This quote is attributed to Warren Buffet. It explains the basis of my business.

I do not compete with other dealers on price. That is a losing battle that I will never win.

For example, a “loss leader” is a commonly used item in retail businesses. In stamps, it means that a dealer will sell, say, a copy of #C18 at a very low price – either at or below cost. Why? The dealer is hoping to attract the attention of potential customers. They hope these customers will order other items at the same time. They are willing to sacrifice profit on one item in order to reap a profit on other items. And hopefully these customers will come back for other repeat business.

There are simply too many dealers and too many stamps to verify that I always have the lowest price in the business. It would take me countless hours to compare my prices to every other dealer. I would never finish. I would never have time to add new stock to my business or fill orders. I would be comparing prices 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for thousands of stamps across hundreds of dealers.

I do pride myself on trying to keep my prices competitive. If I offer an item at $100, will you find a similar copy at another dealer for $90? Maybe. Will you find one at another dealer for, say, $10? I doubt it unless there is something substantially different between the two copies.

Price is easily measured in dollars and cents. However, value is something that is not easily quantifiable.

I’ve collected stamps for 40 years as of this writing. I’ve been dealing in stamps for over 12 years. Through all of my experiences, I’ve made a number of mistakes, I’ve learned from those mistakes, I’ve handled a lot of material, and I’ve learned a lot about the hobby along the way. All of that adds up to the value that I can provide.

For example, I receive questions from customers once in a while. How do you tell the difference between these two stamps? Can you identify this stamp for me? Some questions are simple. Some questions are more difficult.

Good luck trying to get those kinds of questions answered at some of the largest stamp dealers. Those dealers employ a small army of people to process material and fill orders. Sometimes those people are not knowledgeable about stamps. No offense to those large dealers, but they are probably not going to answer your question or help you identify a stamp you have.

I have a no questions asked return policy. If you are buying from online auctions, how many of those sellers offer an easy return policy?

As much as possible, I try to fill orders within 24 hours. Not all dealers are so prompt.

Some collectors are focused solely on price. There is nothing wrong with that. In those cases, maybe I can do business with them. Most times, I will not because they will find something at an online auction for a much cheaper price. Hopefully the item is correctly identified and accurately described.

I could go on and on with other examples, but I feel that I do try to add value to what I offer as a dealer. Some people see that value and do business with me. Others do not value it as much. That’s OK. I’m not going to please everyone all of the time. That just isn’t possible.

If you are looking for the cheapest price possible, I’m probably not your dealer. If you’re looking for value that goes beyond just the price of an item, then perhaps we can do business. I look forward to serving you.