Sheet Pricing

How are sheets of stamps priced?

I have quite a few sheets generally from 1948-1949 in perfect
condition in a Gimbels File.

Scott does not appear to price sheets.

The H.E. Harris Catalog seems to show prices five to fifteen times
face value.

What is a realistic price multiplier relative to face value for
selling sheets?

Thanks, Kent

"Joshua McGee" wrote in message
...
| On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:54:45 -0700, Kent wrote:
|
| How are sheets of stamps priced?
|
| I have quite a few sheets generally from 1948-1949 in perfect condition
| in a Gimbels File.

Perfect condition as in 'not damaged' or 'perfectly centered'?

| What is a realistic price multiplier relative to face value for selling
| sheets?

Less than dealer selling prices.

| United States? The most accurate guide is Brookman, for full sheets
| through, say, WWII -- *maybe* a decade later. Newer sheets, with very
| rare exceptions (North American Wildlife, for instance), are worth face
| value.

Or less, down to perhaps 70% of face.

tjr

On Jun 13, 5:44 pm, Joshua McGee wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:49:32 -0400, Terry Reedy wrote:
| United States? The most accurate guide is Brookman, for full sheets |
through, say, WWII -- *maybe* a decade later. Newer sheets, with very |
rare exceptions (North American Wildlife, for instance), are worth face
| value.

Or less, down to perhaps 70% of face.

True. If you have thousands of sheets and want to "cash out" by selling
to a dealer, you will get significantly less than face, but for most
issues, it's eighty-something percent for full sheets (and seventy-
something for "scrap".) Certain stamps -- Christmas stamps, Greetings
stamps, precancels, "Alcoholism: You Can Beat It!", for instance -- are
almost impossible to move.

My point was that if you have modern sheets (six cent era and later) you
are better off using them to mail letters, if you can find space for
seven of them on the envelope. Sorry.

(If you *do* have North American Wildlife or Prexie [1938 presidential
series] sheets, contact me off-list.)

--
Joshua H. McGee, Los Angeles, California, USA
Member: APS, ATA, ISWSC, AFDCS, MBPC, MCC, BPS
President:http://www.penguinstamps.org
Trade?:http://www.mcgees.org/stamp-offers/

Thanks all for the help.

Yes, the sheets are all U.S. I haven't examined the centering. My
father collected these sheets apparently at the time of issue. The
total face value is $91.50. The total H.E. Harris catalog value is
about seven times that figure.

Most of the stamps are three, four, or five cents. I also have Scott
C40-C44 but two of those are represented by several partial sheets.

The file also contains the Dag Hammarskjold stamp and Inverted
version.

Perhaps I do have one sheet of some value. It is the Astronaut and
Capsule pair which is Scott #1331-32.

K. Williams

On Jun 13, 10:39 pm, Joshua McGee wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:45:52 -0700, Kent wrote:
Perhaps I do have one sheet of some value. It is the Astronaut and
Capsule pair which is Scott #1331-32.

I understand why you would say that. When "space stamps" were first
introduced, they were widely marketed to non stamp collectors as
"investments" by people of questionable ethics, at a premium over face.
There were claims that all you had to do was buy a stack of space stamps
and cash them in when it was time to send your kids to college!

Unfortunately, no, they're not magic investments. They're just postage.
I still buy every "space stamp" issue regularly, for face value, because
people like seeing them on envelopes.

I'm not being patronizing, but $91.50 is a very low face value. I
sometimes come across unfortunate people who have five to six *thousand*
dollars worth of postage to get rid of. You can use your amount up with
two hundred letters. I say, go for it! Get slightly larger envelopes
than you might normally use (so-called "Greeting Card Envelopes" that
hold a letter-sized sheet folded in half are good) and plaster them with
the low-denomination stamps. Surely, with bills, greeting cards, and so
forth, you send 200 letters per year?

--
Joshua H. McGee, Los Angeles, California, USA
Member: APS, ATA, ISWSC, AFDCS, MBPC, MCC, BPS
President:http://www.penguinstamps.org
Trade?:http://www.mcgees.org/stamp-offers/

Thanks for the comments on Space Stamps and the suggestion to use up
the Sheet Stamps for my mailing needs.

The reason I mentioned the Scott 1331-32 sheet was only because the
Harris Catalog priced that sheet at $60 which was much higher than all
the others. I assumed the Astronaut and Capsule Pair were somewhat
more valuable.

In terms of using up the sheet stamps, I mail so few letters that it
doesn't seem practical in my case.

Maybe I can donate the sheets to one of the charities and take a tax
deduction for some amount over face.

K. Williams

On Jun 14, 5:58 pm, Joshua McGee wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:55:49 -0700, Kent wrote:
The reason I mentioned the Scott 1331-32 sheet was only because the
Harris Catalog priced that sheet at $60 which was much higher than all
the others. I assumed the Astronaut and Capsule Pair were somewhat more
valuable.

Sometimes it's unavoidable, but, in general, don't trust a catalogue
written by someone trying to sell you the stamps. :^) I just checked
Brookman, however, and they also list a premium for this stamp (they list
a mint sheet at $45.) It looks like this stamp actually did go and get a
bit more valuable while I wasn't looking. Sorry about that.

On the flip-side, I just checked eBay closing prices, and they have
ranged from $7.80 to a high of $21.50 over the past two weeks for a mint
sheet of 1331-2. So there you go, as regards catalogues.

Maybe I can donate the sheets to one of the charities and take a tax
deduction for some amount over face.

Good luck!

--
Joshua H. McGee, Los Angeles, California, USA
Member: APS, ATA, ISWSC, AFDCS, MBPC, MCC, BPS
President:http://www.penguinstamps.org
Trade?:http://www.mcgees.org/stamp-offers/

Joshua,

Thanks for researching the prices on the Scott 1331-32 sheet.

I checked Brookman Online which I think showed $35 and not $45 but
perhaps we were checking different databases.

Overall the sheet prices were generally close to the Harris values I
checked earlier.

However, as you point out eBay prices are quite a bit lower. It does
appear that the sheets are worth more than face value, but perhaps not
to a dealer.

It's starting to look as though a person has to sell individually to
collectors if necessary if they want maximum value.

Kent

On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:21:30 -0700 (PDT), Kent
wrote:

On Jun 14, 5:58 pm, Joshua McGee wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:55:49 -0700, Kent wrote:
The reason I mentioned the Scott 1331-32 sheet was only because the
Harris Catalog priced that sheet at $60 which was much higher than all
the others. I assumed the Astronaut and Capsule Pair were somewhat more
valuable.

Sometimes it's unavoidable, but, in general, don't trust a catalogue
written by someone trying to sell you the stamps. :^) I just checked
Brookman, however, and they also list a premium for this stamp (they list
a mint sheet at $45.) It looks like this stamp actually did go and get a
bit more valuable while I wasn't looking. Sorry about that.

On the flip-side, I just checked eBay closing prices, and they have
ranged from $7.80 to a high of $21.50 over the past two weeks for a mint
sheet of 1331-2. So there you go, as regards catalogues.

Maybe I can donate the sheets to one of the charities and take a tax
deduction for some amount over face.

Good luck!

Thanks for researching the prices on the Scott 1331-32 sheet.

I checked Brookman Online which I think showed $35 and not $45 but
perhaps we were checking different databases.

Overall the sheet prices were generally close to the Harris values I
checked earlier.

However, as you point out eBay prices are quite a bit lower. It does
appear that the sheets are worth more than face value, but perhaps not
to a dealer.

It's starting to look as though a person has to sell individually to
collectors if necessary if they want maximum value.

I have sold plate blocks on eBay for face value. I don't know what
the market will bear now, but they were common items and I got at
least what they were worth to use as postage.

That said, a dealer friend told me that sheets should run about 115%
of face. I dunno if that's anywhere the norm lately, but we did
discuss it within the past 2 years or so.

This same dealer will take scrap postage - with gum - for 85% of face
- usually the non-block / sheet stuff as well. Right now he's trying
to sell a ton of plate blocks. Maybe I should inquire what the
selling cost of the first batch of blocks went for.

Tracy

On 14 Jun, 20:55, Kent wrote:
On Jun 13, 10:39 pm, Joshua McGee wrote:

In terms of using up the sheet stamps, I mail so few letters that it
doesn't seem practical in my case.

Then sell 'em to someone who _does_ send a lot of letters (and doesn't
mind a lot of licking)! Secretaries of local clubs (of any kind) often
have mailing lists. Some eBay sellers take them for small purchases,
though AIUI eBay are now trying to ban this. Or put them on eBay
itself. I buy bags of mint GB stamps regularly to use on "philatelic"
mail, and bid FV.

Chris