H.e. Harris Mystery Bags.

Hi all,

Using the search function did not seem to yield anything, so I guess I'm the first one bringing this up.

Does anyone have any experience with the "mystery bags" from H.E. Harris? I first saw them in a Hobby Lobby store. Cost either $6 or $7 for a bag of 300 stamps. They have one with world stamps and one with US stamps. Hobby Lobby always has 40% coupons that you can print off, so I was thinking of maybe giving it a shot.. 4 bucks for 300 stamps doesn't seem that bad.

I know H.E. Harris is (or was?) a rather big name in the stamp world.. but that's all I know. And to be honest, the words "super value" and "surprise selection" kind of made me suspicious.

This is what they look like, by the way:
http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Assor...B0061OVNYQ/2

So is it a gimmick or legitimate?

Cheers,

D.

H.E. Harris was a big name in the stamp business, geared primarily toward kids and those on a budget, typically having their wares distributed in the likes of discount stores, five and dimes, etc. They were subsequently bought out by Whitman Publishing (the coin products and catalog company) and are now only a shadow of their former self.

They do offer the $7 bags of stamps that you describe on their website listed below:

http://whitman.com/Inventory/Browse...ingPage=true

If your Hobby Lobby offers a discount coupon, you may find it to be an interesting search for stamps for the money. Is it a gimmick? Yes, sort of. Is it legitimate? Yes, sort of.

The material you'll find in the bags are typically loaded with duplicates, most are on paper and few have any real worth above minimum catalog value. If your goal is to make a fortune in stamp collecting by buying these bags, forget it! If your goal is to add some colorful new stamps to an otherwise sparse collection and enjoy the learning experience of uncovering stamps that you may have only seldom seen before, if ever, then go for it.

Just be informed that you are looking at a collection of stamps that may be colorful and interesting, but not really of any significant value. If you can get them a a discounted $4 or $5, it will provide you an inexpensive means of entertainment in terms of a few of hours of fun going through them, but that's about it.

Thanks, wt1, that's exactly what I was looking to find out!

I guess I overlooked the Whitman connection, but I was beginning to wonder why there wasn't an official website for H.E. Harris! I think Whitman needs to do some search engine optimization for that brand - it's hard to spot on Google.

The fact that there are lots of duplicates is what I was expecting to hear, but I suppose you are right, for $5, it's all about the fun factor. And no, I'm not looking to find a fortune (even though it would be nice to find one). :)

Guess I'll give it a go one of these days. In fact, I can revive the thread and post some scans as an example of what's inside, if anyone wants to know.

Hey I remember these! Back in the 50's I saved my money to get one from Woolworth's. The bags were made of cloth then. The idea of THREE HUNDRED STAMPS was so exciting to me at the time, but even as a child collector I thought there were too many common stamps and too many duplicates. I had fun with it anyway! I remember soaking them off paper and then sorting the dups and lining them up in rows like a bar chart.

I say go for it! I'd love to see your scans!

Karen

Brings back old memories! I started in the early 60's with a bag from H.E. Harris. The stamps are all gone but the memory still lives on.

There were nothing of value in them but it was a great experience just the same. Many German definitives from the 20's were the rage back then but it is no telling what the make-up of them is now.

I'd say, go for it but don't expect any serious finds there!

I got a bag for $4.50 with coupon last night and I've been soaking them this morning. Overall I think it was a decent mix for the price. It was kind of nice to buy stamps from a brick and mortar store.

I'll try and post some pics tomorrow after they've dried.

Dave, it will be interesting to see what you found. Did you get the U.S. or world selection? I ended up getting one of the world bags a couple weeks back. Have been soaking them a batch at a time, but haven't found the time to post any pics yet. I'll do it in the coming few days.

Ok, I finally got around to re-sizing the pictures so I can post them. Here's what one can expect from these mystery bags. Sorry for the picture quality, but it's the best I can do with the lighting I have.

Austria and Switzerland:



Australia:



Belgium:



Germany:



France:

Great Britain:





Hungary and Czechoslovakia:



Italy, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey:



Japan and Korea:

Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway:



New Zealand:



Poland:



South Africa:

Looks like the primary focus of these worldwide stamps is of France, Germany and Great Britain.

Last but not least, here's a stamp that most likely made it into the bag accidentally:

Time warp, there are still some of the same stamps I got in some of those bags from Woolworth's around 1967, some things never change. I can still remember sitting on the living room floor with the world laid out in front of me.
At least you did not get a bunch of those big head Espana dude stamps, I hated those things.

That big (bald) headed Espana dude as I recall was Generalisimo Francisco Franco. And in the words of Chevy Chase, he "is still dead". I remember getting loads of those boring stamps; also the Belgian royal with the glasses (King Baudouin) which appears above in one of the pics, the Queen Elizabeth and the common French stamps of the period we're all staples of these mystery bags.

That Belgian guy was on my top 10 of most hated stamps as well as the Espana dude.