From: michael@bramley.demon.co.uk   
      
   David   
      
   > I have inherited a stamp collection from my mother who died in 2002   
   > and am trying to dispose of it. Recently I have been listing some of   
   > the stamps on eBay but find that its quite a bit of work to accurately   
   > list each lot. Also the sales rate is not that high. I'm not too   
   > concerned about the amount of work but wondered whether my approach is   
   > right. I try and list lots with a SG value of £3 or so at a £0.99   
   > auction price with no reserve (i.e. about a third of list value as per   
   > SG's online catalogue). Each lot is scanned and can comprise between 1   
   > and 40 stamps. I charge 60p for first class p&p within the UK in board   
   > backed envelopes for safety. I started from A and have just got to D   
   > ... Denmark and list the items on ebay.co.uk but available worldwide.   
   >   
   > Any advice out there from the eBay experts? Would I be better off just   
   > taking them to a dealer (but then how do I know I'm getting fair   
   > value)? Are there other low cost sales outlets which I could try? I'd   
   > appreciate any thoughts for a non-expert such as myself. Thanks. David   
   >   
   Like other correspondents, I reckon that you've tackled the task   
   pretty well along the right lines. With classic stamps, ie, roughly,   
   those before 1900, condition is vitally important. "Clean", well   
   centred and, if imperforate, wide margined stamps will command much   
   higher prices than your one third guideline, whereas poor copies,   
   with "thinned" areas etc, will not be worth more than a tiny   
   percentage of the quoted catalogue estimate.   
      
   Your problem in going via Ebay is that, on the one hand, you'll   
   probably get some competition and the general realisation level may   
   be higher than you'd get from a dealer; on the other hand, a good   
   dealer would spot items you wouldn't know about - varieties, rarer   
   nuances of colour etc- and would pay you more than your base one-   
   third percentage. If you go to a dealer who is a member of the   
   professional association - PTS - you will be pretty safe. In general   
   you can expect to sell good material at a maximum of 35% of catalogue   
   (to survive, the dealer will sell at roughly 65% of catalogue). Go to   
   http://www.philatelic-traders-society.co.uk/ to look for a PTS dealer   
   in your area.   
      
   You asked about good philatelic sites. Try also:   
   rec.collecting.stamps.discuss.   
      
   Hope this helps.   
      
   Michael Meadowcroft   
      
   Michael Meadowcroft   
   Waterloo Lodge   
   72 Waterloo Lane   
   Leeds LS13 2JF   
   GB   
   Tel: +44 (0)113 257 6232   
      
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