State Of The Hobby Today

oceanguy: I think it is tough to put a real value on anything other than rare, classic, stamps. In the late 1980s, Scott converted over to a retail pricing format that covers dealer overhead. I think 25 cents is now the lowest price for any stamp. But 1,000 stamps doesn't automatically equal $250 in value--common stuff is still common, and for good reason. Some countries are real hot right now; example being Peoples Republic of China although that market has cooled somewhat.

For general purchases in my specialty areas, I prefer to acquire good material at about 1/2 catalog value. For harder to find materials, like some of the older Portuguese colonies ("older" = 19th century) I may go up to around 70%. Floortrader likes to buy lots; albums and boxes; at auction, which he gets for a fraction of catalog. I've done that before, but not now as I have too much material.

I have used the APS Stamp Store for both buying and selling. When selling, I price even good stuff at about 30-40% of catalog. I buy in the range given above. I see people trying to sell fairly common stuff at 90% or more of catalog. I don't buy from them.

I don't use ebay, but have priced Portuguese colonial stuff from several sellers. Generally, they are too high, with high prices for common material. There is one dealer in California for Portuguese (D & P Stamps) and I try to get my stuff from them as they are reasonably priced.

Don't know if this helps or not. Others will weigh in. There are many approaches to buying and selling; and for how one deals with catalogue value.

This thread has certainly attracted some attention! Good to see! I don't have much to add - just to affirm that the internet has changed everything. I wouldn't be a collector now if it weren't for online transactions. My interest in the hobby revived about 15 years ago and my collection is now quite substantial, 95% of it (by volume anyway) comes through online transactions. I've met a few dealers at stamp shows that I trust and from whom I buy my more expensive items.

I will add that a casualty of this transition has been the interaction between a beginning collector and experienced dealer. In my earlier stamp collecting days, it was a joy to go into one of the stores and look over the inventory; pick up new ideas and get advice from someone with a lot more knowledge. The well-known Sergio Sismondo was one of my early mentors and he was great at helping beginners. Even through this forum and others like it, this kind of interaction is more problematic and I think this could be one of the reasons younger people aren't picking up the hobby "like the old days". There are numerous inquiries from newbies on this forum, some of whom could probably be lured into the hobby by person-to-person mentoring instead of just dumping their stamps after seeking a quick way to have them assessed. I don't have an answer but I think it's a reality of the new philatelic world.

Hey sdtom - dropped you a line by email. Looking forward to chatting as well.

Thanks for the information ClimberSteve! Interesting that Scott converted to a format that takes into account dealer overhead. I assume that means dealers with a brick and mortar location.

I have indeed noticed that some countries are very hot. I am interested in collecting Iceland (love the country and their stamps are gorgeous) and the prices for Icelandic kiloware or starter collections seem higher. Possibly because it is a smaller country that issues fewer stamps?

I really appreciate the insights as to how different people acquire stamps, how you buy and how you apply catalogue value. Stamps2go website seems like a good way to fill some holes in my Canadian collection. I think the trick there will be finding the same seller with the stamps I want.

NBStamper - I do think the personal mentoring is important for new collectors. Luckily I feel like I get some of that here and am grateful for all of the helpful and patient people here. I have lots to learn, but without this forum I would have even more. It is great to be able to search through topics and discuss things with people who have lots of experience.

oceanguy: regarding Iceland, I get the print catalogs from Daniel F. Kelleher auctions in Connecticut. I noted, in their August 20 collections auction, two references to Iceland being a "hot" country right now. Those were in the descriptions for lots #667 and 702.

A few years ago, I spent a good deal of effort to analyze closed E-bay auctions of Israel material. I wrote an article about it, and was interviewed by Nancy Clark on her internet radio show. The frustrating thing was e-bay kept changing the format of the listing pages, causing me to have to re-write my parser every few weeks.

Real world retail as a % of catalog varies quite a bit depending on where and how you are purchasing, the quality of the material, the country or era, etc. However, if you're talking about relatively common material (for the sake of this discussion, anything with a CV of less than $100 or so) in "average" (F/VF) grade and condition purchased on eBay, 10-25% isn't too far off the mark. If you're buying from a dealer at a show, off his price list or on approval, you can probably expect to pay 50-75% or more, again depending on various factors. If you buy as a collection or bulk lot of some sort and the material is mostly common, you can expect to pay less than 10%, sometimes much less.

If you're looking on ebay and are unsure of what a lot should go for, search sold listings for similar lots. Put a lot of items on your watch list, even if you don't intend to buy them, just to see what they sell for and kind of gauge the market. After awhile you'll get a pretty good feel for the "going rate" for the kinds of stamps you're interested in.

There are some short comings to buying & selling on-line. The first two are in my order of importance.

1) Uneducated sellers
2) Uneducated buyers

The major on-line auction can be a minefield for both. A noted deal had a Scotts U.S #834 up for auction, mint NH. There was one other bidder, but I picked it up for just under $300.00. Over paid you may say, but no, it was an 834a with a value of $3,000. After sending it to the Philatelic Foundation I had about $500 into it. Sold for $1,500 in the same on-line auction.There are several stamps reported to be 834a also currently on-line, but they are not. Pricing is a big issue on-line. Dealers think they have gold & buyers don't know enough about what they collect to know a good value when it's there in font of them.

Buyers need help understanding what they see and what they are buying on-line. Usually there is minimal description and just a photo. Photos can still hide problems and there is no bigger problem than original gum.

I believe dealers are missing a wonderful opportunity to help the buyers by staying in touch via U.S. Mail. You have an idea of what their collecting interest is, so a quick note with a scan or two with either offerings or maybe just something in general about our hobby. Include an APS flyer maybe or something about a stamp club in the news. The buyers are out there, you need to bring them to you.

Why stay in contact via US mail? If they buy from you online, you have their e-mail address. You can stay in touch via e-mail. I had a bunch of buyers on e-bay that I would tell when I had new material I was about to list. I sold a good deal of it without ever listing it on e-bay, just by sending an e-mail to see if they were interested. Saved me a lot of work in listing the items (I didn't need to scan them), no e-bay fees, and some even paid by check to avoid the PayPal fees. I have often contacted sellers on e-bay that I have bought from int he past looking for specific items (mostly new issues), and they will normally sell to me for about half what they list on e-bay for, and they will hold the material until there is a decent amount of it to save me on shipping charges.

To MYFELIXTHECAT -----I don't want to shock you but ALL stamp dealers...yes....ALL dealers depend on uneducated buyers to unload and profit from . The best example I can give is myself . There are dozens of stories I can tell . Growing up collecting stamps was a painful experience.
It started while I was a paperboy earning $20.00 a month and going to the local stamp store in Chicago and spending my $10.00 on early U.S. stamps and realizing years later I was paying 1/2 catalog for defective U.S. stamps some straight edges ,heavy canceled and thins at 1/2 catalog . Then later buying British Colonies revenue cancels at 1/2 catalog of postage used .
Yes I got dozens of ripoff stories that happen to me and today at 67 I am still bitter about and willing to stand in front of any and all stamp dealers and tell them off at the same time let them know what I think .
There are hundreds if not thousands of collectors who quit the hobby because of the same treatment but back to my original thought ,yes All dealers need to unload junk and increase profits thru uneducated buyers .

Why use U.S. Mail? That's what we as collectors are all about. I get mailings from some ebay dealers, but not very many. Some buyers are pro active, but others are not. My reply was not for so much to the new issue collectors as they will usually have one or two suppliers.

Once again, why The U.S. Mail? It's what has made our hobby.

Any dealer who has a mail order business should also have a presence on ebay and/or their own website. No, I'm not suggesting they list their entire inventory on ebay, but they should always have at least a few items. Otherwise they're invisible to the thousands of collectors who use ebay to the exclusion of almost everything else. ebay in that case would mostly be an avenue to reach new collectors they wouldn't otherwise reach. Dealers that only advertise and communicate via print media are marketing themselves to an increasingly smaller and smaller part of the public.

br / To MYFELIXTHECAT -----I don't want to shock you but ALL stamp dealers...yes....ALL dealers depend on uneducated buyers to unload and profit from . The best example I can give is myself . There are dozens of stories I can tell . Growing up collecting stamps was a painful experience. br / It started while I was a paperboy earning $20.00 a month and going to the local stamp store in Chicago and spending my $10.00 on early U.S. stamps and realizing years later I was paying 1/2 catalog for defective U.S. stamps some straight edges ,heavy canceled and thins at 1/2 catalog . Then later buying British Colonies revenue cancels at 1/2 catalog of postage used . br / Yes I got dozens of ripoff stories that happen to me and today at 67 I am still bitter about and willing to stand in front of any and all stamp dealers and tell them off at the same time let them know what I think . br / There are hundreds if not thousands of collectors who quit the hobby because of the same treatment but back to my original thought ,yes All dealers need to unload junk and increase profits thru uneducated buyers . br / adcaplan Posted - Today :4 Hrs 17 Min ago

Wow! Can't believe you can carry a grudge for nearly 60 years. You must be one difficult person. Yes I've been taken advantage of but the way I solved the problem was to give back to the beginners and try to educate and avoid some customers.

[urlThere are some short comings to buying & selling on-line. The first two are in my order of importance.

1) Uneducated sellers
2) Uneducated buyers

The major on-line auction can be a minefield for both. A noted deal had a Scotts U.S #834 up for auction, mint NH. There was one other bidder, but I picked it up for just under $300.00. Over paid you may say, but no, it was an 834a with a value of $3,000. After sending it to the Philatelic Foundation I had about $500 into it. Sold for $1,500 in the same on-line auction.There are several stamps reported to be 834a also currently on-line, but they are not. Pricing is a big issue on-line. Dealers think they have gold & buyers don't know enough about what they collect to know a good value when it's there in font of them.

Buyers need help understanding what they see and what they are buying on-line. Usually there is minimal description and just a photo. Photos can still hide problems and there is no bigger problem than original gum.

I believe dealers are missing a wonderful opportunity to help the buyers by staying in touch via U.S. Mail. You have an idea of what their collecting interest is, so a quick note with a scan or two with either offerings or maybe just something in general about our hobby. Include an APS flyer maybe or something about a stamp club in the news. The buyers are out there, you need to bring them to you]

Actually, I'm still bearing grudges from the 1960s, although not about stamp shops.

Myfelixthecat - I had a similar experience looking back on purchases in the 80s. Back then I had the simple catalog of just Mint & Used prices, and realize now I bought subpar stuff. Even worse was I felt good about it (ignorance is bliss), because they would throw in a bunch of modern mints worth nothing but I was album filling.

Stamp collecting is a shady hobby when talking about values. When there are millions of stamps available they're worth mostly nothing. Only sellers no buyers, except rookies filling pages, and dealers don't care about these. It sells albums, and other pages and material when you fluff a deal.

When there is a scarcity, deep pockets buy them, and set the price based on their willingness to part with a perceived treasure. Items over say 7500k in a single stamp it have to be exemplary or unobtainable. If you have $7500 or more to blow on a stamp you want mint nh og or a rarity.

I noticed mystic is selling a CIA invert from '79 for $32000k. There is one on ebay for $18,900k which looks like it has a blemish. A block of 4 brought in $71k in Jan. The market suffers from either liquidity or pricing faults as everyone tries to take advantage, even if it is a 10 year old starting out.

There is a limit as to how low prices can go before sellers just bail out because it is not worth their effort.