Member Info for CarpeDiem1

I thought the auction catalogue was pretty poor, very few collections and well filled with old SG stock. Having spent a huge amount on an unnecessary shop refurb, I'm not expecting a rush to the Strand in April. Sorry for being a gloomster, but I wish it wasn't so.

Surely ARB is the share which is being manipulated. 11,500 trades today.
SG trades today...3

I am confused how Pearls thinks 3 trades (maybe 10 on some days last week) is somehow manipulating the price.

Going to QAnon now for some genuine answers.......

I hope the people in ARB have managed to get their money out.

Just a few thoughts on this.
Many items have been used as a store of wealth and a monetary commodity in the past. Seeds, livestock, shells, silver , tulip bulbs and many other things.
We are entering a huge period of economic uncertainty, globally the value of fiat currency is being decimated with outrageous amounts of liquidity.
It is not surprising people are casting around for a way to maintain their wealth. Gold has been a store of value since Egyptian times. It is around in very limited quantities having been created in a supernova. It is also being used up as jewellery and on circuit boards.
Bitcoin is a man made creation, easily accessible to millennials with i-phones, competing with hundreds of other man made currencies. It happens to be the one that is doubling in value every few months as more and more speculators are sucked into the trade. By all means have a go, but last man standing will be broke.
I'll stick with gold and my little 7% dividend.

Unfortunately SG share price has not benefitted from the general rising tide. This must mean investors are not impressed with SG's current situation nor in the progress going forward. I must say that from reports I am getting in the trade, replacing stock or finding material for auction is becoming a serious problem. It is my opinion that SG turnover will be far lower in the next trading update. The shop is basically closed, auctions have a poor selection of lots and the only trade being done is on the internet where SG cannot really compete on price with other dealers.
SG is not the same beast of 10 years ago. The number of shares in issue has tripled, the amount of debt has multiplied and the level of sales has fallen. Maybe this will be a 5p share in years to come. I'm not holding my breath.

I much prefer gold because of the zero vat rating on investment gold. Antique coins are only 5% vat when I import them so it is still reasonable. My main interest are Greek and Roman gold coins but I have a stack of sovereigns for when the global debt volcano erupts.....

The Redditt gang turning their attention to silver. If I were SG I would start pumping Kookaburras and large coins to their clients.
A large group of investor activists funded on cheap credit could target practically anything now. It making investing a casino game now.

People worried about the recent falls in the share price on no news should realise the price rose on no news either. A nasdaq listing added fuel to share speculation, but everybody just needs to calm down and wait for actual news, something I have been doing for many years on this share.
The moving average is about 53p so there could be another 10p to come off before an announcement of Czech listing, which may act as another catalyst to push the share higher.

The slow retreat to 2½p and the wide spread of 16-20% offers no incentive to speculators or traders.

Real investors have long since departed.

Unfortunately, and I speak as a dealer, investor and collector, stamps do not have the same zing or interest from the younger generations as social media, tech and all things related to that. The last real investment boom ended in 1980, although it is the case the rare stamps are making high end money, general stamps are making a lot less than they would have been worth then.

Gold has gone up, but not hugely. It has not increased 500% this year unfortunately. If you had picked Tesla however, a company which has a price to earnings in the stratosphere you would have made a fortune.

You could make something on SGI if they can turn the company around, we have discussed it here, but sadly collecting stamps is going the way of cigarette cards, matchbox labels and clay pipes. A decreasing market over time so not only is SG struggling with its finances, it has a major demographic headwind.

As for ARB, I have taken a small punt at 50p each, but frankly I have no idea about it. I will either be amazed in a ears time, or just have a shrug.

Indeed so Pearls but sadly SGI is not a bright supernova like ARB but rather a black hole, from which light and investments cannot escape.

If I can ask a question please...how are the nasdaq shares supplied? Are these newly created shares or existing shares transferred from other markets?
In other words, if thete is apparently a shortage of shares in the US, what will the company do about it?
Thanks and merry christmas to all.

I agree with Berty. I also started my philatelic career in the SG shop.

The shop only sells catalogues, accessories and whatever is on display. There are no specialist dealers available and the 'good stuff' is locked away in the vaults.

However the 2021 Part 1 gets 5 stars from me, lots of new varieties listed and makes going through your collection again to find them worthwhile....Whatever we say about SG as a business, the Editorial team does a good job. Catalogues and Baldwins would be parts of the business worth saving, so now I have said that, SG will probably sell them off....

I haven't been this excited in 3½ years

There was come sort of commission deal for the stock with an arrangement to buy it all if they sold a certain amount. I can't remember the exact terms, but seeing as they have sold very little to none, it looks like collectors for very rare stamp pieces are looking elsewhere.
In fact rare items from the SG Investment clients are putting their stamps up for auction in Other auctions at fractions of the prices paid. Why would collectors pay £10k for something they can buy for £3k?
Also because International Exhibitions are currently or mostly suspended, the incentive to buy rare pieces is just not there.
SG only want to sell rare pieces and have sold their shop stock and Murray Payne stock. Trying to become a stamp broker may work in the art world but not in the stamp world. Regrettably SG will continue to just fade away....

There wasn't much to encourage investors apart from vague jam tomorrow statements. Costs are down but so are sales and stock levels with philatelic sales down dramatically. Net assets are a very poor £1.5m.
I also see that of the much touted new stock bought in sept 2018 for £5.2m, £4.29m remain unsold by Sept 2020. In fact they only sold £100,000 in all of 2020. In Feb 2020 Sg bought in 780 new items under a lease agreement afor 1.07m all are unsold.
Unfortunately there are no stamp investors to fleece any more and SG has shown it cannot really sell expensive items to collectors at SG prices.
There are no dividends on the horizon and the results are another thumbs down from me. See you in 6 months time......

The fact we have has three small share trades this morning is reflective of the excitement this report is generating.

"Encouragingly, online sales have increased by 35% over the period and now account for 22% of total sales (12% 2019)"
This makes the shop refurb increasingly pointless. Apologies for misrepresenting the amount, it was £0.5m, still I think the money could have been better spent elsewhere. Frankly as the only stamp shop on the Strand it is not exactly a place for browsers!

The Company is still bust and not making a profit. It has been bailed out and Phoenix is keeping it going. It still remains extremely questionable whether this company will start making profits next year or indeed any year. I have no insight whatsoever about how long Phoenix might be involved, but I suspect nearly all future profits will go to Phoenix until they have been paid back.

Another treading water report. They mentioned the difficulty of sourcing material for their auctions. I was banging on about this 6 months ago.
If only they hadn't spent £1.5 m on their store refurb.......

It's a tough ask to decline any further but SGI is managing it....