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Let's play a game: why did I buy this bulk lot?
coinpictures
Posts: 5,345 ✭✭✭
in Stamps Forum
I enjoy buying bulk lots and collection remainders of early U.S. revenues. It's the "thrill of the chase". 
So I was browsing the U.S. revenues category tonight and came across this lot.
Now normally I like to keep my "bulk lot treasure hunts" to a few hundred bucks at most, but after careful scrutiny I decided to do a Buy-It-Now on the lot, despite there not being any major keys in it, and despite the fact that I might have been able to save a few hundred bucks by letting the auction run to completion.
Why?
(outside of "Yer an idiot!")
Hint: There are two reasons - one general, concerning the nature of the lot, and one specific item (that I initially missed) that caused me to pull the trigger.
So I was browsing the U.S. revenues category tonight and came across this lot.
Now normally I like to keep my "bulk lot treasure hunts" to a few hundred bucks at most, but after careful scrutiny I decided to do a Buy-It-Now on the lot, despite there not being any major keys in it, and despite the fact that I might have been able to save a few hundred bucks by letting the auction run to completion.
Why?
(outside of "Yer an idiot!")
Hint: There are two reasons - one general, concerning the nature of the lot, and one specific item (that I initially missed) that caused me to pull the trigger.
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The first thing that I notice is that like many lots and collections coming out of Europe, the overall condition of items tends to be better, and not as "picked over" as material here.
My interest is almost exclusively in 1st series revenues (R1-R102), especially handstamped and preprinted cancels. This lot contains a LOT of SON handstamped cancels throughout. Many are only partially visible, so who knows what lurks within.
The item that made me do a doubletake was this one:
The script within the circle looks too regular to be hand manuscript. I believe it to be handstamped or preprinted.
The hierarchy of 1st series cancels in terms of scarcity, from most common to most in demand:
Manuscript
Handstamped
Printed
Fancy
Ornate designs in revenue stamp cancels are very uncommon; considerably less common than usage on regular postage.
Let's rotate the stamp:
It appears to be a crowned circle or crowned globe with a monogram contained within.
Of course with an image that small I could be completely offbase, but I thought it was worth a gamble. If it is what I think it is, it's a $200-300 cancel.
Even if it isn't, I may find some fun stuff in there...
1/2 Cents
U.S. Revenue Stamps
I think you did allright and have many hours of enjoyment ahead of you.
It's a good thing you told us. I never would have guessed!
Happy Holidays
KJ
I've only given the lot a preliminary go-through, but overall the lot is exceptionally clean. Absolutely loaded with handstamped cancels with some lovely SON examples hidden throughout, including a VF/XF R48b with huge margins that I needed for my collection. I'll have plenty of material to add to my cancel collection. I'll also need to do close examination for silk papers and double transfers.
Quite a few $50-$150 items sprinkled throughout, especially in the 2nd and 3rd issue material. R113-114, R116-117, A very nice R122 hidden in the back (has a cut cancel, but even with the cc, it catalogs $120), R141-143. Some nice battleship precancels. Looks like one or two of the locals may indeed be legit.
Not sure what I'll do with the leftovers yet... probably send them off to the APS store.
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U.S. Revenue Stamps
www.stampstore.org
Downside: They take a 20% cut on anything that sells. Their pictures aren't always the greatest.
Upside: You only have to fill in a description on the submission form for each item. They handle all listings, item pictures, order fulfillment, and payment and shipping issues, and cut you a check once a month for what sold the month before. Far fewer headaches than eBay.
Listing fees are 25 cents an item, but are capped at $12 max per submission, so if you submit several hundred items at once, it really lowers the per-item listing fee.
The APS will keep your items listed for 2 years, after which they give you the option of (1) having items shipped back to you, or (2) you pay another set of listing fees to keep the items live for another year, or (3) you can donate them to the APS for a tax writeoff.
As a seller you can log in to the web site and check and see what items have sold, as well as raise or lower prices on items, either individually or across the board.
WARNING: You want to make completely sure that you (1) correctly identify the stamp or cover, and (2) fully and accurately describe *ANY* faults that a stamp or cover has. If a customer returns an item to the APS for either of these problems, you as the seller get penalized a $5 fee per item and must pay to have the item shipped back to you (not to mention losing the sale).
It's not good if you need money in a hurry, but if you are a collector or dealer with lots of "stuff" lying around that you want to unload, it can be quite lucrative and is safer to sell through than eBay or the regular APS circuits.
My local dealer regularly submits several hundred items a month, working on the submission forms during slow periods (it's a great way to fill time through the day when business is slow) from his excess inventory and/or material from lots he's bought over the counter. He usually has a $500-1,500 check coming in every month.
As a buyer from the APS store, I can choose to get any item certified for authenticity upon checkout, and it goes through APS certification before shipping to me. If the item is bogus or damaged outside of the original description, the seller eats the cert fees and I get refunded. If it's a good cert, I pay regular APS cert rates.
It makes for a very safe place to order from.
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U.S. Revenue Stamps
Jerry
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U.S. Revenue Stamps
<< <i>It's the online store of the American Philatelic Society. Only members may purchase from it, although anyone can browse.
www.stampstore.org
Downside: They take a 20% cut on anything that sells. Their pictures aren't always the greatest.
Upside: You only have to fill in a description on the submission form for each item. They handle all listings, item pictures, order fulfillment, and payment and shipping issues, and cut you a check once a month for what sold the month before. Far fewer headaches than eBay.
Listing fees are 25 cents an item, but are capped at $12 max per submission, so if you submit several hundred items at once, it really lowers the per-item listing fee.
The APS will keep your items listed for 2 years, after which they give you the option of (1) having items shipped back to you, or (2) you pay another set of listing fees to keep the items live for another year, or (3) you can donate them to the APS for a tax writeoff.
As a seller you can log in to the web site and check and see what items have sold, as well as raise or lower prices on items, either individually or across the board.
WARNING: You want to make completely sure that you (1) correctly identify the stamp or cover, and (2) fully and accurately describe *ANY* faults that a stamp or cover has. If a customer returns an item to the APS for either of these problems, you as the seller get penalized a $5 fee per item and must pay to have the item shipped back to you (not to mention losing the sale).
It's not good if you need money in a hurry, but if you are a collector or dealer with lots of "stuff" lying around that you want to unload, it can be quite lucrative and is safer to sell through than eBay or the regular APS circuits.
My local dealer regularly submits several hundred items a month, working on the submission forms during slow periods (it's a great way to fill time through the day when business is slow) from his excess inventory and/or material from lots he's bought over the counter. He usually has a $500-1,500 check coming in every month.
As a buyer from the APS store, I can choose to get any item certified for authenticity upon checkout, and it goes through APS certification before shipping to me. If the item is bogus or damaged outside of the original description, the seller eats the cert fees and I get refunded. If it's a good cert, I pay regular APS cert rates.
It makes for a very safe place to order from. >>
Thanks for the detailed explanation. I have been a member of APS for years and was aware of their sales circuits, but somehow missed their expansion into the Internet!
Haven't seen this one in any literature or auction catalogs...
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U.S. Revenue Stamps