Wonderful Stamp Albums On The Internet !

I suppose I can not blame a small seller..but the big boys should know better when they advertise a wonderful world wide stamp collection and you see the pictures of how sparse it is incomplete sets..low value stamps..they tell a collector its worth nothing and get it for scrap and then in their hands its a valuable collection ! I know if you bid low you will never even get them..some fool will bid over a hundred dollars PLUS SHIPPING !

Try watching some of the auctions on Goodwill auctions. Collections of crap fetching outrageous sums.

A friend brought me a collection in a large box to look at a couple years back. It was from a live Goodwill auction. He was not a stamp collector and was excited with his good fortune. I almost felt sick as soon as I started digging through it as it was low grade stamps, poorly maintained with many damaged. I told him it was nearly worthless and if he listed it on ebay as he had planned, it would almost certainly net him negative feedback. I then said "well I'm sure you didn't pay much, so lesson learned". He then told me he paid over $200.00 dollars for it. I told him to call me next time before he bids. He questioned why people were bidding if it was crap. I did not have an answer for him. He asked if there was anything of any value at all. I told him there was one cover in the box that you may be able to get a buck for. He gave me the cover and threw the entire box in my trash. I took him out for a couple beers. I doubt he learned a lesson.

When I bid Goodwill I call the specific store with Questions. Recently an auction went off for U.S. Air mail stamps from C1 all mint, it was almost a complete collection but was missing C13, C14 and C15 as well as moresent issues. It was sold for over $1,400 I was amazed.... It wasn't nearly worth that much. I guessed people assumed............

I recently purchased a 2.5lb bag of stamps for $20 from Goodwill found some neat stuff in there, but for $20 it kept me busy for awhile.

I wonder if that was the same auction I was following, but the one I was watching ended mysteriously. It was a similar C1 - C50 or something like that and the bids were climbing and ......poof...the auction was pulled. Never did find out what happened.

Believe me being your typical stamp hoarder... er collector, they have to truly be trash to throw them out. I would be embarrassed to have given them to anyone. My friend is a hoarder and can't pass up any deal. I have told him many times that if I priced a bag of flaming dog sh.. at $10.00, but told him he could have it for the bargain price of $2.00, he would buy it. I had to leave them in the trash or it would have sent the wrong message.

Please don't send them anything nice though..

They cut the stamps and paste them on posters. Nothing wrong with that, but just don't send anything nice.

Ok, if I have 60 catalog # xy in a packet I will send them the lesser ones !

When I purchase a stamp and especially kiloware I never do it with any expectations of any kind of monetary return. I buy it/them merely for the fun of it and the enjoyment of the hunt and to fill a spot. Now having said that, it's just pure common sense (to me anyway) to not pay any extreme amount and to always ask questions and look over the items to get an idea of what I'm willing to pay. I have paid more than a stamp is worth if for no other reason than instant gratification. In fact, just recently I neglected to follow my own advice/policies and got taken for a #14. It was like pulling teeth trying to return it, but lesson learned.
I just don't know why people think almost every stamp collection/accumulation that they see is a potential goldmine? A little knowledge can be dangerous and none at all is just reckless! OK, I'm done now....lol

Just out of curiosity, what do you think an Air Mail collection from C1 to C150 would bring at auction, complete mint with only
C14-15 used? C13 is unused.

A dealer will probably buy the whole air mail lot for what he would pay for the zeps alone and figure the rest as a bonus to him. You would do best to sell the zeps separate through a large auction house or mail sale dealer unless you have an independent dealer that makes you a good offer. Either way I think you should sell the zeps separate from the rest anyone looking for the zeps already has all the others.

When dealing with auctions, I think one has to accept the fact that most of the stamps you acquire will not be wanted or needed. My experience shows that the auctioneer doesn't want to repurchase the lot for resale, so you must find other ways of getting rid of your extra stamps. This is where a stamp club can become real asset. Auctions for the individual are a great source to begin your collection, but soon you have search for dealers or fellow collectors who can supply you with only the stamps you really want.

There are very few "WONDERFUL STAMP ALBUMS ON THE INTERNET" what you see on the internet are the bottom of the barrel.People who read this have to understand the really nice collections before anyone picks them over and remove the "gems" are only sold at a few stamp auction firms mostly around New York City.These are were you find the best stamps intact.These collections are sold at auction in the price range of $5,000.00 to $800,000.00 {Saudia Arabia} per country collection .
The second level of buying and selling country collections is the regional stamp auction firms ,they buy from the first ones listed above , these second level firms remove the better stamps and list them seperately in their auction catalogs and have the country collections selling between $500.00 and $5,000.00 in their auctions .This also the level were most stamp dealers buy and you find the big ebay sellers buying lots for reselling to the collector .
The better {meaning nice complete sets and stamps that catalog $25.00 and up} stamps are removed and sold seperately ,remember this is the second time {lower level} better stuff is removed from what was a intact collection sold thru the major firm .Now you got a collection that has gone thru two or three levels of dealers and is now left to be sold on the internet to a collector ,but it looks nothing like what it original was .What does it look like at this point , all better thousand dollar stamps and any nicer complete sets and any speciality stamps were removed.
This is what you find on the internet.Yea there are always exceptions and some collections pop up at lower levels in the food chain ,but the fact is there is a FOOD CHAIN for collections and the general rule is that the Internet is the bottom of the food chain .------{please understand there is always exceptions here----so don't tell me about the exceptions ,they can be found all over in the FOODCHAIN}.....end of rant .

Floortrader I agree with your rant...but I believe to the vast majority of recreational stamp collectors ..the internet is the stamp market. If they spend $100 to $200 on a Scott International album or a Minkus Supreme Global album with stamps...they should know what to expect..There is a minority of stamp collectors like myself who try to sell off their surplus on the net at 1/3 of Scott catalog...On a different note my wife has had some great buys from the European dealers on bidstart and ebay ..even a couple of early Europa collections..but she knew beforehand what she was getting !