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News and Views

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Feb 10th 2021

2/8/2021

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GENERAL  UPDATES.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HEALTH
Everybody is receiving their stamps as promptly as ever and I am back at work. Enough said!

RETURN POSTAGE
The increase in postage rates means I have raised the bar for free return postage to orders of  £8. or more with 1 packet and £10.00 with 2.  Hopefully you'll regard this as fair and still offering great value. 
NEW "INTERNATIONAL" PACKETS - what's the difference?
The question as to whether the stamps in the international packets are sourced differently from the big packets is answered simply by "no". However, they are more work to put together and are better ordered, so are priced a little higher. It's simple as that! 
NEW COMMONWEALTH PACKETS
These are much bigger with 750ish stamps  and containing more post 1970 items, with quite a few high values and mint therein. I have dropped the price per stamp when you have taken over 100, to 4p.  A couple of nice examples of post 1970 stamps below, The birds are pretty of course, but the Ghana surcharge (there are quite a few in one pack!) is interesting - these stamps were overprinted locally and there are thus many varieties but also "proper", (i.e. to defraud the post office), forgeries. GSM ran an article about them a while back, and there is the odd forum thread etc. to be found


RECENT AUCTION EXPERIENCES AND OBSERVATIONS (ctd.!)
The problems buying stock mentioned in the last post have eased somewhat by some fortunate purchases on Ebay and the opportunity to actually view some auction lots locally. Yes, a day before our glorious leader (unexpectedly?) froze the country again, I managed to view some lots at an auction whose premises allow for socially-distanced viewing though not of course socially distanced bidding. It was a case study in the importance of viewing. Several lots I looked at, although accurately described, were not as envisaged and if I'd bid blind I would have bid on something that wasn't quite right. As ever, I was outbid on most of the lots I wanted but came away with some good stuff. I say "came away" but the intention to collect the lots was ruled out and the cost of delivery exceeded the buyer's premium by some way. 
As for Ebay, I have always struggled to find the right stuff there.  It takes a long time to search and there is an awful lot of junk. Furthermore, many larger and mixed lots can make  high realisations, a reflection of the fact that Ebay is after all, a retail marketplace. However, I recently stumbled on an excellent seller who regularly lists stuff that is just right for me (and you!) and that I've been able to "win" at the right price. However, as I write, I have been outbid on several lots and Ebay is encouraging me to bid more to "win what I want" or other such coarse consumer language.
Meanwhile auctions everywhere seem to be posting record number of bidders and realisations. I speculated in the last post that this might be due to people over bidding for fear of missing out, however, another theory is that the use of platforms such as EasyLiveAuction makes it very easy for bidders to get into competitive situations. For me, the cost of using these kind of platforms rules them out. Not only will you be clobbered by the auction house's premium but there's a cost to using the online platform as well.
Overall though, there are parallels, one might controversially observe, between internet bidding and internet gambling.  Clicking is just too easy.  Winning and losing are also too easily confused: if I have paid too much in the heat of the moment, is that winning, or losing?
As for realisations  and the general climate, it's well worth reading what Grosvenor have to say here www.grosvenorauctionsm I really get why someone would want to bid over the odds on items in the remarkable Ken Carter collection as this was a rare opportunity, but on fairly routine mixed lots, well...........they'll come again, and if someone wants to bid a penny more than me on such stuff they can, as they say "have it!"
I'd be interested to know what others' thoughts and experiences are.

SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT - The National Philatelic Society

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Although there are no meetings for this or any society at the moment, it has a lot to offer and in my opinion functions  well even in normal times, for people who cannot attend every or any meeting. The strength is in the excellent Stamp Lover magazine, published every 2 months it is a cracking read for generalists or specialists alike and available by email or through the post. They have a packet circuit (cranking up again now), a regular postal auction, a library and a website. The magazine is worth the bargain membership subscription alone.
Find out more here ​http://www.ukphilately.org.uk/
GIBBONSWATCH  No. 1 Postponed!
As observed earlier, whilst auctions everywhere are roaring ahead by simply going ahead with their sales via postal and internet bids, Stan the Man has made the decision to postpone the general sale until the end of March and the India sale to a date to be confirmed, though today it said 1st April, ho ho! Perhaps the auction room will be arranged so that bidders will be socially distanced. That'll be a first. But if, as we all suspect any auction will have to conducted behind closed doors what's the point in postponing? Just because Stan the Man can, or just to piss people off or both? Meanwhile, the share price etc etc......
NEXT BLOG The murder of Murray Payne!
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That's it for now. I'll try and make the next one a bit sooner, without filling your inbox with the great unwanted.
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December 2020 NEWS

12/16/2020

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Please click on the title above to open up the post. This will reveal a box to allow you to comment at the bottom. You can also read other people's comments and get a good argument going!

Anyway.....welcome to the first (at last) newsletter.
I have been trying different ways to do one, but they have all been problematic and expensive. The obvious solution is of course to have a blog page, which, very stupidly, I never realised I could do on this website. Anywhere, here it is, he we are, boom, as they say.

PROBLEMS BUYING STOCK!
The recent and continuing events which we shall not name have not affected me very much, mainly, ironically, because my day, or rather night job is in the NHS. However when it comes to buying stock, the problems have been very real. The main one is that although auctions are still running they do so as de-facto postal auctions and there is no viewing. One enterprising auction house painstakingly uploaded videos but I still bid too low.  Whatever, videos or no videos  realisations in all auctions have been bewilderingly high. Why? I suspect that many bidders, used to being in the room, are bidding high to avoid not getting what they want. Will things return to normal when normality, if it ever, returns? I'd be delighted to know your views and experience.
Meanwhile, buying on Ebay has been a bit mixed. There are people who will tell you that everything they have bought on there has been a bargain while everything  they have sold has realised a top price. My experience is generally the opposite, and again I have seen some crazy realisations for mixed lots (by other sellers!) However I am not yet out of stock for the standard packets, (though some one-country selections have sold out rapidly)  and hope is at hand as one or two auctions who have the space, are allowing viewing, which is great, I'll just have to remember to bid up a bit!
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND HEALTH ISSUES.
One or two or you may have had your orders delayed by my having a heart attack and spending two days in the hospital where I now work. Apologies.   I am making an excellent recovery as my heart is undamaged and I am back bimbling about in the countryside and will be back to work (damn!) in mid January. Bit of a non-event really, apart from the argument with the locum cardiologist, but you don't need to know about that.....!

AN INTERESTING STAMP.
"What do you mean interesting? It's a used Wilding!" Yes, well, point taken, but do have a look at the postmark. It's not the usual smudged machine effort but a barred numeral, 723 to be exact. 723 is  Southampton and according to the records I can find (Parmenter and Smith), this was last used in 1964, which makes it one of the latest uses of a barred numeral. According to the GB Philatelic Society website, they were used on surcharge and instructional markings. Beyond that I can find no more info.  Anybody know anything?

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A QUICK PERSONAL REVIEW OF THE UK PHILATELIC MAGAZINES.
Print remains popular; the idea that print is for the old and out of touch is very much an idea that is itself, old and out of touch. Likewise, the moan about stamp collecting dying out along with the collectors is itself not looking very well:  there is a definite growth of interest in stamps by younger people, and by women. So, it should be no surprise that the UK stamp community supports 3 magazines which show no signs of going downhill.  These are of course Gibbons Stamp Monthly, Stamp Magazine and Stamp Collector Magazine. Let's have a quick look at each.

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GSM is in my opinion the daddy on the block. If you want in depth, erudite stuff written by acknowledged experts there's not a publication on this earth to beat it. It's also packed, more words per penny than any other. I'd really be hard pushed to say anything against it. It is quite a lot of work to read all of it and not everything in there will be of general interest, so I tend not to buy it every month, which is shameful, really.
It's hard to find exactly what the circulation figures are for magazines, but I suspect that Stamp Magazine isn't as big as GSM and certainly doesn't have the international reach, though it seems very popular in the UK and whenever I advertise in it, a decent response is always forthcoming. It also has a good website, with an active forum. Content wise, the magazine is an easy, accessible read always with lots of general interest articles and it's nice to look at it.
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Years ago there was a "magazine" called Stamp and Coin Mart. It wasn't great, but then was bought by Warners Group who renamed/revamped it, Over a long and consistent editorship, this magazine has really grown into something. The content is broad, easy to read, but does not skimp on detail or expertise. The graphic design is  excellent, the best of the 3 in my view. It also has a great  web presence.
The editor's grasp of how web and print can work together is key here. This mag just goes from strength to strength.

In short, they are all great in their different ways, but I have a particular liking and respect for Stamp Collector, there's a lot of time, thought and effort gone in to this and it just keeps getting better. Well, what do you think?

THAT'S IT FOR NOW, thanks for reading, do leave a comment.
Happy you know what and all the best for 2021 or is it going to be the year Zero?
Cheers
Jonathan

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    Jonathan

    An old-school philatelic generalist behind the wonderful world of packet approvals, based in the west of the UK.

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  • World, Europe and Commonwealth
  • One Country and Area Packets.
  • Ebay penny start auctions
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  • Contact, T&Cs