New Sacc Is Now Costing Us Money

[ATA STAMP CENTRE 48]

HI all. I was hoping to be immune to the pricing structure of this embarassment to sa philately but unfortunately i had to take a loss due to the change in prices-As i sell mainly on R1 auctions i do not set prices and accept what the bid amount is and all are happy.Sometimes i have a client that requests a specific item and we negotiate a price.

For this item we settled on 40% of catalogue value.However here in lies the rub!!I did not have the item in stock but arranged to buy it out for my client. I also paid 40% of c/v and would pass it on to my client at cost price as part of my service-BUT when he came to collect he pulled out the new 2010 sa catalogue and lo and behold the items were way below the 2009 catalogue value which i had based my buying and selling price on-as much as one third reduced!!

I was too embarressed to tell him the money he gave me was way too little, so i kept quiet and with a silly smile sent him on his way with his lovely bargain that left me quite a few rand out of pocket!!

I wonder if NICK whatever his name is insured against a class action suit.Will be a first for sa philately.

One has to be careful now and make sure you are talking the same c/v from the same catalogue from now on

CHEERS,NEIL

[lilythepink 11]

Perhaps the secret here is not to work on 40% of catalogue value - rather just give your price so that you won't be out of pocket in the future? Just a suggestion.

 

I agree that the new SACC is outrageous and I am surprised that someone hasn't started a class suit against Nick yet. Just the beak's worth ...

[ATA STAMP CENTRE 48]

Hi lily,Thanks for the advice-You seem to have flown the universe as i was not aware you were up to speed on the SACC and had an interest in philately-thanks ,NEIL

[lilythepink 11]

My husband is very interested in philately! Specifically anything to do with aeroplanes and flying so perhaps that's why I fly around the universe! lol

 

I collected stamps for many years (since childhood) but gave up about 10 years ago. Still collect cat stamps, though.

[dstorm 10]

Hello Neil

Years ago Scott reduced some prices drastically and some American dealer did sue them. Scott won the case.

The catalogue value is the publisher’s opinion. Full stop.

I attended the East Rand Stamp Fair today. I sold a few items and bought a lot of items. Most of the items I have bought will provide me with a handsome profit. This is not because I know the South African or the World market better than the dealers that I bought from. It is only because I know MY market better than anybody else.

Right now there are some South African items that I can sell at 10% of the (previous) SACC value. There are other items that I will not sell at 60%.

Lily is right. Make your price and that should be it. Provide the good service, but accept that there will be times when you will not be able to please the client.

Keep well and all of the best for Wednesday night.

Regards

Jacques

(it must be a sign of the times – me sitting in front of the computer - very late - on a Saturday night

[Mpuma Stamps 10]

Another thing I've noticed is that some of the catalogue values provided in listings are now higher than the 2010 SACC values. Buyers may actually think a seller is inflating the value and would seem unethical.

 

I think it's important to state the source of the catalogue value when it is provided in the listing e.g. SACC 2009.

 

When I first started collecting stamps catalogue values were very confusing. It seemed a bit like the tyre industry with their massive discounts. With time one learns how to use the catalogue to make purchases at the right price, that said I know I'm still paying too much sometimes and sometimes missing out on items I think are overpriced.

 

I also think legal action will be a waste of time because as Jacques says it is the publishers opinion. It will also be a bit funny trying to convince a judge that the catalogue prices are too low if almost all items can be bought in perfect condition lower than the catalogue price.

[dstorm 10]

Hello all

Are there any dealers on BoB who are actually using the new SACC for their listing descriptions?

Regards

Jacques

[Vinyl Lady Decals 10]

Hi Jacques

 

I agree with you, but would like to add - Are there actually any dealers at all in the whole country using the new SACC? The ones in Durban are treating it like it doesn't exist.

[voldermort 11]

Agree with you both.......just a few days ago whilst buying some Rhodesian items I thought I'd be a bit smart & pulled out the new catalogue quoting relevant prices, the response & please note the seller is a long time friend of mine "hahaha go use that piece of junk on somebody who knows nothing about stamps" so we reverted to 2009 catalogue with no hard feelings.

Moral of the story......even though this catalogue has obviously been made to be used for buying purposes only, 99% of the time it won't work.

Good luck though to anybody else who is attempting to use it

[dstorm 10]

Hello all

Perhaps a very late reply.

I have sold 74 NEW EDITION SA Colour Catalogues up to now.

Yet I do not know of a single dealer who actually uses the new catalogue. With one exception, all the buyers seem to accept that the new SACC is of no consequence.

Regards

Jacques

[DennisPM 10]

I have been following some of the sellers offering "Buy Nows". It would appear that some use the new SACC prices as their full selling price while others set their prices as a % of the old SACC prices. When the latter is used, the price is very close to the new SACC and a tend to be a little higher rather than lower.

 

I agree though that the market will set the price based on the perceived value but this only applies for auctions and not "buy nows". What would be a good approach to setting "buy now" prices using the catalogues?

 

Regards

Dennis

[AngelaBraun 10]

The subject has been exhausted I think and I am grateful that I have sold the last copy of the 100 copies I bought. I just wonder when the next catalogue is issued if there will be any buyers around who would be interested in buying the next issue after this debacle.

[Kit W 10]

Hi Angela

 

I support you 120% as to the buying of future issues of SACC. My hat off to you managing to sell 100 copies

 

Regards

 

Kit

[AngelaBraun 10]

Thanks Kit. I assure you I had a lot of uphill in the process but that all in the past now.