How Do We Buy?...

Hmmm, is Theft a long term strategy or just a target of opportunity strategy? I suspect Theft is a "build your collection in one swoop" strategy rather then a "stamp-by-stamp" building strategy.

APS is offering $100,00 reward for recovery of two Inverted Jennies Scott C3a, position 66 and 76, missing since their theft in 1955 from the Ethel McCoy collection. You wouldn't happen to have them in the "theft" collection, would you?

Auction for stamps with a CV of around $20-$30 and up, buy-it-now for cheaper items. Usually.

"If you do two methods equally as often, vote for both."

<gollum>He tricks us, he does!</gollum>

I typically use buy it now for individual items because I usually buy lower value items individually. For larger lots and accumulations, I bid. But not always successfully. :)

Not all options are included. The first two seem to envisage purchasing from ebay only. What about directly from dealers? I would imagine my purchases split three ways: about 40% each BIN or bidding (mostly ebay, occasionaly Bidstart), and 20% from dealers.

About 80% from auction, mostly through the auction houses versus ebay. Use BIN or best offer for lower value items on ebay. Occasionally from dealers (10% or less)

I like the "or best offer" choice, with the buy it now sales.

But, 95% of my stuff, I've bought at live auctions.

LOL! Well said! I use auctions, and the buy it now listings especially if there is "or best offer" option. I've also purchased a lot of material from mail bid sales. Actually, I'll use any venue I can find my material in.

The great majority of all my stamp purchases come from ebay dealers. Lately, it is more centered on buy-it-now type purchases over auctions.

Interesting that Trade has no votes so far. I admit I have never traded with anyone. I'm not even sure how to do it. But years ago it was commonplace.

I know you said "purchase" but other ways of obtaining stamps are Gifts and Inheritance. My collection is about 50% from auctions (includes most of the valuable covers), 25% inherited (includes most of the valuable stamps), 20% purchased and 5% given to me as gifts and items I received in the mail.

My beginnings in stamp collecting was the THEFT part. I was keeping the approvals sent with my ten cent purchases of 100 stamps for ten cents . The older boys in the housing projects were the one who taught me to go with them to downtown Providence R.I. to the WOOLWORTHS and other 5 and dime stores and steal the H.E.Harris HONOR-BUILT packets of stamps .
Then we moved to Chicago and grew up and started trading in the Commodities Market and learn to take money from the Grain firms and farmers ,as I got better, than I was taking money from the brokerage firms and still getting better and with Financial Markets. It was like stealing money from the major banks of the world . At that point I started stealing huge stamp lots away from the big stamp dealers at the major stamp auctions .
Guess that makes me a THEFT .

That's not funny Paul. It's hilarious!

But only because I had a close buddy like that. Nice friend but you couldn't go shopping for 45 RPM records with him.

That, and I know you've always been a really hard working guy and really whatever you've got now, you earned it by rolling up your sleeves and getting things done.

My buddy, his name was Dennis, some people didn't think he was serious about anything, but he was the only one I knew when we were in our teens and twenties was already talking about how we would retire and was working toward that goal. But he was a smoker, and cancer killed him.

Some great stories died with him because a lot of people wouldn't believe them anyway, but we had our laughs and I know you get what I'm saying.

Anyway who knew that swiping a few common stamp packets would start a lifelong hobby!

-Dunc

LOL - I got in trouble a couple times with my mom for not returning approvals.

That and ordering the 12 records for a penny and never buying anything else :)

Someone else got to them first. #$&%@!


-IBFS

I belong to a mail-in trading club, but I've never traded face to face. There are no stamp clubs in my area and I'm not even sure how I'd find other stamp collectors where I live. I basically look at selling my duplicates and unwanted stamps on ebay as trading. The proceeds from my sales almost invariably go to buy more stamps, so it's a roundabout way of trading, with giving ebay a cut for facilitating.