Do I Sometimes Pay Too Much ?

i often ask myself..do I pay too much for some items..the answer is yes...i have made mistakes when driven by emotion I have made a couple of 50 dollar mistakes...but why dwell on them ? I have also found some 50 dollar and 100 dollar items for pennies..it has to at least even out. any thoughts ????

I've done it too, but like you I hope it all evens out in the end. If I get enjoyment out of it then it was worth it. Many time I go after bulky box lots as I always find something in it I want, there's more often than not something in it of value that makes it worth while, and if your are willing to do the labor - usually, the sum of the parts are greater than the whole. The only time I have problems is if I try to cherry pick something from a dealer to resale although I'm slower getting better at that too through experience (trial and error).
Will

We ll pay too much from time to time. On another board I used to frequent, I bought two lots I oould name that were WAYo dear.

I bought them because:

a) They were interesting lots
b) I was flush with cash
c) Impulse

It's called being human!

On the other hand, I've bought some absolute, gold-plated bargains. It's all about swings and roundabouts.

I had a few regrets, early on, bidding at auction, and getting carried away
I have learnt to harness that now, and I often reconcile by
the comparison to a night out, or a good meal $50 to $100
spend that once a month or so, and you have stamps to enjoy for a lifetime.
I get my greatest enjoyment now from circuit books, our club has around 12 albums, with stamps from 5c to $300, and you can pace yourself both in price parameters, and time management, the ability to mount them before the next club meeting.
I used to really like the "phossick box", but at the latest auctions, these have been fetching $300 and above, too steep for moi.

I think we have all been guilty of this. You have a page with that 1 gaping hole in it. The hole has been staring you in the face for years, taunting you. You find the stamp. What do you do? C.V. is lets say $4 Dealer has it marked $6 as XF. that's 50% over cat. Me, I bargain and if that doesn't work I say the hell with it and get it anyway. Why? That stamp will give me more satisfaction than the cup of coffee that the $2 would have paid for. However, add a few zeros and make the #'s $40 and $60 and then I need to rethink the purchase.

I guess we are all pretty much human...stamps are my only vice that I can think of..and no one can twist my arm to make me purchase an item..its all on me !!

I sure have made impulse buys. Some I have regretted, some not.

If once I get into my head the desire for a particular stamp, I know from experience that I might just spring for it when I see it no matter the price. Like right now, I yearn for a Scott 459 (US). The prices are horrendous for certified stamps. I have to fight the impulse to plunk out 500 dollars for a certified pair. (perhaps I need to be certified)

Of course we can all 'pay too much' for an item. But what's 'too much', if you really want the item? And the moment the money's out of your hand and in the dealer's, it's all water under the bridge anyway.

If I contemplate what I paid for this Barwani SG 18da



I do still feel slightly queasy, I admit. Too much, though? It's the only copy I've ever seen. What does it matter then if I paid over the (then) Gibbons catalogue. The money's gone, and the stamp's mine. That should be the end of the story.

I pay "too much" all the time - but - we have to be careful when the definition of "too much" is so flexible.

Is paying $1.00 for a 20 cent item paying too much? It is, unless it will fill a page and you haven't been able to find a decent copy for six months.

Is paying a dealer 70% of Scotts for a year group of Israel MNH Tabbed paying too much? Maybe not if you have to buy the year set on ebay in pieces with multiple sellers and multiple shipping charges.

So, so I pay too much - you betcha!

Nice thread

I have found that in the long run, everything will come out in the wash.

There is another way of looking at this too. From my personal experience I had the following take place:

I paid $35.00 for a kilo of East Germany in the hopes of getting a lot of the commemoratives used but it turned out to be 95% definitives with little or no value at all. Then shortly after that, I bought 7 pounds of Germany in a small cardboard box for the small sum of $10.00 <G> and was very pleasantly surprised with the contents.I then considered it this way, I spent a total of $45.00 for some German stamps and the good portion out-weighed the cheap portion by far. So, I looked at it as paying $45.00 for a single item I was more than pleased with.

Sorry I can't word this any better. Having problems getting it together today :(

Chimo

Bujutsu

Not from me you don't !

Cheap, cheap,cheap !

Londonbus1.....aren't they ?

That's true Michael. You are the quintessential icon of virtue, generosity and honesty that we all wish we could be.

I guess I should have been more specific.

Do I sometimes pay too much under the strict terms of the definition? You betcha!

I never never never never never, paid too much. As a matter of fact, I pay too less

Londonbus...Michael...Cheap, cheap,cheap Richard tells me that you recycle stamp hinges !

I also sneak into his stamp room and do some bin diving !!

Londonbus1...collecting on the cheap !