The Perspective From Across 'The Pond'*

Basic human nature has not changed in tens of thousands of years. Technology has changed, making it easier to notice the negative side of human nature, especially since people love to watch it from a distance (just like rubbernecking at a crash scene on the highway).

Apfelbaum's used 1988 Scott pricing in their valuations well into the 1990's and possibly even close to 2000.

They simply lowered the catalog values instead. Compare the current catalog values of classic US with what they were 2 or 3 years ago. Dozens of classic issues went down.

I think the article is basically very fair. Its clearly written by someone who knows a great deal about the subject. The only glaring error I noticed was:
"... a mint set of King Edward VI stamps from 1951 went for £22 compared with £100 in the catalogue."

Generally all the views on Gibbons catalogue values and how they are interpreted were spot-on.

The problem is always with non-stamp people taking cat. values at face value!

ridiculous blanket statement

When all they have are some stamps and a catalog what else would one expect? The problem is with catalogs misrepresenting the value of stamps not the new collector.

Calm down ,you guys are getting your underwear all bunched up .

First ,nobody has taken the respondsibility to correct the values for the hobby . We are using prices that in most cases are 20 to 50 years old .

We need a new system of pricing .....There are stamps about 50,000 that I would be happy to sell for 1 cent each ,then there are another 100,000 that can sell at 2 cents each ,then another 200,000 that could sell for 5 cents each . Then another 50,000 for $1.00 a piece .....after that then a catalog can list seperate values at $5.00 to $100.00 for another 100,000 . After that pricing is subject to auction results .

All new issues would just have a face value price not the standard of twice face .

Scott or other catalogs can raise or lower prices based on dealer request of three different sources from their approved list of market watchers .

Imagine someone created a catalogue that gave real market values for stamps -- I'd use that for my buying, but stick to Gibbons for all my selling!

Alternatively, I could just use an old Gibbons about 40 years out of date for buying purposes.

This has been going around and around for many decades. Continuous calls for a "better system" get shouted from the rafters but few will agree on exactly what that system should be.
There is no reason to expect outsiders to understand anything about the hobby, any more then we would understand some other hobby we know nothing about. That goes for real values most of all.
Condition and popularity will always play a role in pricing. Most collectors pay what they are willing for a particular item in question, and making a profit should not be the expectation when selling most of the time.

STEEVH ----We need a system that new collectors have trust in . Buying and selling has all kinds of conditions but a fundamental basic structure would give everybody a guide to retailing and collectors has some confidence of buying and selling in a e-commerce market place .

REV-----I am thinking of some system that a new collector can understand and enjoy in purchasing stamps ,as for me and you were're dealing with years of experience .

I would expect anyone new to a hobby to start by doing some basic research and seeking out information. Those that do can begin to understand how the hobby works. Those that don't are perhaps not cut out for this hobby anyway, since at least some research and understanding are necessary even at a low level of interest.

In my opinion the gap between catalog values and market values hurts the hobby; not with collectors but rather with non-collectors. Requiring special knowledge to understand market value raises needless obstacles for those who are considering entering the hobby. I think that non-hobbyists who have a passing or potential interest can easily be discouraged after learning that that catalog values are generally not realistic. But perhaps even more discouraging is that it makes the hobby seem harder than it needs to be. Understanding the value of a collectible is basic information, if it requires special knowledge just to understand market values than they may feel that the balance of the hobby must be even more challenging.

I am hopeful that one day someone will develop the online data harvesting required to publish more accurate market values for stamps. This is already being done in many industries including those which have extraordinary amounts of value criteria to consider. I think that when that day comes it will help some potential hobbyist feel much more comfortable about the scope of learning this hobby requires.
Don

Every hobby I have ever heard of has a difference between the "market" value and the "book" value of an item. Because each item is individual as to overall condition as well as other factors.

[quote] Scott or other catalogs can raise or lower prices based on dealer request of three different sources from their approved list of market watchers . [/quopte]

No possiblity for nefarious behaviors here.

Also relevant on this topic of cat values, what I see is that top condition (grade stamps) are being artificially put on a pedestal, now even for common issues, with so called SMQ pricing. Siegel is aggressively push these in recent sales. I believe this is a ruse to make common more modern stamps "rarer" and get people to buy what would otherwise be a cheap stamp for way more money, in the pursuit of getting so called "best of the best". ex - https://stampauctionnetwork.com/y/y120678.cfm

Stamp collecting tends to have a "best of the best" type of mentality in any case. All collectors would like to have the best example they can afford of any philatelic item. I despise grading, but I don't think it's a "ruse" about modern stamps. A ruse is a deliberate deception; that "modern stamp" ship sailed over a decade ago. I agree that many are more common then the population report makes them seem. I just think it's ego gratification for those who can afford to indulge in it. Some people just like to collect certs. I don't think those prices have any real effect on the value of the "ordinary" examples.