Here's Something Neat To Read

UncleWiggly

If you have a stamp with a JUMBO designation from PSE it's got to be super!

This is off of Steve Malack 's website. He has some really nice PSE graded stamps. Has anyone ever bid in his auctions?



Jerry

dougwtx

How do you feel with third party stamp grading?

For the new stamp collectors, I'll offer my opinion and some insight. Its not intended to flame.

It has its advantages and disadvantages, just as in the coin and currency markets. You can pay an outrageous sum for a common stamp graded Sup100J in a slab or cert. Lose the cert or break it out of the slab and then see what dealers will offer. Same as in the other 2 markets. And then, there are bound to be mistakes made where an item is misgraded. For overgrades, how many owners will actually send it back for a downgrade? I feel stamp grading is mainly for investors and registry set owners and I have no issue with that. I prefer to buy the best I can afford and will pass on a space filler just to fill a space. Its just that beginning collectors need to know how TPG work and the market so they won't get discouraged in the future when selling. I will admit I do own a graded cert for an early Official, but it was purchased at a fair price and would have purchased it w/o any TPG grade. It is not uncommon to pay above cat for high quality. Coin collectors can relate this to RD/FBL/FSB designations or desirable toning.

I am in favor of certification/authentication and own a few. There are so many faults/repairs that can be missed. Its reassuring to know at least someone else put their opinion on a cert.

As in coins, "buy the coin, not the plastic", is still a good saying. Most honest dealers will know if a stamp is well-centered or high grade w/o cert/plastic saying it is and provide a fair offer. I have seen ads where dealers are advertising paying at or above SMQ values for high graded material. If you have a good eye, some money can be made here for collectors.

To answer your question; yes, I think I have bid on his auctions and/or done biz with them.

Just my 2 cents.
Doug

UncleWiggly

Thanks Doug,



Your 2 cents does matter around here.



Jerry

edueku

If one is to get any real return on the money put into a collection ,graded is really the only way to go with US stamps.The problem with buying the item and not the plastic,is that stamps are much more fragile(they are made of paper). There aren't 11 "MS" grades i.e. MS60 to MS70 (I think that is correct) A small flaw on an otherwise perfect jumbo suberb stamp will impact the value dramatically(it will not be any where near a 98 or 100). Some of even the most common stamps(for example 632-642) are incredibly difficult to get in 90 or above. Most dealers that sell these think that if one of these have ANY borders at all they are "superb gems" most would grade at about vf80 by PSE. The catalog on these are in the 4 to 5 dollar range.I know this to be true because I have been trying to put together a set of these in 95 or higher for over 2 years. I have 4 stamps so far.The old "superb for this issue" phrase is going to become extinct as a reasoning for paying over book for what in reality is probably a VF stamp. Of course it is cheaper to buy a $3 catalog stamp for $2 and then sell it later to a dealer for 40c. Will write more later.

edueku

Oh yeah,
I have never liked "Steve Malack". before graded stamps were popular I used to get catalogs with their overgraded overpriced stamps. Take a look at their website. See how many times they talk about or have phrases like"undergraded surely deserves a 'Jumbo' designation" "Trivial crease hardly noticeable" "Much better than a VF-80." They're prices are too high also. If you want to find graded stamps at fair prices, checkout SteveCrippe.com.

dougwtx

I totally agree with you. Although stamps are fragile, so are high grade coins. Mishandling where the oils on skin will ruin a coin over time as will the minute moisture particles from breath and even just being exposed to air that causes oxidation. For some reason I have yet to figure out, I don't mind a slabbed coin by a major TPG, and most of mine are, I just can't let myself buy a stamp in plastic. Give me time though and I will convert.

Not sure which issues you still lack, and you probably already know which dealers have/don't have what you need, but I noticed Posner has a 634a PSE XF-Sup 95J in M,OG,nh and a 639 in PSE XF-SUP95 in M,OG,nh although neither are in plastic; just a graded cert.

It bugs me too when I see a stamp advertised as sound, but clearly has a nibbed perf, missing corner, or whatever. To me, that's not a "sound" stamp. I also see "superb" for issue when I think; wow-mine must be superb too as it has the same centering. Just goes to show everyone has their own opinion and some may just be trying to rip off the beginner.

Good luck on completing your high end set.

edueku

Actually I was checking back on my rotary set(I have 2 partial sets in the registry . I guess I have 5 of the set. I have seen the 639 from GPS. Steve Crippe had the same #and 95 grade for only $75 at the same time that gps had theirs at $115(?). I waited too long and some one else got that one. Steve recently sold a 692 98 OGnh for $250(cat about $4,part of the higher denomination and even tougher rotary set). By the way I don't collect stamps slabbed,but do collect them with a graded cert, although as prices get higher,investors(not collectors) may insist on the slab as insurance that the stamp has not been flawed since grading.I recently got lucky and got a #696 95 OGnh as soon as it was listed by Crippe. I think there are only 5 in total this grade or higher.For a reference as to how scarce these rotary press issues in top grade are take a look at how many stamps have graded 95 in the corresponding flat plate issue. Sure more of the flat plate issue have been submitted for grading, but think how much more common the the rotary press varities are in number. Wow, I would like to have that GPS 634a, but I do not have the deep pockets, that stamp is way out of my price range. I would be happy to get all 95's or higher on the rest, even if I never got that one stamp.
Check out my Washington Bicentennial set on the PSE registry. Currently it is the second highest grade set , lagging behind the top set by less than 1 percent. hey and guess what, THERE ARE STILL DEALS OUT THERE TO BE FOUND! The 2 highest graded stamps in my Wash. Bic. set(and the highest grades in existence) the 704 G100 OGnh was purchased on the APS stamp store as part of a plate block for less than $20. I bought the 708 98J OGnh as part of a plate block on ebay for less than $20. If these were sold at a large well advertised auction they would both easily surpass $1000 a piece.
I am not a coin expert although I have had an interest in coins since a child. I never collected when slabbed/grading was essential for true valuation. As a matter of fact I also metal detect and find this to be the most exciting form of coin collecting for myself. My point about coin grading is that there are still various flaws or condition factors(,tone, small flaws,Full Split Bands?, Full steps?Those are the right terms((right?))etc.) that a coin can have and still be an MS coin. Just about ANY flaw whatsoever on a stamp will immediately eliminate a stamp from a 98 or 100 grade. 95's are very nice stamp, but just as with coins one grade lower can be the difference between $100 and $1000+. One thing I don't lke about the current grading is that it does not have enough grades.
I think there should be,93, 96,97,and 99's. I have seen far to many stamps penalized to lower grades for the most trivial of "flaws".
Want to see a VERY overgraded PSE stamp? Checkout Ebay #9503186214 #638 XF-Superb 95 OGnh. I have a 642 I submitted with margins twice the size of this stamp and NO flaws whatsoever. Final grade? An XF-90! Having submitted over 200 stamps to PSE,I an say I have a little experience with grading and what stamps to submit. That stamp dumbfounded me.
Also check out how many negatives Malack has. I guess that goes with being a dealer on ebay though.
Well one of these days I'm going to figure out how to post photos on here and I will be able to showcase some of my better stamps. Help anyone?
Comments questions welcomed!

dougwtx

I would love to see some of your stamps. Here's an old thread for picture posting and there are others floating around. Your pic has to be 50k or less I think.

picture posting 101

The coin world has XF40, XF45, AU50, 53, 55, 58, and then MS60-70 with single digit increments; so you would think it would make sense the stamp world use similar increments.

I was going to check the auction you mentioned for the overgrade but the pic was unavailable. I'll try later, but it doesn't surprise me coming from that seller.

edueku

Thanks for the info! I will see if I can upload some pictures in the next day or 2. I have an old slow scanner so I always dread doing scans. Small items like stamps aren't too bad time wise though.
One thing that is interesting to consider when comparing coins and stamps is the fact that stamps are either used(canceled) or they aren't. For instance a stamp is never "almost used" or "almost mint" etc. Whereas coins can be AU. This affects value with coins the lower you go. With stamps you can have a used 100 a mint OGph 100 or a mint OGnh 100. I don't think there should be 10 or 11 grades between 98 and 100. Besides I don't know how that would be done without just changing the entire scale.

edueku

Well I'm still trying to post a photo no luck so far

dougwtx

Which point are you getting stuck at? There is also a "Testing Forum" to practice in.