I will hereby reproduce an article that was published in the quarterly publication of the Ephemera Society,it apeared in the december 1995 number 91:COMMENT What's it worthAs everyone knows, most ephemera is really worth nothing at all. The phrase we use to describe these items itself gives the game away :'the minor transiens documents of everyday life'Everything from a train ticket to a mariage certificate-some, admittedlymore everyday than others. But on the hole, value is reflected in the mind of the observer rather than at the bank. In any case valuing these items is based on an inexact science. We may argue indefinitely in terms of currency, but there is little to go by: one man's ephemera isanother man's rubbish. It takes the individual to see the difference.It also takes a specialized eye to distinguish between the collector and the dealer. Some collectors are also dealers and vice-versa: sometimes they can't quite decide themselves. Both parties buildinto their evaluations the exertions of their work of search and rescue,on the one hand in quarrying the material from its original contextand on the other han, on the collector's side in requarrying it-bringing it back into the general melee. Both parties pride themselves on an invisible ingredient-expertise. It seems therefore only right and proper that their enterprise and exertion may be rewarded.Values emerge not by arbitrary nomination, but by the classicinterplay of the forces of supply and demand-well known elementsin the market mix. Any attempt at formalized price structure (price guides and similar approaches) must fail. We must take into account that scarcity value, a basic component in most market fields, is hereof only doubtful relevance. Printed ephemera, by definition theproduct of a mass process, offers few if any identifiable unique items. Each specimen must stand or fall by valuation the individualplaces on it. Today's catalogue item may be available tomorrow at less than half the price. Or more than twice the price.Since its inception the ephemera market has been throwing up valuesas well-defined and widely recognised as the price of fruit and vegetables, and ephemera bazars are attended as much by dealers as by collectors; accepted by the collector and curator as a necessary evil.Ephemera prices bounce up and down as time goes by.The dispassionate bystander will say that we have only ourselves toblame for an upward trend, having brought the material into the market arena. The dealer responds by accepting plaudits, rescuingunconsidered trifles from obscurity and possible destruction..........here some more comments concerning cards from sets :- Interpreting a catalogue-value as a worth for a set, is complicated- Because : in each set there always is a difficult card (sometimes morethan one) and that card is worth half the price of the set... and therefore one common card is only worth 1/10 to 1/50 or even less than the price of the set divided by the total number of cardssince the one card - Furthermore never cards are "mint" and that is what the catalogue says :the price is for cards in a condition "as new"- Even furthermore : a lot of reprints, 2nd and 3rd editions, variations, other backs, similar editions existSo my experience says : if want to sell a collection .... don't put your energy in cataloguing. Because finding a buyer at catalogue price is even more frustating as finding the right catalaogue. As catalogues are very expensive (20 to 50 dollars), there is not a garantee that you will succeed in even getting those expenses back.There are catalogues on all subjects, too many, in the specialised bookstore, so you will have to make inquiries in your neighbourhood. You can post the lot to us, and we will evaluate and contact you again by e-mail to discuss a price to sell, or, we make an appropriateevaluation report and send everything back to you. Expenses can be paid with some of the items, in which I am interested. All in your best interest, and by the direct communication, the Internet provides. We decide by e-mail wat is the best way to serve you. Since everybody has to be happy in such deals, We can offer our reputation as dealers, and mine as a collector for 55 years;working with more than 4000 happy collectors alreaddy today.
Belgian cheap sets after WorldWar2 get discounted up to 50% …( when i don't have to send ). This is how I knock down my sending costs, forced multipe buying. You get discounted when we can send full years or numbered lists …. Then up to 50% if buying 75 sets ….10 set becomes minus10% ….20 sets gets minus 20% … 30 sets means minus30% …AND 40 sets means then minus 40% : ======use the paypal icon, let Paypal add up …and in the accompanying Paypal note, or in an email or letter let me know some more numbers you need ( adding up to your total of your discount) … that is the easy way I work … no complications … money back guarantied====
Further I can grant you the discount depending on amount of buying. Join a list with further sets of your choice and I will join some of these amounting to your your exact discount.
The first discount : is that I send FREE above 20 Euros, Your 2nd discount is one for buying above 50 Euro : sending free registered with Track and Trace. Once above 50 euro you get suplementary 20% AND above 100 Euro 25%. All discounts works with the lists of wanted sets you provide, to be joined in your sending.
The domain is so big that it is both very interesting & intelectual to invest and learn at the same time : printing techniques, historiacl value, and not forget the educational and artistical worth. Chromos indeed are lithographic artwork, not yet appreciated and therefor far under-estimated by many institutional investors. We sell not only the cards which generations of collectors are looking for more than 100 years. My core business is selling full collections when arriving directly to interested investors. Buying one in an overall good condition is a good investment AND it is outstanding to have such a nice collection in your library at home or in your office. The liebig's collection and all other company's-collections have a full potential growth since 50 years of 10% each year, average for the common sets before 1900, but 20 à 30% average for rare sets and individual rare cards. It is a misunderstanding to collect those cards one by one because there will be so much lost time involved by seaching and a lot of frustration by not finding! Believe an expert : call me 00 32 3 236 59 62 ... my name is Albert Van den bosch
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You can reach me by e-mail at: albert@collectomania.be