Stanley Gibbons Share Discussion Threads

[liarspoker] 22/10/2007 11:17

As I see it SGI are concentrating on the best quality rare stamps as this is where the profit is the greatest for the least amount of work.

For example if we have one common stamp selling for 50 quid and one rare stamp selling for 500 quid - both with net profit margins of say 15% then SGI would have to sell 10 common stamps which would be a lot more work then selling one rare stamp.

The time saved ( as well as resources ) would give the rare stamp a greater profit margin too. I have learned this from my own experience through selling coins on Ebay. Having said that though I would assume that SGI's stock would be a combination of high quality common stamps and rare stamps.

I don't think that SGI have the resources to create a market shortage - remember that the business consists of more then stamps.

A word about stock though - a competitive advantage of SGI is that their own stock is an investments of sorts as opposed to say food retailers whom have a constant turnover of stock. If SGI accidently overpays for an item then they could hold on to it for a few years until it gains in value. I would assume that in the accounts stock is valued at cost.

[luckythedog] 22/10/2007 11:09

Is Stanley Gibbons aim to buy up all the best quality stamps so there is a supply shortage? Then sell them off slowly at inflated prices to desperate collectors.

That's what Diamond cartels do and I was wondering whether the world of stamps was that devious?

[andyderbys] 18/10/2007 19:57

lol, i didnt realise we had reached a milestone, fair do's i guess

[mad foetus] 18/10/2007 19:52

lols andy but you can't let 1,000 go without bagging it.

btw I'm a Jersey boy so really should dabble in stanley gibbons but unfortunately I'm a nutter!

[andyderbys] 18/10/2007 19:47

Sorry I think you have ended up on the wrong forum, try here, seems more suitable for you:

[mad foetus] 18/10/2007 19:43

HOW COOL IS THIS!!!!
TRAINSPOTTERS!!!!!!!!!!!

[andyderbys] 18/10/2007 19:37

Another +ve write up in Shares Mag this week

"the company has a superb brand, an enviable record and strong prospects. The shares should continue to outperform".

[liarspoker] 18/10/2007 15:48

Bill Gross, whose Pimco Total Return Fund is the world's biggest bond mutual fund, is one of the largest U.S. collectors of stamps. By at least one measure, his hobby has been a better investment than his fund's shares.

The Stanley Gibbons 100 Stamp Price Index, tracking the world's most frequently traded stamps, climbed 38 percent for the five-year period that ended Sept. 30. The gain amounted to 6.7 percent a year.

Pimco Total Return's institutional class of shares, the least expensive way to invest in the Newport Beach, California- based fund, returned 28 percent in the period. That works out to 5 percent a year. Dividends more than accounted for the return, as the share price dropped 3.6 percent.

Translate the stamp-price index to dollars from British pounds -- the currency of choice for Stanley Gibbons, a London- based stamp dealer -- and Gross trailed by a much wider margin. In dollar terms, the stamp index jumped 80 percent in the five years, or 12 percent annually.

[liarspoker] 16/10/2007 09:38

Stanley Gibbons Holding(s) in Company




RNS Number:7707F
Stanley Gibbons Group Limited
16 October 2007




The Stanley Gibbons Group Limited
('Stanley Gibbons' or 'the Company')

Holding in Company

The Company was notified on 15 October 2007 that, following an acquisition of
ordinary shares in the Company, Standard Life Investments Limited is interested
in 2,022,250 ordinary shares in Stanley Gibbons, representing approximately
8.05 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company.

[mr.oz] 13/10/2007 17:29

ditto....
;-)

[liarspoker] 13/10/2007 17:21

I, for one, didn't mind Questors mistake.

Added a few more. :O)

[luckythedog] 13/10/2007 13:22

Ignore the Telegraph's Questor tip advising readers to sell SGI.

I read the Telegraph everyday and generally it's business news is sound, however it's Questor tips column is generally rubbish. It spots good companies long after they have experienced most of their gains and fails to understand smaller companies. If you want solid evidence of Questor's poor tipping record look no further than the basket of 6 shares it recommends at the beginning of each year. In the following years (including dividends) thier portfolios rose by:

2004 +0.2%
2005 +9%
2006 +15%
2007 +4.4% so far (and they cheated this year changing some shares after 6mths)

Please bear in mind the FTSE100 has risen by 49% over the same period (not including dividends!). To be honest the guys at Questor should hang thier heads in shame and advise thier readers to never follow their tips!

[tom.muir] 12/10/2007 20:36

Me too Cambium :((

[cambium] 12/10/2007 17:53

I live 5 miles from Ringwood, if only I'd known!

[jtcod] 12/10/2007 17:21

"However, investors discovered the risks last year when 350,000 were caught in a scam in which two Spanish companies promised annual returns of 10pc if they bought stamps. Many were fakes: investors lost millions of euros."

Should have used Stanley Gibbons.;-)

PS thanks for the info Liars.

[liarspoker] 12/10/2007 16:00

Bloomberg puts stamp on Stanley Gibbons indices
By David Litterick
Last Updated: 1:39am BST 12/10/2007



City traders who use Bloomberg terminals to check the price of shares, oil and other commodities will now have access to a different set of prices after a groundbreaking deal with Stanley Gibbons.

The information company will now carry the philatelic company's stamp price indices for the first time, in a move Stanley Gibbons hopes will widen the world of stamp investing.

Investors will be able to check the value of the SG 100 Stamp Price Index, made up of the top 100 traded stamps; the Great Britain 30 Rarities Index; the Commonwealth 30 Rarities and Errors Index and the Frasers 100 Autograph Price Index, which values the market for autographs and other memorabilia. The company says the SG 100 index has returned an average compounded 7.6pc per annum over the past nine years.

Stanley Gibbons' chief executive, Michael Hall, said the recent credit crisis was opening investors' eyes to new kinds of assets. "As the importance of diversification in the current economic climate becomes obvious, we believe that the institutional investor market will increasingly turn to alternative investments," he said. Mr Hall even foresees exchange traded funds in stamps, similar to the gold and silver ETFs recently set up.

Collectors include Bill Gross, founder of bond house Pimco, who has made huge sums for charity from stamps. Earlier this year, he sold his British collection – bought over many years for $2m (£1m) – for more than $9m at auction.

However, investors discovered the risks last year when 350,000 were caught in a scam in which two Spanish companies promised annual returns of 10pc if they bought stamps. Many were fakes: investors lost millions of euros.

[liarspoker] 12/10/2007 16:00

Stanley Gibbons indices become institutional standard

Industry Sector
Retailers
Stanley Gibbons, the AIM quoted leading name in rare stamps and collectibles, said today that its price indices are now available on the Bloomberg Professional service. The move recognises rare stamps and autographs as alternative investment asset classes and opens up Stanley Gibbons and its products to a wider investment audience.

Stanley Gibbons said the announcement follows increasing demand from institutional investors and private clients for more accessible data and pricing on 'alternative' assets. Stanley Gibbons has published stamp price guides since 1865 and has a pricing database on every stamp issued worldwide. These are the first stamp and autograph indices available on Bloomberg.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

[liarspoker] 12/10/2007 14:59

Mail on the way Cambo

[cambium] 12/10/2007 14:58

The broker note is from Seymour Pierce 11/10 with a reiteration of buy and target at 235p, anybody got any further info, it would be appreciated.

cheers

Cambo

[jtcod] 12/10/2007 14:03

Robsy
I like the company a lot, though I obviously prefer SGI of the two. A fwd PE of 25 is too rich for me also. I will monitor it and hope for an opportunity.;-) Great business franchise as you say.

[robsy2] 12/10/2007 12:31

Nice post JTCod. Your analysis makes a lot of sense to me,perhaps you should take a look at a company called Artnet, its quoted in Germany and could be right up your street. It ticks the boxes you mention, world leader, unique proposition,strong earnings growth and up to now very low profile.
I hold both Artnet and SGi. I use both as a way to catch the trend in collectables , art etc in a fairly low risk way.
Seems to be working so far!

[jtcod] 12/10/2007 12:24

irene
Liars is right, it may come up on their radar eventually if the market cap progresses beyond £250m (which I believe is their cut-off point).