Stampchat+

It appears that one of the very enthusiastic posters has also been driven away from the ebay board. I can't remember his whole, long, ebay id, but he would always post scans of postcards and things like that. I love that stuff and miss his posts.

So, while my Spanish collecting is on break, I tend to go shopping at the antique malls, searching for similar things. My holdings of postcards do not rival his, so I'm sure what I show won't be quite as interesting, but.......

Here are 2 cards I got the other day at a local shop.

First is an RFD from Dewey, ILL.
http://www.rbpuzzles.com/stamps/doane.JPG

The second is a Doane from Wheelock, VT, in Blue.
http://www.rbpuzzles.com/stamps/rfd.JPG

Which leads me to a question, do Doanes, in colors other than black, carry any kind of premium?

Richard,

That was Pro - but like you I can't remember what he changed his ID to - something like i-buy-olde? That doesn't look right, but it's something like that.

Richard: I would say Doanes in blue carry a bit of a premium. There aren't that many, but there aren't all that many collectors who would really care about it.

I suspect Pro will be back in due course. He's vanished once or twice before.

Pro has changed his ID back to due2cents.

I too have been reluctant to post on the other board because I don't need people being prickly to me for no important reason. Ideally I'd like a board where one could post whatever one wanted comfortably, but I guess among stamp collectors, that "ain't never gonna happen". I now use my expat board for airing my concerns, and that works well and I get a lot of support and useful feedback.

Spain - I am in the process of considering of how I will dispose of my beloved New Hebrides collection, as it will suffer greatly in the humid air of coastal Mexico where we're aiming to move to. But of course I am reluctant to sell all my "good stuff". I'm so glad I have kept it for this long, as I nearly sold it in 2004.

An idea I have had recently is to keep my 1893 Military Franchise essays (see behind me in my avatar pic) as they don't have gum, the definitive book/website on them is yet to be written, and I'd have them on hand to analyse when I try to write it. I'd also have something wonderful to play with and console myself about.

Any thoughts out there about keeping stuff in the tropics?

I sold my collection of Second and Third Issue revenue proofs a few years ago, mainly because I'd spent about $3000 on them and was being offered $5500, and there was a $4000 item I wanted to buy. I don't really regret it, but whenever I see a nice item for that collection my first impulse is to buy it, until I remind myself, "You don't collect those any more."

I sold my US postage collection and boxes of miscellaneous stuff when we moved to Minnesota three years ago, and the only thing I regret there is that I included my newspaper stamps. Probably would have gotten the same price with or without them.

The temptation now is to sell all my loose revenue stamps and concentrate on documents, plus my Prexie postal history. Just a temptation, though.

Not a clue on tropical conditions - luckily not a concern in Minnesota.

Sheryll,

I live within a mile and a half of the Gulf of Mexico in southwest Florida. My answer is air conditioning. If it weren't for air conditioning and mosquito control, no one would live here (Our current nemesis is a coyote family which is not at all subdued by the proximity of man. They are attacking small pets - even ones on leashes.)

I find that with air conditioning and proper storage - albums upright and separators where needed, everything is OK. I've been here for 17 years now. I've grown acclimated and I keep the air at around 76 degrees F and everything is just fine.

Copied and pasted from the eBay Stamps chat board, since Mexico is being discussed...



Jimbo, nice to hear that air conditioning helps to preserve stamps. I've seen it mentioned from time to time that Showgard and Scott split mounts can disturb the gum on mint stamps, but it appears that the problem doesn't occur in a drier environment. Mine have stayed pristine, but I don't even open the albums on those humid days when paper feels like wet rags.

The Confederate stamps are often good examples of what high humidity can do, with the spots of yellow foxing and discolored gum.

Jim G, it's a good thing your big remodeling project was a kitchen job, those and bathrooms tend to add enough value so you get a decent return on resale.

Gotta go, too nice to be indoors.

-Dunc

Geez, it's really nice to see some real activity on this board! For some unknown reason, I decided to take a quick look, since it's been quite a few months since I visited last and, presto, some new activity. Hope we can keep it going. Getting this board active again would be great.

BOB H;

Congrats on the C-O-C entry. I know exactly what you mean. I was there twice, once with my New York Foreign Mail Exhibit and once with my 15c Banknote Exhibit. Like you, I recognized that it was not possible to win it, but just the thrill of being one of the top 15-20 exhibits in the land for that year is reward enough.

On the other hand, my Pacific97 large vermeil for the 15c Collection with a score within one point of a gold was probably one of the more disappointing exhibiting experiences I've had. Not that the awards are everything, but to come within one point of an international gold........ But then in 2006 in Washington I did the same thing, large vermeil within one point of a gold, and was thrilled, because I did not expect to do so well with this exhibit, so it just goes to show how the same award level can cause different emotions. Also, at my age, who knows if it might be the last U.S. International I can exhibit at?

Bill - thanks! My exhibit wasn't accepted at the Washington International, so I have no experience at international exhibiting. When it was shown at the APS show in Chicago in 2006 I chose the extra FIP judging option and was told that the exhibit might get enough points for gold IF it did not fall down on "importance." That's a pretty big IF, and I probably won't ever find out.

Exhibiting has been fun, though, and the Saint Louis Bears gave me a lot of information and support while we were living there. Hope I can keep doing it at some level.

Richard B
I'll be back to stamps this week
I think
Took a nice vacation
My IBOMOS id
generated a little over 300 inqiuries and brought me
so much new material and sources i had to revert to the Due2
just to clear up the logjam

am behind a bit in just general stuff to do
But the Travel was enjoyable
the sights
and cities were fine
The Huntin and fishin great
and overall just a nice refreshing month.


gas was a little pricier than i had wished for.
But next time I'll take the small truck not the Full size
and i'll ship what i pick up back instead of carrying it .

I have a few hundred things to ask Questions about
and will prob post them to the bay
just to see what if anything i ran into.

i bought 10 kilos of mixed stamps mostly mint hinged
that had been pulled from albums back in the early sixities
which has been entertaining.
and of course a learning curve.

I also picked up a box full of approval books full of nice stuff
seems they have been parked since about 1958
and they are Very interesting also.

But in my travels i did do some market research of my own and have become really downbeat about the real future of this hobby.

altho it does , it the field anyway, seem that I am getting much better deals. Not that i really need any more stamps.

I turned down about 80% of what i have seen lately
even at 10 for a penny i don't see much margin
If I ever want to sell .

and of course Margin is the line that is really important


<b>To those that Sell on the Bay</b>

how have the changes effected your e business

<b>rdhinstl</b>
ever hear of a Rev guy named Morrow ?

i bought a bunch of his Covers
he also seemed to collect odd routed material

bbl

Pro,

I don't know who Morrow is off he top of my head - will do a bit of checking.

Bill Weiss

it is with great pleasure i see many Stamps on the old bay
with your certs proudly shown and proclaimed

Nice Going

thanks also Bob for the try


Jim still nice stamps you got going there.

Pro;

Thanks for the nice compliment! Yes, I am doing quite a bit of expertizing for eBay sellers, who like the low cost ($15. with cert.) and fast service (same day I get it). Anyone who would like more info can go to www.stampexpertizing.com.

Jim,

How are you going to mount those strip stamps in your collection?

Pro;

I also thanked you on the eBay Chatboard for your nice post there, but received a form-letter email that someone had reported the post and eBay removed it (because it contained a commercial message). My fault. I should have known better. Anyway, you got thanked!

Bill W

no thanks were necessary
I like Nice people to do good.

and when i see it i enjoy sharin it.

I still have some things to send up to you

just have not found my Roundtoit
lately

that and i think I may be getting a little better
' at stamps well maybe just a little.

Bob H, you mean the new flag issues?

I have no idea yet, and I'm really annoyed at the USPS for doing this. I haven't seen the actual Scott listing yet, but I was told that they're assigning minor letters based on strips of 5. Strips of 5 are doable on a standard 10x11.5 page, I think - diagonally, at least (see my examples of the 25c american eagle coils from a couple of years ago). But until I get my hands on the strips, I can't tell.

My collecting is up in the air right now. I'm buying a new place, and my old place is in escrow, but my place is professionally staged until escrow closes, meaning that everything's in storage, and it's been that way since the beginning of May. So I'm still buying stuff, but I can't mount or scan, which means that I can't show my WESTPEX purchase, which is a real gem.

Jim,

Yes - those are the ones. And they are a fair amount wider than the eagle coil stamps, so they may pose a real challenge. The perforations interlock, so maybe five actually aren't that much wider in total after all.

I guess to show individual stamps you need to take off every other one until you get a complete run of them. Hope you mail a lot of letters.

to all

I received two eBay lots today. One was sent from Sweden on July 3, taking four days to get here. The other was sent, first class, from Port Angeles, Washington on June 16, taking three weeks to get here.

Have there been mail problems due to fires in the West?

Bob - I don't know about the west, but I recently received the last 2 lot's I bid on, from 2 different sellers in the Netherlands. Both of them took almost 3 months to get here, and I paid via Paypal. Been having bad luck with buyers in foreign countries lately. Earlier this year, a $100 money order got lost on it's way to Brazil. The first incident I've had like that.

A three month wait to receive ordered items?

Then I guess a four day wait for a reply here could be considered blazing speed.

I only remember three eBay US purchases online that took a long time.

One was a US stamp booklet. The seller waited a month and then sent me a different (lesser) variety. I was disappointed but still left positive feedback because even with the switch, the item was a bargain. And the booklet stamps were perfectly centered, a real rare feature in US booklets.

Oh, and come to recall, the second item wasn't slow, just scary. The envelope was slit completely across the bottom and the contents spilled out on the kitchen table. So while it did arrive in a timely fashion, it could've really gone bad.

The third order was slow to arrive, but the seller notified me about a month later that the check was delivered to his neighbor's house and he had patiently been waiting for my payment when the neighbor finally remembered the letter. I knew it was true because he had been receiving and leaving feedback promptly for sales done much later than mine.

There was one more eBay incident that scared me but it was because a seller lost track of my payment and didn't ship promptly - an expensive order from a low feedback seller, and he did become NARU'ed shortly after, Not A Registered User. But after a complicated exchange of e-mails he did finally ship the item, a rare Feuchtwanger token variety.

-Dunc

As of an hour ago, I am a brand new home owner, having sold my little closet of a place for something that's palatial in comparison. But my new place has a significant disadvantage over my old place - my old place was a concrete bunker, and my new place is a wood frame. This worries me a *lot*, since I now have to be concerned about a fire destroying my collection.

I'm not entirely comfortable with the notion of an 800-pound safe on the third floor of a wood frame building. And I'm not comfortable putting one on the first floor either, since I'm barely above flood water level (they had to add 3 feet to the site to avoid the legal definition of being in a flood plain). Finally, I'm not thrilled with the notion of a safety deposit box either, due to the ongoing cost and no immediate access.

So right now, my preference would be to have some sort of fireproof but not burglarproof container on the third level. Any ideas? What have other folks done?

Jim,

Have you thought of a gun safe? I did, but didn't get one. Most of the places like Cabela's would not deliver beyond the front sidewalk of a home, and I couldn't figure out how to get it where I wanted it if they left one there.

That's not a bad idea. Something like this might be perfect.

Problem with a conventional safe is that getting one big enough to hold a Scott National album is expensive. A gun safe would probably solve that.

Congratulations, Jim!

We have a five-drawer filing cabinet type of safe.

For fireproofing it is rated Class D, one notch below a typical box safe. Measuring about 30" deep by 20" wide and standing about 44" high, we love the easy access to all the contents and have it blocked up a few inches higher for even more convenience.

It weighs at least 600 pounds. We bought it used and cheap many years ago - it probably sold cheap because nobody else was crazy enough to try moving it out across the owner's porch, which was coated with an inch of slippery ice!

We did initially have it in our second floor duplex apartment and kept it close to the walls as we moved it in on a furniture dolly, and did worry about the structural safety of the stairs on the way up and about stressing the floors/ceilings in the rooms during the move. With four of us involved in the move there was a lot of weight concentrated in a small area.

We use it mostly for coins - stamp albums would have to be stored flat.

-Dunc

Am back from Hartford. It was a good show, at least for buyers. It was fun to file up there in the ranks of the Champion of Champions, and to help my exhibiting mentor, Dr Nettles, to walk up the ramp as well. Neither of us won, but neither of us expected to.

Bill Weiss, good to meet you again and chat for a few minutes!

Bought a lot more than I expected to, mostly Prexie covers. Not the most expensive, but perhaps my favorite, was one directed to the US Military Mission at Basra, Iraq - in 1939!!

Or the one sent airmail to meet a repatriated civilian POW at Lourenco Marques in 1942 that literally missed the boat. The boat arrived in July, but the letter got there in December. I suspect that part of Portuguese East Africa was a bit of a hellhole then, and the repatriated individual did not wait around for its arrival.

BOB H;

And good to see you again as well. I don't go to many shows, usually only when I exhibit, which is only every few years. I don't like to over-exhibit a collection.

Dr. Nettles was a client of mine at shows, many years ago, though I doubt she would remember me. While I don't generally miss shows - we did them from 1972 to about the late 1980s, it is very nice to see old clients and make new friends.

Thank you for stopping by.

PS My exhibit did well. I am pleased.

Bill,

Yes, your exhibit certainly did well. For those who weren't there, United States Postal Card Errors, 1881-1991 took a gold and won the Errors, Freaks & Oddities Collectors Club First and the United Postal Stationery Society Marcus White Award.

I thought I was done exhibiting for this year, but I was conscripted into showing at Chicagopex, if only one frame. It's always a good show, so having an excuse to go is not at all onerous.

Bob,

Thank you!

I received an email from a group that calls themselves Philatino, saying they were the "second largest visited stamp multi-auctions site" after eBay. Does anyone know anything about them? I don't normally click on links in unexpected emails, so I did not go investigate.

Bob,

I got it today as well, and like you, I did not click on it as it is obviously a scam to put a virus in your computer or to get access to your identity. Never heard of the oufit before, which is the first caution light, then they request an electronic response which is a second red flag, and then the close by saying "God Bless" which is a common salutation from scam artists, another red flag.

Somewhat like the email I got from "Northwest Airlines" a couple of days ago with an attachment I was supposed to open - supposedly containing my ticket reservation, for which they had charged me some $600. My virus program had inserted text to the effect that they had removed a virus from the email itself, and showed the real address of the sender, which was something like tequila97@hotmail.

I went to the Northwest site and used their contact email to tell them and ask them if they wanted the original email so they could investigate. They have not replied.

<a href="http://s287.photobucket.com/albums/ll152/IBOMOS/?action=view&current=IM000151.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll152/IBOMOS/IM000151.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

from 1864 stampless
would thid be form of Union Censorship of RR mail during CW
or checking for number of sheets??

.