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Most of us don't expect to make a killing out of stamps, but we don't like to lose money either. The stamp market seems to me to be complicated generally, but particularly so with German stamps. On the one hand, we have the certified market in scarce stamps, where Herr Schlegel' price is 4% of catalogue + 20 euros for the cert, plus postage both ways. For a set of black Berlin overprints, this comes to around 55-60 euros in total for nh, and 180 for used. As certified mint sets go for around 150-160 euros on ebay, that makes the cert roughly 40% of the value of the set. Used sets go from about 650 to 1250 for exceptionally fine centred postmarks plus certificates, so that the relative cost of the certificate seems to decline with the value of the set (postage and cert costs are of course fixed). The German market still values handstamps as well as certificates, despite some of the forgeries we've seen, but not as much as certificates.
Ebay takes around 10 per cent plus listing costs, and we pay postage when we buy. This compares well with auctions, where Herr Fischer's buyers' premium inc VAT is around 20%, plus of course commission from the seller which is not always clear. Auctions typically take at least 30% of the value of what they sell, and sometimes closer to 40. We used to see them as better value than buying from dealers, but when it comes to the bottom line, a 40% take is hard to beat. Of course, the economics of dealing, with capital tie-up and overheads are another matter. A (normally) really astute lawyer I knew who bought into the high end of stamp dealing in the eighties, regularly flying to and from Switzerland, was pleased to be able to get out of it with his shirt after a couple of years.
So, how to buy at prices that reflect the fact that we basically do this for interest and enjoyment, but don't want to lose?
The key may lie in certificates, which haven't yet been forged to any known degree, and which can be checked with the issuer. If we buy certificated stamps, it is as good as buying from an auction house or a dealer. Most auctions will now only refund the purchase price of an item found to be dud, leaving the risk of certification with the buyer, on top of the commission he or she has paid.
In the end, these will always be judgement calls. Auction houses and dealers are sometimes disparaging about Ebay, and sometimes they're right - I've had to return a couple of items that were too good to be true, and there are a couple of ebay dealers with good reputations that I won't touch. But certificates may in the end create a level playing field between buyers and sellers, though to the benefit of the experts. And quis custodit eos? |
