Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
10:42:34am
In a recent correspondence, I received a typical question:
"I have a collection of stamps I would like to sell [that I found in a storage unit]. They are from all over the world and at least 50 years old ..."
Part of my response was the following:
"I am afraid that age is no indicator of the value of a stamp collection. A collector can accumulate tens of thousands of different stamps, from all over the world, all more than 50 years old, and never spend more than a penny or two per stamp.".
(I went on to explain the sort of collection that we would buy, which I have not bothered to copy here).
Minimum value (i.e. 20c in Scott) stamps are available in bulk lots, packets etc for a penny or two each, that's a given.
The question is, have I overstated the number of different "minimum value" stamps in the catalogs? Do you think that my statement of "tens of thousands" is an overstatement? does anybody have any actual numbers?
Roy
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Roy, I do not KNOW, and am not prepared to mine the data, but I suspect that your number can't be far from the truth. If we assume that 1/2 of the US stamps are MCV, and there are 4,200 stamps in the front of the book as of 2009, that's 2,100 right there. There are almost 200 countries today, plus others that were, plus all the BoB stuff, well, tens of thousands sounds about right.
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11:23:48am
Right on the money, Roy. However, minimum cv is now $0.25.
I purchase old collections and have the same issues. Since I purchase the collections primarily for my personal collection and not for resale, I will generally offer something, but never what the seller feels is enough. I really wish Scott would place a realistic value on common stamps, or alternatively designate them with an "*" or other symbol denoting that they are of negligible value.
I certainly have nothing against min value stamps (90% of my collection is comprised of such), and do not judge the beauty of a stamp by its value.
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Regarding minimum catalog value, Scott does give an explanation of what "minimum" means. Scott also says that minimum valued stamps offered in lots are worth considerably less than the stated $0.25. Bobby, I think it would serve the hobby well for the catalogs to stop valuing all stamps worth less than $1.00 and go to the symbol. People will get a better understanding of the values of stamps and know that they don't have a fortune after adding up all those 25 centers.
There are upwards of 600,000 stamp listings in the Scott catalogs now. I think you can say that there are at least 100,000 stamps of minimum value ($0.25). Many now consider stamps less than $1.00 to be of minimal value. That will probably bring you up to at least 250,000 stamps or more.
Many dealers no longer offer stamps or sets that catalog less than $10.00 due to the expense of handling such transactions (storage, packaging and such). Stamps and sets cataloging less than $10.00 are often thrown into bulk box lots and quickly sold at or near wholesale prices. You can see these offers in advertising in Linns from companies like Champion Stamp Company (as an example) where $5,000 catalog value is offered for prices like $595.00, but that will include a boatload of common material and plenty of duplicates. I'm not saying this is bad. People do like buying bulk lots and the fun of going through a box full of stamps. It's just where the economics of selling stamps is at now.
One cannot sell a $0.25 stamp on eBay and do anything but lose money on the transaction. Sites that used to be friendly to collectors wanting to sell off minimal-valued stamps are either gone, have increased fees to chase away small sales (DelCampe), or are sinking fast into oblivion (BidStart). That brings us to Stamp-o-Rama where it is quite clear that through the approval book sales area that there are plenty of collectors looking for lower-valued stamps to add to their collections. Where the others have chased the penny stamps away, SOR has embraced it with success.
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Just a question for curiosity sake: How much WOULD you pay for a stamp with a CV of 25 cents? A penny? 5 cents?
What about modern day stamps with a face value of 49 cents (forever stamps). Would you pay 49 cents for them or something less?
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That 25c is silly - Michel uses an "M" for minimum value which is an excellent idea.
Another example of inflated catalog values are some definitive issues. Several years ago, during a brief lapse in common sense, I bought a VERY large quantity of Irish mission mix. I ended up with a large plastic tub full of the 48c flower definitive. I was so happy to learn about the holocaust project so I sent them a box with 10,000 of those ubiquitous flowers. The Scott value for those would be $15,000! Isn't that nuts? Can you imagine some moron trying to claim that amount on their taxes as a charitable contribution??????!!!! 
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Adam, it all depends how the stamp is offered. If I need one 49 cent stamp, because I missed it when it came out from the post office, I'll probably pay $0.75 to $1.00 for it. If I am offered a bunch of 49 cent stamps, I would probably be willing to pay at or less than face value for it to use the stamps for postage.
For minimum valued stamps, I have paid pennies for them, and have even paid full catalog. Again, it just depends on how the stamp is offered, and what my need is for the stamp. If I'm just haphazardly filling up spaces in an album, then I'd probably pay less for each stamp, because I most likely will be replacing those stamps when I find the complete sets. It's just that stamps on a page look better than no stamps on a page. If I need the stamp to complete a set, I'm willing to pay more for that as complete sets have more value than short sets.
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"Can you imagine some moron trying to claim that amount on their taxes as a charitable contribution!"
But I thought...phew, no that wasn't me.
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Suspicions confirmed about "amsd"!
His full-time salaried job is drafting the US national budget.
John Derry
Afterthought: maybe he audits same.
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"Sites that used to be friendly to collectors wanting to sell off minimal-valued stamps are either gone, have increased fees to chase away small sales (DelCampe), or are sinking fast into oblivion (BidStart)."
There is still one good place to pick up large quantities of low cost stamps: http://www.Stamps2Go.com. I have used them for years and recently placed several orders when I started working on my "Stamp from every Country" collection. There are lots of used common stamps listed for 2 cents and 3 cents. You can even filter by price, if you wish. I have probably bought more stamps there than anywhere else.
Lars
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Michael had a great response to how much would you pay for a MCV stamp. And the answer depends entirely on demand: if I need it, a quarter sounds like an incredible bargain. There are Czech MCVs that I still don't own and I"ve been collecting Czech since, well, their votes didn't count. Face value stuff... again, just how much extra work do I have to put in to make it work.
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There are minimum value stamps, then there are minimum-value stamps ! Not all minimum value stamps are equal.
To take a somewhat silly example. Take the long running French town coat of arms stamps. They are all minimum value - but try to obtain some of the more elusive ones, and you will struggle.
To take an even more silly example - many VERY common GB Machins are catalogued at more than minimum value ( I have hundreds ) Additionally many Machins of the same type but different varieties are catalogued the same mint ( and easily obtained from dealers/collectors who have squirelled them away). They are also catalogued the same used - but try to find them. I have had thousands of Machins from kiloware through my hands, and the ratio of some of these equally valued stamps is probably 5000:1.
Yes, what is needed is a minimum value system but with a comparative availability rating - say from A to AAAAA. Australian postmarks on KG5 stamps have a similar system based on the number of known copies ( although these are not minimum value ).People who handle large quantities of stamps of a given country will be able to formulate a rough scale for older stamps. Stamps still being issued are a different kettle of fish.
Malcolm
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To add to what Malcolm stated, the listings for Latin American countries are full of minimum valued stamps, but you can't find many of them either.
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Hi Everyone;
The fact that minimum value stamps are hard to find is probably due to the lack of demand. That nations stamps are not popular to collect, so if the supply is small, they will not automatically be worth more....unless collectors desire to have them.
Latin American, and South American stamps are not as popular to collect as say Europe or US, or Canada. Even African colonial stamps are more popular than South American, probably because of the interesting pictures of animals, plants, folk art carvings etc.
Keep on stampin'
TuskenRaider
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It is interesting how hard it is to find particular stamps that should be easy to find, if low catalogue value is a criterion, but in fact are darned near impossible to find, especially in good condition. My most recent "failure to find" is a MNH VF copy of Japan B7:
Admittedly, it's not a cheap stamp — I don't have an up-to-date catalogue, but I suspect its catalogue value is less than $10.** But these days, that's nothing for a desirable stamp.
Here's another, on cover, the 3g "Austrian Costumes" stamp, cataloguing at no more than a dollar** in mint condition, but darned hard to find used or mint.
I have managed to find one mint copy and two apparently postally used copies off paper, but it's amazing how many years it took to find them.
Bob
* I really need to buy a new, or at least newer, set of Scott catalogues.
** I REALLY need to buy a new, or at least newer, set of Scott catalogues!
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Minimum value and market value are two very different things. Try to justify more than a penny value for almost any US used minimum value from 1940 through 1960. Many 19th century foreign or US BOB stamps are listed at the same minimum value and often will command their value or more. Can you imagine what it would be like if the catalog listed all of these common stamps at varying prices from a penny up to 25 cents? It would be insane. No one would appraise or value a collection wasting their time on these minimum value stamps. In reality when they appraise a collection they look for the dollars and pretty much ignore the pennies. The only reason for minimum values is basically a service charge for the hassel involved in a dealer messing with common stamps.
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Scott minimum catalog value used to be 2 cents for a long time. Then it went up to 3 cents and then 5 cents in the 1970s. Stamps in sets were valued starting a 2 cents, and different penny amounts. You could look at the next year catalog and see all the stamps that increased/decreased by a penny or two, particularly those long sets from the French colonies. Looking back, it was insane.
I still think that Scott catalog values could use some refining. I have talked to them about it as well. Stamps less than $1 can be valued in 5 cent increments. I think everything above $1 should go in 25 cent increments. Stamps above $10 in 50 cent increments, and so on. Would be easier for Scott to keep track of values, and there would be no need to raise the value of a stamp from $1.00 to $1.10, or worse $1.05. They can simply bump it up to $1.25 and not worry about it for 50 years. But then they wouldn't sell as many catalogs. Always a catch.
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
08 Oct 2014
10:42:34am
In response to my websites and advertising, I receive a steady stream of requests to evaluate and make an offer on "collections". In only about one case in fifty is there anything worth buying.
In a recent correspondence, I received a typical question:
"I have a collection of stamps I would like to sell [that I found in a storage unit]. They are from all over the world and at least 50 years old ..."
Part of my response was the following:
"I am afraid that age is no indicator of the value of a stamp collection. A collector can accumulate tens of thousands of different stamps, from all over the world, all more than 50 years old, and never spend more than a penny or two per stamp.".
(I went on to explain the sort of collection that we would buy, which I have not bothered to copy here).
Minimum value (i.e. 20c in Scott) stamps are available in bulk lots, packets etc for a penny or two each, that's a given.
The question is, have I overstated the number of different "minimum value" stamps in the catalogs? Do you think that my statement of "tens of thousands" is an overstatement? does anybody have any actual numbers?
Roy
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re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Roy, I do not KNOW, and am not prepared to mine the data, but I suspect that your number can't be far from the truth. If we assume that 1/2 of the US stamps are MCV, and there are 4,200 stamps in the front of the book as of 2009, that's 2,100 right there. There are almost 200 countries today, plus others that were, plus all the BoB stuff, well, tens of thousands sounds about right.
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
08 Oct 2014
11:23:48am
re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Right on the money, Roy. However, minimum cv is now $0.25.
I purchase old collections and have the same issues. Since I purchase the collections primarily for my personal collection and not for resale, I will generally offer something, but never what the seller feels is enough. I really wish Scott would place a realistic value on common stamps, or alternatively designate them with an "*" or other symbol denoting that they are of negligible value.
I certainly have nothing against min value stamps (90% of my collection is comprised of such), and do not judge the beauty of a stamp by its value.
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11:38:28am
re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Regarding minimum catalog value, Scott does give an explanation of what "minimum" means. Scott also says that minimum valued stamps offered in lots are worth considerably less than the stated $0.25. Bobby, I think it would serve the hobby well for the catalogs to stop valuing all stamps worth less than $1.00 and go to the symbol. People will get a better understanding of the values of stamps and know that they don't have a fortune after adding up all those 25 centers.
There are upwards of 600,000 stamp listings in the Scott catalogs now. I think you can say that there are at least 100,000 stamps of minimum value ($0.25). Many now consider stamps less than $1.00 to be of minimal value. That will probably bring you up to at least 250,000 stamps or more.
Many dealers no longer offer stamps or sets that catalog less than $10.00 due to the expense of handling such transactions (storage, packaging and such). Stamps and sets cataloging less than $10.00 are often thrown into bulk box lots and quickly sold at or near wholesale prices. You can see these offers in advertising in Linns from companies like Champion Stamp Company (as an example) where $5,000 catalog value is offered for prices like $595.00, but that will include a boatload of common material and plenty of duplicates. I'm not saying this is bad. People do like buying bulk lots and the fun of going through a box full of stamps. It's just where the economics of selling stamps is at now.
One cannot sell a $0.25 stamp on eBay and do anything but lose money on the transaction. Sites that used to be friendly to collectors wanting to sell off minimal-valued stamps are either gone, have increased fees to chase away small sales (DelCampe), or are sinking fast into oblivion (BidStart). That brings us to Stamp-o-Rama where it is quite clear that through the approval book sales area that there are plenty of collectors looking for lower-valued stamps to add to their collections. Where the others have chased the penny stamps away, SOR has embraced it with success.
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re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Just a question for curiosity sake: How much WOULD you pay for a stamp with a CV of 25 cents? A penny? 5 cents?
What about modern day stamps with a face value of 49 cents (forever stamps). Would you pay 49 cents for them or something less?
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re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
That 25c is silly - Michel uses an "M" for minimum value which is an excellent idea.
Another example of inflated catalog values are some definitive issues. Several years ago, during a brief lapse in common sense, I bought a VERY large quantity of Irish mission mix. I ended up with a large plastic tub full of the 48c flower definitive. I was so happy to learn about the holocaust project so I sent them a box with 10,000 of those ubiquitous flowers. The Scott value for those would be $15,000! Isn't that nuts? Can you imagine some moron trying to claim that amount on their taxes as a charitable contribution??????!!!!
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11:52:57am
re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Adam, it all depends how the stamp is offered. If I need one 49 cent stamp, because I missed it when it came out from the post office, I'll probably pay $0.75 to $1.00 for it. If I am offered a bunch of 49 cent stamps, I would probably be willing to pay at or less than face value for it to use the stamps for postage.
For minimum valued stamps, I have paid pennies for them, and have even paid full catalog. Again, it just depends on how the stamp is offered, and what my need is for the stamp. If I'm just haphazardly filling up spaces in an album, then I'd probably pay less for each stamp, because I most likely will be replacing those stamps when I find the complete sets. It's just that stamps on a page look better than no stamps on a page. If I need the stamp to complete a set, I'm willing to pay more for that as complete sets have more value than short sets.
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11:56:02am
re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
"Can you imagine some moron trying to claim that amount on their taxes as a charitable contribution!"
But I thought...phew, no that wasn't me.
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The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
08 Oct 2014
01:03:59pm
re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Suspicions confirmed about "amsd"!
His full-time salaried job is drafting the US national budget.
John Derry
Afterthought: maybe he audits same.
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re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
"Sites that used to be friendly to collectors wanting to sell off minimal-valued stamps are either gone, have increased fees to chase away small sales (DelCampe), or are sinking fast into oblivion (BidStart)."
There is still one good place to pick up large quantities of low cost stamps: http://www.Stamps2Go.com. I have used them for years and recently placed several orders when I started working on my "Stamp from every Country" collection. There are lots of used common stamps listed for 2 cents and 3 cents. You can even filter by price, if you wish. I have probably bought more stamps there than anywhere else.
Lars
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re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Michael had a great response to how much would you pay for a MCV stamp. And the answer depends entirely on demand: if I need it, a quarter sounds like an incredible bargain. There are Czech MCVs that I still don't own and I"ve been collecting Czech since, well, their votes didn't count. Face value stuff... again, just how much extra work do I have to put in to make it work.
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06:14:29am
re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
There are minimum value stamps, then there are minimum-value stamps ! Not all minimum value stamps are equal.
To take a somewhat silly example. Take the long running French town coat of arms stamps. They are all minimum value - but try to obtain some of the more elusive ones, and you will struggle.
To take an even more silly example - many VERY common GB Machins are catalogued at more than minimum value ( I have hundreds ) Additionally many Machins of the same type but different varieties are catalogued the same mint ( and easily obtained from dealers/collectors who have squirelled them away). They are also catalogued the same used - but try to find them. I have had thousands of Machins from kiloware through my hands, and the ratio of some of these equally valued stamps is probably 5000:1.
Yes, what is needed is a minimum value system but with a comparative availability rating - say from A to AAAAA. Australian postmarks on KG5 stamps have a similar system based on the number of known copies ( although these are not minimum value ).People who handle large quantities of stamps of a given country will be able to formulate a rough scale for older stamps. Stamps still being issued are a different kettle of fish.
Malcolm
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10:47:14am
re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
To add to what Malcolm stated, the listings for Latin American countries are full of minimum valued stamps, but you can't find many of them either.
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re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Hi Everyone;
The fact that minimum value stamps are hard to find is probably due to the lack of demand. That nations stamps are not popular to collect, so if the supply is small, they will not automatically be worth more....unless collectors desire to have them.
Latin American, and South American stamps are not as popular to collect as say Europe or US, or Canada. Even African colonial stamps are more popular than South American, probably because of the interesting pictures of animals, plants, folk art carvings etc.
Keep on stampin'
TuskenRaider
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re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
It is interesting how hard it is to find particular stamps that should be easy to find, if low catalogue value is a criterion, but in fact are darned near impossible to find, especially in good condition. My most recent "failure to find" is a MNH VF copy of Japan B7:
Admittedly, it's not a cheap stamp — I don't have an up-to-date catalogue, but I suspect its catalogue value is less than $10.** But these days, that's nothing for a desirable stamp.
Here's another, on cover, the 3g "Austrian Costumes" stamp, cataloguing at no more than a dollar** in mint condition, but darned hard to find used or mint.
I have managed to find one mint copy and two apparently postally used copies off paper, but it's amazing how many years it took to find them.
Bob
* I really need to buy a new, or at least newer, set of Scott catalogues.
** I REALLY need to buy a new, or at least newer, set of Scott catalogues!
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re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Minimum value and market value are two very different things. Try to justify more than a penny value for almost any US used minimum value from 1940 through 1960. Many 19th century foreign or US BOB stamps are listed at the same minimum value and often will command their value or more. Can you imagine what it would be like if the catalog listed all of these common stamps at varying prices from a penny up to 25 cents? It would be insane. No one would appraise or value a collection wasting their time on these minimum value stamps. In reality when they appraise a collection they look for the dollars and pretty much ignore the pennies. The only reason for minimum values is basically a service charge for the hassel involved in a dealer messing with common stamps.
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05:42:32pm
re: Anybody have any idea of how many "minimum value" stamps there are?
Scott minimum catalog value used to be 2 cents for a long time. Then it went up to 3 cents and then 5 cents in the 1970s. Stamps in sets were valued starting a 2 cents, and different penny amounts. You could look at the next year catalog and see all the stamps that increased/decreased by a penny or two, particularly those long sets from the French colonies. Looking back, it was insane.
I still think that Scott catalog values could use some refining. I have talked to them about it as well. Stamps less than $1 can be valued in 5 cent increments. I think everything above $1 should go in 25 cent increments. Stamps above $10 in 50 cent increments, and so on. Would be easier for Scott to keep track of values, and there would be no need to raise the value of a stamp from $1.00 to $1.10, or worse $1.05. They can simply bump it up to $1.25 and not worry about it for 50 years. But then they wouldn't sell as many catalogs. Always a catch.
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