Feb 10th 2021

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!

That's it for now. I'll try and make the next one a bit sooner, without filling your inbox with the great unwanted.