Member Info for Hamilton13

Pearls......I certainly consider my comments fair otherwise I would not have made them.
Overheads....look at the top "execs"., marketing , etc.....sure they got rid of a lot of staff...but there are still issues...they have also recruited since cuts..
You are right SG is known internationally for the catalogues, ....not for dealing or auctions....
Before Phoenix.....well... they may have at least had some staff who knew about the philatelic business!!
SG will never be strong in auctions....they cannot compete....they have nice hard working staff in auctions but there is no gravitas there...and the catalogues are a disaster...I would guess designed by "marketing people"
Trade shows and exhibitions.....these are in a crash dive that is likely non recoverable...as I have said the dynamics are changing.
You ask who is "top of the stamp trade"....SG are in the dealing arena...but there are many others .....and as for auctions....well...Spink, Corinphila, Grosvenor, Argyll Etkin, Cavendish.....others are creeping up....Harmers....Corbitts, etc .
I have been involved in stamps for almost 50 years ...I have good relationships with most auctioneers and traders, including SG, for whom I have a particular fondness but they lost the way some time a go.
Its sad....but the reality has to be recognised.

Oh dear.....its not good.....I am surprised that SG is still struggling on.
Some say..."overheads under control and at a bare minimum"...They are not...
"International goodwill"...it does not exist....the "brand recognition" has been in decline for a decade plus...
Sadly SG has lacked astute philatelic leadership for years...it continues to do so.
SG will never regain the "top of the game" position again....
In combination with the above is the ever changing dynamic of the philatelic collecting world.

This show was dire......a combination of timing, events, weather, covid and whatever else acted against it ever being a success......
The footfall throughout was almost non existent ...though one or two dealers did reasonably well, most did not.
I would guess that most dealers, especially those who paid for "status stands" did not even cover their costs.
It does not bode well for the future of shows such as Stampex, of which there are strong rumours that it will be a once a year event.
All very sad.......the dynamics of philately have changed, these International Shows will never be what they once were.

Who..in their right mind would even consider taking a share..what possible upside can there be...??
The whole scheme has a nasty aroma and looks set to be a disaster.....I am convinced that Phoenix will regret the purchase.

Anyone else noticed the use of the term "hobbyist" by SG, they seem to be giving this word preference over philatelists or stamp collectors...I doubt that they hold the muscle as a company anymore to change such things.....the sooner the management decide to "stick to their knitting" the better....

Dear old Pearls.....still living under an illusion that SG will pull round under current management....despite the fact that the "management" continue to demonstrate their ill informed decisions and clutch at straws....
Yes SG have an auction coming up...and the content of the sale is reasonable...but the revenue from auctions does not match that of selling retail and as such it will not make a massive contribution. The catalogue for this auction is now in the public domain and sad to say the production is another reflection of SG having lost their direction.....its appalling and very lack lustre making one not wanting to take the time to go through it, I hate to think of the production and despatch costs......I speak as a serious collector...SG need to decide what they want to achieve in the auction market...all the time they are faffing around just gives the more serious collections to the opposition....get to a decided and agreed format and then tackle the market with some aggression.
The same can be said of the SG advertising...what I have seen lately is not at all good.....take a look..!
The BG will not in any way save the day Pearls.....it was a ill informed concept and decision...and it remains that way...all that it has generated in negative publicity and comment.
SG need to understand that serious philately is, in the main, a hobby of traditionalists....it will never move into the modern world of bitcoin or whatever.....there is still room to have an excellent business in the world of serious philately but it will not be achieved without sticking to core values and understanding the market......selling shares in a hyped up so called rarity is not the answer....
Come on SG...get some strong ,experienced and knowledgeable, business minded philatelists on the payroll, getting rid of the "upper echelons" and turn this Company around.....

Pearls,...the "Penny is dropping"......so will the share price in due course.....and indeed the price of the BG is dropping...sold for less that it did last time...!!
This stunt will be short lived and is a disaster in my view....
I wonder what the import VAT is on this stamp....I believe it should be 5% of the value.....!!....I also wonder what the insurance premiums are going to be??
I have not heard one single positive comment in the market place regarding this escapade...!!

So Pearls have you signed up to own a piece of this philatelic "gem"..??

Thanks devonplay....
Sadly there is not one single member of staff at SG that has the combination of business acumen and philatelic experience that is required to get the show back on the road. Until this changes in unison with a new philatelic strategy I feel the chances of survival are limited.
SG need people with gravitas who move in the philatelic market across the board....Sadly all they have are a few people who do not have the fire in their belly and keep their heads down by hiding in 399..!!

Oh dear.....another ill informed and uninformed decision by those who own or purport to run SG which clearly demonstrates they know nothing about the serious side of world philately.
What do they think they are going to achieve by buying this most unappetising piece. Sure its a renown world rarity with a lovely story behind it.....but......it never has been a stamp that was chased by serious collectors ....the market for it is non existent....SG just bought it for less that the vendor paid for it, and incidentally the last owner also put a large handstamp on the reverse of the stamp making it even more undesirable. If it was such a great item how come there was no competition in the auction and SG did not have to fight to buy it.
After clearing the "investment legacy" SG put themselves back in the frame on some sort of "share scheme"...why..??...desperation.??
SG would have done better to have spent half the money buying decent stock in the open market, especially top notch British Empire , perhaps in the remarkable auctions that have taken place this week then generating positive press....revise Empire catalogue prices in a balanced way injecting renewed interest in the market. What matters to SG are sales of stamps to decent collectors...the BG does nothing for this.
The BG purchase will be news for a week or two then forgotten about.......it will backfire on SG and may possibly be the straw that breaks the camels back. Has anyone in the last 5 years or so asked...."ooohh I wonder who owns the 1c BG...answer is NO.....!! that tells you all you need to know about this horrible looking "gem"....!!..SG would do well to accept any offer they may get even at a small % and get rid of it.
Who
A catastrophic, ill judged and

Pearls...delusional...indeed.....the SG overhead is still too heavy in relation to the business. There does not seem a single senior person with strong philatelic experience with their hands on the tiller to navigate these stormy times....Stampex...Looks 50/50 at best....then as I say who will attend anyway....??
Pearls has purchased a few catalogues...that's good...SG need all the sales they can get. The catalogues are in the main superb and world leading, though expensive. SG should be licensing the on line availability of the main catalogues, the global market is huge and this could be very lucrative.
Pearls I fear you are going to e disappointed in the performance of SG over the next 12 months....I hope I am wrong...but...!

Pearls.....what planet are you on...."Planet Pearls" methinks.....
As I have said before the margins/profits on auctions are nowhere near enough to keep SG going. Ineed there will be a formal update and it will be the same repetitive message..if they have "turned the corner" they are going backwards...!

WE are not "Post Covid" and in my view the stamp shows are very unlikley to take place while we are under a Covid Variant Cloud....even if they do...who is going to attend...the average age of a stamp collector is between 60 and 75, especially those with money to spend...these people are not going to attend shows as things stand....Then there are the dealers...they have tough decisions to make...why take on a high booth cost and then have a lousy show....I hear that a couple of the provincial shows scheduled for the next month are likely to be cancelled.
Its not like watching paint dry.....the paint is cracked....!!

The truth is that the serious side of stamp collecting is a relationship business between dealer and collector.... SG have lost this aspect over the last 20 years and Covid has dealt a further damaging blow....SG need to get the stock sorted....make it the best available in the world and get a website that is fast reacting to serious collectors and is pro active...not reactive....
The world dictates that on line is the way forward......
In closing, I have to say I do not like my negativity re SG...I have been a client of theirs for a long time I also know the company pretty well...I also care for the survival of SG....but....!!

Pearls, This no more or less than the competition is doing with auctions.....it will take more than a scripted update from Tom Hazell to change to fortunes of SG.
Why not take a look at what else is going on in the auction arena, at home there is Spink, Grosvenor and Cavendish, in Europe we have Feldman and Corinphila all with very strong auctions starting next week.
SG is not real competition, nor is it playing the auction arena buying for stock. In days gone by but SG would play and buy in all major auctions with the resultant positive publicity...but as I say that was in "days gone by"
Seems to be that SG are never going to be the market force they once were, nor market leaders.....a sad situation.

Pearls....Last week you asked "what is your point" when I pointed out that SG Auction revenue's would be on a fixed %.
My point was that SG are not going to survive on such revenues which cannot match their usual mark up on selling stock retail direct to collectors.

Though it looks to be a strong auction result unless SG are selling material they own, the income from an auction is a total of the vendor commission and the buyers premium as published in the auction catalogue.

SGI crypto - fantasy indeed...all a load of bunkum.
To survive SG need to bite the bullet reduce the overpriced stock to current market levels so as to be able to increase sales..if the stock is priced at realistic market levels it will sell. The cash generated will allow SG to visibly participate in the stamp market which will then react positively overall.

HNW....slim chance ...those that had funds and "invested" had a bad time...and they in turn talk to other HNW "propsects"...in the negative..!
I doubt if Stampex will ever take place again in its traditional form...virtual Stampex was a success to an extent..and that will continue...bearing in mind the average age of a serious collector even if traditional shows are held the footfall will be a small % of what it used to be thanks to Covid. Why would dealers attend if there are hardly any visitors...why should SG pay a big price for a big booth?
All that said there are serious out there....but not enough of em.

The content of the latest auction is poor...the appearance of the catalogue is poor. This auction will not enhance the SG profile in my view.
Seems that SG still have the fundamental problem....too much high cost price stock with unattainable retail prices, especially in the GB stock.

The stamp market does seem to be strong despite the pandemic....fortunately stamps can be sent through the post to feed the collecting habit. Much improved websites will become crucial to those traders who wish to survive.
Virtual Stampex was deemed to be a success, this will also be the way forward. I doubt that we will see a stamp show for some considerable time, if ever. The older collecting fraternity, those who specialise and usually have a higher spend level are unlikely to travel to shows.
SG need to have a good set of figures so that the market is stimulated further ...along with the share price..!!