1st Class Stamps a hedge against inflation?

[metallica73]

Anyone thought about doing or already does this?

Just 7 years ago 10,000 x 1st class stamps would cost £4,600 and today would be worth £8,500.

You can buy stamps legitimately at around 8% below face value, and would probably have to sell them 10-12% below face when liquidating them.

Anyone see any potentilal downsides? Royal Mail are legally oblidged to accept any decimal stamp as payment for postage so NVI stamps  with just 1st class on are always worth face.

The biggest I see is the lack of avenues to sell them, no guarantee Ebay is still allowing small fry to sell on their platform in 10 yrs the way its going. I guess the other is stamps are now less frequently used - instead people are electronically buying postage.

[dicker]

Interesting.....

Yes good investment until the law changes and they become invalid.  I buy 500 quids worth for my business and am always shocked at how much the price has gone up when I get the next load.

There was a court case a few years back where a couple (I think) were using a solvent to remove the stamp marks and then they sold 1st class stamps as unused.  Shock horror....on eBay!

Cheers

Dicker

[ady]

16 minutes ago, metallica73 said:

Anyone thought about doing or already does this?

Just 7 years ago 10,000 x 1st class stamps would cost £4,600 and today would be worth £8,500.

You can buy stamps legitimately at around 8% below face value, and would probably have to sell them 10-12% below face when liquidating them.

Anyone see any potentilal downsides? Royal Mail are legally oblidged to accept any decimal stamp as payment for postage so NVI stamps  with just 1st class on are always worth face.

The biggest I see is the lack of avenues to sell them, no guarantee Ebay is still allowing small fry to sell on their platform in 10 yrs the way its going. I guess the other is stamps are now less frequently used - instead people are electronically buying postage.

I did this when ebaying, as did lots of small items. Did well out of it especially when they had a big hike one year. I'd say just make sure you can use them in good time. They could pull a fast one with change of design, a bit like any bit of printed paper. Remember the Indian government withdrawing the highest rupee note as legal tender, panic ensued and was a rush to get rid of a note no one wanted.

[Chorlton]

The challenge may be they are not currency and the ability to shift £1000’s of them rapidly at a good price would be difficult. Also try buying a new car or paying a utility bill in first class stamps. If you had sovereigns for arguments sake they are very easy to convert to cash even in larger amounts. It’s a logical idea but the challenge is getting your money out of them quickly in bulk at a reasonable price.

[HerefordBullyun]

I might use my emergancy penny black thats always taped to my ronson in case of financial emergency....

[Pete]

I look for the bargains in the supermarkets.
If favourite shampoo, shower gel, breakfast cereal is on offer that gives excellent returns.
For example my cereal on offer at £2.00 rather than regular price of £3.50 - buy 10 boxes and that gets me £35 worth for £20 a return on investment of 75% !!!!
[ in case of argument the maths used are - invest £20 to acquire assets worth £35. Gain is £15 over £20 hence 75% ]

Works with many items that are regularly used and zero risk.

[watchesandwhisky]

20 minutes ago, Pete said:

I look for the bargains in the supermarkets.
If favourite shampoo, shower gel, breakfast cereal is on offer that gives excellent returns.
For example my cereal on offer at £2.00 rather than regular price of £3.50 - buy 10 boxes and that gets me £35 worth for £20 a return on investment of 75% !!!!
[ in case of argument the maths used are - invest £20 to acquire assets worth £35. Gain is £15 over £20 hence 75% ]

Works with many items that are regularly used and zero risk.

I do this too pete, bulk buy offers - on top of that it helps beat inflation, prices only go one way.

[Pete]

8 minutes ago, watchesandwhisky said:

I do this too pete, bulk buy offers - on top of that it helps beat inflation, prices only go one way.

absolutely agree but often buying coins prices seem to fall shortly after purchase .... I think this is called "the universal conservation of entropy".
Something that the likes of Einstein worked out.

[metallica73]

2 hours ago, Chorlton said:

The challenge may be they are not currency and the ability to shift £1000’s of them rapidly at a good price would be difficult. Also try buying a new car or paying a utility bill in first class stamps. If you had sovereigns for arguments sake they are very easy to convert to cash even in larger amounts. It’s a logical idea but the challenge is getting your money out of them quickly in bulk at a reasonable price.

I think ''currently'' there are enough buyers of 10% below face value stamps but yes, you may have to work harder at liquidating any stamps you have back into cash compared to gold certainly.

I wouldn't put big money into this... but was just thinking aloud how to diversify into things other than my gold/silver/crypto stacks.

[kimchi]

When the Queen moves on to pastures new I think we get six months or a year to use/cash in/swap old stamps at POs (?) - pretty sure it's very much faster than currency. Maybe something to bear in mind.

[metallica73]

9 minutes ago, kimchi said:

When the Queen moves on to pastures new I think we get six months or a year to use/cash in/swap old stamps at POs (?) - pretty sure it's very much faster than currency. Maybe something to bear in mind.

Stamps from 1911 were still valid for postage until 1972. Though Victorian stamps were invalidated 1924, and Edward VII in 1930 so it's not without precedent that previous monarchs stamps became worthless.

Definitely one of the risks to take into consideration.

[kimchi]

1 minute ago, metallica73 said:

Stamps from 1911 were still valid for postage until 1972. Though Victorian stamps were invalidated 1924, and Edward VII in 1930 so it's not without precedent that previous monarchs stamps became worthless.

Definitely one of the risks to take into consideration.

I enquired a few years ago and was told 6 months or a year (I forget) is the plan for Liz. There will have been a new Act on this at decimalization/1972 and maybe revised more recently. Maybe I was wrongly advised, but it's probably worth looking into like you say.

[HerefordBullyun]

One thing ive learnt on this forum you are all shrewed to some extent. I thought being a Jus was just a french gravy. But apprently its a religion and part of stacking, Mine isnt, as Im too busy having a laugh and touching myself as much as possible.  We are fundamentally survivalists, which is is a fantastic thing, however what about the other 99%, in the forum is which on 15k strong, but i know there is more in the stacking hedge community - because when you look at it your friends who dont stack, later who will be knackered in the end game.

What do you say to them? are you open? Do you bring it up? Do you rant with passion about the whole ecomonic sytem, becuse your faith in the system is knackered. My passion is to tell people that actually the world is ****ed economically and it is. My experience in the military told me this. Its a game of pyschological operations driven by media, big government/tech and run by idiots whom are self forfilling. 

So I will give my answer the people who I trust desrve this knowledge, when you stack PMs to me you are already ahead of the game, simples.

Edited July 22, 2021 by HerefordBullyun

[HerefordBullyun]

Apart from @Booky586 who just liked my comment 😁 never trust a booky. The odds are stacked against you 😁, they would take your bets in gold given the chance -only joking @Booky586. You are quite welcome to marry my sister who is welsh and you should hear the noise she makes when she eats a boiled egg and she has a massive beard, one is on her face....no second guesses where the other is.... 

Edited July 22, 2021 by HerefordBullyun

[Stacktastic]

8 hours ago, metallica73 said:

no guarantee Ebay is still allowing small fry to sell on their platform

I buy 100 stamps at a time at about 33p each - they also look new - with gum & on a sheet. 
These are ones that have gone through the system & are unfranked mind you. Yes I know this is illegal.

I dont know if you bought them they would have somehting on them to know they aren't new or not??
The dealers I buy off must have tons of them?? 

Edited July 23, 2021 by Stacktastic

[metallica73]

14 hours ago, Stacktastic said:

I buy 100 stamps at a time at about 33p each - they also look new - with gum & on a sheet. 
These are ones that have gone through the system & are unfranked mind you. Yes I know this is illegal.

I dont know if you bought them they would have somehting on them to know they aren't new or not??
The dealers I buy off must have tons of them?? 

If you are buying stamps for a business and you get caught then the fines aren't worth it.... let alone angry customers having to pay the fee

I think a lot of sellers get around it by selling as 'numismatic' only. After all if you are selling unfranked stamps as numismatic, its then on the buyer what they do with them.

This guy took it to a whole other level

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/washed-sold-used-stamps-ebay-17159435

[Stacktastic]

6 hours ago, metallica73 said:

If you are buying stamps for a business and you get caught then the fines aren't worth it.... let alone angry customers having to pay the fee

How will they know out of interest?
I must have sent 300 letters now? 

[Robda1986]

Liquidation of alot of stamps could be done fairly quickly I would assume just go into any corner shop and offer them at 10% under fv 

[Minimalist]

On 22/07/2021 at 17:11, metallica73 said:

Anyone thought about doing or already does this?

Just 7 years ago 10,000 x 1st class stamps would cost £4,600 and today would be worth £8,500.

I have looked over this before out of interest when I was presented data of stamp inflation.

The key is christmas stamps. They will sell during December. I can see myself buying some this Christmas and go long for 4/5 years and sell off down the line.

It wont work with regular stamps, think about it.

[HerefordBullyun]

4 hours ago, Minimalist said:

I have looked over this before out of interest when I was presented data of stamp inflation.

The key is christmas stamps. They will sell during December. I can see myself buying some this Christmas and go long for 4/5 years and sell off down the line.

It wont work with regular stamps, think about it.

tell your a jock - tight 😉

[Minimalist]

58 minutes ago, HerefordBullyun said:

tell your a jock - tight 😉

That is me getting my Christmas Stamps 😉

[HerefordBullyun]

31 minutes ago, Minimalist said:

That is me getting my Christmas Stamps 😉

thats exactly how I imagined how you dress and look 😁 ToS n all!  ya forgot the dead cat with the pipes sticking out its bottom!