Stamp Collector

2 JANUARY 2019 www.allaboutstamps.co.uk 1 If You want to learn how the stamp trade works, please read on… When I was 15, I did. I wondered if there was some secret source of supply? So, I bought my 1st stamp mixture, (wholesale I thought), broke it into 50 smaller units, advertised it in Stamp Magazine ‘Classifieds’, and waited for the orders to roll in… I’m still waiting, 48 years later !... Wrong O er ✗ Wrong Price ✗ Wrong Place ✗ (naïve seller ✔ = H me but I was only 15 at the time!) 2 Three years later, attending my first public stamp auctions I wondered how some bidders seemed to buy everything, paying the highest price? It didn’t occur to me that they were probably Auction Bidding Agents, paid by absent (dealer) bidders to represent them. I wondered why two collectors sitting side by side muttered to each other “he’s a dealer” as if that justified him paying the highest price… …but did it really? What was the real reason? How could a Dealer pay a higher price than a Col- lector? It doesn’t make sense, does it? Collectors are customers. Customers usually pay the highest price, unless… for a Collector, this was… Wrong Presentation ✗ Wrong Place ✗ therefore Wrong Price ✗ 3 Fast-forward 48 years later to a British Empire collection, lot #1 in an International Stamp Auction – Estimated at £3,000, but we were the highest bidder at £21,000 – YES – some 7 × higher. Including Buyer’s Premium in the extraordinary sum of £4,788 we actually paid GBP£25,788= upon a £3,000 estimate… however, we broke it down into sets, singles, mini-collections etc. We made a profit. Some might say it found its price. Others may say: Wrong Estimate ✗ Wrong Presentation ✗ Wrong Structure ✗ Wrong Protection of Price ✗ – Lucky for the seller that 2 well-heeled bidders saw the potential value that day or it could have been given away… the seller could easily have lost out couldn’t he? or she? So, by un-peeling the layers of obfuscation, hopefully we can all agree: The Secret is Simple – it’s ALL About: TIMING , Plus the 3 Philatelic ‘P’s – Presentation ✔ Place ✔ and Price ✔ 4 Understanding the problem… I always remember the car trade had their own little ‘bible’ – Glass’s Guide. I’ve no idea, I’ve not even looked - in this internet-dominated world, it may even have disappeared. Well, there’s an insider Stamp Trade publication for Stamp Dealers called “The Philatelic Exporter”. There’s nothing that special about it – and you won’t learn much or find massively reduced prices by subscribing – BUT – it is a forum, a paper focal point, a last ‘bastion’ in this on-line transparent world that we inhabit… whereby dealers (and auctioneers) can try and communicate with each other. I publish my own articles there… Recently I discussed the outcome of my 10 years’ simple research, asking dealers and auction- eers ‘what is your biggest problem?’ To a man, (why are we almost all men), they replied – “my biggest problem is stock, if I can get more of the right stock I can sell it easily” Strange that, nobody ever asked me the same question back – because my answer would have been en- tirely different (and I don’t treat it as a problem) – I seek to satisfy collectors This is the reason why my company has such massive advertising. This is the reason why we spend up to 8% of turnover – up to £200,000 per annum in marketing costs. (Most dealers don’t even sell £200K per annum). 5 Why is that? Because, as the world revolved the Stamp Market, imperceptibly Changed , and incrementally – Massively So, although few will tell you this, it’s clear- ly evident that the problem for most Sellers of Stamps today is no longer absent stock – but absent collectors in the place they choose to sell their stamps in. Simply put, other Deal- ers, Auctions, Stamp Fairs have not invested in marketing to have a strong Customer-core. To be fair, this is not true of all – but it is true of most – so that our nearest competitor ‘Apex’ had 800 bidders in a recent auction. In my most recent 20,000+ lot UPA 65th Auction we had 2,261 dif- ferent bidders from 54 different countries, 95% of whom were Collectors. Some other well-advertised auctions only have 200 bidders (a high percentage of whom are dealers – so that, essentially they are Dealer-dominated auctions) – so that when you sell through them – you’re paying up to 18% (in- cluding VAT) seller’s commission and the buyer is paying up to 25% and more in Buyer’s Premium, credit card fees, on-line bidding fee, delivery and insurance etc… AND all of that so that your stamps may be sold, wait for it – TO DEAL- ERS (and some collectors), but Dealers, that naturally must make a profit to survive… 6 Now, let’s examine the cost implications – Example: Your stamp collection sells in public auction for £800. Upon a 25% buyer’s premium, the dealer pays £1,000 and it could be more. He breaks it into £2,000+ selling price (much lower and he’ll go out of business). The auction charges you a seller’s commission of up to 18% (VAT included) upon the £800 sale price. This is GBP£144. Therefore you receive approaching £656 – which is approximately 33% of the dealer’s £2,000+/- retail selling price - BUT… now that we have identified the problem… Isn’t the Solution Staring us Right in The Face ? 7 Why Pay an Auction to Sell to Dealers: Sell to Collectors instead ? In our example with buyer’s premium, sellers commission, lotting fees, extra credit card charges, VAT and even insurance - you’re already being charged in different ways up to 40% of the selling price to sell, possibly or probably, to the wrong person . Why not direct that 40% cost you’re paying to sell to Collectors instead? Sounds good, so why hasn’t this been done before ? 8 Truth is, it Has been done before… Sometimes the ‘old’ ways are the best ways aren’t they? But in today’s enthusiasm to obscure the obvious so that money may be taken, almost surreptitiously, in numerous different ways, (without us apparently noticing until we see the cheque in our pocket) – the transparent ‘seller pays’ has been deliberately ‘obscured’ – so much so that, amazingly, the latest 2017 European Auction Selling Legislation just introduced – now requires auctions that charge ‘buyer’s premiums’ to warn the buyer in advance. Just imagine ATTENTION OWNERS OF LARGE/ VALUABLE COLLECTIONS – Are You THINKING of SELLING? This is HOW THE STAMP TRADE WORKS Philatelic Expert Lets You into his Selling Secrets so you can bene t from a totally di erent (and New) Selling Experience by Andrew McGavin About The Author ➳ Andrew found his Father’s stamps at the age of 10. A year later at Senior School he immediately joined the School Stamp Club. He‘specialised’(!) in British, but soon was interested in Queen Victoria which he could not a ord. The 2nd to last boy wearing short trousers in his school year, he religiously bought Post O ce New Issues on Tuesdays with his pocket money. He soon found that he enjoyed swapping / trading stamps as much as collecting them. Aged 19, eschewing University he quickly found a philatelic career in London, leading to creating his own companies in stamps. Andrew has authored many interna- tionally published Stamp‘Tips’articles, appear- ing on Local Radio and National TV promoting Philately with Alan Titchmarsh. Andrew’s area of expertise is unusual – in so far as his grounding in collecting and wide philatelic knowledge has given him a deep understanding of Philately. He has studied Philately for the past 45 years, in combination with Commerce and Marketing Expertise, enabling him to create synergies in ‘lifetime’interlinked Stamp Selling Systems, sell- ing unit-priced stamps through to handling col- lections & Rarities up to £700,000 each. Today Andrew is fortunate to be co-owner with his Wife, of Universal Philatelic Auctions (aka UPA) – the Largest No Buyer’s Premium Reducing-Es- timate System Stamp Auction in theWorld, cre- ating records selling stamps to 2,261 di erent bidders from 54 di erent countries in his latest auction. Andrew stopped collecting stamps aged 18 reasoning that his enjoyment of stamps would be in handling them and selling them… ANDREW PROMOTING PHILATELY ON THE ALANTITCHMARSH SHOW ITV REQUEST MY ‘TIPS OF THE TRADE’ FREE BOOKLET