Scott V. Unitrade V. Sg - Best For Pricing Accuracy?

Have recently started focusing on building a pre-1950 Canada and Newfoundland collection and am avidly scanning auction sites, ebay and dealer websites to get a feel for the market.

In terms of pricing alone, which of these three publishers offers the most accurate 'real world' prices? Is there much difference in price between the three for the same stamp in the same quality?

Thanks!

oh..oh..You mentioned NFLD...There will be a barrage of posts by our good friend Tommy..haha

I will let others answer your questions...have fun.

Robert

Hi Nick777vvv,

Unitrade would be recommended, although all three of these catalogues have prices that are higher than what you can purchase them for.

Keep in mind that these three catalogues also use different currencies (GBP, C$, and US$). A Scott price (US$) one year ago was closer to the Unitrade price (ratio 1:1) but is now US$1.00 = C$1.30. So purchasing in C$ using US$ prices (Scott) has experienced a 30% increase!

- stamporator -

For stamps this old condition plays a huge part in the market value. You do not say mint or used?. For used the cancellation will have a large impact on the price as well.

Perhaps picking a stamp that is not too common but is available in reasonable quantities (if you see what I mean) you could look on ebay, Bidstart and perhaps Delcamps or other auction site and see what the price range is and then come to your own conclusion as to how condition affects price. Remember also that for common stamps sellers are sometimes very optimistic in the price aims.

One more thing do not forget the postage. I have know some seller to stack the postage to add to their margins.

Here in the UK you would typically pay 50 - 60% Gibbons for good quality stamps. Dealers do not use other catalogues much if at all.

AQ

Thanks.

Yes, am also based in the UK and have a copy of Part 1 so that is my current benchmark. Would agree with 50% being a good buying average in the UK for quality material. The current £/CA$ exchange rate is quite an inducement to collect in itself! Not great news for Canadian dealers looking to import foreign material...

I collect mint only and can get by very easily on my old SG as a reference point. Question is whether Unitrade or Scott gives a more realistic price point as a reference.

Or is the variance in material too great to generalize?

to see what something actually sells for I usually go to ebay and search then sort buy price + shipping lowest first then pass over any that are damaged, if there are a number of items its usually pretty good.

I think that the general view is that SG prices higher than Scott. On the other hand, the two aren't strictly comparable, as SG's is an actual catalogue offering items for sale, whereas Scott is an indication if a (dealer) market price. The % of SG CV that others have mentioned as a rule of thimb looks high to me. I'd say that 10% is nearer the mark for most material, with the % rising for better Empire and rarer material.

Wert knows me well. Nick: Welcome.

Just as quick background : I only collect Newfoundland items and thus my comments or viewpoints are narrow and may be helpful or not. I have a large collection, since about 1968 and I am very active buying stamps and covers from auction houses, stamps shows (old school but still good finds--this weekend in LA at SESCAL), and from ebay and other online sites.

In my viewpoint, for the "market price" you would be best to buy Walsh's Newfoundland Specialized Stamp Catalogue (NSSC). There are old paper copies on the web or buy direct in a PDF (the 2014 9th edition).
This is not only far superior for details and varieties than Scott or Unitrade--it also lists observed prices paid for items. Again--unlike the "Catalog Price" in Unitrade or Scott, Walsh and his company updates for actual prices they have seen. So its a great guide on sort of the maximum you would want to pay. I regularly use it to both overpay (making fun of myself) but also get huge deals with others who naively use the 40-50% of Scott value approach.

I admit that I am subjectively biased and don't want to offend anyone, but I love NSSC for this (though they have a different number sequence). Let me give you an example : let's say you see a cover with the 3 cent blue Queen Victoria (Unitrade #34) for sale at a show for $40. or a dealer has one. or its on ebay. Scott/Unitrade lists the used stamp at $20 VF and the cover at $80 (I'm guessing, as I don't have the cover price with me). Walsh's NSSC has the used stamp at $20, and the cover at $160...and on the cover--they actually have a census of the known covers in existence of 115 in the world. So you can safely pay up to $160 for the cover and know that you have one of only 115 known covers.

Good luck

For accuracy, you should get the specialized catalogs. Because the prices varie so widely based on condition, gum, paper, etc. There are too many things that affect the price. The specialized catalogs will tell you these things so you can get an idea of what is available to buy and what you are getting.

This should also point out why a stamp is higher or lower in price when they appear to be the same stamp when looking at a Worldwide catalog which is more general.

If anyone is going to the CSDA Show on November 6-8 in Toronto, I can meet you and sell you a gently Used 2010 Unitrade for $10.

Tommy - a catalogue with pricing based on actual sales? Now there's an interesting concept! If Gibbons adopted that approach we'd end up with a VERY different catalogue to the one they put out today; the prices are just so off the mark.

The usual line that gets trotted out is that it's not a catalogue, it's their price list. But as any visitor to the Strand will tell you, much of what's listed is simply not stocked and never will be for sale.

Will certainly check out the NSCC book. I bought a small Newfoundland collection in the Sparks auction a few days back, so would be useful to establish whether I made the right buying decision or not!