Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I have a few older catalogs that I'm working from, the latest being a Scotts Specialized USA from 2004. Lately I've been sucked in to working on a general USA collection, and I've been buying old USA stamps mainly at the 'bay. I see a wide discrepancy in pricing, so I've been low balling and occasionally win. I need to have a current guide book to values, so I know what I'm bidding against.
Back in the day, I liked my HE Harris pocket size catalog. I was at Hobby Lobby last week and noticed that they had an HE Harris catalog, 2014 version in a large page, color spiral bound format. I like this because the pages will sit flat. The marked price is $26.95 and I'd use their 40% off coupon, so the price is okay.
The big question... what catalog should I be using to establish a base line value in today's market? I found the 2016 version of the Harris on eBay that would roughly cost me the same $26.95 without 40% off. What do we all think? Many thanks!
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Harris, Mystic, Kenmore, Brookman and others like them issue their own catalogs. These are retail catalogs, but the pricing is usually much higher than Scott values. Those stamp companies sell at the high end of the market. When it comes time to sell, you will never get anything close to what you paid for the stamps from them.
Scott valuation is still not an accurate reflection of the true marketplace, but it is a better benchmark to use. If you are looking to insure, then chop off 50% or more from Scott. Selling to a dealer and you're chopping off 70% to 80% off Scott. Buyers don't like to pay more than 60% of catalog, and they mostly want to pay a price in the 30% to 60% range. All of this depends on condition, of course. Market value lies somewhere within all those percentages. It is, however, very subjective and very fluid.
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If you at all work on US Stamps and postal history (and I know that you do), the Scott Specialized Catalog of US Stamps and Covers is a great tool. You can get one from a year or two ago at a significant discount to list prices (though I wouldnt get one older than 2013).
Cheers,
Antonio
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hello guys n gals,
I've found some catalogs to be a bit over the top with valuations but you can expect to get around 1/3rd of cat and when it comes to British Victorian issues 1/8th of cat the Scott cat has some interesting detail when it comes to color of a particular stamp all that apart the Prexies and 1922-26 regular issues gives the collector a very wide scope as the color variants are numerous.To conclude no matter which catalog you use its 1/3rd by rule of thumb.
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My rule of thumb is: If I won the auction, I must have overpaid. 
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I've gotten to where I use catalogs for identification only. I find little or no use for listed values anymore, they're just not realistic. I tend to log values in tiers, low, moderately-low, medium, moderately high and high, rather then an actual number. There are rare and unique stamps that bare exception, but not many in my collection.
WB
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Tom,
i'd recommend Scott solely because, in the US, that's what folks are using. I think the percentages that folks have been quoting is reasonable for older used stamps (40s through maybe 70s having no value at all) and more recent used material truly underpriced based on its rarity (although I don't know about demand).
Using a price guide doesn't give a good sense of the secondary market except from those who are the big commercial houses, and then only their sell prices.
I occasionally see some SOR sellers quoting price guides, and it's always jarring.
David
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Thanks everyone! I think I'll hit a few sites to look for a 2014-15 or so Scott Specialized USA Catalog! I do have a 2004 version.
I'm not going to rely heavily on the values, just the 'bigger than a breadbox' rounding out so I can tell which of the varieties are dirt cheap and which ones have some value.
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I have a complete set of Scott from 2010 that I use for identification. I use the Scott US Specialized for my US collection, but I purchased used Gibbons and Michel for UK, Germany, and Australia for identification. I'll buy the Scott US pocket catalog every few years for my US collection for inventory and current value, since that is my largest collection.
I collect for fun, not investment, so value is not so important to me, not that I wouldn't want to discover something rare! I figure if it was rare in 2010 it is rare in 2016.
Geoff
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I have a few older catalogs that I'm working from, the latest being a Scotts Specialized USA from 2004. Lately I've been sucked in to working on a general USA collection, and I've been buying old USA stamps mainly at the 'bay. I see a wide discrepancy in pricing, so I've been low balling and occasionally win. I need to have a current guide book to values, so I know what I'm bidding against.
Back in the day, I liked my HE Harris pocket size catalog. I was at Hobby Lobby last week and noticed that they had an HE Harris catalog, 2014 version in a large page, color spiral bound format. I like this because the pages will sit flat. The marked price is $26.95 and I'd use their 40% off coupon, so the price is okay.
The big question... what catalog should I be using to establish a base line value in today's market? I found the 2016 version of the Harris on eBay that would roughly cost me the same $26.95 without 40% off. What do we all think? Many thanks!
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this post
01:09:56am
re: Catalog Recommendations
Harris, Mystic, Kenmore, Brookman and others like them issue their own catalogs. These are retail catalogs, but the pricing is usually much higher than Scott values. Those stamp companies sell at the high end of the market. When it comes time to sell, you will never get anything close to what you paid for the stamps from them.
Scott valuation is still not an accurate reflection of the true marketplace, but it is a better benchmark to use. If you are looking to insure, then chop off 50% or more from Scott. Selling to a dealer and you're chopping off 70% to 80% off Scott. Buyers don't like to pay more than 60% of catalog, and they mostly want to pay a price in the 30% to 60% range. All of this depends on condition, of course. Market value lies somewhere within all those percentages. It is, however, very subjective and very fluid.
Login to Like
this post
re: Catalog Recommendations
If you at all work on US Stamps and postal history (and I know that you do), the Scott Specialized Catalog of US Stamps and Covers is a great tool. You can get one from a year or two ago at a significant discount to list prices (though I wouldnt get one older than 2013).
Cheers,
Antonio
Login to Like
this post
re: Catalog Recommendations
hello guys n gals,
I've found some catalogs to be a bit over the top with valuations but you can expect to get around 1/3rd of cat and when it comes to British Victorian issues 1/8th of cat the Scott cat has some interesting detail when it comes to color of a particular stamp all that apart the Prexies and 1922-26 regular issues gives the collector a very wide scope as the color variants are numerous.To conclude no matter which catalog you use its 1/3rd by rule of thumb.
Login to Like
this post
re: Catalog Recommendations
My rule of thumb is: If I won the auction, I must have overpaid.
7 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Catalog Recommendations
I've gotten to where I use catalogs for identification only. I find little or no use for listed values anymore, they're just not realistic. I tend to log values in tiers, low, moderately-low, medium, moderately high and high, rather then an actual number. There are rare and unique stamps that bare exception, but not many in my collection.
WB
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this post
re: Catalog Recommendations
Tom,
i'd recommend Scott solely because, in the US, that's what folks are using. I think the percentages that folks have been quoting is reasonable for older used stamps (40s through maybe 70s having no value at all) and more recent used material truly underpriced based on its rarity (although I don't know about demand).
Using a price guide doesn't give a good sense of the secondary market except from those who are the big commercial houses, and then only their sell prices.
I occasionally see some SOR sellers quoting price guides, and it's always jarring.
David
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Catalog Recommendations
Thanks everyone! I think I'll hit a few sites to look for a 2014-15 or so Scott Specialized USA Catalog! I do have a 2004 version.
I'm not going to rely heavily on the values, just the 'bigger than a breadbox' rounding out so I can tell which of the varieties are dirt cheap and which ones have some value.
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
06:22:52pm
re: Catalog Recommendations
I have a complete set of Scott from 2010 that I use for identification. I use the Scott US Specialized for my US collection, but I purchased used Gibbons and Michel for UK, Germany, and Australia for identification. I'll buy the Scott US pocket catalog every few years for my US collection for inventory and current value, since that is my largest collection.
I collect for fun, not investment, so value is not so important to me, not that I wouldn't want to discover something rare! I figure if it was rare in 2010 it is rare in 2016.
Geoff
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