Smq Online Price Guide

I am sure that this has been asked and answered ad naseum, but I have searched and come up empty.

My question is:

When considering a purchase does anyone use the SMQ online guide to help decide what to pay? Or is the 30% of Scott value the accepted standard?


thank you
wp62

From context of your question I am going to assume you are asking in reference to U.S. stamps. The values in the SMQ online price guide are only relevant to numerically graded stamps. The SMQ guide could be used as a decision guide for a stamp that was certified and numerically graded (in fact PSE has stated in the past that it should only be used for PSE-certified and numerically graded stamps). The SSV values in recent-years Scott Specialized catalogs (yellow pages)can be used similarly as they list values by grade for certified and numerically graded stamps, whether graded by PSE (Professional Stamp Experts), PF (Philatelic Foundation), or PSAG (Philatelic Stamp Authentication and Grading). Many dealers and collectors of graded stamps use the SMQ values for PSE-graded stamps and the SSV values for PF and PSAG graded stamps.

The Scott catalog values for U.S. stamps (non-yellow pages) in the Scott Specialized catalog (and the Scott Volume 1 catalog) are for one grade only - a non-numerical grade called Very Fine (VF). There is no accepted standard for the percentage of these Scott values to pay because stamps vary greatly in how they compare to a Very Fine standard. For example, a poor copy of a stamp could be appropriately priced at 5% of catalog and an outstanding copy of the same Scott number could be appropriately priced at 150% of catalog. There are other factors as well that affect the price of a stamp, but how it compares to the Very Fine standard is a primary driver for the pricing.

So SMQ and SSV prices are by numerical grade for certified and numerically graded stamps only; however, most stamps are not certified and numerically graded. Scott catalog prices are applicable to stamps that have not been numerically graded but are for one non-numerical grade only (VF) so the appropriate retail value of a particular stamp has to be interpolated from a judgment as to how well the stamp conforms to the Very Fine standard.

Notes:
(1) There are a very few stamps that have a catalog value based on a non-numerical grade other than Very Fine (VF).
(2) The Scott non-numerical grade of Very Fine (VF), which usually represents Scott catalog value, is considered equivalent to a numerical grade of 80 (out of 100) in the common numerical grading system utilized by PSE, PF, and PSAG.
(3) All my comments relate to U.S. stamps only.

Rhett....well written.
and again....AGREE!

I view SMQ only as an extremely rough baseline and I tend to regard those prices with skepticism as they often appear inflated. PSE, the publisher of SMQ, also sells stamps so like Stanley Gibbons it has an inherent conflict of interest in suggesting values. It is in the interest of PSE to keep values high and to some extent they likely reflect the margin needed to maintain an office in costly Newport Beach, CA, staffing at particular levels, and other factors involved in running their business. It could also be said that PSE pricing serves everyone but the buyer; it benefits sellers, holders (those with graded stamps in their collections who hope to sell later at a gain), auction houses and other dealers who sell graded stamps.

For the buyer, though, the only true way to know the value or likely cost of a stamp is to look at prices realized in actual transactions. If a stamp is costly or important to you, it's important to look at several different pricing guides as well as auction results, ebay results or other evidence of actual market pricing and value.

Others have observed that the number of stamps that PSE has graded over time has steadily declined, along with the average value ascribed per stamp, and have criticized other aspects of the PSE model. See this article:
http://www.virtualstampclub.com/grading_kl.html
It was written in 2007 and in 2012 PSE was sold off by Collectors Universe, which is mentioned in the article. However, between 2007 and 2011, the last year for which an annual report including PSE is available for a complete year, the numbers continued to decline.

So, what does this say about the validity of the values that were ascribed years ago? How does running a business that is dependent on quarter-over-quarter increases in sales, and specified margins, affect the grade you apply to a stamp and the price you suggest? Think about these factors before relying on SMQ.

INCORRECT.

Kevin is correct; PSE does not sell stamps. cjpalermo, I believe everyone benefits who takes advantage of third-party stamp grading, including the buyer. For the buyer and the seller, it levels the playing field by taking the ambiguity out of the stamp's grade. It is not the buyer's grade or the seller's grade; it is a grade given by a neutral party. Since the inception of numerical grading, there have always been and will probably always be those who disparage it. There have been predictions of it's eminent demise on stamp forums for over 10 years; your link is but one example of that. Yet it continues, with three grading authorities using a common system, a robust collector base, and auction results for numerically graded stamps that far surpass those for like non-graded stamps. I believe that we are all best served if those who don't want to participate in it let those of us who do want to participate in it do so without all this negativity about it.

I stand corrected. More correctly, PSE does provide links to a Marketplace that exclusively includes sellers of PSE-graded stamps. PSE isn't directly selling the stamps, but it does direct buyers to dealers who do.

Neither my post nor the Lawrence article are disparaging or improperly negative. They are an alternative view that it's reasonable for those new to PSE grading to consider. The original poster asked about whether others use the PSE system. It's fine for some to say they do, and others to say they don't, and why. So if PSE grading is good for you, great, but please don't suggest that an open forum such as this needs to reflect only your view.

cjpalermo, I think we have both made our views known about grading (although it does seem to me that your concerns are more about PSE than numerical grading in general) and I agree it is appropriate that a forum such as this allow for such differing opinions. I do know for a fact that some graded collectors will not participate in this forum and others like it because they did not appreciate what they perceived as previous attacks on other forums on their collecting choice. To me, that is a shame because then we all miss their contributions, which would be in some cases very worthy and significant.

Is grading of this kind only practised in the US? I ask because I don't recall having seen stamps at UK auction houses with numerical grades - just the standard description in words.

GeoffHa, to my knowledge numerical grading is used primarily for the stamps of the U.S. and its possessions only, although PSE does publish SMQ values for stamps of the Confederate States of America and (I believe) the Peoples Republic of China. There may be a few other countries whose stamps are graded (and not just certified) by PSE. I am even less certain about whether the PF or PSAG grade stamps of other countries in addition to certifying them. But the grading focus for all three grading authorities definitely began with U.S. stamps and that is still the primary area of emphasis.

I use SMQ when buying stamps that are PSE graded, but am very particular about which stamps I want to collect. Say two examples of Scott 234 (5c Columbian) are graded XF 90 by PSE. One that has a duplex cancel covering the face, a few uneven perfs, and soft impression with normal color I might value at only 50% of SMQ. If the other "same grade" example has a light socked on the nose CDS town cancel and rich impression, great perfs, and strong color... some collectors might value at 150-200% of SMQ. Bottom line is SMQ is just a guide and it cannot keep up with valuations on all issues. Many stamps trade privately, and the above is true for more than a handful of those collectors, and investors, who wish to hold something that can appreciate better than a paper dollar over the long term.

So to the OP, I think SMQ is used as you say, but only as a guide and each stamp is subjective even though it might be numerically graded.

Rhett, to your post of 6:43pm, I agree that it's disappointing that those collectors were attacked. I hope they return, I'm sure their perspective is interesting.

Crouse27, I totally agree with your comments. There are definitely "strong" 90s and "weak" 90s, for example.

cjpalermo, thank you and yes, their perspective would be interesting. And I would like to say that I have appreciated your knowledge and agreed with your perspective on many threads you have participated in here. So I guess we will just have to respectfully disagree on this one issue.