Canadian FDC, Are They Worthless?

I know, I know there is a stigma attached to modern Canadian FDC's especially the Canada Post ones from 1971 on but what I hear lately makes me think, why the heck did I ever buy them.

In another forum someone mentioned recently that he bought 1600 Canadian FDC commems, definitives of all values etc from a dealer for $60 which works out to less than 4c a cover.

I know most don't collect stamps for investment and I certainly never did but the thought was always there that they would be worth something some day.


Any thoughts?

Well each to his own. I started out with FDCs when I was a wee lad.... but always preferred to make my own. As a consequence for a good many years I ordered a single, plate block and registered FDC from Canada Post. When an issue involved a certain city or institution, I took pains to get a cover from that locale - there was very little local cover development of that sort as there is today.

This practice cost me a mint as a kid but I have them to this day and continue to think they are interesting and worthwhile. I did put one or two of the registered covers up a couple of years ago and there was ZERO interest. I couldn't believe it. After all, this was an FDC that was among a very small group in a field of tens of thousands. I'm now in midst of selling some very attractive House of Commons first day covers and while one or two have gone for $5 or so, some have gone for .01. The answer to your question is - collect them because you like them. But unless you have something really unique that people want, or they are prior to 1945, they won't get much on a sale.

It's the same story all over I'm afraid.
I have complete GB and Israel FDC collections through the 90's which go for pennies at stamp fairs.

I was at a stamp fair earlier this year near London and a dealer had a complete collection of GB FDC's from 1970-2005....all at 10p each !
No one even wanted them for the stamps because they are CTO's.

But most them are superbly good-looking, and that's why I have them in my albums.

Londonbus1

I was just a kid like you Moonbird when I first started collecting FDC. It was a lot of fun but also a chore those days in buying the Rosecraft covers from Simpson's Stamp Dept or some dealer or if sold out then some generic, then I had to get a Postal Money order payable to the Receiver General, send them to Ottawa and wait in anticipation if all would came back and in which condition they were in.
Whenever I look at my FDC (which isn't often), those I treasure when I think of all that was involved in getting them.
The Canada Post post 1971 ones I look at in a different light and I'm glad I stopped buying them around 1984.
Guess I saw the light even then.

I agree LB it's not just Canadian and US FDC, same in Europe apparently where for instance German and Austrian FDC go for 0.10€ or 0.20€.

I think there are a couple factors helping to keep FDC prices lower than they once were.

An over-abundance of covers produced by Canada Post, although they are usually visually very nice and a lot of work has gone into the design, stamp and cancellation, drives the price down.

Also it floods the market with more covers than there are collectors. Someone didn't sit down and look at things long term wise. They went for the quick profit of copying the private FDC makers who only produced enough covers to satisfy the market but then went with the idea that more is always better.

If the Mona Lisa was available to everyone, it would be appreciated for its beauty or effect on one but not cost a lot and not treasured as a rare item. Basic supply and demand.

Then, on top of this basic market mistake, the Post Office (and perhaps others worldwide) try to sell the items as items to be treasured by generations to come at the same time the price is dropping in the market. Using marketing strategy instead of human psychology might work if people could have an emotional bond with the item (which happens in collecting Royals items) but not as much for every single over-issued stamp and associated article.

The second factor is how they are marketed, or perhaps marketed by those who do not have the sums that large corporations do to spend on research and sales.

Think of he Great Britain maximum cards. They were a non-item until some dealers got together (or copied the smartest one amongst themselves) and started producing and marketing the cards as a great collectible item. I am not sure how they did it but I have heard it mentioned before now. All of a sudden (relatively speaking) it seemed that Maxi card collecting was a Big thing. It is quite a world wide thing, perhaps not so much here in Canada and the US (another marketing mistake I believe) but elsewhere.

I've tried to make my own but the ink used in cancelling here tends to run. I have seen one fellow sell his made ones for a lot as he said that he had to wait 3 weeks fore the ink to dry so it wouldn't smear and so people should pay for that.

It is somewhat a matter of selling skills and a matter of friendship skills (which selling has a lot of in it) and a matter of perception my the buying public of what is a Good or Cool thing.

Great insight Puzzler I agree with you totally.

the cover dealers at shows are still making a living with mixed worldwide covers at a dollar apiece...and yet on the INTERNET I see Netherlands first day covers with full sets of semipostals going for as little as 25 cents apiece..i used to subscribe to them in the 1970s..but talk about a GLUT nowadays..they are coming out of the woodwork!!

That's because so many collectors are going into the woodwork.

Ah lithoGRAVING......we can count on you to bring a grave aspect to this discussion!

Moonbird, your grave yard humour is very deep.

20 sec in the microwave will solve that

For the seller or his product? Must try that. For the ink that is.

I remember one fellow in GB selling on ebay who actually sold sets of stamps off of FDCs and they sold too. I forget whether he mentioned the fact they were FDC stamps or not though.

Things do sell, you just have to find where they sell and sell to that market. But sometimes it seems too much of an effort to make it worthwhile. I like the fun of it all.

I had a friend in England back in the 70's and he would send me a FDC for each new issue as it came out. Obviously it went through the mail system. Would these still be considered CTO?

Rohumpy. Not in my opinion. But this whole conversation reminds me of a sad event. When I was at college my mother received - and forwarded with ballpoint pen - my entire lot of Canadian Centennial FDCs. I had used a rubber stamp to get as neat a cover as possible so had the lot sent home - never imagining she would do that. I still have them all. Too painful to throw out.....and still painful to keep. <sigh>