Collecting and my conscience :-)

I’m with you all the way seegod1. Two instances occurred in the past year with collections brought for appraisal. Both were generally junior collections from the 1950-60 period and I advised in each case to give to the local charity shop . Collector No 1 said “donate it to your Stamp club I just want rid of it” a month later when I had found an unusual imperf GB penny red which proved valuable even though scruffy , I contacted him again …..he said “good luck just keep it “


Collector No 2 had a few covers from Hong Kong lurking among the very messy collection. I estimated at £40 , she was astonished ( so was I ) when I called round and gave her the £400 cash I had got on eBay! She insisted I take £100 back for my trouble……..I had already cleared my expenses and had fun.

All my life I have lived in the shadow of an Honest Man……….my late Father who had honesty built into his upbringing.

What an interesting topic. I would not say that I am a “Collector with a Conscience”. Here’s why; from personal experience buying collections from non-collectors….they way over value the collection to begin with. The majority of the time I buy one, they are usually asking and hoping that the collection is worth three times its value. People think old stamps are worth a lot.

The old caveat is true “buyer beware” and usually when I am buying I am not getting any steals. Just making a bet that I might be able to find a hidden gem or variety I need.

That said, if someone were to GIVE me a collection and I found something nice, I would definitely compensate them and tell them I found a gem.

Good post seegod1

1.Dealing with a independent stamp dealer or large stamp company is business and should be conducted regardless of the type of item involved as a business matter in that if you get a good deal ,happy days, on the other hand if you get a bad deal you have to either suck it up or you may have legal redress depending on the circumstances.

2.Dealing with a friend or friends/workmates associates stamp collection is a moral matter a different world in my opinion and personally I like to sleep peacefully at night as I'm sure most people do.

Most of my stamps were either mine from childhood or inherited. I have purchased a number of stamps, lots and small collections to fill voids m(and occupy my time !).  In only one instance was I 'given" a stock book of France stamps by a member of a club who was helping a friend out who's late husband had passed away and she didn't know what to do with them. No strings attached, but if I wanted to make a donation in his name to a local charitable organization instructions were provided.  The stamps were mainly modern (good for postage I suppose if I lived in France) and used stamps from the 1900's on... and all common.  I made a small donation. My wife asked if the stamps were worth as much as I donated, and when I said "not really".  She asked "Then why did you do it?"

My reply was that I hoped that if she one day found herself trying to figure out what to with my stamps, someone would treat her kindly and fair

In the end I guess that's all we can hope for!

Why  not Al angore ?   As an experienced collector it can be something of a service one can offer to the inexperienced who otherwise could get ripped off.

Years ago for a friend of my mother-in law, I was asked to look at a pre WW2 collection in a fat Schaubeck album which a dealer had offered  £200 . I immediately spotted £100 on page 1!  It took 2 years but eventually we realised £5000 on the break down selling on his behalf.  

Because most of the people whose collections I have been asked to give advice have no idea of the value, it becomes a duty or obligation to give an honest opinion .  Before I look,  I explain with the analogy I have to assess whether it is a gold plated Cadillac,  a serviceable family car, or a beat up rusty Ford with the doors hanging off. 

Nine times out of 10 it is the 3rd category, so just a few £ or a trip to the Charity shop.

Category 1 means I can tell it is way out of the ordinary, and should go to a major dealer or auction house. Too rich for me to make a decent offer. but i can make recommendations.

Category 2 is the hardest as it has some resale merit which requires work to realise its potential. Not good enough for a Philatelic Auction but may have some nuggets worth £100 or £200.  For these I may make a suggested offer with the proviso that If the result exceeds expectation I will get back with a dividend. On a few occasions I have actually bought the collection. Once or twice I have been over generous and have struggled to break even, most times I hit a level acceptable to the owner which allows me to make a profit up to double my outlay after some weeks or months of work.

Just occasionally where I have only a vague idea of the total worth I have offered undertake to sell the collection on their behalf which means regular dividends, after all my expenses and ebay fees plus a small commission for my work.   This has worked well for many many years . 

Whether as a buyer or as an Agent I have a reputation to maintain, and so far all our dealings have worked well to the satisfaction of the seller who had no idea of the value .

Some will go away disappointed of course, while  others will be pleasantly surprised.  

This has only happened to me once. The father of my good friend passed away. I knew his dad was a stamp collector, and I'd gotten a small peek as his collection shortly after he passed. It became a running joke that I was always asking my friend, and his mother (who knew me well), when was I going to get his dad's stamp collection.

After a number of years, my buddy told me that his mom had indeed decided to hand the collection over to me. Dad had saved the annual U.S. collections with the binders and stamps, along with the rest of his collection. She was going to give one to each grandchild that coincided with the year they were born. I could have the rest.

I went to her house to pick it up, and she sat with me as I gave things a quick look over before I packed it up to take home. I took a U.S. catalog along, just in case. I found in the collection the Legends of the West sheet with the error. I consulted my catalog, confirmed it, showed it to her, and told her to keep that. I've never regretted doing that.

I've inherited a few other collections over the years since. I've found a few treasures, but nothing worth as much as the Legends sheet is. It's not huge sum, but I couldn't in good conscience not tell her. Who knows. Some day when she passes, I may still end up with it.

I applaud your "giving to charity" - the selling part is also very personal - I never sold a stamp in my life but do buy some ......(did sell on Ebay some 7-8 guitars - electric and of high value but my PRS or Paul Reed Smith did not hit Ebay but locally sold)......, which explains I have no need to pay anybody who gives me some stamps

René

The question of integrity goes both ways.

Ninety percent of the folks who brought me collections to look at were good, honest people. BUT the other 10% … not so much. 

One of the problems I ran into was the folks who expected me to catalog everything for them gratis so that they could then try to sell them for top dollar. OMG! We all know how much time that can take! I also ran into a few other unwelcome behaviors from folks trying to sell what they believed to be treasures such as accusations that I must be wrong about their album full of pretty Hungarian and Bulgarian CTOs - they are decades old after all - they must be worth $$$! And, ‘maybe I should ask a MAN who really knows this philately stuff’.  Arggghhh! That’s when I decided to either make a flat offer with the promise to compensate for any rarities as I noted above, or I would refer them to a few reputable local dealers. Take it or leave it, eh?

Once I wondered if I were looking at stolen goods. I gently queried about how they acquired the collection just to be sure.

And after reading vikingeck post I have a slight suspicion that folks over in the UK are more savvy about stamps than in the USA blue collar Midwest. 

The experiences gave me a greater appreciation for what dealers must have to handle. 

I want to avoid any hard feelings. I may give opinions on value but not likely to purchase it.

Philatelia wrote: "One of the problems I ran into was the folks who expected me to catalog everything for them gratis so that they could then try to sell them for top dollar."

Oh fer sure. I tell anyone that hands me something that, hey, word to the wise, I'm a complete dilettante in the world of philately AND may not get to it for a while, depending on what they hand me, and they need to understand that. If it's just a childhood album or something like that then I'll usually do it quickly, but in other circumstances (I was given FOUR 8.5 x 11 x 2-inch boxes jam-packed FULL of individual stamps on Aug 25, 2013 that I'm STILL going through off and on to this day!) then ya... I'll let you know if I find anything... when I do, LOL!

I agree with jdtrue66. My family, and especially the wife, does not need to know how much I spend on the stamp collection. Or at least I do not need to volunteer it. If she wants to know, she can go through the bank statements. I earn all the money and I don't question her expenses, nor does she or the kids want for anything, but no matter what amount I would spend, she would think it's too much. I do spend a significant amount, but I keep it within a monthly budget and I can afford it.

To a degree you can have some buried with you. People put all kinds of things in caskets. 

As a single (no family) long time collector, I don't see the point of mixing conscience or personal believings with such a serious thing as stamp collecting!

This thread is going in several directions!