Why In Blazes Did This Collection Go Over $2,000???

I cannot figure out why this would sell for $2,320. There's absolutely NOTHING there in the name of key issues. No 3c or 4c Playing Cards, no $1 Passage Ticket, none of the high denomination 1st issues, none of the $1.30, $1.60, or $1.90 second issues, no high denomination second or third issues. Nothing of note in the 20th century material.

I'd be hard pressed to give more than a few hundred bucks for it, if even that. I suppose it would make a good starter collection for someone.

I know the seller is a member here, and I don't fault anything in the listing, but man it looks like he won the bidiot lottery on this one!

What am I missing?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Revenue...047675.l2557

Same here. Some folks may value appearance and mounting. Some may think it is an old mounting so possible hidden gems.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Collect...100011.m1850

No reason for either of these lots to bring that kind of money. But they did.

inexperienced bidders thought it looked "complete"?

Looking through the pages - all of the holes are filled.
For Bill Gross that was an expensive endeavor.

Many stamp collectors, including many who comment here, appear focused on the question of "value" to the point of frugality. But not everyone is that price sensitive. There are people in New York or London who spend $500 on a good dinner for two every Saturday, and if you are in that bracket then this price is no big deal for the convenience of having all those spaces filled.

I think it is a combination of..

- a Big Blue (Scott International; 1840-1940 WW Album), popular with WW collectors, who are interested in "filling" their own album

- the psychological effect of "full" album pages

- the unawareness by some bidders that BB is a "representative", not a "comprehensive" album (Many of the more expensive items do not have a space).

- "irrational exuberance"

- The dealer (good guy, by the way) has a reputation for selling items of this nature, and has a devoted following

I would say, for full Big Blues, this is not an aberration.

Witness the report (at my blog site) on a 94% BB sold by the same dealer two years ago..

http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.co...-report.html

Yeah, where are the 90 cent Perrybank notes? SMH.

The 'value' of something (anything) is what ever any one is prepared to pay for it.

At this rate, Ken will be making his money back in three or four lots - well done!

I agree with JKJblue. Avid Big Blue collectors will go to great lengths in the quest for completion, I think. I'm familiar with Bud's Report (linked in the post above) and would definitely go to Ken R if and when I decide to sell mine, which is only about 80% complete. I'm pretty sure this revenue lot is being sold on consignment, so it's the consignor, not Ken, who will receive the greatest benefit from this admittedly surprising result.

I can't imagine why "people who can spend $500 for dinner" would even look at lots like these when they can buy much better material for the money.

The high bidders focus based on bidding on other items is Europe and Latin America. They also have four bid retractions in the past six months. Hope it goes well for Ken.

While I can understand how experienced or expert collectors can evaluate some thing like this on a market value perception only, sometimes the situation is a little more complicated than that. Several years back I purchased on ebay a rare early dime--the 14 star 1804. You can see a picture of it on the coin forum if you like. By anyone's estimation this was a dog in appearance. But it was what it was. The thing that attracted me to it was the serendipity of essentially the only characteristics to identify the coin being present while everything else was essentially obliterated.

The 14 star variety is characterized by the presence and position of the 14th star on the back. This was clearly present. The very tips of 1804 could be seen or inferred in the date but was not necessary for ID since the 14 star variety was only present on the early dimes for 1804. It would have been easy for more than one person to miss this needle in the haystack. While many of the respondents completely glossed over the novelty of finding a truly rare coin this way focussing on"value" only, I point out that this was purchased at auction with many bids below, as was the collection referenced starting this thread which attracted 52 bids.

Clearly more than one person had interest in this material. I look at value two ways. Are you satisfied with what you purchased that it gives you satisfaction regardless if you get your money back when the time comes to sell or even if you never sell it--and do I have something that someone else is likely to also want in the future. Either question being answered "yes" is a win in my world.

Easy to understand that logic on single item lots, we have all felt that way sometimes. But on common large lots, overpaying based on that logic seems foolish.