I see many people in Facebook groups showing items they purchased. Some are large collections and when you examine the photos you can see that most (if not all) are low cost and common items. I guess many kiloware items might be like this.

I have never had the money to spend on expensive single items. I have never wanted large lots of materials that I may already have and since my collection is reasonably restricted with large lots I am sure I would end up with much material I do not want or need.

So what to do?

The only answer to someone like me, that I can see, is to keep track of what I have so I do not buy things I already own (I am not a hoarder nor do I want multiple items…. I want just one). This entails a have/want list. This entails time. Time to catalog individual stamps.

Having started this website I see the time it takes to enter information about each stamp on here. A 10c stamps takes time to put up… so time is valuable and the cost of the stamp should reflect a reasonable premium to the base cost. The seller is taking the time to ID and put up for you to buy, the buyer knows what they are buying.

Let’s look at the typical markups for items that you are or have bought in the past:

Clothing Markups: 100-350%

Jeans are the biggest culprit in the clothing category. The price of boutique denim jeans can reflect a markup of 350%. Jeans from mid-level retailers like Kohl’s or JCPenney are slightly saner with an average markup of 115%.

Shoe Markups: 100-500%

Markup is as varied in the footwear industry as sizes and styles. Typical cross-trainers or athletic shoes carry a 100% mark-up, while higher-end fashion shoes at boutique stores can be marked up by as much as 500%.

Cell Phone Markups: 8-10%

The entire category of electronics has some of the lowest markups around. Cell phones, for example, are only bumped up about 8% between wholesale and retail. The profit center for phones lies in the service contracts and usage fees. Manufacturers can operate with a lower retail markup because the real money is in the service.

Furniture Markups: 200-400%

No industry manipulates the meaningless MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) quite like the furniture industry. Salespeople usually receive a 15-20% commission if they sell an item at the inflated MSRP. But there’s another helpful abbreviation to know: MAP (Manufacturer’s Advertised Price). This lower price is the minimum at which most retailers are allowed to sell the item. Salespeople resist consumers who ask for this price and only receive about 7% commission on MAP sales.

Grocery Markups: 5-25%

Grocers certainly operate on slimmer profit margins than most other retailers. According to the Retail Owners Institute, stores typically maintain a narrow margin of 5-8% on the staples and then broaden their margins on luxury or indulgence items (think high-end coffees, chocolate, wines, etc.).

Cosmetics Markups: 60-80%

According to the research firm Euromonitor, the average markup on premium cosmetics is 78%. Since most cosmetics are composed of various combinations of good ol’ dirt, oil, wax, and fragrance, this relatively small markup adds up to big profits.

Prescription Medicine Markups: 200-5,600%

According to an expose by the Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV, pharmaceutical companies enjoy a 200-5,600% markup on their drugs in the US. Canada and several European nations impose a ceiling on drug prices and actively negotiate with drug manufacturers to keep costs down. No such safeguards exist here; even generic drugs in the US can be marked up by as much as 1,200%. Sure, development costs are high for some of these life-saving medications, but the markup has no expiration date.

New Car Markups: 8-10%

Not factoring in extended warrantees, finance charges, and other add-ons, auto dealers markup car prices by about 10%. Dealers’ intricate pricing structures involve invoice prices, transportation charges, dealer holdbacks, and incentives — enough confusing consumer fodder to fill a dozen articles. Suffice to say, the more you know about the secret cabal of car dealerships and how they arrive at their sticker prices, the better chance you’ll have of knowing where to begin your negotiating.

Eyeglasses Markups: 800-1,000%

It’s amazing but true: Some opticians charge 1,000% over wholesale for the hottest designer frames. Malls and larger chain stores are the worst offenders, with many other peripheral costs factored into the price of those fancy frames.

So with these markups and they high cost of shipping (and the percentage that places like Ebay and Hipstamp charge) it’s easy to see that a modest markup on stamps is reasonable. Yes?

So, when I buy stamps for my collection (which is not often) I need to narrow the focus to what I want and need. I can’t be like many buying expensive albums and collections with shoeboxes. It would be a waste of money and time in the long run.

I also can’t spend a lot. I have too many other things I need to spend money and time on. Does that make me less of a collector than someone with deep pockets? Yes…. and No. I will never have an impressive or large collection, that much is true, but I also realize that I a am not going to find hidden treasure and most things sold are picked over many times before put online.

I also have been scammed. I bought a lot on ebay of a number of items. There was one stamp that I wanted. When the package came that one was missing. The seller “H*T TEX*N said he couldn’t find it. After I wrote negative feedback I received a vulgar email from him and was blocked. He had numerous complaints on his ebay feedback so it was my own fault but there are shitty sellers out there like him.

Christopher McFetridge of Brixton Chrome always said that a seller should build a relationship of trust with the buyers. I think that is wise. I also think mentorship and the transfer of knowledge is important (hence the Country Guides on this site) as well as finding ways of showing others the value and how interesting stamp collecting can be (hence the Stamp Stories on this site).

Is it working? No. Not at the moment. Not a single sale. Not a single subscriber. Not a single page view.

Let’s see what happens. Let’s give it more time and effort before we give up.