Small Study On Buying US Stamps: Catalog Value Vs. Real Cost

Hi.

I know I have brought this up before - catalog value vs. the price we pay for stamps. And, answers are all over the board. (And, as with most things, it often comes down to supply and demand; opportunities; willingness to spend).

That said, here are some actual numbers just compiled.

Over the weekend, I bid on 59 US stamps (mostly singles, a few blocks) with a single reputable dealer on ebay. They were late 19th century and early 20th century - a mix of used and mint. All items were in fine to very fine condition, from what I could see in the scans. Very good centering, nice colors, no major flaws. Even the hinged items were more likely lightly hinged than remnants. In other words, I think these specimens were very good!

Shipping was free so there are no extra costs.

Here is the breakdown of what they went for:

In the price range of $100 to $400:
16 items with a total cat. value of $2,990 - average of $186.88.
sold for $707 - average of $44.19
23.65 percent of cat. value


In the price range $24 to $95
43 items with a total cat. value of $2,212 - average of $51.44
sold for $539.93 - average of $12.56
24.4 percent of cat. value

There is no way of knowing how this would compare to other countries, eras, types of items (BOB, covers, etc.) ... but I thought it was an interesting little slice of philatelic consumerism

For the record, I came up short on every auction, which basically tells me that at the moment, if I would be willing to bid 25 percent of cat. value, I would likely pull in more than a few items.

That's useful info. I haven't done a study, but I do keep track of selling prices on ebay for various stamps on my want list. I'm not very picky on quality - more of a spot filler - so my results probably skew to a lower market value. Most of what I see sells in the 15-20% of SCV. These are U.S., used, pre-1920, generally in the $50 - 250 catalogue value range.

The rules change drastically when trying to acquire a pristine copy. Overall I see the prices going upwards and have recently been outbid on a number of items that sold in excess of 80% of catalog value, with some even fetching over catalog value.

Interesting study,thanks for the effort.Now if we take your numbers and those are what someone is buying at ,then what could a dealer be expected to buy your iteams at and still sell the stamps to make a profit.

Well, I am not a dealer, but I would guess that dealers come by these items in different ways - primarily buying large collections. Is that correct?

And, again, when compared to the world, this was a miniscule sample - just very good quality US items of a certain era.

But I hope more people here respond and offer their thoughts and knowledge.

It seems your figures are spot on. I have dealt with multiple dealers and online sales have always been between 20 to 30 percent of catalog. But as Stallzer points out well centered or quality copies get a higher premium. Also, I have found that certain copies that come up for sale only once in awhile have gotten higher percentages.

Trying to figure out what a percentage to pay of catalog value is odd way to collect. If you restrict yourself by price you will end up with many low quality stamps. If condition, color, cancellation, and centering isn't a concern then you have a bunch of odd looking pictorial paper. Most people start off collecting this way. But in the end when you see a better specimen you will understand why someone else will pay more.

Good points, 1847bill, but I thought it was a little interesting in that I had a good sampling available, having just bid on all of these items in the past week. AND, they were all very fine specimens - the centering, coloring, condition seemed great on all of them. And, most collectors appreciate at least some standard - that being the Scott Catalog for many of us here in North America.

Obviously, the catalog is just a guide and there will be plenty of higher and lower prices paid and/or offered. But I think most collectors like to have an idea of the ballpark they are playing in, otherwise you don't know whether to bring a football, baseball, soccer ball or a hockey puck.

I respectfully disagree.

Some collectors think it is odd to pay hundreds of dollars extra for a stamp that is only 0.1mm different in centering from another stamp. They would rather spend the same amount of money buying thousands of different stamps from different places. In other words, some collectors, value variety more than the characteristics you cited.

I don't think paying megabucks for exceptionally centered/quality stamps is odd. That's just the way that some collectors chooses to collect. Likewise, I see nothing odd or bad about a collection full of off-centered or poor quality stamps. Hey, the 1c magenta looks like it got dug out of a cat's mouth.

Collect what you want, the way you want. Because it is YOUR collection for YOU to enjoy. The best way to discourage new collectors is to make them feel like their collection is somehow worthless or unworthy. JMHO.

khj, your post stated eloquently the thoughts behind the rant I was in the process of drafting. There is enough room in the hobby for space fillers like me, and museum qualty collections too. If not for all kinds of interests, what would the 'specimen' collectors do with their rejects?

P.S. - I use hinges. Take that!

I agree with khj - the more collectors the better, regardless of what they like or why they collect. I myself use both the Scott Specialized and the Brookman US catalog. I generally find the Brookman easier to use, but of course with less detail than the Scott's.

I think the important thing to note is that Catalog value is based on very strict guidelines that are usually shown in the front of the book. If I had to grade my many, many stamps against those guidelines, I would probably only find a few hundred with Very Fine centering, but of those, I might find other small faults like thins, or bent, missing, short perfs. So I tend to believe that the catalogue Very Fine value is for that perfect stamp and, therefore worth very close to the book value. Hence, if someone was to ask me for the realistic value of my collection, I would start at about 10 to 15% of catalog value.

If I really want that special, perfect stamp, I would consider going to catalog value, plus or minus. However, since I am also very cheap, I usually pay 10 to 15% of catalog and settle for a normal example that we all own.

Centerstage98:
Might be interesting to see what the standard deviation is. That would give you a .95 probability, or the 'worst case' 95 times out of a hundred, that you would expect to pay.

Would also be interesting to see whether the SD differs for the two lots.

Thank you for your effort! I find that information very useful! The sad fact, for me anyway, is that I collect what I can afford, but having said that, I'll still pay a little more for a better centered stamp (not much though I'm a cheap-skate ). My collection is ratty at best and most collectors would probably be insulted by receiving it even if I sent it for free! LOL I really don't care as I'm only in it for the fun and enjoyment of completing sets but mostly for me anyway it's the thrill of the hunt! I'll scan my first page of my vario sheet collection to show you what I mean (I also have an heirloom album that a little better stamp-wise).

Sorry if this hijacked your thread. It's meant to show an example of stamping on a budget and that it can be done if your both poor and patient! (like me )

Anyhow enjoy! (I'll scan both front and back for your amusement )

First row: my earliest stamp is a #7 (I still need a #9 yet and my 14 is on the way.)
Second row: first page is #32 and a #35
pg.#1.


pg.#2.

I am with khj on this. I really don't care what anyone thinks of my collection as long as I am happy with it. When I first started collecting in my teens (many years ago) I was delighted with even a damaged example of a high value stamp which I otherwise could never have. Now that I have gotten older and have a little more to spend, I am absolutely not a condition freak. I do draw the line at damage now, but a few other faults do not matter to me.

I understand that there are some who have to have the best example they can find of a stamp. More power to them.

What the study is showning is that stamp prices are coming down to a smaller percentage of catalog ,much like they were in the pre-EBAY days ,what we seen in the early 2000's was a run up in prices as more and more people got on websites to buy stamps and prices firmed up . Now these buyers are much more selective and general prices are falling again.We are starting to see lower prices at stamp auction firms and a lower percentage being realized.Now like any market there are still some prices and markets that still get attention but across the board prices are pulling back . I guess low interest rates and the economy has a lot to do with that .