Collecting As An Investment

if your work is a pain, and stamps keeps stress at bay i'd say soaking off stamps are in fact a long term investment - for YOU. it may not give you much profit, but keeps that steady income comming.

but I don't see how it's not the financial investment discussion as you'd initially hoped, unless you hoped for a different answer. quite a few have pointed out that you need to know what you're doing.
you either need a specialized knowledge in a smaller area, or a solid broad knowledge.

here are 2 examples of specialized knowledge.

one cost $4 other cost $800



one cost $150 other cost $5



if you can spot those sitting in a collection/stockbook/page or even as a single. you can either buy them, sell them for profit, or you can keep them as a longterm investment with the normal "small but" applying where you assume there's still collectors when you sell it.

in any way, you CAN'T make an investment on anything without knowing what you're doing, at least not if you want more than stress relief or fun in the end.

I agree with Sorsh. the best "investment" I can think of, regarding stamp collecting, is the investment of knowledge.
With knowledge you can make smart buys and see things that the average collector, or even dealer, miss.
The secret is to buy items where they are not as popular then sell them where the interest is highest.
I've made many buys, like this, in Spanish philately.
More along the lines of "flipping" rather than investment. But, whatever profits you can yield like this can be put into real, long term investments I would think.

Here's my recent investment, with specialized knowledge to boot-

cost-$13.00 for both
Cert fees $10.00 each

What expertizing body is issuing certs for $10 each? I know that Mehrdad Sadri will expertize stamps for approximately that amount, but that is handstamped only, not an actual cert. Cert costs are much higher.

Thanks.

That IRAN stamp is a revenue stamp ? I don't believe a philatelist would know anything about it .

Don't you think revenue stamp collectors can be philatelists?

Yeah, that comment made me wince.

Aren't they aspiring Prince Charmings in search of Cinderellas?

Sorsh, I don't know enough to verify which is which in terms of value. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd look at the perforation quality, centering of print on paper, quality of cancellation (or reduction of cancellation as too much can block the stamp itself). I'd need more experience and understanding to review those stamps with any 'expertise' ability. That would certainly limit my ability to collect for monetary gain.

I have encountered revenue stamps mixed into my bulk bags. Not sure how to classify them aside from simply 'revenue', I doubt they're anything special as I see a lot of repeats, but they look neat and would make for a nice page or two of 'cinderellas' among my other finds.

I need to break down a list of topics I want to collect as opposed to this world-wide scattershot approach I now do. I have enough stamps that I can see it breaking down into several different categories: Dinosaurs, space and flight, naval vessels, livery, people, war time stamps, etc.

I'm less and less interested in display by country. I can understand the appeal, but it's the specific topics that catch my eye as opposed to individual countries.

If you're going to be serious about investing in stamps you would be looking at high end items. These are normally bought and sold via auction houses, which charge the vendors about 15% and the buyers 20%, give or take a bit, what with taxes etc.

So, before you even break even ( in real terms) you have to buy something that is going to appreciate about 40% in the few years you own it.

That requires a rather good knowledge of market conditions and future trends.

Somehow I think you could do better picking stocks for a similar time and investment -- the trader's cut is way less than 35% or so.

The mindset of venturing into stamps for investment purposes without experience in the hobby is entirely wrongheaded and ripe for disaster.

Start as a hobbyist, spend a decade or two becoming experienced, learning the pitfalls and trends, and then maybe you might have the expertise to be able to identify items that are underpriced or represent the *possibility* of long-term holds.

There are some of us here who do periodically write about lucrative finds and flips, but it is almost exclusively people focusing on very narrow specialty areas and/or after decades of experience. Novices cannot expect to wade in and have consistently positive results. That is a fool's errand.

Investing in stamps has four or five important principles .

1] Know your market .
2] Buying right .
3]Knowing how to sell it .
4]Having the ability to hold for the long term .
5]Timing [for me ebay started at the right time ]

@Celticveil




yes, that is my point, anyone can invest in stamps, but much harder is it to invest to profit.
an area of expertise is one way to go about it, another is to have a wide, general knowledge, but it all boils down to - know more than the rest and have enough money to follow up on it.

cancellations and quality in general is of course something that has an effect on price.
and anyone can spot a SOTN cancel, but to know what's beneath the cancel, and to know what the cancel is, would require knowledge.

@Floortrader




in general I agree, but my list would be a little different.

1. know your target area, and know THE market for it.
2. buying right is the same as knowing how to sell it. (when I evaluate a collection I put prices on it depending on the market, the customers I have for exact areas as a natural part of putting a price on it. a network of buyers is worth more than auctioning it off on ebay, you already know your profit and there's no gamble.
3. I only hold on to things (leftovers) from things I already made a profit on, every $ you have at home is a $ you can't invest.
i use left over material when there are periods of time where it's hard to come by new material OR I throw it on top a deal to sweeten the deal.
4. Every bulk deal you make, there's a chance of hidden treasure, so ALWAYS get rid of things as fast as possible... bought today, sold tomorrow.
5. Make sure that profit reflects the work put into it. Rather sell something that would require a weeks work as a bulk deal and make 10%, than put in the work and make 50% ( keeping number 4 in mind)

I am not an investor, I am a saver so this little opinion is just that, an opinion.

If someone were to say to me "I invest in collectables" I would hope it would be bullion, or precious metals of some sort. Stamps as an investment to realize a greater return in the long term is not a safe risk. There are instances where a short term gain can be realized with timing & market. Day traders are short term players that work hard in timing buys & sells. Futures are pure gambling based on influences of the past, present environment, natural events, lucky finds, & present supplies. Stamps are a fixed commodity with fluctuation in supply, condition, availability, market and reasons.

Today I would say that those offering stamps in a portfolio as an investment vehicle to gain or improve wealth position are total scammers, preying on the uninformed.

I purchase my stamps at face for modern & wish for the most treasured to be found in an estate sale not purified by a professional.

I read this topic & wonder how one is defining the word 'investment' A premium paid to a life insurance policy is a better investment then one of collectables. Payment of your health insurance policy is a better investment than collectables. Your mortgage is a better investment than collectables. At some point in time, your collectable will no longer be in vogue. (Remember Plates, Kinkaid, Studio 57 & who will pay what for a complete PEZ dispenser collection?)

Stamps as an investment may have been in vogue in the 20's, 30's, or 40's but few are wealthy enough to afford the scarce early issues needed for premier portfolio stock.

just an opinion.