Kelleher -June 2023 Collection Auction - A Monster Sale

dragon - what you are calling investing is really being a stamp dealer.

In my opinion philately is a mental investment, not a financial investment.

For me, I have previously tried turning a hobby into a business and it ruined the hobby for me. Every transaction is a potential risk for a bad experience. It would like playing golf as a hobby and then deciding to try to turn Pro. Or enjoying knitting and making then family gifts but then deciding to open a retail knitting store. I like working in the garden and putting some fresh food on the table, but I certainly do not want to open a fruit stand.
Don

The discussion about mental vs funancial reminds of the scene in the movie "North Dallas Forty" after losing the game.

"Every time I call it a business, you call it a game! And every time I call it a game, you call it a business!"

When buying stamps from a dealer, they want you to it as a hobby and when you want to sell them back, it is financial.

The only way to make money with stamps is to buy them the way a dealer buys them. Whether you sell immediately or hold on to them for future sale, you will have a built-in margin that allows the stamps to be an investment. This doesn't mean that you can't build a collection buying stamps this way, but most likely you will acquire a lot of material that you will need to sell unless held on to for the future.

In Dutch literature there is a book in which a sailor says "If my aunt had a penis, she would be my uncle."
And never mind the auction fees.



Something about falling knives comes to mind.