Trustworthy Dealer In US Around Michigan

Drive out? When, 2022? In "normal" times I would agree but with the situation we are in and the forecast for the near future isn't looking good. Mind you if you read my post I'm strictly referencing the time frame we are in, not what I would have done a year ago or 5 years from now.

If you are a dealer and can't give an accurate estimate of a stamp with scans like this then you shouldn't be a dealer.




And include back scans of all stamp of same resolution.

Although I have not sold anything in the last few months, under the Covid conditions, I would still doubt that any dealer would make an offer based on a bunch of scans. Even if there are only a few stamps, each with recent certs, I would expect an offer only after in-person inspection. If I were a dealer, and I were cornered into making an offer, I would ASSUME that there was some small fault not visible in the scan and not mentioned in the cert, and make an offer accordingly. Or, perhaps some sort of 'conditional' offer, which would only result in a check after viewing the stamps/collection in-person.

Having said that, I would think a series of scans could show the type of material being offered. Rather than resulting in an offer, this type of communication could result in enough interest to warrant a visit. Exactly what the conditions would be for a visit in this environment is up to the two parties involved.

Floortrader: I agree with you. If I don't know the seller then I would need to view the material in person before buying it. Scans can be easily manipulated, enhanced or edited.

As the UK remains in lockdown (essential journeys only and viewing a collection doesn't count even if I were to keep 6 feet away from the seller and sit in their backyard) I recently suggested to two UK collectors of USA to mail their collections to me, at my expense and insurance as they had very few details about value (no receipts, no certificates, no idea of which dealers or auction houses they bought from) but I'm still waiting. I suspect both collections are what the Brits call "schoolboy albums".

On the other hand, a collector in Europe who I've spent more than $50K with over the past 20 years had some more material for sale. He emailed me scans and descriptions and we agreed that half of the material was better-suited to a dealer friend of mine Stateside and that's on its way via FedEx. Both the buyer and seller trust me and I'm sure they'll both be happy with the outcome. The material which I'm buying is on its way via Registered Mail and I'll send a bank transfer same-day as received.

Steve Taylor
https://stephentaylor.co.uk

When dealers look at collections they don't examine every single stamp. They get a rough order of magnitude then make an offer on the low side to cover themselves. The reluctance to leave the old world and not venture into the digital age will eventually catch up with this hobby.

I would imagine that as we sit here today 95% of stamp sales world wide are done through e-commerce rather than face to face. How many buyers buy high end material from Siegel auctions on only a scan? Not every buyer shows up in person for auctions.

The mindsets of a collector-buyer and a dealer-buyer are completely different in numerous ways. In the end, for both, a level of trust is part of the equation. Long established dealers have formed reputations over the years, some good and some 'not so good'. The topic starter is asking the collector community here in SCN about the reputations of his local dealers - he is trying to tap into knowledge that he doesn't have. From the dealer's perspective, aside from his personal client list, he probably doesn't know much about 95% of the collectors around him. He probably has some info on the 'whales' in his field, but little else about the plethora of 'minnows'. So when it comes to buying a collector's collection, unless the collector is soliciting offers from one of the dealers that he bought from regularly, the dealer probably doesn't know if this collector is trustworthy and straightforward or not. Are those scans attached to that e-mail representative? Is the collector realistic about what he has? Have the scans been manipulated? Based on the topic starter's query, this will be the circumstance that the dealer(s) that he ultimately contacts will have to deal with. I don't see the pandemic or the internet changing this basic aspect of the stamp industry. The Information Age DOES allow for more information (duh) to both sides. If the OP doesn't know the reputation of his local dealers, I would be SHOCKED if the local dealers know his. Based on his post, it sounds like the OP wants to do this transaction in the old-fashioned way --- take his collection to a local dealer and get an offer. If he was really going to do this through the mail, what would it matter if he shipped it to Detroit/Flint/Lansing, or NYC/LA/Boston??? Nothing wrong with Old School. Superimpose the Covid thing on Old School and we are in unprecedented territory. Old School ain't dead yet.

Yes, old School ain't dead yet but it has been put on hold for a while. The OP never did state whether or not this sale needs to be done quickly to liquidate or if this is a road map for near future. So we are all kind of speculating on intentions.