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let's say i have an album worth $1800+ BV

CoinCoinsCoinCoins Posts: 698 ✭✭✭
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i bought i GIANT collection of coins/stamps, and i'm going through these stamp albums.. i don't know a whole lot about stamps.. i've got Scott catalogues here, and this particular Ivory Coast album is pretty loaded.. according to the book there's $1800+ here. realistically, what do you think i can expect for it? i plan on ebaying them but i'm not sure how to price it. any help is appreciated image thank you

Comments

  • coinpicturescoinpictures Posts: 5,345 ✭✭✭
    Depends on scarcity and condition. If it's a gazillion Scott-minimum stamps adding up to that value, you'll be lucky to get 10%. If it's got high quality keys, you might hit a third of Scott.
    Numismotography

    1/2 Cents

    U.S. Revenue Stamps

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  • CoinCoinsCoinCoins Posts: 698 ✭✭✭
    hm.. someone at the coin shop told me the same thing today.. that's disappointing. makes me wonder why the books even bother listing them that high. i also wonder if using guides from decades ago might be a better way to get their real values.

    are there any companies out there that pay a flat % of book value?


    thanks for your time..... image

  • coinpicturescoinpictures Posts: 5,345 ✭✭✭
    It's not like the coin market where there's a wholesale Greysheet that establishes sight-unseen pricing. Also, the margins are different than with coins. With coins, dealers will pay GS bid or "10% back of bid", but rarely will you find stamp dealers paying that high. As far as the catalog being inflated, isn't that also true of Redbook coin prices?

    You're not going to find someone paying X% across the board sight-unseen, unless that X% is VERY small (as in 3-10%).

    Another thing to keep in mind is that the Scott catalog lists RETAIL value, in a vacuum. If a dealer is selling at 75% of catalog value, that means they're probably buying at 20-40% of catalog.

    The percentages also vary by area, era, and condition. 19th-century material in VF or better condition is going to garner higher buy prices than mid-20th-century material. Asian and Russian area material is quite hot at the moment, as is some Greek material, so buy prices will be higher. Many European countries are dead. U.S. is down in general, but U.S. revenue material is quite hot.

    There's no universal equation that can be applied.
    Numismotography

    1/2 Cents

    U.S. Revenue Stamps

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  • CoinCoinsCoinCoins Posts: 698 ✭✭✭
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