There Oughtta Be A Law!

Charlatans and shysters everywhere, I tell ya!

I'm sure most of us have seen stamps and coins hyped as "rare collectibles" on the late night shopping channels, TV commercials, and back in the '70s to early '90s via so-called "Investment Clubs" and Franklin Mint subscription plans (monthly 1st day cover shipments at $6.95-$15.95 per cover was a hugely successful racket).

I thought most of these subscription-based fleecings had gone by the wayside, but apparently not.

Yesterday at my local coin shop, I came in and the owner had just purchased a huge mountain of coins and stamps, virtually ALL of it from these types of programs. A myriad of (primarily coin) sets in padded presentation folios and binders, little polished wooden display boxes, and cabinets... many still with the original receipts.

The overpricing was staggering. I can only hope that it was an heir that sold these, because if it was the original purchaser, I doubt they got back 25% of what they originally paid. Yes, there was probably about $3,000-4,000 of material there cumulatively, but the buyer likely spent about $20,000 for it.

I have frequently said that when it comes to presentation sets, first day covers, "collectibles", etc., you never want to be the original buyer, rather the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th buyer down the line.

Here is a perfect example that I ended up purchasing at MUCH less than what the original buyer paid.

It is a complete set of the 1938 presidential definitives (Scott #803-834) mint, in a portfolio. The current Scott catalog value is $143.25 for mint never hinged.

Check out what the original owner paid. It's a travesty.

WOW!
What-a-deal!!

Mystic sell them $ 275

Check out the 25 cent value- nibbed LL corner and way off center. I'd bet over half of these are hinged, including the top values.

Charlatans, shysters, overpriced, tragedy? That's rather over-heated rhetoric. How can you possibly know what level of pleasure or satisfaction this item brought to the buyer, and how the buyer valued those factors as compared to the catalog, retail, or wholesale value of the stamps? This is not a jumble of stamps in a glassine, and it was not marketed as an investment. How do you not know that the buyer delighted in reviewing the marketing materials, the purchasing experience, sitting a grandchild on his or her knee and telling the story of the stamps? All those factors play into the success of these companies, and the reason they attract buyers. And we can never know why the buyer ascribed a higher value, as reflected in the purchase price, to the experience as a whole. How do you know that $20,000 wasn't chump change to this guy? There are people who blow $100,000 on a new Porsche and then sell it years later for $30,000. Because they have the money. It may well be that the buyer was completely satisfied with the purchase and obtained hours of pleasure from it.

As for the disappointment of heirs or later resellers, the buyer doubtless made countless purchases in his lifetime that had nominal value years later. We all do. And this is not the type of item that would ever concern an estate. Real estate, cars, fine furniture, silver and gold, cash, securities - yes. But for harried heirs trying to close out the estate and get a tax return on file, they're usually happy to get 5% of purchase price for a pile like this. It's found money and disposition is a hassle.

I agree that the 25c example is substandard. So are the 7c and 8c. Some buyers might have demanded an exchange upon receiving them. Others might have been delighted at what they got. It's entirely subjective. You were fine with them--you bought them.

Yes, Mystic, QVC, "The Coin Vault" and other hucksters of collectibles at MULTIPLES of real values are charlatans and shysters. I stand by my assessment.

Whatever enjoyment and pleasure the original buyer got out of the purchase does NOT excuse predatory pricing on the part of the seller. Two completely different issues.

Caveat Emptor!

The 1/2 and 4 cent values also have damaged corners.

cjp - this is a bigger problem than you think - owners or heirs try to sell the items only to be told they are worth a tiny tiny fraction of the orignal outrageous price, and they they go out and badmouth the hobby as a ripoff.

I was fearful the cost was going to be well above $250. As I paged down, I thought $1000? Putting stamp quality aside for a moment, its a big markup for sure, but for the type of customer that would by this thing, the price is not egregious in my opinion. I wouldn't buy it for more than 25% of CV (not even sure that much), but it includes the nice presentation and is marketed to a different type of customer.

However, I fear as has been expressed above, these types of products are targeted at folks that think they're making an investment. Hopefully, the original customer was not that type of sucker, but just a casual collector.

Mysterio, has the set at $279.95

A MNH set cats about $134 of which $85 is for the $5 value. The set in an auction lot as part of a collection would add about $20 to the total bid. This set, which as noted has several mediocre stamps might only add $15. Even if NH this set is about a $75-$85 retail set. There is nothing the least bit scarce about any value of the Prexies except the $5 as a full sheet, and maybe one of the shade variations of the 30 cent.

Perhaps - but would you call this collection "magnificent"? Personally, I'd call it average - with a retail value much less than current cat value.

Justifying the name-calling, I submit to you the oft-repeated childhood quote: "He started it!"

Brian

There's a sucker born every minute. However... for PCS Stamps and Coins, if they are the ones that developed and packaged this product, they have costs beyond the value of the stamps. Nowhere do I see in the literature that this was an "investment" opportunity, although I have no idea how it was advertised. I'm sure quite a few folks bought these sets with just such an expectation in mind. Caveat emptor.

It is a nice presentation, think about how much we spend on our albums and supplies. This company just did all the collecting and work to putting together this series. Hopefully the pleasure for the original owner it was money well spent.

Kind of reminds me of buying a $49 Tshirt at Disney. Everyone knows it's only worth perhaps $20 but they sell thousands of them every year as souvenirs. While very overpriced, the stamps in this thread are being sold as souvenirs, not collectibles.