Would anyone really pay £1000 ???

Hello all, One reason why I rarely look at catalogue values, the best way of finding the value of a stamp is to look at what they are fetching on the internet. Today there are a number of SG58-59-60s available on offer from £2.20 to £59.00 some of which are full four margin examples.

Regards, James.

 

For "easy" stamps of the 20th century,I prefere to consult
pricelists of dealers,Geiger f.i.
The more difficult issues of the 19th century,I trust catalogue-
prices much more than any offers on e-bay and the likes.
Even the final selling-prices give very little trustworthy price-
informations.
The reason why is quite obvious:
Most offers give very little details about the quality of offered
stamps.However the quality is the deciding factor of their value.
Take the 6 d embossed (S.G.58-59-60).I have seen a offer of
a mint 6 d with very wide margins at 5 % S.G..I would never
believe that this stamp is "kosher".Who would not give such
an expensive stamp (S.G.GBP 18500.-) for expertising ?
In case it is genuine without hidden faults ?
I guess only in case,if they do not believe the stamp is O.K. !
A scan does not show,wether a stamp is regummed or
repaired.But these two critereas can make a price-difference in
the region of 95% or even more.
E-bay and the like are famous for a lack of quality-controlls.
So I would not trust offers there the slightest little bit !

 

I do think there are people who would really pay over £1000 GBP for a rare stamp. I have seen huge offers along time.
I cannot afford to pay so much even if i would desperately need that stamp.

 

People pay that amount of money for various reasons. Sentimental attachment, heritage to pass on to grandchildren, stamp collection. You would be amazed how much a very old item goes for if you visit an antique auction site.

 

There is another potential reason that motivates certain buyers



One reason why garbage is appearing in high level auctions as Grade 100 Super Jumbo (a new grading level) A craze of cutting up perfectly good sheets to boost the price 20-50X more than the catalog value. The "grading" certificates come from PSE. This is not just for classics but modern stamps under $1 being auctioned for $100



This beauty with a PSE cert can be yours fore a mere &150 or pay $1 for the common one.


Not impressed yet?
You can then go to the next level and have your Super Jumbo 100 encased in plastic for and even higher value - PSE puts on arbitrary values on these as no catalog recognizes Jumbo 100's much less encased stamps. The younger people who buy these are in the same category as sports card collectors who generally believe traditional philately is dead. There is apparently great investment upside for these.