Unsuccessful Stamp Dealer?

I have tried dealing in stamps several different times but I have found that I have never really been successful at it so far. I have always thought that it might have to do with me being a kind of stamp specialist rather than a sales specialist. In contrast, there was this wheeler and dealer that I knew about that always treated his customers not so well, but he somehow managed to run a successful stamp business. Sometimes you wonder how he did it given that he was rather crude and rude, but he still seemed to attract many customers.

I know what you mean,heres another one...someone contacts me that they have stamps to sell...i give them my best offer..i do not hear back from them..but later find that they have sold to a DEALER much like the fellow you describe for LESS than I offered. I guess dealers just know how to buy !

Running a successful business is not easy and that rude & crude/crass gameface is what it takes. A stamp collector will look differently at their inventory than a store owner will so, therein lies the issue. The devil IS in the details.

I started selling Australia KGV's and to my shock it did not work. How could my beloved KGV's not be popular to sell?

Three and a half years later things are working when it comes to selling stamp but it is Australia stamps from 1990 to now that is what people want to collect in numbers.

I am so glad I posted Australia KGV Stamps explained when I did as it was at a time when I was at my best with these stamps.

Big thanks to SCF that is for sure. Makes me think........

Keep trying jogil you will find your area. But if we stop trying nothing will happen. All the very best to you!

Hi,
To make a business of ones hobby is a very difficult thing to do. Lots of factors here, but one that surfaces as the big culprit for failure is when the proprietor stocks the store with what HE likes - as opposed to what will sell. The cases I am most familiar is hobby shops, which is really a distant cousin to the stamp/coin dealers.

I can sell 99 cent to 5 dollar covers on ebay..But who is going to bid and pay shipping for 50 cent to 3 dollar sets of stamps ?

In other words, what you are all mostly saying is that I should deal in materials that others want to buy in order to make it easier for me to be able to buy materials that I would eventually want to buy for myself.

Forgive me as this may sound obvious, but to be a successful dealer, you have to buy smart. You make your profit upon purchase, not upon sale. Don't guess when you buy for resale. Only buy what you know (in vary rare circumstances you may luck out - but the odds are against you). And finally study, study, study so can you can easily spot real opportunity.

I would have to stop collecting in order to start dealing. That isn't going to happen for a long time. Hopefully I have a long time to do it in.

I suspect that in order to be successful in any business you have to be 100% emotionally detached from what you want to sell. In other words, don't love what you sell because they are always worth less than what you think they should be.

I'm an ex business man I sold my business before it went under. I might do it again but dealing with the public can really suck at times. I could never mix business with pleasure like a relaxing hobby. It would almost certainly turn it to something I hated..

Hey Philb! You're back. I find that ebay buyers will pay the 2oz domestic or international rate with no problem even if it's just one 99 cent cover. It's worth it to the buyer due to "opportunity cost" as it's still cheaper to pay shipping even on a cheap item as things are easier and quicker to find online and it saves time and gas. The 99 cent cover might be "worth" more to the buyer in many other ways than monetary as well so shipping prices are of no concern for the majority of the buyers if the seller is fair. I only charge what the post office charges as you know and it work's well. It's fair to the seller and myself.

I think to be a successful businessman you don't have to be 100% emotionally detached as it's good to have a passion for the material and enthusiasm to strive to be the best that you can be. You just have to be willing to let go and I'm fine with that, especially since I know there's always more covers just around the corner - the next auction, the next show, the next visit to the stamp store, etc etc.

Philb - p.s. One of our fav dealers at the Troy show just obtained 114,000 more covers. I'm sure you know which one.

mobilman: There's a third option as well as opposed to what I would like to sell versus what would sell. I sell what I can get and I feel some other dealers are in the same boat.

Struggling to get a business going on ebay? I, like many others I reckon, am passing over more and more US items on ebay that I would normally have bought. The reason? The Global Shipping nonsense that has increased the international shipping cost to the buyer with higher charges to cover GSP's and ebay's cut, added in duty and taxes that may not even be payable by the buyer, and the increased possibility of damage in transit.

US sellers signed up for GSP have to ship at their cost to a GSP centre where the packet is opened, 'inspected', and repackaged, possibly discarding some or all of the seller's packing according to some reports to reduce shipping weight and GSP's costs. Most recent near purchase for me had a $24 Global Shipping cost, including taxes I would not have had to pay, on a purchase of a single stamp. I bought a better example elsewhere for a shipping cost of $1.45. So how is this helping sellers and buyers?Check out the flak the Global Shipping service is getting on-line. New businesses do not need to deal with the adverse effects Global Shipping must be having on sales.

I for one am out when I see the Global shipping logo on a listing.

Terry

Edited for typo. TC.

Terence: We've discussed the GSP program before, but I agree it's a horrible program on ebay. I would leave ebay if they ever made that program mandatory. A lot of sellers accidently enrolled into the program through user update agreements and tricked into it by ebay as a way to "ship internationally safely and without worry" which is not true. Avoid the GSP like the plague. Don't even try it as it's hard as the dickens to get rid of it once you accept it.

A stamp (or a number of stamps can be mailed from the U.S. to overseas for $1.15 or $1.36 if you use protective cardboard (21 cents for non-machineable rate). One to four covers can be mailed with protective cardboard at the international 2oz rate of $2.34 depending on size, thickness of paper, enclosures, etc. It's less for Canada, Mexico and some other areas like Africa, parts of Asia and Latin America. The USPS is a great bargain compared to the GSP program.

Oh I know we have discussed Global Shipping before Battlestamps, I am just sooooo angry that ebay are involved with this outrageously overpriced and unnecessary service that I vent my anger at every opportunity. If enough buyers and sellers reject it then surely it must fail?

Terry

Yes, the key to a successful dealership is buying to sell, and what will sell; not buying to own/enjoy.

As a corollary to Jenny2U's remarks (above), buying to own/enjoy makes it very easy to overpay, an error from which it is difficult to recover.

As opposed to loving your inventory, it is a tremendous help if you can love your customers. I've consistently avoided dealing with the public because, like ILS, it is not always my cup of tea.

I am not certain that ebay et al might change this for the better; somehow, even reducing people to ASCII black'n'white seems to offer little comfort when you have to read what they write; it might even make things worse.

When it comes to collectibles of any kind, where the purchase is always personal, the most successful dealers all seem to be able to share, or at least understand & exploit, their customers enthusiasm.

If might be fun to start a "You Might Me A Successful Dealer If ..." or, a la Letterman, "The Top Ten Skills You Need To Be A Successful Dealer", for example "Be willing to sell what you despise".

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey