Advice For Bidding On Collections

I am considering buying a collection on ebay, and was wondering if anyone had some general advice/criteria for making such a purchase.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Depending on the lot, set yourself a maximum price and do not go over that.

Peter

Worth looking at some real-life auction lists to see what similar items are estimated at/sell for. These are often the sources of what ends up on ebay. Don't get carried away - not much on ebay won't be along there or elsewhere on many other occasions.

What do you already know about stamp valuation? Collections are often bid on the basis of specific items in the collection of interest to the bidder, with the objective of picking it over and then dumping/discarding/somehow getting rid of the rest. Valuing a collection in its entirety is a difficult endeavor.

One thing I would do is look and see if you can find similar collections that have sold previously on ebay and see what they sold for.

Are you going to bid on an auction item or are you looking at a Buy it Now item? Is it a big seller who has lots of stamps for sale or is it a seller who doesn't sell a lot of stamps? The advice I would give you varies based on the answers to above questions.

When bidding on a collection, prepare an estimate using catalog of choice (e.g., Scott's), determine what percentage you want to pay, determine the price and don't budge from that price. Don't bid often and early as that just raises the bid price.

You should also note that collections are a great place for hidden damaged material. That is, you never know what quality you are getting from a collection if, as is usual, the item is merely described by photos. Be prepared to find tears, repairs and even forged cancels on very expensive items you think you are getting for a song.

In addition, don't be fooled by collections that have margin notes, e.g., catalog numbers or valuations, added by the seller/collector. Those are as accurate as you think the collector might have been, and that could be really inaccurate knowing that some folks are less careful than others. Sometimes these notes are accurate, but you can't rely on them when looking at what you think is an expensive item. Some collectors are satisfied to put a look alike in the expensive slot, or just don't have enough expertise to tell the difference (or are way too optimistic).

Finally, when doing your estimate of value, if you see an item that could be one of several varieties, always assume its the cheapest because it usually is. Ideally you could confirm this from the scan, but almost always the scans are not good enough.

You should be prepared to pay a small percentage of CV for a collection, but it depends on the quality of the material and information the seller provides, the quality of the seller, and any answers to questions you pose to the seller.

I don't really have a hard and fast rule of thumb, I just try to figure out how much it's worth to me. This includes not only the catalog value, but how badly I want the stamps, how complete it is,etc. In short, I try to put a dollar amount on the amount of enjoyment I'll get out of it. I'll bid more for something consisting of complete sets than I will a mishmash of common material, etc. The more empty spaces I can fill, the better. I try not to consider how much I might get for duplicates, I just figure that as gravy rather than a reason to bid higher. It's pretty common to figure in what you might be able to get from resale, though, particularly if there are some valuable sets and singles you might be able to sell. There's really no "right" way to do it, just don't overpay for something you could turn around and buy again next week.

Thanks for all of the great advice.

I have been looking at worldwide collections (8000 to 16000 stamps) in the $200 to $400 range (~2.5c/stamp). As I currently have almost nothing, anything other than damaged material is a "win" for me.

So I guess the question (for me) is whether 2.5c/stamp is a good value proposition.

That's 10% of minimum cat value (25 cents) so you have some safety built in. Whether that's a good value depends on the material and time period, whether used or "mint" (hinged or not hinged). Also, I'm not a worldwide collector.

Damage also includes toning, damage to perforations, rounded corners, etc. Heavy hinging and very poor centering are also considerations. Sometimes, the condition of the album or pages is a good clue to how much damage to expect from the material. For example, if its looks like insects chewed the edges of some stamps or if pages are wrinkly or water stained, then watch out.

My view is that that quantity for those sort of prices is likely to be a good way into collecting worldwide. If you carry on, you'll probably improve individual stamps over time, but the good thing is to start, and not too expensively. Good luck.

While catalog value is certainly a consideration, for general worldwide material I often calculate the 'fun' quotient for myself.

In other words, I try to calculate the amount of time that I will end up 'playing' with the material. So if I pay for something in the $400 range than I would want to see about 30+ hours of fun. That way, even if the stamps have little catalog value I still feel it was worth it.
Don

I like to think of it as similar to buying a lottery ticket. Sometimes you win, sometimes not so much.

Depends on what you're comfortable with.

I agree with 51 STUDEBAKER ,you have to calculate the fun factor .

The way the pros do it is easy. .. First, learn to spot every stamp, set and cover ever issued in the world that has a real cash value in excess of $250 and learn to differentiate that stamp from all possible "look-alikes" including reprints, fakes and forgeries. Then learn how to spot repairs and restorations. That should take maybe 30 years experience dealing with stamps and covers with a value over $250. Then, total the cash value of all stamps and covers in the collection you have interest in and bid that amount. Never value anything that individually can not make an auction lot in a first-line auction.

Good luck! OR, bid to buy (keep your hand up till you own it) and do not cry when you can not sell for your cost.

OR, anything in between.

Richard's statement needs explaining . First99.9% percent of collectors are not in that class and 99.9% of collections being sold thru ebay and public auction don't qualify for his "excess of $250.00". Most collectors and stamp auction firms pull those items out of collection to be sold separately .

^ This is why there are few good deals on ebay! Fellows like Richard and others at similar experience levels buy up all the best deals and leave the scraps for the rest of us!
Don
APS #094826