OTHER MATTERS

Prices – how are items priced?

Items are identified and priced using the latest Stanley Gibbons catalogues available and may reflect very recent price changes. If the item cannot be found in Gibbons, then it may be priced and identified from Scott or Michel. A small number of items (eg cinderellas, revenues) are priced from other catalogues, where available.

Other vendors, of course, set their own prices.

“Old” Items

Many of these have very high catalogue values – values that are seldom achieved unless the item being sold is absolutely pristine, which seldom happens for stamps of this age! Prices therefore reflect condition, centring, quality of cancel, number of previous hinges etc. Stamps with identified faults will be priced at 5-10% of catalogue, with “acceptable” copies usually about 20-35%.

“Mid-Period” Items

Typically 25-35% for mounted mint and used copies, rising to 40-50% for unmounted mint items.

Post 2000 Items

These are much harder to find, and cost more to acquire. This has to be reflected in the offer prices, which are likely to be 40-50% for mounted mint and used items, and 50-60% for unmounted items.

New Issues

As these are uncatalogued, they are priced at cost to us (mostly based on face value), plus a markup.

Narrations such as “shades” or “papers”

In the catalogue listings, there are colour or paper varieties that we aren’t confident we can identify accurately. The stamp identity for these is therefore tentative and the stamp is priced based on the lowest of the suggested prices. Usually the prices are very similar anyway. Items where there are significant price differences won’t be offered until we can get it right! As many collectors don’t go in for colour or paper varieties, so won’t worry about these matters, we feel that this is an acceptable way to deal with these items.

Our no-quibble returns policy should protect “specialist” collectors if find they have bought the wrong stamp.