Member Info for storm

Apologies. should read .............. or could it be a different reason altogether.

Is this run to do with SGI having made some heavy sales or could it be a different altogether?

It is reported this morning that Spink have just held an auction of Chinese stamps that made HK$85 million. There we have it in a nutshell, the stamp market really is alive and kicking, all that is required is to have the goods that people are hot to acquire and pay high prices for.

Where is the bottom on this troublesome share? How is it possible to value the business/ Just because they bought an item for £X does it follow that is still worth that same amount today? The only way to know the truth is when it is sold, the trouble is that it seems there is not enough of this happening at the moment. If they have inventory that is unsalable should they now begin to value their stock downwards, or have they already started to do this? Perhaps a savvy accountant will be kind and comment on this. Thanks.

Am thinking of perhaps/maybe of making a small purchase of these. please does anyone have any thoughts about this share? Thanks.

Down 10% at the close. After reading the recent update it seems that it is their vast overhang of stock that is the worry. If we were to take SG as a bell-wether for the stamp dealing business, what exactly are we being told? Is it the case that stamp collecting is falling out of fashion, now being overtaken by other ephemerae collectables, such as postcards which are still rising in price, or is it more of a case that the majority of the stamps that they hold are of a category that is for the moment out of fashion - or what? With the share price falling 10% in one day, realistically just what else can the board do to turn the situation, other than keep on trying to conjure up some very heavy sales? There is in fact a very good case for stamp collecting, perhaps it is time for Gibbons to start a campaign to encourage people to do so. A few years ago they ran a huge campaign which was coming from the angle of stamps being an alternative investment. Perhaps they need to re-start this and at the same time start to encourage younger people to begin collecting, this by putting together an educational programme that they can then take into schools. This last action may not produce instant results but over the longer term it will most certainly help re-build what is beginning to look like a dying hobby. I don't know of any young person who has any interest whatsoever in philately, probably most of them are completely unaware of the possibility anyway. This is not just the fault of Gibbons, it is a failure by the whole industry to market itself. If there is a trade body then they need to start acting, if there is not then such an entity needs to be founded and to have a clear remit, that is to promote stamp collecting as a hobby.

According to this site on the week of 22/11/2010 the s.p. was 32.50p. Today almost 5 years on the s.p.is 65.50p plus we are getting a dividend. Looking at some of my other shares this is stellar. Are we at present in a re-rating - please see today's announcement - or are there perhaps some people who are buying in the hope of a takeover, or what?

It seems that the last trade was 10,000 @ 62.5p. Whilst it is most gratifying that we should be up over 8% on the day it does make one wonder why all of a sudden. Has there been a tip somewhere?

APAcquisitions, If it really was a buy and not a sell it doesn't seem to be working out all that well.

Sorry Sir, Your auction suggestion simply does not hold up. For a lot of specialised items at the top end, say £100,000+++, there might be only one or two potential buyers in the world who have the ability to buy. You can be totally sure that SGI has been working non-stop on their client list. (We need to remember here that the top end of the collectables market is not the same as the top end of the Fine Art market where earlier this year a Gaugin sold for $300,000,000 and a Picasso achieved for $215,000,000 - put the cost of these two together and you could buy out SGI seven times over and sill have change!) Every player at the serious end of the stamp and coin markets must by now be fully cognizant of what is going on, they are also fully aware of how much SGI paid for the good stuff, accordingly should any of these 'gems' turn up at auction there is the risk that they will either fail to make their reserve or get sold at a huge loss. Surely it would make more sense for SGI to combine the provincial auction business with Mallets and anything else that is deemed to be peripheral and then float off a percentage of it or possibly sell it outright. If this works it would buy them a bit of breathing space to sort out the stamps and coins divisions. The one thing that they need to retain though is the highly regarded publishing side, if that goes they will lose a lot of international respect which could negatively impact on future sales.

Upside, You write .... 'these headwinds can be fixed'.... By whom exactly? If it transpires that the present situation has been brought about because of the perceived economic situation in China, would it not then suggest to you that it is a matter of being the wrong side of history - or what?

banksman, Of course, just that. Strip it and sell off the unwanted bits. Not cynical just another business opportunity.

So the Investors Chronicle has been tipping SGI a buy as recently as last week. According to Money Week the Daily Telegraph has been saying that due to weak Asian demand the first half profits would come in below expectations and that debt is on the rise. Avoid. Surely SGI must have many postage stamp gems in its stock, but this is not the point. The heart of the matter is what they actually paid for these treasures and how much they can be sold for in today's market. Any mega collector wanting to buy an gem orb two from Gibbons will be aware of the present situation and will screw them into the ground on price. If it transpires that essentially SGI bet the farm on China who knows just how serious the situation really could be. It would be somewhat ironical if there was a takeover bid from a billionaire Chinese collector!

Alfacomp. Have just looked at the stories you have been reading. As a frequent user of PayPal there is no doubt in my mind at least that the service is slightly biased towards the buyer. Frankly no matter my PayPal reputation I would not expect to announce a new product to the market-place, take advance pre-paid orders for it and then expect PayPal to pay me out the money before the product exists. This sort of situation is more to do with loans from banks and other financial institutions, PayPal is not in the corporate finance business. Possibly a non regular PayPal user is unaware of the fact that if you order goods that do not arrive then you get a full refund from PayPal, thus every transaction carries a direct risk for them. The fact that some seller has a good track record is fairly meaningless, peoples situations change, thus their duty to their shareholders is to minimise risk by doing everything possible to avoid getting ripped off. As to the other payment processers that you mention they are probably all very good indeed and most surely run by excellent people with the highest standards and sense of financial probity. Even so and with this being the case I for one am not prepared to give my financial details on an on-going basis to people I do not know. Just who owns these businesses, how good are there online security systems and so on? As to the SGI online operations. most of the stuff that they are selling on-line is for small amounts of money, online payment systems are not cheap for sellers, presumably for expensive items these will be paid for by bank transfer, in the case of someone buying a very expensive item they will want to physically view it before purchase. Hands up all those who would buy a £300,000 item without first seeing and looking into the face of the vendor.

Banksman, Still hanging in. At the moment there really is not really anything more to add to what has already been said. The person who left the Board the other day, but still remains with the company, must be rather relieved not to have to attend anymore board meetings. The other day when I spoke to the nice lady at the website helpline I asked if this newly resigned board member man had in fact been involved with the IT side, I was told that he had been but only in an indirect sense.

Banksman, banksman, It is hard to disagree with you. Forgive me for being a bit old fashioned but isn't the reason for making an acquisition about increasing earnings which in turn increases the value of the business and the return to shareholders? Perhaps I have missed a beat here. As to the lack of PayPal from the 'get-go', it is as you allude beyond belief. SGI acquired a first class fully up and running collectables selling site when they acquired bidStart, why don't they use this universally and gradually develop it as they go along, surely it would be a surer, easier and far cheaper way of going about things - wouldn't it? All the best.

Thanks Banksman, This is really useful and I am most grateful to you, it helps no end in being able to get a clearer overview. Yet despite all that is written in the article, albeit dated January 2015, you have today posted that you are now out! For my sake as well as yours I am hoping that the shares will drift another twenty or thirty pence which would provide an opportunity for a bit of bottom fishing, hopefully with not too much down-side. All the best.

On October 11, 2010, the shares closed at 155. Today following an RNS they closed at 152. On February 14, 2014, which is about 20 months ago, the shares closed at a five year high of 377.50. Interestingly today's closing price is despite the various important acquisitions by SGI - which I am now informed is 'the market leader'. I simply do not understand how and why this present situation has come about, please will some knowledgeable person kindly explain. Is it perhaps the case that that the global market in coins and stamps has entered a sudden and unforeseen recessionary period - or what? Thanks.

afrc, Thank you for your kind reply. Please so that it is possible to fully understand. Are you in fact saying that SGI is the world's leading business involved in the sale of collectable coins, collectable stamps and books, i.e. on these subjects, or are you saying that this is the case in UK terms? Really there is no conscious attempt on my part to be ironic. I am attempting to understand what the real situation is in these particular fields of collectables. From that which you have written it would appear that your research into this matter is way ahead of anything that it has been possible for me to unearth. With many thanks again.

afrc, You say that SGI is the market leader by far in its sector. Please will you be most kind and give an exact definition of the sector that you are thinking about here. With very many thanks.