Stanley Gibbons Share Discussion Threads

[chester] 11/5/2006 07:57

Got back yesterday afternoon from queuing all day for Leeds Utd play off tickets to find SGI down heavily. Certainly suprised by the sell off, a definate over reaction.

[goodnight1] 11/5/2006 07:57

Some trades gone through.
Could someone tell me how these guys get to trade well before 8.00. I should have bought more last night!

[cockneyrebel] 11/5/2006 07:53

All noise imo - FD gave me a call last night after the close - he called it nonsense too.

Wait for the results that are not far off - SGI are into Stamps globally - Spain isn't a major market in the bigger picture.

CR

[elmfield] 11/5/2006 07:49

Holding on still, as I am sure are many others.

[orange1] 11/5/2006 07:45

Evidence that all may not be well after all in Stanley Gibbons land: This from the Guardian:

" Mike Hall, chief executive of Stanley Gibbons, said: "This can't do any good to the stamp market. We don't know what the quality of these stamps was, but it must be bad for confidence. It's difficult to see where the global market will go now that there is so much supply around." Gibbons itself operates "guaranteed return" plans, paying up to 7% a year. This gives investors a choice of rates and maturity dates. But Mr Hall said only a few hundred customers have opted for these schemes.

"We have £6m under management with only a small proportion in guaranteed plans. We have reserved for these in our accounts but there is no external backing," Mr Hall said.

Experts say stamp prices have doubled since 2000 but the withdrawal of the Spanish from the market is likely to hit prices across the board."

[abergele] 10/5/2006 23:38

Robsy,

Its obvious you are not a collector of good stamps ,or you would'nt criticise them.

Gold prices have fallen in the past as history has shown, albeit ,gold is high now, as are the prices of rare stamps, and as a collector know this fact.

Yes there are all sorts of prices attached to stamps because there is a certain criteria attached to a stamp, quality, ,unmounted mint, etc.

I remember being told in the late 80's that Gibbons were only taking in stock of super quality items, the rubbish was being avoided,this was mentioned from small dealers in Liverpool.

I would'nt give a thankyou for a gold bracelate, diamond ring, or an oil painting worth thousands, especially if I had to pay good money to own them.

My collection from 1990, is quite extensive now, and has astounded me as to its new selling price (on ebay).

So they are not brightly coloured bits of paper, but collateral,if you have them and own them.

This seems not to be the case in matters relating to this recent scandal, if I read between the lines, selling something that you do'nt posses rings to mind.

[fred123] 10/5/2006 22:15

Got out at 154p before recent further rise and was starting to regret it. Sure this Spanish scam has nowt to do with SGI but the short term effect on sentiment will be devastating. The SGI stamp fund must be holed below the waterline imo just because it uses the same word, fund.
The price will keep dropping and so there will be plenty of opportunities to get in at a good price until confidence returns and quality benefits.

[peladon] 10/5/2006 18:29

Stanley Gibbons Group Limited
10 May 2006


The Stanley Gibbons Group Limited
('Stanley Gibbons')

Response to price movement

Stanley Gibbons notes the move in its share price today, and has been asked to
respond to news concerning two Spanish stamp companies operating in the local
Iberian market.

Stanley Gibbons does not have any connection or business relationship with
either company. Stanley Gibbons operates in separate markets using different
business models to the companies concerned. The Board of Stanley Gibbons does
not believe that the result of any inquiries into the affairs of the Spanish
companies will affect Stanley Gibbons or the value of quality rare stamps in the
markets in which it operates.




This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

[ygor705] 10/5/2006 18:23

This kind of incident crops up from time to time in all of the financial markets but the quality players are rarely affected for very long. How many of us would give up investing in the market just because a Broker or an MM went pear shaped? The fundamentals at the quality end of the stamp market are unchanged and I believe any prolonged weakness to be a buying opportunity.

Good RNS just put out by the company. Would expect a bounce in the morning.

[goodnight1] 10/5/2006 18:10

Most collectors that deal with SGI will not be that bothered by this Afinsa situation. When there is a bond scandal do funds stop buying bonds?
Collectors will just be more careful which might help SGI.

Fall today overdone but there again I got mine at 75p so am not that worried.

[scumdog] 10/5/2006 16:26

Thanks for the insight Robsy.

[robsy2] 10/5/2006 16:24

Is there is a difference between SGI and Afinsa?
I think there is, one is illegal and fraudelent and the other is SGI, but this is not good news for the sector because it raises serious doubts about what the intrinsic value is in these assets and how they are valued. There is no real proper market in thse things.
It stretches the belief required to buy bits of brightly coloured paper to breaking point.
This will undermine confidence in stamps as an investment class.The stamp fund could be seriously hit by this because of the circular nature of the business. SGI buys stamps,value them , sell them to the stamp fund , cream some commission along the way then reavalue them at a later date to get some extra performance based commissions for hitting the performance targets . It all looks a bit hollow.
The other side of the coin is that Afinsa has been an accident waiting to happen for years. I had persoanl contact with thsi company 3 years back. Thye have a big office here in Barcelona and the investment argument with guarantees never made any sense to me. It smelt bad at the time and that was without considering fraudulent behaviour. The unscrupulous selling the unsaleable to the gullible.
Look out for a rough few months then all will settle down again, SGI need to ensure that their name is unblemished by all this and if so they will be a huge beneficiary of the fall out.

[roly12369] 10/5/2006 16:22

i would consider going back in after the dust settles

[scumdog] 10/5/2006 15:59

That's probably the case CR and I do feel I've chickened out.
But as an earlier poster stated - confidence in the stamp market may take a knock with a resultant fall in stamp prices. This would impact upon SGI's trading position at least in the short term.

[rrr] 10/5/2006 15:57

My take is that SG could well benefit from a 'flight to quality' reaction by stamp buyers. So I see this as actually quite positive for SG, though obviously causing a short term 'alarm' drop in the share price - some might call it a buying opportunity. SG is essentially the same today as yesterday after all.
All IMO, no advice intended.

rrr

[scumdog] 10/5/2006 15:41

Had to sell guys - profit fast disappearing.
The rise was fast and the fall likewise.
Don't understand the full implication of the Spanish situation but better to err on the side of caution.
Happy with profit made even though it's somewhat less than if I'd sold yesterday!

[bletherer] 10/5/2006 15:22

SGI's had a very good run in the last couple of months so it's not surprising really that today's story has finally provided the excuse for some serious profit-taking. There must have been quite a few thinking about selling after making so much so quickly. So it looks like the answer to the question "how high can it go?" is 170, for a while at least. The story today has been a reminder that this area is still fairly unexplored and there are plenty of uncertainties about how far it can be developed and what risks may be attached. I'm pretty confident in SGI's longer term prospects, though - let's not forget that their stamp fund has only just been launched and is not yet contributing to their profits.

[orange1] 10/5/2006 15:02

What is maybe being overlooked is the effect which any forced sale of Afinsa's stamp collection will have on the price of stamps generally.

[cockneyrebel] 10/5/2006 14:59

I'm actually looking at net 0.5% of the company stock sold, price down 10% - it's hideous imo.

CR

[cockneyrebel] 10/5/2006 14:57

Well while each small seller sells cos another small seller has sold then they perpetuate their own pain imo.

Meanwhile these are looking a steal to me even more now.

Perhaps thinking this was a "super safe" stock if anyone did means they were too long anyway - on the other hand there's bound to be loads waiting to gobble up I'd have thought - the price now factors in some substantial connect even if there isn't any!

Of course there will be plenty to hype it - but then they probably have their own agenda too.

CR

[bletherer] 10/5/2006 14:23

I don't think there is such a thing as "super safe" in the stock market - that's why you generally expect higher returns. It has just been feeling that way in the last year as virtually everything has been going up.