I am inspired by a negotiation with a customer who recently asked me about the availability of an important object from the classic sector of the Italian area; I have the object available but clearly these are special pieces; So how do you evaluate whether the purchase is convenient or not?
There are many factors to consider.
-
Quality. Certainly an important object, even if it is beautiful in quality and appearance, has a greater appeal towards the potential customer but has a higher price. Compared to the catalog value, obviously it is always necessary to evaluate case by case, but in general a good quality object requires more resources but is always an excellent investment; a lower quality one, on the other hand, may cost less and make the buyer think of a good saving but in reality in the future it could turn out to be only a half-deal, because the appreciation of the object by a potential buyer will be proportionate to the defect and will give less satisfaction – in the long run – of good quality.
-
Rarity. The question that must be asked when purchasing an object of a certain "weight" is also: how many are known and above all how many can I find on the market? Obviously if we are talking about a series of stamps in a new intact state, hinged, without gum or used it is a matter of discussion, but if we are talking about a Postal History object it is much more complex to define a specific price for an object compared to one approaches, because a whole series of other factors then come into play which do not allow for simple evaluation. Many times we must also consider the fact that a particularly rare or unobtainable object does not give us much choice, but forces us in some way to "settle"; However, it remains an excellent investment in the conditions in which it is found because the demand for the object will inevitably always be higher than the supply.
-
The two points above bring us to the third aspect: the price. The value for money is not always easy to interpret, but you must always think that whatever piece you buy today, that same piece will be worth more tomorrow. So if we assume a purchase of a piece at 100 by paying 10% of the catalog today, we can imagine that that same piece, after five years, will have appreciated by 20%, therefore it will be worth 120 but the cost will have remained 100; therefore I will have an object that is worth 10% of the catalog but for which, after five years, I will have paid 20% less and therefore 8%. And the higher quality the object, the higher the percentage of sales compared to the catalogue, so the higher the revenue will be for the same cost. We must also keep in mind that stamps increase in value over time at a higher percentage than the average inflation we have in Italy today and therefore are (among other things) an excellent investment for the future.
-
Comparisons: to evaluate an object, many buyers make comparisons with similar objects obtained for example from public or online auctions. But the results of public auctions have several reasons to be taken with due precautions. First of all, in most cases, if the price remains low or very low the object has problems (rubber not in place, cancel doubts, stamps if on problematic letter, tariff to be verified etc. etc.); if, however, they have no particular problems and are collectible, they are the prerogative of traders, who remove them from the market today and resell them tomorrow on other markets at the right price. Have you ever tried to participate in a public auction? I always participate and see what happens; the pieces that collectors are missing usually fetch multiples, sometimes even higher than the starting price. Those that are interesting but not at that moment for a particular collector command lower prices but are purchased by dealers who can work with them. Therefore the comparison with similar objects sold at auction is very time consuming and definitely misleads those who don't know the dynamics of things well.
-
Who to buy from. An important topic because today there is a great lack of that close trust which, in the not too distant past, linked the professional operator to the customer and vice versa. With the spread of the internet, many have thought they could earn money or at least save it by abusing "do it yourself", which however is a double-edged sword as one almost never has the skills nor the possibility of make a correct evaluation of the object. The modern collector, especially if a neophyte, does not have the historical memory of the collections from which the rare material comes or of the quantities and the average quality and actual circulation of the series, etc. This is why the trusted operator is fundamental; it can help not only in procuring the goods, but also in suggesting in the event of findings whether or not that goods correspond to the requested price. Not relying on a trusted and referenced professional operator (don't choose at random!!!) can leave the collector at the mercy of ideas and information which, incomplete and poorly received, can easily mislead and generate scenarios that do not correspond to the reality of things . Wrong beliefs which are then instilled in our unconscious, leading us to think that the truth we are creating (but perhaps based on incorrect assumptions!) is the right one, and therefore making us perceive a type of philatelic market which does not adhere to reality.
The article is obviously a summary of important themes that cannot be exhausted here, but it can perhaps be food for thought for every reader.
Happy continuation!