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Canada/Stamps : Philatelic History - Don't Invest in Stamps

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bhsxvet
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22 Apr 2012
06:25:56pm
I was given some interesting pieces of philatelic history today. In Canada there used to be a company selling stamps to the unsuspecting as "investments". The pitch was that stamps always go up in price, they never go down. We now know that is not true.
Here is a copy of an invoice from 1981. I couldn't believe it when I saw the prices charged then and compared them to my 2012 catalog values.
I thought it would be interesting to share this with the group.
Brian
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Logistical1
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22 Apr 2012
10:25:28pm
re: Philatelic History - Don't Invest in Stamps

Ha... I fooled them I invested in Beanie Babies

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
22 Apr 2012
10:34:51pm
re: Philatelic History - Don't Invest in Stamps

Philatelic History has been replete with shamans who promoted a profit from stamp investing, some were fools, some mis-guided and some scammers, plain and simple.
Collect for fun and knowledge and you might recoup some of the funds expended, certainly more than you ever will by saving losing lotto tickets.

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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
michael78651
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22 Apr 2012
10:42:45pm
re: Philatelic History - Don't Invest in Stamps

Yep. In the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a big push by a small group of scoundrels to try to manipulate the stamp market. They would buy up all they could of certain stamps and sell them as "investments". I remember the ads in the stamp publications. One pushed Ryukyu Islands Scott #54 as a scarce item. They actually purchased so many of that stamp, that the value actually rose considerably from the speculation of collectors wanting to try to get that stamp without paying the high price from the "investment companies. I tried to get one, but none were available from any dealer I contacted. In the 2013 Scott, it is valued at $1.25. I have had that stamp for a long time now, and I paid around 50 cents for it. Glad I waited.

During this same time, the Hunt brothers were manipulating the silver market.

Several of these crooks were caught. The hobby took many years to recover. Scott in 1989 changed how it valued stamps from market conditions to retail like it is today. The large drop in catalog values from 1988 to 1989 caused a massive furor from dealers. Many swore that they would only use 1988 Scott catalogs (collectors looked at that as a spit in their eye from dealers, which did not help dealer reputations). I intentionally refused to purchase any stamps from any dealer who was using the 1988 catalogs. Some maintained the 1988 pricing until the mid 1990s. Of course as time went on, everyone started to use the newer catalogs. I think that in the long run this move by Scott helped to restore the hobby, at least in the eyes of collectors.

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cdj1122
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
22 Apr 2012
11:04:17pm
re: Philatelic History - Don't Invest in Stamps

And if I might add a personal peeve, the hobby would be a lot better off if experienced collectors would stop refering to the ever misleading and often confusing "Scott Prices" or "Scott Values".
Try to use "Scott Listing", which might be closer to the truth. The listing in a Scott catalog is far closer to a comparative listing than anything to do with "Value" or "Prices".
Writing "Buying Price", "Selling Pice", " Retail Price", "Wholesale Price", "Bulk purchase price", "Negotiated price", "Private Treaty Price" or "Agreed price" all work in their way.
But Scott Prices" ????
When did Scott last sell a postage stamp ?
And what knowledgeable collector or dealer is in the habit of paying or offering the "Scott Value" for any stamps or stamp set?
Honestly ???
Now as long as Stanly Gibbons Ltd. has a store on the Strand or somewhere, Gibbons price" has a meaning, but that is a differfent kettle of fish, of stamps..

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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
        
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