Stamp Values Helped Or Hurt Thanks To Internet?

Years ago, I collected certain old records (remember those?). Then I moved on to other interests. Once ebay arrived, I noticed the values of many $$ records went down. No doubt it became obvious there were more of certain items than was previously known.

So now I am wondering if the same thing has happened to stamps. Many of you sound like dealers, or at least very knowledgeable on values and rarity. As a collector, and occasional seller, I find that it is hard to sell stamps, and when buying, people ask WAY too much.

Do you feel that the Internet has helped or hurt stamp values? And in what ways?

I think it's helped because one can easily recognize whether a stamp sells at a stated price and therefore determine true secondary market values.

Unless a collector wants to "fool himself" into believing that a stamp catalog value is actual market price for an item, thanks to the internet it does give one a better understanding of the true "value" based on actual sales. (Although some may not appreciate knowing just how common one of their prized stamps may really be.)

It has made them more realistic if nothing else.
Much more is now known known regarding issued numbers and availability so market value is taking over.
Companies such as SG who try to keep cat. values high for their investment arms are likely to lose out.

When selling especially on ebay I just make sure my items are correctly identified and well described so I can start them at 99p.
That way they sell for what they are worth normally

I'd have to say that the Internet has accomplished one major thing: Giving us a true picture of Supply vs Demand. We finally have an unbiased system for judging the "value" of an item based on what the public is willing to pay for it.

This is good news for buyers, because you can literally search the entire world to find the item you want, and to see how many have been sold, at what number, and in what condition. The bad news for buyers is that the world wide web allows the unscrupulous to find that unknowledgeable person who doesn't check the claims.

This is bad news for sellers, because now the buyers know the true market value and sellers can only get a small markup for their efforts. However, it is also good news for sellers because now they can sell that unique item to a larger audience (and possibly sell above market value if it is unique enough).

I think that it has made life easier for everyone, but you still have to take care and make sure that you are bidding for the item that is described correctly.

My biggest fear is that with new printers and other technical devices, that it will become very easy to duplicate "rarities" and flood the market with fakes. I may have to do much more shopping through reliable sources for those higher value items.

Just my thoughts.

I know I'm using semantics, but the word "hurt" can mean several things.

In terms of dealer stock, it hurts. Most stamps that catalogue in the $25-$1000 range have steadily trended down in value. This 'hurt' the dealers and speculators, but helped the collector. Collectors quickly learned what was uncommon (and it's not unused 3c-10c Columbians!)

When a stamp goes down in value, is it really hurting anything? I think it's an overdue market correction and after we take an objective look, we realize it's actually quite helpful!

Rare stamps will always appreciate in value regardless of the condition of the rest of the market.

Brian

Brian, at first I thought you were being a little too picky, but you are indeed right. Something that hurts one, helps another! These are the answers I was looking for, folks!

;-)

One thing I found when getting back into stamps in the Electronic Age is that you can find a lot of stuff you didn't know existed. BUT, you can also look forever for a simple stamp and not find one for sale, it seems. (or is that just MY luck?) It used to be you had to send for price lists and catalogs. I like a nice, printed catalog to browse through, and I'd get some nice stamps on their envelopes, but how did you know if a stamp was already sold? Now, there are real-time programs to help dealers out. And buyers (usually) know if a stamp is still for sale or not.

But so far no one has yet mentioned the fact that stamps are regularly listed on ebay for WAY more than catalog. I don't find many deals at all there. Perhaps this is the "real world" market, as stated earlier?

One more addition to my previous thoughts: Supply vs Demand is only applicable to what was actually offered and paid. Therefore, if things are offered on ebay and not sold at that offer price, then the Supply side is asking too much. The price they are eventually sold at is the true Supply Price. Likewise, if you offer too low and nothing is available for that price, then the Demand side is not offering enough. You will have to increase your offer to find/buy the item.

I think the internet has helped increase demand and supply and information with stamps as well as anything. I can get market numbers from across the continent for my livestock as well as grain prices etc. I can better manage my farm with that info so why would it be different for stamp collecting or buying and selling stamps. More info is always good! Now you can work on collections whenever you have the time buy what you need sell what you have spare, and do it all for realistic prices!

Not only has the internet shown a more realistic version of supply and demand, it has certainly educated a large number of collectors. Especially in learning to become more aware of scams and unscrupulous sellers. Perhaps it has also shown that we should pay more attention to dealers in our local area where we can examine the stamps before we buy them. A few cents more per stamp is worth the peace of mind, especially if the dealer has a good return policy.

I don't know if it makes it better or worse. I do know it makes it different. Everyone has to adjust to the newer ways of selling and buying. WT1 is right about collectors and valuations. Nobody should believe catalog values reflect much. It is a hobby and one should treat it as such. There is one drawback that did come to me. It is the bad scans and photos many sellers use. The worse they are the faster I move on.

The internet has sure helped the availibility of stamps and covers. You don't have to wait till you go to a stamp show to buy which has helped dealers and collectors and alike. At some stamps shows I see the same covers time after time (either overpriced or just not the reight local market for that item), but items on the internet move awhole lot faster if they are priced fairly and anyone anywhere with a computer can find that listed item. I've found covers that cannot sell for $10 in a local market can sell for $100 on the internet due to market size. On the flip side, some items appear to be dead common as you can find a vast multitude of the same item online whereas a local show might have one or two. In the latter case, if you want to sell it, you need the have a good price, a good reputation and superior service.

1847bill: Aside from bad photos, also bad descriptions. People forget that a lot of people use search engines and keyword searches. I've sold item based on the cover's date, the receiver or sender, the name of the towns, postmark types, additional labels and other little things. If you don't write it in the description then you've lowered the potential size of your buyer market. The term "see photo" doesn't work and more so if you have a fuzzy picture.

You are correct ... this happens regularly. However, most of these are highly graded (with or without certificates) stamps being sold by high-end dealers and do not, in my opinion, reflect the actual market value of said stamps.

The best measure of value is to look at completed, no-reserve auctions. Market value vs dealer "buy-it-now" prices almost never match up.

Brian

Ah yes, true. But the thing is I am refering to dead common post-1970 MNH US stamps! I needed some .18 stamps to use as postage, and only found one seller with a sane price! I can see a premium being added to a super-sweet looking US Revenue, but an .18 definitive???

Some age old questions for price of the stamp. What to sell an buy an item for? Given that we know that a lot depends on the condition of the stamp being sold.

I think it depends on how the seller lists their item. If the seller uses the catalog price for pricing their lot they may be pricing the items too high. The obverse is if it is being priced low and is bid up to a price and sold. Would that be the new price for the item or is the buyer getting a bargain?

There are some sellers willing to put an item up for bid at an outrageous price hoping to cash in occasionally.

There are also the people who don't know what they have and put a low price on the stamp. Are they being taken when sold if there is not a lot of bidding on it?

I guess that we all need to trust that what we are buying and selling is described properly and priced accordingly.

But I believe the big equalizing factor for any sale is knowledge.

Internet has killed brick and mortar from anything to stamps, coins gems,ect... Not in every case as a few have adapted and survived. Locally I have 0 stamp shops, 1-2 coin dealers (that are also pawn shops) and the closest is about a 2hour drive. Pre internet there were 3-4 stamp shops and lets face it you either bought from the shop, approval company, once a year show and that made items rarer at least within an area. Now we have access to the whole world. More and more I am buying CAN/US material from europe/ australia than North America. No way these items were availiable or known pre net days. On a good note it does reflect a true supply demand arch on a worldwide basis which make once rarities common. Hard to imagine it wasn't many years ago things were dramatically different maybe better maybe worse all depending on your outlook.