Top investment opportunity?

[TheFaQQer]

Why would anyone buy a "secondhand stamp" on E-bay when they can pop into the Post-Office?

Are you going stand outside the Post-Office day after day trying to sell several grands worth of stamps?

Might not people be a bit wary about them being forgeries?


This idea sounds a bit crackers really.

It's not so much an investment as a savings plan. Assuming that at some stage you will use the stamps (or someone will), you can get 8% discount from some shops already, plus whatever saving you make over the cost of stamps rising.

I don't think I'd buy a grand so so, but if you have the money, where else are you going to get 8% this year on a small amount?

[thunderlizard]

they can pop into the Post-Office

That's an optimistic view of the availability of post offices.

[BlasterBates]

Why would anyone buy a "secondhand stamp" on E-bay when they can pop into the Post-Office?

Are you going stand outside the Post-Office day after day trying to sell several grands worth of stamps?

Might not people be a bit wary about them being forgeries?


This idea sounds a bit crackers really.

[thunderlizard]

What's the flaw?

I think the flaw would be risk of a privitisation of Royal Mail, which might not force the new providers to honour old stamps.

Last I heard (several years ago), collectible stamps had been a consistently good investment Maybe look into that?

[Sysman]

Warren Buffet did this with a US stamp that was going out of production and he reckoned would become a good investment.

He bought so many of the things that they bumped up production of them.

Suddenly they weren't rare any more.

[Doggy Styles]

Not going to make you Richard Branson though is it?

Hmm. You're probably right.

If some big chains are offering discounts, they are probably doing the same thing anyway. In which case your only chance is to sell in bulk to new chains in the future. I guess you'd need specialised storage too, what with the gluey components.

I doubt I could be arsed, all things considered.

[configman]

You can print your own these days. Anyone tried it?

Yes and I gave up after spending hours trying to figure out how to get an A4 sized stamp on a widgee envelope.

[d000hg]

You can print your own these days. Anyone tried it?

I also really like the self-serve machines in the Post Office. Especially because like self-scan supermarket tills, most are too scared to use them and they are normally empty while a queue for manned tills stretches out to the PO front door.

[TheFaQQer]

Superdrug were also doing 8% discount, IIRC.

I tend to buy mine in bulk from Makro which also saves a little.

[DimPrawn]

Probably makes sense to work out how many stamps you will get through in the rest of your lifetime and buy them all now. If you dies young you can leave them to your children, and over time, inflation means you will be saving money ever year.

Not going to make you Richard Branson though is it?

[configman]

Nothing illegal about it, resale is perfectly legal. However you might find it hard to find a buyer for the number of stamps you are talking about when you want to realize your investment.

More to the point - who is going to stick that amount of stamps when they probably have a franking machine.

[DaveB]

Pardon me if this has been mentioned before, but a chap on the radio yesterday suggested that buying UK first and second class stamps is a sound investment.

They are not marked with the price, they are valid forever, and as the price keeps going up every year or two (the recent hike was over 10%), you could buy a large amount and watch their resale value rise.

What's the flaw? Is resale lawful, on eBay or a market stall for example?

Nothing illegal about it, resale is perfectly legal. However you might find it hard to find a buyer for the number of stamps you are talking about when you want to realize your investment.

[Doggy Styles]

Pardon me if this has been mentioned before, but a chap on the radio yesterday suggested that buying UK first and second class stamps is a sound investment.

They are not marked with the price, they are valid forever, and as the price keeps going up every year or two (the recent hike was over 10%), you could buy a large amount and watch their resale value rise.

What's the flaw? Is resale lawful, on eBay or a market stall for example?