Damaged Stamps/Fillers
It’s been a while since I checked out older US postage stamps on eBay. Is this a new phenomenon, or have damaged stamps and rough space fillers always been offered at 25 to 40 or 50 percent of catalog? Do stamps actually sell at these prices? Just curious.
3 comments
billsey
·8 months agoYes, but what I see in the actual world is that street values do tend to follow catalog values, typically at a ratio based on condition. Now, I'm not going to say what I use is valid, though percentage-wise it tends to be pretty close. I also have noticed that values in SG match those in Scott, except something that catalogs for £10 in SG will tend to be $10 in Scott, regardless of the actual £ to $ ratio of the day. I haven't looked at comparable reflections with other of the worldwide catalogs, but I wouldn't be surprised to see similarities. Their stock in trade, when all else is said, relies on them being consistent with some ratio of catalog to street price.
With Scott the key is their values are set based on VF centering and *no* faults. Only a very small percentage of the stamps in existence meet that criteria, so almost all of the stamps out there sell for under the catalog value. SG is a bit different, because they will actually *sell* you a stamp at their catalog price, assuming they have it in stock, so they have a little more padding in place to cover the costs of keeping that stock on hand. With Scott they only account for a base price that is supposed to cover the dealer's cost, which is why so many stamps are listed at $0.25 currently.
billsey
·8 months agoNeedless to say, I'm not someone who would purchase them, even at realistic prices, unless they were *really* rare, and maybe not even then. They have been offered at higher than market prices for the entire existence of eBay, but they could easily have gone up in asked pricing in the last few years. I tend to use my usual rule of thumb, look at the stamp and count the faults as points, anywhere from a single point for a short perf to 3 points or more for a significant thin that still leaves the face clear. Anything over 3 points for a single fault falls into that damaged/space filler category. When you are done, count the point total, look at the catalog and then divide the catalog value in half for each point. That gives me a decent ballpark for what I should offer, and when I miss out I'm usually in second place.
Here's an example, picked somewhat at random. eBay item #236485984244. Stated catalog value is $850, which is down from my old catalog. It's just barely has fine centering with the top edge not quite cutting into the design. Since the catalog price is for VF, F is two steps down and adds two points. There are two perf tips that are a bit short on the right side, I'd give it one more point for those. The back has a hinge in place, the catalog value it with a hinge mark, but not a remnant, another point. I don't think the natural gum skips on the back warrant another point, though others might disagree with me there. So, four points from $850 -> 425 -> 212 -> 106 -> $53.00. It's already at nearly triple the price I'd expect, so I would not be bidding on it. I could argue the hinge remnant is removable, so maybe don't call that one out, and the short perfs are minor enough that maybe they aren't worth mentioning, which would put the street value up to the $212 level. Likely that's where others will place it, which tends to suggest other collectors aren't as picky as I am for their US material.
kyal
OP8 months agoAnd maybe “catalog values†are significantly overstated from the jump. Which would be another topic altogether.