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General Philatelic/Gen. Discussion : What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

 

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Postings
pre1940classics

18 Jan 2014
10:19:49pm
Two years ago, I won a Scott National Canada album that ran through the late 70s. If that wasn't good enough, there were over 700 mint and used early to current, with several better items. Stamps alone were a few hundred in CV! Best trade was a New Zealand classic stamp. that cv'd for $210, for a Statesman album with over 500 stamps, A Minkus Comprehensive with several hundred stamps, and 10 stockpages of Switzerland, about $150 scv. I then was able to get a Switzerland album for $10.
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michael78651

18 Jan 2014
11:46:42pm
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

There are different ways to interpret the question, but you appear to be looking for a financial deal. I have a couple of recent acquisitions that I was happy about.

The first was a box lot that I won in a silent auction probably about ten years ago for $20. It had a ton of worldwide stamps in it, and some used 19th century USA and plenty of common unused USA. Upon closer examination, there were two stamps that hit the jackpot: a used in fine condition USA Scott #72 with a blue cancel, and a lightly hinged unused USA Scott #634A.

The second is a purchase that I made about two years ago to help a dealer clear out a bunch of stamps he had laying around. The stamps and packets had original pricing based on 2010 catalog. Three boxes full of MNH worldwide newer issues from the 1990s to around 2008, and about three boxes full of envelopes full of more worldwide stamps sorted by country with lots of more newer issues, but mostly unused and MNH going back to the 19th century and going forward. I am still working on all of these stamps. I paid $2500 for everything, and I estimate the catalog value will top out well over $50,000 when I am finished. Many, many stamps had seen large catalog value increases from the 2010 to the 2013 catalog. There are many stamps that I do not need in all of this, and I have been selling those. I recovered my cost quite a while ago, and many more of the stamps are in the selling process with plenty more to come.

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cocollectibles

19 Jan 2014
08:18:45am
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Wow, both of you had great finds.

I have some I could list but the best purchase I made has to be one I made from a British company that was on eBay in the mid 2000s. They had kiloware type boxes with very expensive shipping, but I took the plunge and bought two, one of Asia stamps and the other of British Commonwealth. The Asia box was primarily middle east with lots of "dunes" and nothing particularly interesting to me; that was a small box thank goodness. But the BC box! There were many contemporary used and mint stamps, but the treasure to me was finding about 500 Queen Victoria stamps including a dozen penny blacks in a sealed scruffly looking, easy to overlook, envelope. It was included with a bunch of lower value GB QV revenues also in individual envelopes. Obviously missed by the sorter. That started me on my penny black collection. The catalogue, and even resale, value of the PBs alone made up for the cost of both boxes and shipping.

Peter

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"TO ERR IS HUMAN; TO FORGIVE, CANINE."
philb
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19 Jan 2014
08:50:44am

Auctions
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

One trade that comes to mind was a set of Portugal 747/48 mint never hinged that cataloged a hundred dollars at the time. A trading partner had an extra set and traded me for a hundred dollars catalog in stamps...they catalog 338.00 now but are still in the album with their more humble bretheren !

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"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
michael78651

19 Jan 2014
10:38:10am
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Peter, you would drool over this. Back in 1979, I was at a stamp show, and a dealer friend of mine had an 1899 Scott International album. The album was ratty, but the few thousand stamps that were in there were mostly fine. He sold it to me for $400. The Hong Kong pages were quite full as was plenty of other British material, which is where the strength of this collection lie. Definitely, even in 1979, was worth much more than the purchase price. That was actually my first major purchase in scope and dollars.

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cocollectibles

19 Jan 2014
12:18:27pm
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Image Not Found

I had a unique arrangement at one time with one of my uncles, who would purchase these large kiloware lots from eBay under my ID, and have it shipped to me. I let him know what was in it, and he'd tell me what to send to him. The rest was mine to keep or dispose of; that was my "consignment" fee. I got my first QV 1-pound stamp that way. I think that was purposeful on his part. Happy

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"TO ERR IS HUMAN; TO FORGIVE, CANINE."
bluparrot

19 Jan 2014
06:22:32pm
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

About a year ago I stumbled upon an online auction for assorted US BOB material. Upon viewing the scans I noticed all the early airmail, special delivery, full set of parcel post, special handling, Columbians up to the .30, and the 1.30 and 2.60 zeps. There was no mention of the Zeppelins in the description or title of the auction! I won this lot for $450.

Upon receipt I noticed a stamp that was upside down and loose. I turned it over and was pleased to find the .65 Zep. They were all in used VF condition!

I sold everything but the zeps for about $250, so I ended up with a full set for about $200!! A definite bargain, and the only way to get them that cheap.



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larsdog
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APS #220693 ATA#57179

19 Jan 2014
10:12:38pm
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

My "best deal" is much more modest. I had been tracking US 315 MH for quite some time, so I knew what they were going for. I had an alert for any new postings, so I was notified soon after a seller listed two at the same time. The one with the huge margins was BUY-IT-NOW for $190. The other one was an auction with a penny start. I immediately executed the BUY-IT-NOW and watched as the bids came in for the other one. It was way less than $100 with less than a day to close, but sure enough the price kept creeping up and finally closed for around $225. I had already purchased a much superior stamp for $35 less!

Lars

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khj
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20 Jan 2014
07:10:12pm
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

The best deal I ever made was when I gave 5 souvenir sheets to a younger collector. They originally cost me less than $5, but the big smile I got in return made it the greatest deal ever.

k

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red-eric-1

A collector since birth

31 Jan 2014
09:30:51am
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Hi

Best purchase I ever made was my first - HE Harris big bag of worldwide stamps at a local store that started me on a rewarding life-long hobby.

Most lucrative (so far) was buying 5 folders of the 48c Canadian hall-of fame hockey issue at the Post Office to use on philatelic mail. Two of them had major misperfs. One paid for a trip to a major stamp show in Halifax. The second resides proudly in my topical ice hockey collection.

Eric

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dani20
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31 Jan 2014
10:04:19am
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

My most memorable/best deal actually came from right here. As an accumulator all sorts of stuff gets tucked away here and there, with little rhyme or reason for the placement. In a swap that was exactly valued cat. val. for cat. val.,our Secretary Perry was able to help me organize a ton of odds & ends into a neat B-O-B binder which continues to grow.

The great value to me was the nature of the swap, the ease of the transaction and the shared delight of us both in the achievement. That was and remains the most valued aspect of it all.

Dan C.

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sponthetrona2
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Keep Postal systems alive, buy stamps and mail often

31 Jan 2014
10:32:15am
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Yes Dan, it was a great deal, however I got the better of the deal cause I never planned on keeping all that stuff in the first place and was thrilled to exchange with someone who actually wanted the stuff.

My best deal however was getting all the plate blocks of the Nebraska/Kansas overprints (US) which I eventually sold for the purchase of my house. I doubt their value has gone up as much as my house has! Perry

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I still have more questions than answers

31 Jan 2014
10:54:43am
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

The best deal I ever made was over 40 years ago. A local dealer had US scott #119 that he offered me for $7.00. At the time it cataloged $35.00. I had spent hours as a young man in his shop buying very common stamps to fill my album. I could take me hours to spend more than a buck. I was 12 years old and $7.00 was a bunch of money for one stamp, but after I bought it I somehow felt like a serious collector. I had no regrets and I was very proud of my big purchase. I still have the stamp and even though I have much better copies of it, it is the one in my album.
I have made many purchases over the years that realized a much better monetary gain, but they are kind of a blur and all kind of become just another deal. This was my best deal as it started me down a path that had given me many friends and hours of enjoyment.

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pjsstamps.blogspot.com/
amsd
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Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads

31 Jan 2014
03:35:39pm

Auctions
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Patrick, it is purchases like yours that do slide us over some imaginary line, from penny pickers to dollar savants. I have done the same on several occasions, each time happy with the decision, pleased with myself, and never looking back.

David

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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"

juicyheads.com/link.php?PLJZJP
philb
Members Picture


01 Feb 2014
10:29:50am

Auctions
re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Anymore its just a blur..i have a had a few deals that could be called robbery and i have also knowingly overpaid. In the 1960s and 1970s with 3 young children i could mostly only gawk and drool. Things have worked out for us since then !

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"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
        

 

Author/Postings
pre1940classics

18 Jan 2014
10:19:49pm

Two years ago, I won a Scott National Canada album that ran through the late 70s. If that wasn't good enough, there were over 700 mint and used early to current, with several better items. Stamps alone were a few hundred in CV! Best trade was a New Zealand classic stamp. that cv'd for $210, for a Statesman album with over 500 stamps, A Minkus Comprehensive with several hundred stamps, and 10 stockpages of Switzerland, about $150 scv. I then was able to get a Switzerland album for $10.

Like 
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michael78651

18 Jan 2014
11:46:42pm

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

There are different ways to interpret the question, but you appear to be looking for a financial deal. I have a couple of recent acquisitions that I was happy about.

The first was a box lot that I won in a silent auction probably about ten years ago for $20. It had a ton of worldwide stamps in it, and some used 19th century USA and plenty of common unused USA. Upon closer examination, there were two stamps that hit the jackpot: a used in fine condition USA Scott #72 with a blue cancel, and a lightly hinged unused USA Scott #634A.

The second is a purchase that I made about two years ago to help a dealer clear out a bunch of stamps he had laying around. The stamps and packets had original pricing based on 2010 catalog. Three boxes full of MNH worldwide newer issues from the 1990s to around 2008, and about three boxes full of envelopes full of more worldwide stamps sorted by country with lots of more newer issues, but mostly unused and MNH going back to the 19th century and going forward. I am still working on all of these stamps. I paid $2500 for everything, and I estimate the catalog value will top out well over $50,000 when I am finished. Many, many stamps had seen large catalog value increases from the 2010 to the 2013 catalog. There are many stamps that I do not need in all of this, and I have been selling those. I recovered my cost quite a while ago, and many more of the stamps are in the selling process with plenty more to come.

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this post
cocollectibles

19 Jan 2014
08:18:45am

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Wow, both of you had great finds.

I have some I could list but the best purchase I made has to be one I made from a British company that was on eBay in the mid 2000s. They had kiloware type boxes with very expensive shipping, but I took the plunge and bought two, one of Asia stamps and the other of British Commonwealth. The Asia box was primarily middle east with lots of "dunes" and nothing particularly interesting to me; that was a small box thank goodness. But the BC box! There were many contemporary used and mint stamps, but the treasure to me was finding about 500 Queen Victoria stamps including a dozen penny blacks in a sealed scruffly looking, easy to overlook, envelope. It was included with a bunch of lower value GB QV revenues also in individual envelopes. Obviously missed by the sorter. That started me on my penny black collection. The catalogue, and even resale, value of the PBs alone made up for the cost of both boxes and shipping.

Peter

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"TO ERR IS HUMAN; TO FORGIVE, CANINE."
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philb

19 Jan 2014
08:50:44am

Auctions

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

One trade that comes to mind was a set of Portugal 747/48 mint never hinged that cataloged a hundred dollars at the time. A trading partner had an extra set and traded me for a hundred dollars catalog in stamps...they catalog 338.00 now but are still in the album with their more humble bretheren !

Like
Login to Like
this post

"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
michael78651

19 Jan 2014
10:38:10am

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Peter, you would drool over this. Back in 1979, I was at a stamp show, and a dealer friend of mine had an 1899 Scott International album. The album was ratty, but the few thousand stamps that were in there were mostly fine. He sold it to me for $400. The Hong Kong pages were quite full as was plenty of other British material, which is where the strength of this collection lie. Definitely, even in 1979, was worth much more than the purchase price. That was actually my first major purchase in scope and dollars.

Like
Login to Like
this post
cocollectibles

19 Jan 2014
12:18:27pm

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Image Not Found

I had a unique arrangement at one time with one of my uncles, who would purchase these large kiloware lots from eBay under my ID, and have it shipped to me. I let him know what was in it, and he'd tell me what to send to him. The rest was mine to keep or dispose of; that was my "consignment" fee. I got my first QV 1-pound stamp that way. I think that was purposeful on his part. Happy

Like
Login to Like
this post

"TO ERR IS HUMAN; TO FORGIVE, CANINE."
bluparrot

19 Jan 2014
06:22:32pm

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

About a year ago I stumbled upon an online auction for assorted US BOB material. Upon viewing the scans I noticed all the early airmail, special delivery, full set of parcel post, special handling, Columbians up to the .30, and the 1.30 and 2.60 zeps. There was no mention of the Zeppelins in the description or title of the auction! I won this lot for $450.

Upon receipt I noticed a stamp that was upside down and loose. I turned it over and was pleased to find the .65 Zep. They were all in used VF condition!

I sold everything but the zeps for about $250, so I ended up with a full set for about $200!! A definite bargain, and the only way to get them that cheap.



Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
larsdog

APS #220693 ATA#57179
19 Jan 2014
10:12:38pm

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

My "best deal" is much more modest. I had been tracking US 315 MH for quite some time, so I knew what they were going for. I had an alert for any new postings, so I was notified soon after a seller listed two at the same time. The one with the huge margins was BUY-IT-NOW for $190. The other one was an auction with a penny start. I immediately executed the BUY-IT-NOW and watched as the bids came in for the other one. It was way less than $100 with less than a day to close, but sure enough the price kept creeping up and finally closed for around $225. I had already purchased a much superior stamp for $35 less!

Lars

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."

stamps.colp.info
Members Picture
khj

20 Jan 2014
07:10:12pm

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

The best deal I ever made was when I gave 5 souvenir sheets to a younger collector. They originally cost me less than $5, but the big smile I got in return made it the greatest deal ever.

k

Like 
6 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
red-eric-1

A collector since birth

31 Jan 2014
09:30:51am

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Hi

Best purchase I ever made was my first - HE Harris big bag of worldwide stamps at a local store that started me on a rewarding life-long hobby.

Most lucrative (so far) was buying 5 folders of the 48c Canadian hall-of fame hockey issue at the Post Office to use on philatelic mail. Two of them had major misperfs. One paid for a trip to a major stamp show in Halifax. The second resides proudly in my topical ice hockey collection.

Eric

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
dani20

31 Jan 2014
10:04:19am

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

My most memorable/best deal actually came from right here. As an accumulator all sorts of stuff gets tucked away here and there, with little rhyme or reason for the placement. In a swap that was exactly valued cat. val. for cat. val.,our Secretary Perry was able to help me organize a ton of odds & ends into a neat B-O-B binder which continues to grow.

The great value to me was the nature of the swap, the ease of the transaction and the shared delight of us both in the achievement. That was and remains the most valued aspect of it all.

Dan C.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
sponthetrona2

Keep Postal systems alive, buy stamps and mail often
31 Jan 2014
10:32:15am

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Yes Dan, it was a great deal, however I got the better of the deal cause I never planned on keeping all that stuff in the first place and was thrilled to exchange with someone who actually wanted the stuff.

My best deal however was getting all the plate blocks of the Nebraska/Kansas overprints (US) which I eventually sold for the purchase of my house. I doubt their value has gone up as much as my house has! Perry

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
postmarks

I still have more questions than answers
31 Jan 2014
10:54:43am

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

The best deal I ever made was over 40 years ago. A local dealer had US scott #119 that he offered me for $7.00. At the time it cataloged $35.00. I had spent hours as a young man in his shop buying very common stamps to fill my album. I could take me hours to spend more than a buck. I was 12 years old and $7.00 was a bunch of money for one stamp, but after I bought it I somehow felt like a serious collector. I had no regrets and I was very proud of my big purchase. I still have the stamp and even though I have much better copies of it, it is the one in my album.
I have made many purchases over the years that realized a much better monetary gain, but they are kind of a blur and all kind of become just another deal. This was my best deal as it started me down a path that had given me many friends and hours of enjoyment.

Like
Login to Like
this post

pjsstamps.blogspot.c ...
Members Picture
amsd

Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
31 Jan 2014
03:35:39pm

Auctions

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Patrick, it is purchases like yours that do slide us over some imaginary line, from penny pickers to dollar savants. I have done the same on several occasions, each time happy with the decision, pleased with myself, and never looking back.

David

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"

juicyheads.com/link. ...
Members Picture
philb

01 Feb 2014
10:29:50am

Auctions

re: What was the best deal/trade/purchase you ever made?

Anymore its just a blur..i have a had a few deals that could be called robbery and i have also knowingly overpaid. In the 1960s and 1970s with 3 young children i could mostly only gawk and drool. Things have worked out for us since then !

Like
Login to Like
this post

"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
        

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