Mystic Stamp $10 Classic Stamps Offer

I got this flyer from Mystic Stamp Co. the other day. I have absolutely no intention of accepting this offer but I was curious if anyone out there did. If so, what did you get for your $10?

Note what it says "..small flaws will not ..."

So they are basically space fillers.

It I did the math right, the Scott catalog value for that group of stamps (used) is $22.95 in VF condition, so their "regular" retail price is already above Scott.

The photos show mint stamps, but the text says "stamps that have gone through the postal system" so clearly what you receive will be used stamps. Misleading to say the least. The worst offense is where they claim "you won't find a better deal on classic US stamps". For a group of stamps in that era "each has one or two minor imperfections", one should expect to pay 5-10% of catalog value in a group lot, not 40%.

The Mystic business model is well-known among collectors who've been at it for a while. They have a massive mail order operation, but they do sell below par stamps at above market prices and well-centered stamps without flaws at prices even over catalog. However, they are useful for someone who is just starting out by collecting inexpensive stamps from the 20th and 21st centuries. Their catalogs and flyers are full of interesting information about U.S. stamps and their U.S. stamp albums are pretty nice, again with good background information on the pages. They support the hobby by giving beginning collectors a decent jump start and by recruiting members for the American Philatelic Society.

Murph, would suggest getting on Hipstamp or Ebay and just searching if you are interested in buying stamps and starting a collection. Just look/don't buy.

But would like to ask a question; are you considering putting a collection together?

If so, there are a lot of variables you might want to consider. There are a lot of folks here that will be glad to offer up what they know, but I'm curious as to what you are looking to do.

Hopefully collect stamps and enjoy the hobby!

Mystic also advertises and sells stamps they do not have in house, despite listing them (including images) on their website. I've cancelled several orders when I discovered that they would have to go out and "get them" and thus couldn't tell me when to expect delivery. Always place your orders on the phone with a live person and ask if it is actually in their hands. If not, walk away.

I received the same mailing.

The thing with Mystic that has mystified me lately is how, with all of their overhead, they stay in business given that their main product, stamps, are tied to catalog values that have not moved with economic conditions (inflation). They have a 50,000 square foot facility and up to 150 employees at times. RE taxes go up, wages increase, utilities and insurance climb, printing costs are through the roof and so on. And yet if you look at their prices over 5 years they are the same. It is a volume business but I cannot say that I can name a collector that uses them on a constant basis to fill their needs.

Given the quality of US classic stamps you showed in your initial post, Murph, I'd recommend you not buy any stamps from Mystic.


Hipstamp, mentioned above, would give you a pretty good picture of the retail market for issues and conditions of the sort you showed earlier, even if you did not buy there. The tools for comparing quality/condition are useful, as can be the limitation for certification, rank ordering by price, etc.
Of course, on Hip you would be paying retail. Not necessarily a bad thing, but.....

The only thing I buy from Mystic is the annual supplements for my U.S. Heirloom album I bought from them years ago. I haven't bought the 2022 supplement yet, because I'm on the fence about it. They keep changing how they format the pages in regards to 20 stamp panes. Show all the singles? Show just the full pane? Do both, and give the full pane a page number that doesn't fit into the album anywhere? It seems to change every year lately and it's a little maddening.

If I could print Steiner pages on paper similar to what Mystic uses, I might be tempted to use those pages instead.

I do like the Mystic albums. I have not used them myself but they look nice, durable, and have great stories and information about each stamp listing on the back sides of the pages.

I agree it is annoying what they do with the blocks and sheets. Lighthouse is no better. Different years they are inconsistent whether they include blocks, singles, and/or sheets. I wish they would include everything or at least provide a choice with additional optional supplements. In my mint collection I prefer the blocks and sheets, and not have redundant spaces for the singles of the same stamps. But for my used collection, I want spaces for just the singles and maybe the blocks of 4, but never the full sheets.

I think that Murph was asking about Mystic for curiosity, not that he intended to buy anything from them.

I " inherited" a collection from a Mystic fan, and they do have their niche. Especially for someone not so computer literate, ordering from a printed catalog and paper order form is very comfortable. These people are collecting for the enjoyment, not as an investment, so the cost/value is not really a factor. Other retired friends may spend $50 a month on knitting supplies, or a new jigsaw puzzle every week, so spending the same amount of money on their stamp hobby does not seem unreasonable, even if the resale value of what they buy is only about $5.

What Mystic also thrives on is Approvals. Every month (or whatever speed the customer turns around purchases), Mystic sends out a group of a dozen or two dozen stamps. Buy what you want, return the rest. And always with a deal, like "$60 if bought individually, $40 if you keep them all". The thing is, their "individual" prices are already so high, that even the discounted price is not much of a deal. Here is a sample.

Wow!

As I stated above, Mystic sells stamps at well above market, particularly for "sound" stamps. As an example, you can get the entire National Parks series MNH for 5 bucks or less on eBay, versus the $7 (or $5 discounted) just for #749 (not very well centered) from Mystic shown above. And be careful of signing up for approvals; sometimes it's a chore to get them to stop sending them when you want to quit. Again, the upside of Mystic is their albums are nice for beginning collectors and they are a good source of education for beginners with their circulars.

A bit of Mystic approvals history;


Don