Bad Experiences Buying Australian Kiloware

This year I've bought four lots of Australian stamps from a West Australian auction house, one very large lot early this year and three more just recently. My experience has been totally negative. I've found better postmarks (which is mainly what I'm after) in crappy lots I've won for 99 cents on ebay. There were no varieties, either, which means that the stamps had all been thoroughly checked in advance. Not what you'd expect when you buy very large lots containing thousands of stamps.

Clearly, when you buy kiloware from a professional stamp dealer, you can be 100% sure that not a thing of any value will be left behind for you to find.

If you're hoping to make some 'finds' - and that's quite a lot of us - professional dealers are NOT the place to look. Presumably, they know the value of everything, and if they see something decent in a lot that has been consigned to them, you can bet your life that they will remove it and sell it separately.

I spent hundreds of dollars to learn this lesson, so now I have to officially declare myself a fool.

If anyone is interested in hearing more about my experience, please me send me a message and I'll be happy to go into specifics.

What Australia kiloware era are you referring to jimjamtwo?

I have just had a week sorting 10 kgs of kiloware straight from charity source of very recent decimal on paper and have 21/2kgs to soak.

Found 2 recent high values only. Can not remember a huge amount of cancels of interest as most of the cancels come from mail exchanges.

I can offer 12kgs of charity 1966 to 50c era mix being 50% comms + 50% defins for $100 + free mailing cost but the mailing stamps would need to be sent back to me. Will add a bag of mainly 60c defins as well.

Plus you pay only if you are happy with the stamps. If not you keep them at no cost. Just send the mailing stamps back to me.

This offer is for anybody else from Australia as well. So long as you have 50 quality posts.

KGV, I'm only into predecimal, sorry. The three lots I bought this month were (1) predecimal Commonwealth, 40s and 50s (2) mixed predecimal and early decimal on paper (unfortunately for me, this lot turned out to be nearly all decimal), and (3) a tin full of WA Swans. Thousands of stamps, not ONE decent (complete, legible) strike of a location other than a capital city GPO. You wouldn't read about it.

Thanks for reply jimjamtwo.

Yep! You have been given the wrong end of the stick.

Yes those sort of mixes should be overflowing with great cancels.

Very sorry to hear about your bad kiloware experiences.

Jimjamtwo

I have a lot of pre-dec Aust approx 500grams on ebay item number 251190620551.
I don't collect postmarks,I picked a few nice stamps for my used collection only.

I'll take a look, Al, but to be honest my stamp fund is exhausted for the year.

KGV, you'd think so, wouldn't you!

I really appreciate the expression of sympathy, as I am literally devastated. I was relying on these lots to keep me entertained through the Christmas period.

The lots were, quite literally, rubbish. I paid hundreds of dollars to cart someone's rubbish away for them.

name and shame I say

Am I allowed to say?

cant see why not jimjamtwo - knowledge bad or good should be shared

Where do you live jimjamtwo? I have a 2 pound (Have no idea what that is in Kg's sorry)that has a lot of your pre-decimal stuff in it and I been pondering throwing it out as it's just in my way! Lots of New Zealand, Ireland, Brittan in there as well. I do not collect anything but US &WWI & WWII Germany, poland, Austro-hungarian..etc

huckles888, it's Ace Stamps. I actually wrote to the guy who runs it, Ian Boulton, about this matter and he just doesn't seem to get the idea that for several hundred dollars I ought to do a little better than I can do on ebay for a few dollars. I'm wondering how much I would have to spend with Ace to get even one fine strike. The attitude seems to be only about how much he can sell an item for - not whether the customer will have a positive experience and come back. After buying four large (very large!) lots of Oz stamps from Ace, I can't emphasise enough how much more good stuff you can get for $4.99 on ebay. Let's not overlook the fact that you can get a pretty good SON cancel on a KGV head (and in excellent condition too) for 99 cents most days.

I didn't get even one.

I_Love_Stamps, I'm interested! I'm in Sydney, Australia. Pls send a message to see if we can come to terms.

Hi jimjamtwo.

From what I hear a lot of stamp dealers have done it very tough this year and have been dumping stock through public auctions and a couple of the large dealers that are just making ends meet.I know because I seem to be one of the very few that are buying the larger, many of the same item, lots and I add that I am reserve bidding only.

This is the 1st year that many stamp dealers in Australia have felt the world financial down turn. I trust nobody at present because of this. Some people will do anything to save their business.

So far ebay for us has been a strong market place and I am now wondering if ebay has finally become the place to buy your stamps because the buyer can get there say if a deal stinks.

The dealers that relied on the market place outside Australia have fallen from grace some years ago and are now not making enough money to make ends meet and they seem to do anything. I could go into the auction houses that have lost my very expensive Roo's but it could start problems. I do not send stamps to auction any more because I am sick of hearing "I have lost your stamps sorry about that".

I had better stop as my blood is starting to boil again. Be very careful is all I can really say!

KGV, thanks for that information. However, I would say that in tough times, that's when it's most in a seller's interests to cultivate a strong client base by ensuring that the material is at least good enough to make them want to come back next time!

I agree now that ebay is the place. After this experience, I would say that two of the things that matter are that (normally) the prospective buyer gets at least one image of the item and that the buyer can leave ratings and feedback for potential future customers of the same seller to see. There were no photos of the items in the Ace Stamps catalogue, so I had to trust Boulton's descriptions, and there is no way to rate the transactions.

I am appalled to hear that auction houses have repeatedly claimed to have lost stamps you consigned to them. That's an extraordinary tale!

I also collect pre decimal Australia. Can't seem to find large lots for sale here in the US. I would be interested if someone had some for sale, trade or whatever.

moldman, if you're looking for predecimal Australian stamps and don't care about the postmarks, it follows from what I have written above that I now have many, many thousands that I don't want. ....

Just a thought jimjamtwo!

A lot of people who took the older stamps off paper in the decades gone by would soak the stamps for long periods of time in bleach to get rid of those cancels that in there day, were not, what was wanted.

Collectors wanted the classic small light corner cancel or a very light cancel. I can remember in the early 60's galvanized bucket full of 2d red KGV's that had the smell of bleach in the room under the house.

I have broken open some bundleware from the 40's & 50's that looks like they were put together in that period of time from the 60's or before. As I am going to try to sell these stamps from those years 40's to 80's(or a couple of consecutive years) that will fit on a stock card.

What I have found is no cancels. Have they been treated by being soaked for a long period of time in bleach? Have you ended up with a lot of kiloware that has been treated like this.

Just a thought!