Stanley Gibbons Share Discussion Threads

[spob] 07/1/2016 17:49

added to my holding today, 2nd unit

[jeanesy] 07/1/2016 17:03

Does anyone know how the new york coin auctions have been going?

[jeanesy] 07/1/2016 16:58

A 100k buy near the end so someone thinks these are undervalued. In fact the 3 largest trades of the day were all buys so perhaps the tide is about to turn?

[superiorshares] 07/1/2016 13:34

THE 50p cometh !

[whackford] 06/1/2016 11:30

Dear fellow investors, nearly a whole page (page 2) in Antique Trade Gazette (ATG) yesterday, perhaps of some relevance to us.

Main headline reads "Mallett heads depart after turbulent 2015" A complicated story of musical chairs involving Messrs Hutchinson Smith and Woodham-Smith. I think Mr Woodham-Smith is now joint CEO of The Fine Art Auction Group whose parent company is SG. Mr Woodham-Smith is no longer part of SG as I understand it.

An inset article on the same page is headed "Neville and Mallett New York branch tied to embezzlement case". This relates to events around 2011 before Mallett became part of SG. I presume if SG is effected in any significant way the company will make an announcement.

I need to let matters settle at SG and see a general improvement in the management and profitability of the company before contemplating further investment.

[superiorshares] 04/1/2016 22:07

on stanleys share price , it possibly could be good value at the minute ?.. but i dont see anyone factoring in a major stock market correction. which would hammer smaller less liquid companies. i think a global revaluation of stocks is imminent. so i for one will stick with my 40/50 p worth a punt entry point. good luck all.

[superiorshares] 04/1/2016 22:01

think your way off the mark - bookbroker...dinosaurs keep business running for hundreds of years . youthful exuberance , tends to bankrupt them !. if your lucky they keep them going for a couple of years ? ... just a quick one on valuations , ive been here before:-). if i pick a stamp on stanley - nobody on here will be able to find that stamp for a vastly cheaper price. it will be a fraction of the quality if it is . condition is everything ! any takers for the challenge ?.. and before anyone says i wont pick a one off 250,000 number . around the thousand pound mark. any one would like to prove me wrong ?

[bookbroker] 02/1/2016 10:52

That is what occurs when you have an ageing management without the youthful exuberance or knowledge of the potential of the WWW., the guys here are dinosaurs running a global brand name, they have to rely on the advice outside, it's time this co. had a complete clear out of high level management, and started to exploit what historically is the ONLY brand name synonymous with stamp collecting, the name having been around for over a hundred years, it is being destroyed by inertia and ineptitude!

[bdroop] 02/1/2016 10:47

I know nothing of stamps or Stanley Gibbons current woes, but I am a believer in insights and the anecdotes of others who are in the know. My brother is a low level stamp dealer ( German ) and as I saw him at Christmas and seen the drop here asked him whether he had any views. All he said was he no longer advertises in the magazine due to being constantly messed around by the accounts department, he used to bill through an office in Southampton(?) but this was changed to Jersey - but Jersey never invoiced him or credited him properly, so he gave up and contacted Southampton again who told him to simply ignore Jersey... Reading back through the comments there seems to be an exasperation with the management here, which is sympatico with my brother Andy's interactions. It feels headless doesn't it? So part of this coming alive again does seem to be predicated upon a change in leadership and strategy and with that the finance nuts and bolts.

[knowledgeablestampman] 16/12/2015 19:46

Yes inevitably.

[jeanesy2] 16/12/2015 19:32

heading towards new lows ?

[clocktower] 14/12/2015 14:51

Looks like its trying to bounce off its recent lows today.Has the market in stamps improved?

[clocktower] 25/11/2015 15:31

This is an investment company or wants to be one, and investment managers and those that are qualified in compliance are the ones that sap the wealth of this type of company shareholders. Do not look at it as a stamp dealer or market place for collectors, look at the direction they have been trying to go and you will see the weakness in the business model imo.

hxxp://investment.stanleygibbons.com/why-invest-in-stamps/wealth-managers-ifa

[abergele] 23/11/2015 23:32

I wouldn't worry about the value of the company,I have just had a link to the latest Gibbons auctions(stamps only) and what they have for sale are mouth watering to a collector,which I am,,I feel it's the latest buys,autographs,pictures which will be the biggest let down for them,losses.
Stamp collecting I feel has strengthened since the babyboomers have retired,which I am one of them,plus ,I am a poorer pensioner than those living south of the Watford Gap,who will/should lap up these bargains.
Also the latest colour catologues they are selling are so much a ,I must have,
so fear not,get the management sorted,and sales progressing,and this is cheap.
imho..gla

[knowledgeablestampman] 23/11/2015 22:05

There is no set percentage although I have seen top quality rarities fetch around 20% of catalogue. Why I wonder are SG buying very little in auction now and not supporting the prices of material they have in stock?

[11_percent] 23/11/2015 21:57

Look guys, at auction, stamps usually go for 10% of the SG cat value.

[purple11] 23/11/2015 21:41

His used 1902 five shilling King Edward VII, currently valued by Stanley Gibbons at £175, achieved a price of just £6; a stamp commemorating King George VI's silver wedding in 1948, priced at £40 in the catalogue, sold for just £9; while a mint set of King Edward VI stamps from 1951 went for £22 compared with £100 in the catalogue.

"We are told that postage stamps are a good investment, and this may well be true for very old rare stamps," Sanderson says. "However, when it comes to less rare stamps we should treat Stanley Gibbons' catalogue values with a large pinch of salt, as in many cases they appear to be absurdly high. I have been selling some of my stamps and the prices raised have been a fraction of their catalogue values."

"It is a common fallacy that the prices in our catalogues show what a stamp is 'worth' should you wish to sell it. They are, instead, the price at which Stanley Gibbons will sell a fine example of the stamp in question

"I had a text just this morning from a major collector. He says he takes the Stanley Gibbons price and divides it by between three and 10 so he knows
what to expect

[knowledgeablestampman] 23/11/2015 21:25

Buying or selling at?

[orange1] 23/11/2015 21:23

Atmospheric prices always get me in the mood.

[knowledgeablestampman] 23/11/2015 21:20

In recent years vast majority of sales have been made just to investors no longer mainly collectors who've generally been frightened of by the massive increase in catalogue valuations. A very high proportion of these sales have been made by having buy back guarantees. Looking at the SG website majority of items presently on offer were previously sold by SG which involved very health profit margins indeed. These have had to be bought back at atmospheric prices and even if they do sell to new investors produce little or no profit.

[battlebus2] 23/11/2015 20:21

T.W. has bought in.....

[buba] 23/11/2015 20:04

That's true,but SG has always done that and still managed to sell.

[knowledgeablestampman] 23/11/2015 15:51

Yes nothing much wrong with the level of expertise, just the prices quoted which are way way ahead of actual market value. In some cases many multiples of true current auction realisations.

[buba] 23/11/2015 14:14

As a serious philatelist I have been dealing with SG on and off for the last 40 years and I must say that the level of expertise, in the stamp department, is excellent. I bought in a couple of weeks ago since I do think that they show promise at this level.

[clocktower] 19/11/2015 16:10

Gateside, the problem here is that their not sure what business they are running or who is responsible for running the various arms imo. What are they and what expertise do they have running what areas, or are they all idiots as you suggest?