod.
A Great Book with lots of General information.
David(DJD)

Gambled and own the item for $56. I'll post pictures once I receive these items.