Paying 70% Of Scott - Ripped Off?

Hi guys

From a local dealer in my small town I recently bought almost USD 2,000 worth of People's Republic of China stamps dating in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. All MNH.

On average I paid about 70% of Scott's 2018 values. Did I get ripped off do you think? I've seen a lot of people saying 'real' prices at dealers are around 10% - 30% of catalogue values. That would make the catalogues quite unhelpful! :(

Prices for Chinese stamps are volatile. Whilst most us - including auction houses - probably have a rule of thumb for the main run of stamps based around percentage of CV of whatever catalogue we use, that works less well when the market is an unpredictable one. I'd concentrate on whether you're happy with your purchase.

By the way, the concept of unmounted mint stamps doesn't really work with many Chinese stamps as they never had gum for a hinge to disturb, and in these cases you could not, therefore, necessarily tell a stamp that had never been hinged from one that had. The phrase usually used in the UK is "unused" or "unused, as issued"

Thanks so much!

Yeah, it's an interesting question whether it really matters if I got ripped off. I have the same debate with vintage watches.

Where I come out is that (a) I worked hard for my money (b) I am spending money on unnecessary luxuries like stamps and watches and (c) who knows, I may end up poor one day (d) no one likes being ripped off.... so ideally I would not pay over the odds!

Funnily enough I don't think my local dealer had much of an idea either. He had one quite complete album of Chinese stamps, acquired about 10 years ago based on the values he had in there (they were pre-Euro), and then just went off the same catalogue. He's too old and crusty to use the internet...

I think the problem with worrying after the fact is that it can taint our pleasure in what we've bought - which we were perfectly happy with when we bought it. Yes, there was an opportunity cost here - you could have bought a Rolex instead - but it's now a sunk cost too, although you'll be likely to recover some or all of it in the future, if your interests change. Just enjoy the stamps!

I'm sure our China experts will chip in!

Can you believe it; USA the most powerfull country in the world and
mint 50's-70's are worth face value....

This seems odd to me. Why would a dealer located in Hong Kong (assuming that is where you purchased it) be holding an quite complete album of Chinese stamps for 10 years? Even if his asking price was too high I would think that after a few years he would be looking to turn over his inventory.

Perhaps this was just part of his sales pitch?
Don

Agree with GeoffHa , I think he put it right .Without seeing the material nobody knows what you got and any comment about price or value is just wind . Enjoy and be happy that was the purpose of your purchase .

Thanks guys! I'll post a youtube video of them shortly.

They seem in perfect condition to me - a few are printed slightly off-centre but I'm assuming that's normal for Chinese printing quality in the '70s.

I bought these in a village in Germany, not Hong Kong lol!

Perf.12 --Mint U.S. from 50's -70's is going for 60% of face at any major stamp auction . Lower the face the less it will get ,nobody likes putting 2-3-4 or 5 cent stamps on a piece of mail .

GB decimal goes for around the same - 60% of face. Those hunting for postage will find even better rates outside the country of use. I just won a lot of €360-worth of unmounted, post-1999 French material for £130 (which I bought for the stamps, not the postage!)

When I buy from a dealer, I typically pay around 70-75% of catalog. Often, it's the only way I can fill spaces that need to be filled. As Geoff implies, it will depend on which country you're buying. Remember that the dealer is in business and needs to make a living.

As an aside, I often check on the APS Stamp Store for my needs. If a hinged mint, or used, stamp is priced over 50-60% of catalog, I don't buy. Some sellers on the APS routinely price; for example, pre-Elizabethan British colonials; for 90% of catalog. I don't buy their stuff.

Thank you so much, that's super helpful!

Steve, are you factoring in the catalogue price is for a Mint NH or Mint hinged? For example, older issues are priced as hinged so you pay even a lesser percentage than the hinged prices.

Many will list stamps and reference a catalogue value (happens to be
NH value) but it is often hinged but they will still list the NH value. So, this case you normalize catalogue then apply the precentage.

50-60% of catalog?. ------why ? why? do I have to buy at 130% of catalog .......yes what did I miss ?

Simple fact your buying what other people don't want .If your buying what other collectors want then your paying up . But if it is rare and unusual and rarely seen with demand for it then your making new record prices for it .

70% of Scott could be an overpayment disaster... or it could be the bargain of a lifetime.

It all depends on WHAT you bought.

I understand that everyone collects differently and some feel better imposing limits upon themselves for collecting... I did that early on. When I first ventured into collecting revnue cancels and documents, I used to obsess on staying under XX% of Scott and was frustrated when the "good stuff" fell above, sometimes WELL above that limit. The painful truth is that arbitrary percentages of catalog value mean that you are ultimately limiting the quality and breadth of your collection. It also means that you'll never collect material that isn't listed in the catalog, because after all, without that percentage of catalog limit to guide you, what would you do?

P.S. If percentage of catalogue value and being "ripped off" was a concern, these questions would probably should have been asked before purchase rather than after...

In the area I reside most stamp dealers ask 50% on up depending on the stamp. When I buy a large group I can get as low as 5-10% but generally those lots need a huge amount of work invested into them... Looking forward to seeing your video...