Omaha Monthly Stamp Auction
A highlight of club membership is our monthly exchange, which is held at our fourth-Friday meetings. The exchange includes stamp collecting favorites such as stamp singles, plate blocks, coils, souvenir sheets, postcards, first day covers, albums, and much more from the United States and all foreign countries. Members can submit philatelic material to be auctioned, and bid on lots submitted by other members.
A great benefit of our local exchange is that members can inspect items before bidding, win philatelic material at bargain prices, and take the treasures home the same night. And there’s no shipping involved, which helps keep costs low.
Members selling items through the exchange usually receive their funds at the next scheduled meeting, minus a 10 percent fee which helps pay club expenses.
Philatelic Items Most Needed
The exchange is always very much in need of a variety of philatelic items varied foreign countries and from the USA.
Guidelines for Exchange Submissions
Eligibility:
Only Omaha Philatelic Society members may bid on items in our monthly exchange or submit items to be auctioned in the exchange. Each member wishing to participate in the exchange must first have a personal owner/bidder code assigned by the Exchange Manager.
Submission Process:
To submit an item to the exchange, please fill out an exchange sheet, downloadable here. This completed form must accompany all exchange submissions. Submit the completed exchange sheet with the items being offered to the Exchange Manager.
Be Aware of Stamp Market Trends:
Remember that we are exchanging items with fellow club members, and winning bids are typically below commercial stamp dealer selling prices. Review past exchange results and be aware of what items typically sell for compared to their catalog values. For example, with some exceptions, unused U.S. stamps from the 1940s and later typically sell for near face value or even below face value. For items lower in demand, consider setting the reserve price low, as this may encourage several participants to bid.
Filling out the Form:
Please don’t write anything in the box at the top right of the sheet labeled “For Exchange Manager Use Only.”
Fill in as much as you can in the fields at the top left of the exchange sheet. Please don’t write anything in the Catalog # field except for catalog numbers. Scott catalog numbers can be looked up in the Society library. If the item doesn’t have a catalog number, write in “n/a.” If you can’t find the catalog number or catalog value, ask for help or leave those fields blank. If you’re submitting a set of stamps with some missing from the set, please specify which catalog numbers are included.
In the Description field, describe the items in terms of year, quantity, denomination, color, topic, stamp format, etc.
In the Condition field, please do your best to accurately describe the physical condition of submitted items, especially known faults, whether they are used or unused, and gum condition for unused stamps. This is very important! If bidders are unable to examine all aspects of stamps when they are affixed to the exchange form, stamps submitted with insufficient condition information will more likely result in a “no sale.” For unused stamps, indicate whether the stamps are MNH (mint, never hinged), MH (mint, hinged), MNG (mint, no gum), or MNGAI (mint, no gum as issued).
If you have an item that appears to be MNG (mint, no gum), and it was not issued without gum, you must use as the catalog value the lesser of the mint or used amount. The mint catalog value is not to be used unless that value is lower than the used value. It is incorrect and misleading to use the higher mint value for a stamp that is MNG.
Please attach your items to the front of the exchange sheet (or the back if necessary) without covering up the fields on the form. Also, don’t cover the blank strip along the left edge where a three-hole punch would be used for mounting in the unsold lots binder if the lot doesn’t sell. If you can’t attach them to the sheet without blocking these areas, place the philatelic items in a document protector or don’t attach them. Please don’t insert the exchange sheet inside a document protector, as this prevents the Exchange Manager from writing on it during the exchange.
If you want to submit bulky items such as binders, or anything that won’t fit in the 3-ring binder of unsold lots, you must schedule the submission with the Exchange Manager in advance. Be sure to describe the item in detail.