philatelia
Member 
Captain Jack - my best kiloware find ever!
Posts: 3,654
What I collect: Ireland, Japan, Scandy, USA, Venezuela, Vatican, Bermuda, Austria
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Post by philatelia on Nov 30, 2023 11:54:52 GMT
I’ve been getting many puzzled messages about my very low prices on EBay. Many folks think I’m plain nuts, but let’s stop and think for a minute - what is a stamp really worth?
If a stamp is still valid postage, then the value is obvious. ‘Nuf said about those.
Rarities and scarce classics are in a special class - they are very limited in quantity and have historical value. ‘Nuf said about those.
The stamps I want to talk about are 95% of the stamps issued since the 1960s. Catalogs have published prices that many people hold as gospel, but is that really their true worth? The sad truth is that many collectors read those catalogs and diligently tally up each and every stamp they own including literally thousands of duplicates. They look at the enormous number at the bottom of their inventory list and begin to genuinely believe that they are worth that amount. But are they really? Many of these collectors keep hanging on to their holdings until the bitter end when the entire pile ends up being sold to a dealer for a few tiny percentages of that magical, fantasy total that they had so lovingly embraced all those years.
Now what if that collector took all of the stockbooks, bags and red boxes full of duplicates and started selling them at that tiny percentage or even giving them away? All of a sudden all those stamps are actively in the philatelic world, being seen and examined, mounted into albums and being “collected”. The stamps are now building up the hobby and creating enthusiasm for stamp collecting instead of gathering dust. What are they worth now?
I say that their value now is greatly increased. The collector now has a bit of funds coming in and they can now afford to buy a few stamps that they are missing. NOW they get the satisfaction and good feelings gained from being generous and helping others. NOW is when they reach their greatest value. So instead of sitting on the pile, they are converting everything into something better. The collector wins, other collectors win, the hobby wins.
My point is this - forget about that inflated catalog value, quit hoarding and start really enjoying the hobby again. Money isn’t everything!
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Post by nick2302 on Nov 30, 2023 14:12:13 GMT
You hit the nail square on the head. Stamps that are hoarded and are not flowing in the philatelic world are pretty much worthless. If the stamp is part of an active collection that is one thing. But the duplicates need to be offered to the rest of the stamp collecting world. I love my stamps but my duplicates are being offered for sale/trading and I want to get them moving. I have binders of used dups that, if I find an interested partner, I would love to use as trading material. I also have a lot of MNH in glassines waiting to find a trading partner. I send big yellow envelopes of stamps to the Wounded Vets, because I want them to have something to do besides focusing on their health AND to help them deal with life in general. Maybe even learn something about other peoples and places. I so appreciate your penny lots, my hat is off to you, and I thank you for working for the hobby and making in fun.
Thank you a million for all you do.
Nick
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scub
Member
Posts: 200 
What I collect: WW (without restrictions)
Member is Online
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Post by scub on Nov 30, 2023 14:16:07 GMT
I see my collection like a garden.
You plan, buy plants and trees, look after them and invest a lot of work.
What comes at the end?
The flowers are withered, the trees are old and felled.
If you're lucky, another "gardener" will take over and continue your life's work.
What remains is the acquisition of knowledge and experience and the joy and pride in the result.
My experience is that people consider their own stamps to be valuable because they have invested effort or money.
That's why I decided not to sell or exchange stamps.
Everyone feels cheated, the seller got too little and the buyer thinks he gave too much.
The solution, I give the stamps away.
I usually get more in return than I woud asked for out of gratitude.
These stamp collectors are a strange bunch.
I hope I haven't become too philosophical.
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jpotx113
Member
Posts: 460
What I collect: USA, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Machins, misc. WW
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Post by jpotx113 on Nov 30, 2023 16:29:08 GMT
A stamp, like any other tangible item, is worth what a person is willing to pay. Catalog values really only serve as a guide, therefore should not be taken as "the gospel". I collect music CDs (and vinyl). I can go into a Half Price Books store and find a particular CD on the shelf priced at $5.98 (an example, not the actual price). I might find two or three other copies at the same listed price. I can sometimes find the same exact title in the same condition on the bottom clearance row for $1.00. Another music comparison story: I saw a kid pay about $40.00 for a Kiss LP once where the cover was torn, creased and in very bad condition (I'm sure the record itself was in poor condition. I told him I'd pay no more than 50 cents in that condition. His reply was that he didn't care, he wanted it. So, in a nutshell, people will pay what they want.
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djcmh
Member
Posts: 794
What I collect: Worldwide
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Post by djcmh on Nov 30, 2023 17:03:21 GMT
In the end the commercial value of most stamps is very low - the catalogues have established "minimum" CVs to put a floor under retail prices, but in the end for most stamps post-1945 that value does not reflect the reality that there will always be much more supply than demand in the marketplace for these items.
Not sure why people seem to feel they need to tell you how to price the stamps you are selling - if they are excess "clutter" you want to get rid of fast, I'd say you are doing it the best way possible. For you, these excess stamps have very minimal value, so you price them accordingly. As you say, what you are doing it putting the stamps that are just sitting there in your collection back into the hands of collectors who are actively looking for the items, which is the end is the ultimate goal.
The big problem is that the organized philatelic industry, especially in the last three decades, has put a very heavy emphasis on valuation and creating the idea that collectors should collect with the goal of making a return on their financial "investment" in stamps that many collectors are more focused on the question of "will it be worth more when I sell" than "will I get enjoyment from owning these stamps for the period they are in my possession" which I think has hurt the hobby overall in the past few decades. Collectors I think should be focusing less on whether or not their collections will result in a net positive financially once they do go to sell and focus on the added value in enjoyment and relaxation that owning stamps brings to their lives while they are active collectors.
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philatelia
Member
Captain Jack - my best kiloware find ever!
Posts: 3,654
What I collect: Ireland, Japan, Scandy, USA, Venezuela, Vatican, Bermuda, Austria
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Post by philatelia on Nov 30, 2023 17:30:33 GMT
djcmh oh my GAWD - your final paragraph is something every stamp collector should read! Well written! So true!
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renden
Member
Posts: 9,162
What I collect: Canada-USA-France-Lithuania-Austria--Germany-Mauritius-French Colonies in Africa
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Post by renden on Nov 30, 2023 17:35:50 GMT
djcmh oh my GAWD - your final paragraph is something every stamp collector should read! Well written! So true! Terri, I agree !! René |
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Post by nick2302 on Nov 30, 2023 18:44:22 GMT
I agree as well!!!
Nick
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dorincard
Member
Posts: 1,622
What I collect: My focus is on Wild Mammals on maximum cards. Occasionally, I get or create maximum cards with other animals, or any other topic.
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Post by dorincard on Nov 30, 2023 19:22:40 GMT
My maxicard about USA and Romania, partners in NATO. I designed the personalized stamp at zazzle.com/dorinco. 
My maxicard about the Eurasian Lynx. I designed the personalized stamp at Zazzle. All the personalized stamps that I designed and BOUGHT from Zazzle are forever valid for postage at the NUMERIC denomination inscribed. They are not FOREVERtm stamps. I sold such individual mint personalized stamps (not on maxicard) for up to $29.99 each. But what are they "worth"? Worth to WHOM? (Initial acquisition) Cost, [(Re)selling] Price, (Perceived) Value/Worth. Semantics matter, too. "If a stamp is still valid postage, then the value is obvious. ‘Nuf said about those." There are exceptions, Terri. Mystic Stamp Company, for example, sells some stamps still valid for postage, at prices WAY OVER the denomination, including the Forever stamps "officially worth" the postal rate of the moment. The value of a stamp includes, as a potential subset, the market value. "The highest known sold price for that stamp." SUBJECTIVITY is the kicker. Maybe a buyer was naive to pay too much, when lower offers were available simultaneously. Maybe a connoisseur buyer did not even SEE ON RADAR that stamp being offered for sale for a while. Maybe the current viewers of a listing don't even know what exactly are they looking at. It happens all the time with personalized stamps, for example. ZAZZLE and others. Not in a catalog ("Scott-free"), but valid for postage nonetheless. |
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BermudaSailor
Member
Posts: 102
What I collect: British colonies, primary Bermuda
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Post by BermudaSailor on Dec 23, 2023 17:55:07 GMT
I’ve been getting many puzzled messages about my very low prices on EBay. Many folks think I’m plain nuts, but let’s stop and think for a minute - what is a stamp really worth?
Teri,
Like everything else, a stamp is worth what someone will pay for it.
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Post by dgdecker on Dec 24, 2023 5:08:11 GMT
I think a stamp is worth what ever a buyer is milling to pay.
CV helps me decide how much I want to pay for a stamp. Certainly from the classic era.
I see the value in getting stamps out in the market place. My duplicates sitting binders are doing me no good nor do they add to my collection.
I am sure you will continue to get comments about your pricing.
i have never collected with the thought of return on my investment. I collect for pleasure. Yes, I have paid good, hard earned money to acquire my collection.
When I have time all duplicates will be eliminated and I will sell at any cost that will get them out of my hands.
David
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angore
Member
Posts: 5,698
What I collect: WW, focus on British Empire
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Post by angore on Dec 24, 2023 13:45:28 GMT
People look to catalog values for reference but catalogs like Scott are based upon a dealer sell price as evidenced by having miniumum value for stamps one cannpt often giveaway.
You can see the different from want price vs sell price on ebay by checking sold prices. The price paid involves having an informed buyer and their interest (want level). I have over paid (by some standards) if I wanted it now and not willing to wait. Uniformed will likely end up paying more.
Imagine if catalog sellers like Scott, listed the dealer buy price rather than a dealer sell price as their value.
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