What Would You Do If Facing This Situation?

I wonder if Don's question wasn't are you suspicious, but rather would you take advantage of the situation, but we'll have to wait for him to chime in again.

My intention was to prevent folks thinking the purchase was from a family member in which case it might influence how they answered. I did not consider the 'stolen' perspective. My bad.
Don

I would ask a lot of questions. How did you come by my name? How did you come by the stamps? What do you know about them? Do you need money for meth? Things like that. Then I would try my best to get an ID or license plate number. Assuming that I thought the person was legitimate, I would then discuss how they came to their price. If they just want to get rid of the stamps and know they are taking a loss, I would pay them the $200. Once I had them in my possession, I would probably tell them why I thought the price was low and offer them some more money.

Related story.
I once was given 3 computer paper boxes of legos and slightly more than 100 lego minifigs. The person knew they had value. She knew used minifigs are about $4 each retail but her kids were grown. I gave her $100 after the deal because that was all I had and it was something.

If I received a call from an unknown party about buying a collection I would just tell them I am not interested. I am very suspicious of things like that. If someone I know wants me to look at a collection for one of their friends I hope they would give me the phone number of their friend and not pass my information on to someone I don't know. I would want my friend to be present if and when I did look at the collection.

Vince

I believe the question was more about would you be fair (do the right thing) or not. Given that I have heard enough collectors boast about making a big score on the backs of someone unknowing it is interesting to see what folks have to say and how the poll is answered.

There is a member of this forum that ended up with some incredible GB items that the seller was unaware were even present in some albums that were for sale on ebay. That member netted many thousands of dollars in nice material for tens of dollars. And they boasted about it. Others are of the mindset that their superior knowledge is good reason to make a score. Seems logical on some levels. One wonders about the shoe being on the other foot and all.

Kind of like if you found a bag of cash that fell out of an armored car what would you do?

Sorry ,I disagree ,something dropped and picked up is not the same as buying and making a offer ,which is then accepted .

The story is, this happens all the time now and has been going on for years .

Stamp dealer gets a call from a trustee/lawyer or a grieving widow or a rock-in-roll son who wants to sell his deceased father's collection .


Here is how I do it -----Show up ,no suitcase of stamp catalogs ,no computer ,just a light and a set of tongs . Start off saying "sorry to hear the old man died ,then the important questions ---this is key ----How much did he spend on stamps , where did he buy the stamps ? more questions, anybody else in the family collects ? Important -question --Has anybody else has looked at the collection or given a offer .

These above questions are most important to establish your attack . Then spend five minutes explaining how terrible the stamp market is these days and all the collectors are trying to sell everything on ebay before they die .

At this point I discuss taxes the family has to pay as part of the estate tax situation . All the time I have a pocket full of hundred dollar bills , I keep thousands in each pocket ,so they don't see how much I have ,plus more in the car ------Cash on the kitchen table sounds a lot better to those in the room ,than filling out tax forms .

Now view everything , go fast and don't stop too long to show interest , check to see quality and if possible fakes , never --never act surprised or talk about a item 's value . Let them know the die guy was a advance beginner and enjoyed the hobby and that nothing there is show quality . Explain to them most of the collection will end up in your mixture boxes {show them your ad about mixture boxes of 2 cent stamps }.

Always explain the hours of work this disorganized mess will cause you to get in right so you can make your 20% profit .

ALWAYS -ALWAYS ask what they want for it ,now your going to find out who the decision maker is .

This is where you lay out the cash all across the table and tell them this is all you can pay and let them decide ----trust me here ----money on the table says more than anything you can say ---NO TAXES -CASH MONEY NOW,TODAY .

Kinda says it all.

I have been reading this site for years but this topic got me to register as I faced a similar situation. Last week I was browsing ebay for stamp auctions that were ending and there was a White Ace album advertised as partially complete with a few pictures but no written description or statement on the condition of the stamps. The pictures were photos taken from a distance and were a bit blurry but it had what looked to be mint Columbians up to and including the $1 Queen Isabella stamp. It also included mint Trans-Mississippi stamps up to the 8 cent stamp, a Scott 630 souvenir sheet and various other stamps cataloging $25-50. With 20 minutes to go there were three bids with a top bid of $12.50 (twelve dollars and fifty cents). It stayed that way until I submitted a $110 bid with five seconds left. I was outbid by a $200 bid and that was beat by a $205 bid to end the auction. The winning bid might have had a larger maximum bid than $205 of course.

I didn't consider contacting the seller before the auction ended because there were only a few minutes left and I doubted he would respond before it ended. The seller was a longtime member (over 20 years) and mainly sells sports cards although he had a few other stamp auctions which were low value stamps. I guess the seller did not realize what he had but the lack of bidders raised a flag as to why such material did not attract much attention.

I did bid $110 so I guess that answers the poll although I felt there was some risk that the stamps were damaged or fakes.

Welcome DV75 .....Lots of good people here .Maybe that U.S. lot had problems ,so you never know .

Thank you floortrader. It may have had problems but it was worth a shot.

I think that context and situation matters.

If a person were to come to me, and as the scenario Don illustrated, they up front demand $200 for the collection, the implication being that in their mind either they knew its value, or that is what they wanted to get out of it (for whatever reason), I would have no qualms about buying the collection for what they ask.

If, on the other hand, a person asked for my assistance in valuing/appraising their collection or an offer to purchase, not stating a value or asking price, then there is a different moral obligation, IMO. At that point they are relying on my knowledge or expertise to tell them what the collection is worth, and I have an obligation to be truthful, to the best of my ability.

Apples and oranges IMO.

I also feel that it is different when buying from an anonymous entity online. I have no reservations at all about buying or offering if something is undervalued. There is no requirement that I must pay the MAXIMUM that material is worth.

It's also different with show dealers. Cherrypicking is part of the game. Heck, dealers cherrypick one another every day at every show, unashamedly.

With show dealers, to me it depends on the dealer. There are those where I would take the item and run (and have done so), and those who I would tell immediately (I have done this as well).

I agree with what revenuecollector wrote (although once I alerted a favorite dealer to something)

Don, I realize this is an old thread, but it was quite interesting!
Based upon my experience, if you tell someone that the collection is quite valuable (much more than the $200), they will run away and get a second opinion and you will lose the property...

IMHO, it is much better to make a fair offer immediately - if you want to buy collections that is. If the seller then hesitates, and wants to get more offers, you give them the "you would have sold it for $200 speech - I am treating you fairly" speech.

Always best to get a bill of sale where the seller guaranties the material as genuine and not stolen, too.

John

It is interesting to me that so many jumped to the conclusion that the collection was prob ably stolen. I am a former prosecutor, worked criminal cases for almost 40 years, and that did not occur to me. I thought the point of the poll was to determine if folks would take advantage of the situation. I liked the answer that said he or she would make a reasonable offer if it was a collection they wanted without necessarily saying how much they thought it was worth, but something reasonable under the circumstances.