The Cost Of Stamp Hinges , Time To Look Again.

Two years ago we had a big discussion about the different hinges and which are are best but the main point was about the cost on eBay was getting for hinges .We had a few people here make that a interesting discussion.

Now in 2022 I looked again......the only thing I am going to say ....You got to be joking ,because nobody would pay that !

No joke! You probably thought the same thing when selling some of your material back in the auctionweb/early eBay days and were surprised and pleased.
Well it still appears money means nothing and everything today to different people and always will.

Should have bought some stock in the hinge/mounts, as they are way up too.

When people criticise modern hinges and cheerfully recommend vintage ones, they don't pay much attention to the availability and cost of the latter. Pretty much nothing available on eBay uk. I was lucky enough to get a decent supply of vintage Gibbons and Rapkin hinges last year, which should see me out.

I can't believe the cost of stamp hinges crossing the $30.00 per pack for the same hinges that many years ago I was buying for 25 cents per 1,000 .

I am totally lost at these recent prices increases ,that comes to 3 cents per hinge and my 102 cards have also hit new level highs , this is getting to be a serious hobby .

Or, FLOORTRADER has found a new commodity to speculate in. What can one say? It is the market price, and we live in inflationary times.

That price doesn't surprise me. I've bought a few packs over the past 10 years or so ranging $15-$20. I'm certain supply is dropping & demand is up. $30 seems possible.

A friend recently showed me a box with their childhood collection in it and asked if there was anything valuable. He was blown away when I told him the only thing of value was the unopened pack of Dennison hinges.

Put your packs of hinges in the bank-box and keep your stamps at home!

At my local stamp shows a dealer sells packs of Dennison hinges for $18 each and prinz or other cheaper ones for 5$. I usually just get them for free from dealers buds who have no use for them but I could see the supply side of the hobby adding up

NO USE FOR THEM ? As Don said in a previous posting they are up in price 4000 %.

The dealer selling the dennisons and other hinges has people coming to him for supplies as he has hundreds of packs. The dealers I go to find one or two at the bottom of an old dusty box. They'd rather make me happy than make 5$ I guess— kind of a no brainer for the amount of work I do for them

8 or 10 years ago, I was at a Portland OR stamp show with an auction. In the auction was a carton of old dealer supplies. I needed some of the stuff, had no use for a bunch of it, and wouldn't throw away the stuff in between. It opened at a miniscule amount - like $25 or $35. I had bought a large carton lot of collections, etc, earlier in the day and had viewed the supply lot. It had 57 (?) unopened packs of old-style hinges, which would likely set me up for life. That, and the cartons I had bought hours earlier, seemed like a great bi-purchase. I was ready to fight it out for the supplies. The supplies opened... crickets!! After a few seconds to see who the competition was (and discovering it was nobody) I bid and got it. There was actually murmuring around the room - I ACTUALLY Heard a kid say to his dad, "That man bought that junk lot!" I have about 20 packs left - I could probably sell them on eBay, pay for the original purchase with ONE pack, and likely pay for the multi carton lot of stamps that prompted me to buy the hinges with the other 19-ish packs.

But I won't.

I recently (within the last couple of weeks) obtained 3 unopened packs of 1955 Fold-O-Hinges (folded, not flat) for less than $8 each, including shipping. I considered this to be a genuine bargain...

I am very patient regarding vintage hinges. But, you simply have to grab them if they come along, especially in quantity. I personally wouldn't look for them in buy-it-now listings - you'll do better in auctions, methinks. My last transaction was a buy-it-now - go figure...

If you prefer vintage hinges, you can still find them at a decent price (with a bit of luck). I don't like to be down to my last 1,000 of them.

John

A few years ago, I bought about 25 or so packets in a supplies lot. Specifically to use them. Others at the auction wondered (out loud) why I spent so much, until someone mentioned them selling for $10-15 each on eBay. Circumstances changed and I still have all of them. Hmmmm...

$30 for 1,000 hinges is 3 cents per hinge. Scott mounts are selling at Subway for $5.19 for a pack of 22 strips (25 mm). If each strip is good for 8 stamps then $5.19/8/22 = 3 cents per mount. Why bother with hinges?

Because they look so much better.

What makes the Dennison hinges more desirable than other hinges?