Advice For Bidding On Collections

The biggest mistake most collectors make is to think that collection lots have not been reviewed and inspected or manufactured[put together} by more experience philatelist than them .
Trust me those lots you are looking at in most cases have been "raked clean" and what better stuff you see is there because someone wants them there.

I started with a couple of kiloware collections in the beginning.. Then chose an area of interest, countries of interest, few topics and sequences..

These days, it is just hunting for individual stamps... If they come in a collection within my price range, that is a bonus...

Haven't seen a decent quality collection in ebay for sometime... Regency had a few some months back but I didn't win any....

I buy collections locally, pick thought them to upgrade my collection and often sell the excess on ebay.

Collections are fun because collectors often put anything unusual in their album. So the more collections that pass by me, the more interesting things I find for my album.

That said, not everybody is looking for the same things. The dealer who is looking for high value items my not be looking for plate variations. Or, in my case, I am looking for circular date cancellations centered on the stamp. I know another collector that is pulling "air mail saves time" stamps. Someone might just be in the market for quantity of non-duplicate common material because they are just starting. So a collection can move through many hands and each person scores some good stamps for their collection.

The general advise, set a price that you are willing to pay and stick to it. I go though the collection and determine what I am willing to pay for the parts I want. then I add on a buffer for what I think I can sell the remainder for, and that is my price. I win some, I loose some.

When I buy a collection, I bid on what I think the items I can add to my collection from it are worth. If it doesn't have anything I can see that I need, I will pass. I will sell the rest on E-bay (eventually). When I do, I am consider it a bonus, and lowering the cost of the items from the collection that I needed. I recently bought a collection of Israel sheets (from Apfelbaum auction), because I needed one set of sheets that I valued at $400. I was able to buy the whole collection for less than that, and have been slowly selling off the rest on E-bay (for more than $600 so far). So, I added a nice set of sheets for less than nothing. This is the second collection that I was able to do that with from them (the other one was much bigger, and cost $1500, but returned over $5000 so far). It takes a lot of time to list and sell the items, but it keeps me working on my stamps, and I have added items to my collection that I otherwise would not have been able to afford. Of course, I was able to do this because I knew the items I needed, and how much they would cost me if I were to buy them from a knowledgeable dealer. Not all my buys work out this well, but buying at what I would pay for just what the items I need woud cost means I am never overpaying in my mind.

If you are starting from nothing, it would be fun to start with a collection. Another thing to consider if you are starting from scratch is how are the stamps stored. There are threads on albums and it is good to know the pros and cons. Let us know how it goes!

There is no single right answer. Too many variables. Too many different buyer goals/objectives. Is the buyer in question:

1. A collector buying solely for expanding their personal collection.

2. A collector looking for certain items to keep and then flip or trade the remainder.

3. A collector just "looking for some fun" to pass the hours; sheer enjoyment.

4. A part-time or "vest pocket" dealer looking to break down into individual lots for resale.

5. A full time dealer looking strictly at wholesale cost vs. retail opportunity.

... or any combination of the above.

At various times, and more importantly depending on the country/specialty, I could be #1 through #4.

An important (in my opinion) concern for anyone is to assess conservatively, especially if you are purchasing from images rather than examining in person. In-person buying is a completely different animal. For the pursposes of this discussion, I'm assuming the purchase is being made online, since that is what the OP mentioned.

Assessment methods/approaches vary. You never know what flaws might be lurking, or even if the stamps are what you think they are. For example, depending on the makeup of a lot, I might tally up the clearly-identifiable catalog value, then divide by 2 or 3, and then try to buy at 10% or less of that figure.

Conversely, if it is a highly-specialized collection I may do more thorough analysis and calculation, factoring in keepers versus what I might garner from ebay or the APS store on the remainder once broken down (or flipped en masse).

If it is a messy stockbook lot, it may be more of a ballpark or "gut feel" for how to assess.

Also, when we say "collection" are we really talking about a collection (presumably organized to a certain extent) or an "accumulation" (a hodge podge... i.e., a mess)?

For example, the two lots below are on their way to me right now from overseas. From a dealer/wholesaler perspective I obviously overpaid, and realized that going in, but I also factored in the "fun factor" for me personally, as I absolutely love lots like these. I collect SOTN cancels on classic worldwide stamps, so lots like these are fertile hunting ground for that kind of material. They also provide a great source of singles/sets to put on ebay and to put together packets for my local stamp club.

Another reason I like lots like these is that once I remove the items I want to keep, if I take the time to redisplay the remainder in a more organized/cohesive/presentable fashion, they can frequently garner far more upon resale, as right now who knows what the real quantities are or what is hidden? It's a lot of guesswork.

Admittedly, part of the allure for me is the gamble... better than buying lottery tickets or playing craps, I suppose.

However, they are also some of the more difficult sorts of lots to assess from a value perspective.

If you were considering buying, how would you go about assessing them based solely upon the images shown?



Lot 1: Sweden














Lot 2: France

ah last collection I bought on the Fee-bay, was 49.00+15.00 for shipping. All Iran, my area of interest, and I pieced it out. Threw out the fakes and damaged..had hours of fun listing scanning and researching. Lucky for me, I made over $300.00 on the collection. Many years of researching and learning. Was it worth it? Heck yeah-selling and shipping stamps all over the US--Still looking for a collection to piece out every day--good luck

Again, a big thanks for all of the helpful advice.

And to answer RevenueCollector's (and others') key questions:

I am buying mainly to expand my personal collection. I am also "looking for some fun", but do not want to get completely ripped off in the process. That said, I am not overly worried about high-valued material; I would be satisfied with obtaining low to mid valued material at a bargain-to-fair price.

I am going to be making my purchases online (most likely ebay). I have no illusions that I have any skill at assessing value. I am simply looking at $/stamp and hoping that by keeping to a low value (2.5c/stamp) the impact of fake and damaged stamps will be sufficiently mitigated.

If I get duplicates and material that I do not want, I am certainly amenable to using it as trading material (or if nothing else use it to pay my 250 stamps/year ISWCS dues).

Unless the entire collection is filled with minium catalog value stamps, you likely won't overpay or get ripped off at a couple cents or so per stamp. Just be sure to look at the pictures closely to make sure there aren't too many with obvious damage, etc. About the only way you'd overpay is if you get carried away in bidding. Set a limit and stick to it and you'll do fine.

And I would avoid collections with large quantities of each stamp, since you will end up with a ton of duplicates. I have seen collections where it has a glassine full of each stamp included, so 100's of each.

For the OP, yes, but I would not make that a general recommendation. It all depends on what you collect. For the cancel collector or flyspecker, a lot with such a composition may be just what the doctor ordered.

There is a lot of helpful advice here. Thanks to all who contributed! Based on my very limited experience, I would echo the sentiment of setting a budget/max bid and sticking with it.

The auctions I was watching have ended. They ended up about doubling from their opening price. Likely not bad values at 5c/stamp, but more than I wanted to spend.

dkabq8 - something else will likely come around soon. I am learning patience prevails when it comes to auctions. One group of stamps I wanted went for 10x the amount I eventually got it for. I was really disappointed it ended, but ended up being very grateful it worked out that way. Good luck!

@RevC..

I have been looking for something like that LOT2 for sometime to supplement my French collection... very envious there...