Does A Well Organized Stamp Album Really Increase The Value Of Your Collection

If readers thought I was making generalizations about a collector from whom I was considering a purchase, I apologize. Did not mean to imply that. In fact, I usually am uninterested in the collector, his or her history or state of mind, or any other facet of his or her personality. I'm interested (or not) in the collection itself. Unless, of course, the collector is someone with whom I am familiar or might know personally. Otherwise, it's all about the stamps, baby. And a messy, poorly presented collection puts me off. Not saying it is a rational reaction, but it does influence my purchasing decisions.

Climber Steve ---Was that your Portuguese Colonies that I was looking at 2 weeks ago ?

"Nobody purchases individual stamps that have a cv above minimum to low and just sticks them in an album with no care."
a sweeping generalization that isn't true - I've seen it more than once

I have sometimes bought collections at auctions, not the big name auctioneers but the smaller companies and clubs where caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies; the catalogue often actually says that the description is that of the vendor. I notice smart well presented collections in commercial albums usually sell for more fetch more than an album where the stamps might be in logical order but are cramped too many to a page, in an office binder on ordinary sheets of paper. I have paid paltry amounts for collections where the stamps are poorly presented but the material is actually high quality I have bought the whol collection for a price you might have paid in a dealer for the best set in the book. There were 100s of stamps I needed. I had to spend time checking the stamps were what they said. Some of the stamps that supposedly had Phosphor marks didn't show any signs of Phosphor to me, but on the whole the album was a steal and the vendor had got a perhaps 2% of the street value of the stamps because all the dealers and small traders in the auction had looked at the binder and presentation and not at the material. I took a risk and it paid. I have when heard of nice collections being assembled in cherry picked albums where the rare varieties have been replaced with visually similar stamps, I don't know if this is a myth.
It is common sense to buy a well presented collection, but I think Knowing the vendor and seeing the guarantee SHOULD be more important.

Hi floortrader. Thanks for the note. No, that wasn't my Portuguese colonies collection that you saw, I assume in the Rasdale auction. Portugal and colonies is my main specialty and I'm not selling. I did note the collection, however, because of the apparent copy of Azores #2. That is a very high catalogue value item in both Mundifil and Scott. However, it was obvious, even without examining the stamp in person, that it is a reprint, cataloging about $40 in Scott.

I do like reviewing collections like that as I use those as a good comparison with mine. I think I already have about 95% of the stamps in that collection. One of my reasons, as I think I've noted elsewhere, for moving away from a worldwide collection is to build several semi-advanced collections to my liking instead of spreading money "all over the world." Cheers!

Steve -----That was the collection I was looking at ,it was impressive but I had my eyes on other areas right now .

Agree with you on trying to save the world but since I have been doing it for so long , I just continue but at a slower pace . I also try to specialise in certain areas where I sink money into .

A well organized neat collection presents well and gives potential buyers
a good impression that stamps contained in that collection were carefully
chosen. They will always exhibit well and fetch better prices.

Agree with Black Jack. The presentation shows extra care and pride in the collection.

Stamp dealers and ebay reseller's don't want to spend time going thru disorganized stuff and trying to sort out the gems . Who knows how much is damaged or broken sets and unsure of total value . It comes down to pricing it at a penny each or two each .

Then unsorted stuff takes lots of room and so long to sort . Pricing of a well organized collection will most of the times return a better value for a seller .

I worked as an auction lot describer for various auction houses many years ago. I left the industry because employment was simply not reliable enough for me. I have been a collector before that and for a few decades since then.

Generally, organization goes hand in hand with value. There are enough exceptions to that 'rule', though, that one better have a good idea of whether the collection/accumulation in front of them is deceptively better quality-wise than the organization of it may imply. If it is a carton of 'floor-sweepings' it is very easy to miss the gem or two that may contain most of the value of the carton. When I am at an auction viewing lots, I go through large lots a few times - first time just flipping through it getting a 'feel' for the quality, then going back and checking where the value is likely to be (or where the valuable stamps may be mis-identified), then I focus on individual valuable stamps for quality. If it is a collection with only a few valuable stamps, and lots of 'filler', I will evaluate the valuable stamps, and maybe make an estimate of face-value of the (mint) filler. There is a big difference between a well-organized collection, a not-very-well-organized collection, a fairly unorganized collection, and a 'randomly' organized (meaning not at all organized) collection. If we place a 'realization percentage' of 100% on a well-organized collection, I would probably pay 95% for a not-very-well organized collection, and 80% for a fairly unorganized collection and, perhaps 50% for a random, totally unorganized collection. On the flip-side, if I see a few gems in a completely unorganized collection, I may end up putting in a strong bid, hoping that I will find another gem or two that was missed.

Many years ago, there was a nationally known auction house in the Detroit area that would have relatively unorganized collection/carton lots, but with REALLY valuable stamps/sets sprinkled in here and there. AND their lot description would make it sound like a 'nothing' lot. I am not sure, but I don't think that was an accident. Anyway, I learned to look through their lots (NOT necessarily the catalog) VERY carefully. It paid off a number of times.

I write up my collection pages for an audience that will never see it but for an audience who has little prior knowledge. I use footnotes so I can find my references more easily (I have upwards of 50 reference items I use frequently for all my collecting interests).

It is also a bit of insurance if I pass before my spouse so she doesn't have to work so hard to extract the value that is there.

Some examples attached

I think the answer to this is simple:
If you're selling, take the time and effort to make your stamps as well organized and described as possible.
If you're buying, look for the stuff where the lazy (or maybe even dead!) vendor hasn't bothered to do the above. There could be some really good stuff hiding in there.

of course presentation increases the value, as in all fields of human endeavor. Would you try to win a beauty pageant dressed in rags, with unkempt hair and no make-up? Would you go to a job interview dressed in sandals, jeans and an oily t-shirt?

I think we all seen those breakdowns of organized collections where they show 1,000 different stamps for $10.00 and then 30,000 different for $60.00 and it goes up to 130,000 different for $8,000 and those major auction houses that offer 220,000 different stamps for $50,000 ,so the more organized the higher the price .Right now you can see on S A N over 100,000 stamps for $2,500 but not all different .....so yes the better organized the better the price .

Greetings from Trench Town USA

64idgaf you write
"I write up my collection pages for an audience that will never see it but for an audience who has little prior knowledge. I use footnotes so I can find my references more easily (I have upwards of 50 reference items I use frequently for all my collecting interests)"

I read and viewed the extraordinary method that you have of organizing particular parts of your collection. This example is just what I needed and I want to thank you so very much.