Why Is This Going So High?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Excelle...AOSw6GJaMUFh

I cannot figure out what in that collection would be causing the bid to be at $695 with almost a day left to run. I doubt I would pay $150 for the lot, if even that. There's no keys of any sort.

Or is there something buried in there that I'm just not seeing?

I know the seller has a very loyal following and his auctions always do well.

Look beyond the stamps from the collector's perspective. The binder and pages are clean, mounts are well trimmed and mounted, and overall a nice presentation that saves the buyer considerable work in identifying, arranging and mounting. There is value in these things to some buyers; the $450 premium you are referring to could be easily acceptable to some buyers based on the satisfaction of acquiring a clean, well-displayed collection ready to extend. Seller also offers excellent customer service; the buyer will have this in hand before the New Year.

At 300+ stamps plus a nice binder, pages and 300+ show-guard mounts. It is not a wholesale deal. but not too bad for someone who wants to start/expand a collection. How mucht time and money would it take to assemble a similar collection?

There are really only two bidders going at it for this lot. I see a number of damaged and perfin/ punched stamps. Apparently the fever has taken hold of these two individuals. I am always amazed at what happens on ebay. This lot in a real auction would never have reached the point it has.

Yikes. People must value second-hand binders and album pages much higher than I do...

I agree. I'm always on the lookout for stuff like this hoping to unearth a gem. But I too didn't see anything that screamed "I gotta have that!"

I could not find any where $150 of value in there, but I admit that the first issue doesn't do much for me, especially the examples in this so-called collection.

I'm as clueless as everyone else as to why this has reached the level of bidding that it has. I agree, the seller is a good one, so the intensity of bidding has only to do with the bidders.

It's still difficult to understand, especially as ebay now assigns an anonymous bidder ID, so no one has a clue who is doing the bidding.

I used to buy from this dealer but after my experience on a garbage questionable bidder that conveniently got retracted and then it was offered to me at 1 increment below that bid instead of my high bid before this bidder got involved, I will no longer buy from him.

$100-$125 collection.

$300 to $400 Canada collection

Sold for $988 + $18 shipping. Total $1,006
Same two bidders.

That... makes... zero... sense. I just don't get it.

I wouldn't be surprised if it got returned.

This may be the case of there always being a greater fool.

I also like to bid on collections like this one for areas I am weak on; I do a fair amount of low-ball sniping. But usually less than 5% of my bids become winning bids, so there are few disappointments but occasionally a pleasantly surprise .

Auctions (traditional and ebay type) are a great way to get decent material, if you are careful and patient(and sometimes a little bit lucky).

--Jim Wentzell
stampguyaps177-681

Hi Jim,

I agree.

I would also add it is necessary to do your homework and review all the pictures, set a price you are willing (and able) to pay, and be strong enough to walk away when the price climbs above your limit.

Part of doing your homework is knowing catalog values sometimes are not in line with the difficulty finding some stamps. I am sure we all have a few "cheap" stamps we just can't find anywhere!

I have paid several (!) times catalog for state revenues and certainly some premiums for Scott listed revenues when I finally managed to find a nice example to buy.

The best auction wins are when you are bidding for a small number of items (or even 1!) out of the entire lot and get the lot for a price you are willing to pay for the small group. The rest is pure bonus material. Of course, we all probably have a room full of bonus material we wish we could sell quickly

All of the above said, I too am at a loss as to why this lot went for so much!! Maybe the losing bidder would be interested in $1000 of my bonus material, and I will even throw in free shipping!