Valuing A Stamp Collection Only With Pictures : Possible Or Not ?

Some people would argue that 50% of catalog is way too much to spend for any stamp with a fault such as this one. Please remember that catalog value is usually for a fault-free stamp in VF condition. One that is cut so far into one margin is NOT in VF condition. So 5-10% of catalog value would be reasonable, in my opinion.

It is worth your time to read the introductory section of the Scott catalogue, or Unitrade, or Gibbons, or all three.

Really, most collectors can benefit from rereading the intro to their chosen catalogue(s) from time to time.

Captain - Some gentle advice. Based upon what you have shown and your description of how the transactions took place you need to walk away from this seller and don't look back. We live in a time when being beholden to minimal resources for stamps is long gone. The World is literally at your fingertips when it comes to buying things. From ebay to prominent auction houses you can shop online. I am not saying that the seller you buy from necessarily has bad intentions. He may not know what he is doing. Whatever the case he grossly overcharged you for your stamps. Think of it this way. If you buy wisely you can buy more material or higher quality material or better yet put some savings towards catalogs, books or memberships.

Take look at these ebay listings right now for "Penny Red". There are 23,000 results for that term. That does not include what you would get using a catalog number in your search. There are stamps similar in condition to yours selling for less than $5 right now.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/260/i.html?_nkw=penny+red

Here are some Sold results. One lot of ten imperf Penny Reds mostly with all or close margins sold today for $9.77 or 97 cents each.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3653195823...kw=penny+red

So if I understand well, you check the accurate value of a stamp in searching on ebay how they sell a stamp from the same issue and in same condition approximately. Right ?

That would be a good a place as any for what you are buying. I mean you could have purchased ten imperf penny reds for less than you paid for one. But it still sounds as if you are going to keep purchasing from one person after checking ebay for prices.

Why not buy from ebay or elsewhere online?

There has to be something else going on here. Can you not make online purchases? Is there a reason you cannot use ebay to buy and/or sell?

Of course that I can buy on ebay, why are you asking this ? I just wanted to be sure that that's exactly how you proceed to value a stamp.

I prefer to buy in person, because I prefer to see the stamp in front of me. But that's just a preference, I know that online stores can be good too. I'll probably start buying stamps online.

There are no rules for collecting. Your money, your choice. ebay is just one avenue for price comparison. Auction houses and other online venues also are good sources.

A high resolution scan to me is just as good as seeing it in person. Catalog values are rough guidelines, condition is everything in stamps.

I'm agree with you, stallzer !

As with any venue, ebay has it's share of shady sellers. Watch for good scans, good feedback from other buyers and good descriptions of the item. Use the sold listing searches to see what they actually have sold for then look for sellers who are offering stamps for prices in that range. If a seller has a bunch of material that is offered at a much higher price than you find in the sold listing searches, they are probably not a good buyer to build a relationship with.

Am I right about the fact that this stamp haves the good price of the true value of it even if we can't see the back ?

Chile 1855 #8

Good advice, billsey !

If that Chile stamp has no faults (e.g., thins at the back, glued hinge), then half price from a brick-and-mortar dealer is not a bad price. If you want to sell it, you would be lucky to get $ 5 for it. There is nothing wrong paying something extra over what you would pay on ebay. A dealer may have knowledge and identify genuine from forged stamps, detect faults, built a relationship and take a stamp back when it turns out to not be what it was sold for. That is worth something, especially if you see this as a hobby.

Unfortunately, from what you have shown, your dealer is happy to sell everything at half catalogue price, even if it is heavily damaged.

As for your Penny Red. There are many. If unchecked, you might end up with a rare plate. In general, however, unless the stamp has four good margins, looks fresh, and has a light, neat cancellation that is correct for the time of use, its value drops of a cliff. If the image is cut into, it is one of millions available and worth only a few dollars.

Penny reds can be bought in quantities for a few dollars.

Even worse is the case with the Penny Black. It is a very common stamp, just not in superb condition. At auction, superb examples sometimes make as much as 75 - 90% of catalogue. Usually, the cancellation adds something at that price. If the image is cut into and it has an ugly, smudgy cancellation (unless it is from plate 10 or 11), it will not be worth more than $ 50. And if it hardly has any margin, you can get them for $10.

As someone wrote above: run away from this dealer. He is selling you defective stamps at dealer prices that would be fair for fine stamps. And even then, you should realise a good dealer will be more expensive than ebay and the likes, or an auction.

Thanks for the advices, NSK, that helps a lot !

A simple thought.

Consider you placed a winning bid of $ 100 in an auction.
If the buyer premium is 20%, you pay $ 120.

You want to sell. Since you placed the winning bid, there was no one else valuing it at $ 100. Say the increments are $ 5. Someone must have bid $ 95, otherwise, that would have won you the bid.

So, the best you should expect to get is $ 95, less seller premium. Say 10% (I think that is very cheap, especially in you part of the world). You receive $ 85.50.

So, by winning the lot, you lost $ 34.50.