Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Sure enough there were boxes of stamps in albums, in glassines and on stock pages. They had not decided what to do about them yet. The guy who let me go through them hoped I could help him know what they had. There were tons -- hundreds, maybe -- of plate blocks, mint US sheets. That stood out soon.
What would you tell him? I told him there is a stamp store nearby that he could sell them to. There is a stamp club in Portland that could help him decide what he had and what he could do with it. There are Scott catalogs in the library that can help him know what the plate blocks are worth... I told him what I could.
Of the lot, there were a few notebooks filled with stamps were my favorites that I'd like to buy. But of the entire lot, I thought the local stamp dealer could give him the best price unless he wanted to list them here or on ebay at face value (at least). He could make thousands of dollars (perhaps), but it is time consuming.
He took my number.
What would you say in such a situation?
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I am fortunate enough to have 3 Auction Houses within 26 miles and when anyone asks me I send them to the Auction House in Dundee. I have found in the past that they are the fairest. Any lot nearly always finds its market value or greater.
There are many times that when I see a lot I think "that's a nice lot I'll bid on that" only to discover I am outbid, in some cases the lot goes for a higher amount than anticipated and way above the Auction Houses estimate.
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Connie,
our local stamp club evaluates collections. We've been lucky to have found some better ones of late. We either offer to sell them at auction and award the individual 70% of the price or to offer an amount for either all or what we think will sell. Of course, there are many that are introductory collections not suited for much beyond ultra beginners or the Holocaust project.
A paragraph is unlikely to give us a sense of the value of a collection, but plate blocks and sheets seldom sell for much above 50% of face, if that. Of course, we do find some guys who are interested in aftermarket Gold Replicas and other collector memorabilia; but without that, it's tough to give that stuff away.
I don't think giving a non-collector suggestions about using catalogues is helpful. It's years before a novice is sufficiently conversant to be able to begin lotting stamps.
Nice of you to take the time to offer the advice you did.
Feel free to ask specific questions if any come to mind.
David
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Thank you for your thoughts.
They will be having a sale again next weekend. I can pass on these ideas and contacts. What contact should I give him for Stamporama's help, if he wants to go that route?
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At an estate sale they are just concerned with emptying the property, and not signing up for years of eBaying.
Go back next week and offer them $100 for it all. You may be surprised.
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I said I could offer $1000 to clear his boxes of albums. (I didn't want to low ball him and thought that might be fair, if lower than he'd hoped.) He has several boxes of the usual bags and albums of common stamps. But, I think he has up to $5000 (at face) of ebay/SOR sales of mnh US plate blocks and sheets. I'm mostly interested in several binders of foreign used stamps I'd buy for up to $200, if he didn't want to sell the entire collection.
He took my number. I'm charging my phone.
I also told him the local stamp store may offer him more, but warned him that I've heard store owners say they had too much mnh US and just used it for postage. Binders of stamps like he had were sold for $50 or more in the store.
Oh, he had some duck stamps on a few stock sheets. The local stamp store sells those in their brick and mortar and on ebay, I told him.
I realize he may not want to sell plate blocks on ebay or SOR -- it is time consuming, but I have to admit there may have been a bit of the stamp missionary that hoped I was talking to potential collector. Inheriting boxes of stamps from my father-in-law set some collecting fires in me that haven't gone out yet.
After their family meetings this week, they may be ready to sell me a few binders.
I'll mention SOR's services -- I didn't realize that existed.
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Connie, I have done similar to what you did.
However, Usually when I find stamps at a sale they are usually stuck down in photo albums, or taped to album pages. 
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"BenFranklin1902, have you ever offered to buy a collection? If so, how did it work out for you?"
Yes I have. I’ve paid very little or a fair value depending on the situation. I’ve even been given collections just to have them removed.
Note you said “estate sale”. Those are usually conducted by companies specializing in liquidation within a set amount of time. Sometimes the beneficiaries are distant relatives far away or the state.
Towards the end of the sale, stuff becomes cheap as the goal is to vacate the property. I once saw a set of six bentwood chairs marked $60 which I was prepared to pay. As I was inspecting them one of the salespeople told me to take them for $10, so I did. I resold the set on Craig’s List for $500. The couple who bought them from me was very pleased. All a matter of circumstance!
Many collections are a mixture of postage and subscription covers in cushy albums. Not worth buying as nobody wants it.
My eBay store is all covers. I buy old collections and hoards from mostly dealers. I pay between nothing to ten or twenty cents a cover. I assume the dealer paid less than that.
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03:35:20am
Connie,
Bob ''i'' at Bobstamp a frequent poster has written a detailed essay that covers the several possibilities of the stamp collection inheritance problem. i am sure he will send you a copy that you can print out and share with the people with the stamps.
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"Bob ''i'' at Bobstamp a frequent poster has written a detailed essay that covers the several possibilities of the stamp collection inheritance problem. i am sure he will send you a copy that you can print out and share with the people with the stamps."
cdj1122, that is a great idea. That sounds helpful. I can take that to them as they go into their second weekend of their estate sale. If they didn't already go to the local dealer, I'm sure that will help them examine their options.
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You can find that item in the Articles section of Stamporama. There are a few other articles regarding stamp values, and inheritances.
Here's a link:
https://stamporama.com/articles/display_ ...
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"You can find that item in the Articles section of Stamporama. There are a few other articles regarding stamp values, and inheritances.
Here's a link:
https://stamporama.com/articles/display_ ... "
Thanks, Michael. I forgot they were there. I will print it for this family.
It seems like something to print out and also put in my estate plan for my daughter when the time comes.
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They haven't decided what to do yet about the stamps. So, I gave them a copy of the article and contact information regarding an auction house help. Eventually they will decide what they want to do.
Thank you to those who commented.
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There were stamps at an estate sale we stopped at this afternoon. They were in a taped off room. I learned about them when I asked if there were stamps anywhere. I'd seen an empty stamp album. Surely there must have been stamps somewhere at one time.
Sure enough there were boxes of stamps in albums, in glassines and on stock pages. They had not decided what to do about them yet. The guy who let me go through them hoped I could help him know what they had. There were tons -- hundreds, maybe -- of plate blocks, mint US sheets. That stood out soon.
What would you tell him? I told him there is a stamp store nearby that he could sell them to. There is a stamp club in Portland that could help him decide what he had and what he could do with it. There are Scott catalogs in the library that can help him know what the plate blocks are worth... I told him what I could.
Of the lot, there were a few notebooks filled with stamps were my favorites that I'd like to buy. But of the entire lot, I thought the local stamp dealer could give him the best price unless he wanted to list them here or on ebay at face value (at least). He could make thousands of dollars (perhaps), but it is time consuming.
He took my number.
What would you say in such a situation?
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07:44:28pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
I am fortunate enough to have 3 Auction Houses within 26 miles and when anyone asks me I send them to the Auction House in Dundee. I have found in the past that they are the fairest. Any lot nearly always finds its market value or greater.
There are many times that when I see a lot I think "that's a nice lot I'll bid on that" only to discover I am outbid, in some cases the lot goes for a higher amount than anticipated and way above the Auction Houses estimate.
Login to Like
this post
re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
Connie,
our local stamp club evaluates collections. We've been lucky to have found some better ones of late. We either offer to sell them at auction and award the individual 70% of the price or to offer an amount for either all or what we think will sell. Of course, there are many that are introductory collections not suited for much beyond ultra beginners or the Holocaust project.
A paragraph is unlikely to give us a sense of the value of a collection, but plate blocks and sheets seldom sell for much above 50% of face, if that. Of course, we do find some guys who are interested in aftermarket Gold Replicas and other collector memorabilia; but without that, it's tough to give that stuff away.
I don't think giving a non-collector suggestions about using catalogues is helpful. It's years before a novice is sufficiently conversant to be able to begin lotting stamps.
Nice of you to take the time to offer the advice you did.
Feel free to ask specific questions if any come to mind.
David
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re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
Thank you for your thoughts.
They will be having a sale again next weekend. I can pass on these ideas and contacts. What contact should I give him for Stamporama's help, if he wants to go that route?
Login to Like
this post
re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
At an estate sale they are just concerned with emptying the property, and not signing up for years of eBaying.
Go back next week and offer them $100 for it all. You may be surprised.
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re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
I said I could offer $1000 to clear his boxes of albums. (I didn't want to low ball him and thought that might be fair, if lower than he'd hoped.) He has several boxes of the usual bags and albums of common stamps. But, I think he has up to $5000 (at face) of ebay/SOR sales of mnh US plate blocks and sheets. I'm mostly interested in several binders of foreign used stamps I'd buy for up to $200, if he didn't want to sell the entire collection.
He took my number. I'm charging my phone.
I also told him the local stamp store may offer him more, but warned him that I've heard store owners say they had too much mnh US and just used it for postage. Binders of stamps like he had were sold for $50 or more in the store.
Oh, he had some duck stamps on a few stock sheets. The local stamp store sells those in their brick and mortar and on ebay, I told him.
I realize he may not want to sell plate blocks on ebay or SOR -- it is time consuming, but I have to admit there may have been a bit of the stamp missionary that hoped I was talking to potential collector. Inheriting boxes of stamps from my father-in-law set some collecting fires in me that haven't gone out yet.
After their family meetings this week, they may be ready to sell me a few binders.
I'll mention SOR's services -- I didn't realize that existed.
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07:36:51am
re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
Connie, I have done similar to what you did.
However, Usually when I find stamps at a sale they are usually stuck down in photo albums, or taped to album pages.
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re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
"BenFranklin1902, have you ever offered to buy a collection? If so, how did it work out for you?"
Yes I have. I’ve paid very little or a fair value depending on the situation. I’ve even been given collections just to have them removed.
Note you said “estate sale”. Those are usually conducted by companies specializing in liquidation within a set amount of time. Sometimes the beneficiaries are distant relatives far away or the state.
Towards the end of the sale, stuff becomes cheap as the goal is to vacate the property. I once saw a set of six bentwood chairs marked $60 which I was prepared to pay. As I was inspecting them one of the salespeople told me to take them for $10, so I did. I resold the set on Craig’s List for $500. The couple who bought them from me was very pleased. All a matter of circumstance!
Many collections are a mixture of postage and subscription covers in cushy albums. Not worth buying as nobody wants it.
My eBay store is all covers. I buy old collections and hoards from mostly dealers. I pay between nothing to ten or twenty cents a cover. I assume the dealer paid less than that.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
14 Jun 2023
03:35:20am
re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
Connie,
Bob ''i'' at Bobstamp a frequent poster has written a detailed essay that covers the several possibilities of the stamp collection inheritance problem. i am sure he will send you a copy that you can print out and share with the people with the stamps.
Login to Like
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re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
"Bob ''i'' at Bobstamp a frequent poster has written a detailed essay that covers the several possibilities of the stamp collection inheritance problem. i am sure he will send you a copy that you can print out and share with the people with the stamps."
cdj1122, that is a great idea. That sounds helpful. I can take that to them as they go into their second weekend of their estate sale. If they didn't already go to the local dealer, I'm sure that will help them examine their options.
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11:39:38pm
re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
You can find that item in the Articles section of Stamporama. There are a few other articles regarding stamp values, and inheritances.
Here's a link:
https://stamporama.com/articles/display_ ...
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re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
"You can find that item in the Articles section of Stamporama. There are a few other articles regarding stamp values, and inheritances.
Here's a link:
https://stamporama.com/articles/display_ ... "
Thanks, Michael. I forgot they were there. I will print it for this family.
It seems like something to print out and also put in my estate plan for my daughter when the time comes.
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re: Stamps at an estate sale - what would you say?
They haven't decided what to do yet about the stamps. So, I gave them a copy of the article and contact information regarding an auction house help. Eventually they will decide what they want to do.
Thank you to those who commented.
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