Hyper-inflated Values
ten thousand different worldwide stamps quite easily. Such a collection, at the minimum catalog value of twenty cents a stamp, has a minimum catalog value of $2000. There are packets available that contain 10,000 stamps, and they usually sell for under $200, or about ten percent of the catalog value. An appraiser might charge you twenty percent of the value to give you an appraisal of $2000. The appraisal would cost $400, but the actual market value of the collection is only about $100 - what a dealer might offer you for the collection. You end up losing $300 on the transaction, whether or not the collection cost you anything at all! If you inherited that collection as part of an estate, it may end up costing you more in estate taxes than you could realize from the sale. This is true even if the collection had 50,000 stamps, with a minimum value of $10,000, but a true market value of perhaps as little as $250.
The problem is just as bothersome to the average collector. To build a truly comprehensive collection, whether it's of one country or the entire world, you need the cheap stamps as well as the more expensive ones. It can become quite tiresome - and very expensive - to have to shop for some cheap stamp to fill a hole. You may have to buy a complete set, or a full year-group, from a dealer to acquire that one stamp with a hyper-inflated catalog value of 20 cents. When that happens, you also end up with a large number of stamps you can't use, just to get the one you need. Perhaps you can trade the rest, but there's a strong possibility you'll be stuck with all or most of your purchase. It might also be a long hunt - there are tens of thousands of stamps most dealers won't fool with, simply because they don't have the time. They won't buy them, they won't stock them, and if they do get them, perhaps as part of a collection or large lot, they won't be willing to sell you just a few stamps from the group, but will only offer the entire lot.
Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions to this problem - perhaps no solution at all. The cost of doing business always increases, and that drives up the costs for the consumer. That's
Latest Articles