Rasdale Taking To Breaking Down Collections For Sale

TSMATX ---Any business has a network of contacts and friends . Rasdale has build them from their early days in the 1940's ,they are active in the upper Midwest with stamp shows and bourse activity .

They get their material from professional buyers who buy locally in their own area or state and consign to the auction firms . Dealer close out's is a big source .

"I don't see Rasdale existing down the road. "

Well the rumor is the owners want out.

"The owners want out " that is a problem . The business doesn't have a big footprint nor does it has vast assets . The list of customers is the same as Kelleher or Dutch Country . Harmer's , Regency ,Alpfebaum's or Rogers none were found to be worth putting money into .

None of their children are in the business ,there is no new generation waiting in the wings

Everybody who knows one firm knows the others.

Human nature has you wearing the shoes that are broken in and comfortable, but if you blow out a sole and your cobbler throws up his hands, you start wearing other shoes.

Proximity is convenient, but you can't have it all.

I think Rasdale does both the consignor and themselves a disservice when they sell those huge box lots. How many bidders want 30 or 40 boxes delivered at 1 time. DCA does box lots but usually 4 boxes or less with an occasional 6 box lot. I think the audience is much broader for this size lot. As for breaking down large album collections I think many bidders avoid the large collections and make them sell at bargain prices (I love the big ones). Whether selling the collection by album works out for Rasdale we'll have to wait and see.

What is the percentage of direct auction (what they purchase) vs consignment?

This video tells now Noble Spirit works.

As I see the business, it is all about volume to make a profit. They do not have tons of cash tied up.

One reality is that we have seen a large number of the remaining legacy stamp dealers close over the past five years usually due to the owner passing away. There is usually a one-time thump on the auction circuit of inventory from their stocks and then that flow is shutoff forever. That inventory seems to find its way to internet retailers and collectors neither of which will, with few exceptions, ever continue the cycle at the same scale as the old-timers. The combination of familial relationships and copious inventories that fed the Rasdale's of the world is pretty much coming to a close. Actually kind of poignant but to be expected I guess. It remains to be seen how DFK and DCA fair in the coming years. I think it fair to say that we have also seen a change in type of offerings from at least DFK. It is IMO a slow but identifiable change.

"change in type of offerings " ------"Identifiable change " What are these new trends that we are starting to see ?

So, the total bid amount on the lots that make up that collection is already at $25,000 with almost a month to go. Could easily double between now and then. I have no experience bidding on a collection of this size, but what are the odds that it would have topped 50k if sold as a single lot?

Auction houses breaking down material that used to be sold in bulk to a degree that approaches the small dealer retail level. DFK added more sales through their Roger's and Club auctions, and it is not uncommon to find them selling $25 items.

IMO it has everything to do with a lack of material. You need to flesh out your auction with enough lots to make it look substantial. If you had enough material to populate an auction with impressive collections and multi-carton lots, you would not be ripping them apart by Countries or areas. You deal with what you have at any given time. Nobody holds onto consigned lots for an auction further down the road. Consignors are not going to wait that long. It is not an absolute, but you see more and more of this.

There is no way around the fact that philately is losing collectors. Ray Charles can see that.

It is hard to count the number of new or total active collectors on ebay, especially with the higher interest in topical collecting. If a buyer is purchasing on ebay they are likely also doing so from other internet sites as well.

Likewise some well know cover dealers have gone back to stamps as they could no longer compete at auction for the large cover holding lots. Those lots are now won by internet seller whose model allows for the individual covers from such bulk purchases to be listed individually. That is a great boon for collectors and those collectors can be from anywhere in the world mail or FedEx delivers.

Since I live a very limited lifestyle ,I see the rest of the world thru a small window .

Here a few of my insights into the Philatelic Market place .

The auction houses are having a harder and harder time finding those untouched dealer backrooms or those wall of stamp albums from estates . What they are finding are those recycled lots that are just moving down the chain to smaller and smaller auction firms . I would surprise some of them see the same stuff for the third time being placed up for auction .

We are now seeing mounted worldwide collections in sets of albums selling for 10 cents per stamp so a 100,000 stamps in a set of albums is pushing $10,000.00 if the firms can give a total number plus mention a few better items plus show a dozen or more full pages in their scans . Price are up for full set of W.W. albums

In recent years another popular sales item is the sale of a group of red boxes ,it seems more and more part of the auction event , These are coming both ways with a catalog value or something like each #102 catalogs 1.00 and up and they go up to each card is $20.00 catalog and up . All kinds of added info can qualify them .

Another item coming on the auction market is what I call are "printer blocks " you can now buy 1,000 or more of the same stamp in sheets or 500 of the same souvenir sheet all wrapped up and packaged as they came from the printing plant . yes I seen 10,000 copies of the same set being offer for sale all never touched by human hands all wrapped up in blocks .


Another item that has come to play in the stamp market is the collecting of out of state sales taxes ......this is really a nice way to collect some extra revenue from your customers .....if done correctly . I will leave this alone for now .

Another thing that is disappearing are auction agents , I used Chuck for years but now everything is live and on line even now S-A-N 's is a computized agent ,it was nice when a agent called me up and said I seen this and that and it is underprice and thought you might like it .

I know EXACTLY what you mean.

That has always been true to some degree. 50-60 years ago it would be things like 500 White Plains sheets in one lot. There is more of it now.

"Likewise some well know cover dealers have gone back to stamps as they could no longer compete at auction for the large cover holding lots."

Who besides Forte?
And on the flip side, Kurt Schau started selling covers since he left Garmer-Schau.