Procrastination

Broadly speaking, there are two types of philatelic items-those that are offered frequently and are readily available, even though their price may be substantial. And the second type of philatelic item is one that is rarely offered and of great rarity, even though the price may be quite modest. An example of the first would be a US #1. This is a supremely popular stamp-the first issue of one of the world’s major philatelic countries. It’s a bit pricey because of its popularity but a collector would have no trouble finding one. Right now, our company has fifteen for sale ranging in price, depending on quality, from $130 to$250 and on EBay right now there are over thirty. This stamp, and even Airmail Inverts at $150,000 fits in this category, is readily available to any collector who has the money and desires it. The second category are stamps that are far more elusive-stamps like many of the Italian Offices or Portuguese Colonies or early St Pierre and Miquelon. The list of stamps in the second, elusive category is vast. So when collectors ask what they should buy with their stamp money I always suggest that they concentrate on the most elusive items that they need for their collection that are being offered in the time frame that they are buying. The more common stamps will always be available when the elusive ones are not.