About once every five years I get the urge to get cheated, and I dutifully send ten dollars in answer to an ad in which I am offered, say, $80 catalog in good stamps for $10. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you get $80 catalog in remainders from some good countries; and as soon as all the dealers unload them on their victims, they drop like a brick in one issue of Scotts. Last year, however, when I did this stupid thing, I got it in the ear worse than usual. Cancelled to order (CTO) Nicaragua, Rumania and other trash (I often wonder why these trash issues from the Russian block countries never seem to ever drop to their true value in Scotts) was what I received, along with pages of obvious ripoff offers. I mean, this made the H.E. Harris one dollar mixture bags of past years look like a bargain. My urge was dashed with a blast of reality, and the literature went in the trash.

When one goes out to purchase good U.S., one has to expect to pay a healthy percentage of catalog simply because of the strong demand for this material. However, when one purchases foreign, especially foreign that is plentiful in supply and has only limited demand, 20% of catalog is as much as one should pay. If you pay less, even better. Don't let the dealer sell you with all kinds of lines, for when it comes time to sell your collection, unless you have rarities, unless the condition is great, unless your collection is in a popular area, you aren't going to get but nickels for it.

It used to be that most dealers were knowledgeable and they invested time in their customers. Economics make that difficult today for the average dealer. The only way he is going to make a living is by turning his stock as many times a year as he can. Because this is hard work, there seems to be more dealers operating in what I feel is a shady manner. They prey on the beginning collector with high prices for junk. They prey on shyness, the need for people to appear to like you and on any other weakness they can find. When you buy stamps, shop around and buy on quality and PRICE. You aren't going to get any noticeably better ��service�� from the friendly slimeball than from an aloof dealer. Just because you feel more comfortable with one dealer over all the others doesn't mean he isn't going to stick it to you. Loyalty to one dealer most often will just get you cheated. Shop around!

Beware of dealers who sell large amounts of CTO material. There is nothing wrong with collecting Cancelled To Order stamps; I do it myself. Just make sure you pay what the CTO is worth (which in my book is as little as possible). Remember, CTO stamps are nothing more than labels that resemble postally used stamps. Beware of specials. There is nothing wrong with buying specials, but you rarely get the bargain you hoped. The few that are bargains are usually loss leaders to get you on mailing lists. After the bargain, carefully check out the succeeding offers. Be patient and don't let your greed take you to the cleaners. There are lots of reasonably honest dealer out there if you take the time to shop for them. Give them an honest return for honest value and you both will come out OK.