Graded? We don't need no stinken graded.

[gsdstamps]

I looked through the whole list of covers in GSD Stamps, I didn't find GSD Local Posts.

EC: We just started doing LP (with special thanks to Dave for his inspiration, help, and encouragement). The second stamp has been ready for awhile. I just have to get the cachet done and down to the Postal History Museum for the cancels. After that, I was planning on posting them with proceeds to benefit our local GSD club, etc.

Here is a sample our second issue:
It loses a bit in posting the image here, but you get the idea...

Thanks for checking though and if, you're interested in LP's, I can let you know when I've posted them.

Steve

PS: Dave, I knew, considering all of the critters you've done, you just had to have a hamster on a cachet!!

[bennettoons]

.
.
:arrow: That's a great looking stamp, Steve!!

[HenrytheChef]

I got an idea! In the spirit of P.T. Barnum etc. I will "grade" your stamp, any stamp for one dollar and the cost of return postage. Thanks to computer technology I can set up a very important looking certificate also. I can even photoshop your stamp being held by Sarah Palin, Barak Obama, Modanna (the singer or Jesus' Mother either one) and send you that for a small optional fee. Any takers?

[EclecticCollector]

Henry.. , a little more subtle, you almost had it going


Steve, outstanding!
I produced some very crude newspaper stamps when I had my paper route, nobody appreciated them. All hand made.

[oneeaglelover]

This one hurt my sides...laffin' of course...get off the grading and we will all be so much happier...Let the millionaires spend whatever money they want for a grade "billion" oh, 100...sorry, I was digressing...when you have a stamp filling your spot on a page...then you will peruse your pages and enjoy looking at that stamp...cuz you are a happy collector...

[COMPARE]

Some of this graded business drives me crazy. I have a stamp listed for sale, a U.S. #654. It's mint, never hinged, perfectly centered, good bright colors, a real nice stamp. I'm selling it for a buck. But if you do a search for U.S. #654 unused, you come across stamps that are "graded" with marks of 90 and 98. And, they are asking over $300 for these stamps! I think it's outrageous. I can see authenticating a stamp where a slight difference might make one stamp worth a lot and another similar stamp worth pennies. But, just to have some "experts" look at a stamp and say, "yeah, it's real nice, we'll give it a 98" and this makes a stamp worth a dollar now worth $350?

For those of you old enough to remember the original American Bandstand, I say, MY stamp not only looks good, but it's got a good beat and it's easy to dance to so I'll give it a 100!

If you want to ruin something, get money involved. In this case "something" is Stamp Collecting. Money is what this "grading" thing is all about. If you have more money that brains, and want to pay $1000 for a stamp you can buy for $40, because of a certificate thats says the centering is 98 or whatever, I guess that is your business. I feel this grading thing is bad for Stamp Collecting. It promotes greed.

[michael78651]

Grading is going wider. PSE is advertising that they're now going to grade US revenues.

[HenrytheChef]

Several people have pointed out that this grading business is all about money. It kind of reminds me of what happened in the stock market and in the housing market. Stocks for companies with no actual value were traded like baseball cards till a company like Enron, with no actual product was worth billions and then collapsed taking all the investors' money with it. A nice house in a decent suburb that is worth maybe $200,000 is marketed up to a million bucks and when THAT buble bursts, millions lost their homes and savings. If I have a collection with a CV of one or two thousand dollars but grading makes it "worth" $50,000, I'll tend to bet my life savings on adding to it with more graded stamps, THAT buble bursts and I'm left with a book full of bits of paper.

[richd4549]

Well..... at least you will me able to lick 'em and stickum' on an envelope to mail a past due mortgage payment.

[HenrytheChef]

"Lickemandstickem", funny you should mention that. I have a load of mint US stamps from the days of 4-cent postage up to a couple of yeas ago. I use them as postage, especially when I send a stamp to someone who has bought one from me. I don't usually bother to check the CV's of these stamps because I collect "Classic American". BUT, the other day I was surprised to find that the North American Wildlife 22-cent stamps I was using for postage, catalog for 95-cents each! So, no more licking and sticking whithout checking and saving.

[khj]

Yes, there's actually more than a handful of US stamps of the past 50 years that are actually worth more than face value on the wholesale market. It's not cost effective to buy every single stamp just to catch these premium issues; buy them for collecting not investing. But for mailers like me who must send things by first class mail, I buy discounted postage lots, and also pull out these premium issues to wholesale off when I accumulate enough -- that further reduces my mailing costs. Plus, I get to play with stamps all the while.

[khj]

...the other day I was surprised to find that the North American Wildlife 22-cent stamps I was using for postage, catalog for 95-cents each! So, no more licking and sticking whithout checking and saving.

It's the full sheets that carry the real catalog value weight. Don't worry if you used up a bunch of 22c wildlife singles. There's only about 2 of them a few dealers will pay above face value. The increased catalog value of the singles is purely to reflect the "loss" in value of breaking up a full sheet. This is rather ridiculous since there are plenty of singles available. Scott should just put a good premium on the full sheet (which it already does), and leave the catalog value of the singles as normal.

If you have several of them as full undamaged sheets, then you need to quit using them for postage and sell them ASAP, as they have been steadily dropping in price over the past decade. They are currently at or near face value on the wholesale market, and fewer and fewer dealers are willing to pay above face value for them now.

[michael78651]

Just used some of those for postage today. Just bought them below face in a discount postage lot, so they have dropped even more than you may have known, Kim.

[khj]

Just used some of those for postage today. Just bought them below face in a discount postage lot, so they have dropped even more than you may have known, Kim.

Michael##### is correct. [EDIT: OK, we need more buyers here at SW, so I've edited out the rest of this post]

k

[oneeaglelover]

don't give up all your secrets khj!! Seems that there are many issues that 'go under the radar' and keen-eyed folks pick up on some great values...(I told you to shut up Kim!)... And then some of them don't get picked up at all...I won't give up all the secrets, but much has to do with the specialist...perf change or tag variant...alas...WE NEED MORE BUYERS!!!! Many items can enhance a collection but it all depends and what you collect...and many that have something neat to sell? well, we only hope you start collecting what we sell If you read this 3 times or more...well, then realize...uh...