MARKETING COMMENTARY Part 3 -
An Interview with Bill Herzig of Herrick Stamp Company by Rob Moelis
Stamp News: I see that you have a substantial Internet presence. What is the most frequently asked question.
Herrick Stamp: Web users want to know what their stamps are worth. They e-mail and call for information all the time. They have collections for sale and they are afraid to sell without knowing the value first. They see Herrick has the largest selection of foreign postage stamps offered on the Internet so they think Herrick Stamp can help them.
Stamp News: Do you buy a lot of collections from Internet inquires ?
Herrick Stamp: Not even one. We average over 25 serious inquires a month, But these folks must ask the same questions of dozens of web sites until they get the information they need. Last year with over 300 inquiries we did not buy even one collection from an Internet lead. It is not that we did not offer the right price. We never got anyone to show us the stamps or make an appointment for our stamp buyer to visit them.
Stamp News: You do buy collections don’t you?
Herrick Stamp: Sure, we bought aver 50 collections and dealer stocks last year. These came to us from our own collectors and from readers of Linn’s Stamp News and Global Stamp News who responded to our advertisements. We have two stamp buyers who travel for us and generally we buy 90% of the collections that we see. We also sell stamps for collectors on consignment.
Stamp News: I thought stamp consignments were for Stamp Auctioneers?
Herrick Stamp: Stamp auctions are an important part of the stamp market. Our consignment service started for our very own collectors. We were asked if we could help sell a specialized France imperforate collection on behalf of a stamp collector and we did so for a 10% commission. Over the last few years we have expanded this service to the general public. We run full-page advertisements about this service and it has proven to be very popular.
Stamp News: When I was a youngster, I bought some Ghana overprints from Herrick. Still have any?
Herrick Stamp: You probably mean the 1957 independence set. This was one of the best all time stamp sellers at Herrick Stamp Company. The first overprint definitive was Scott #5-13. My father was running the business out of our home at 43 Herrick Drive and we had visitors to the house all hours of the day and night to buy that issue in quantity. Around that time the stamps of Israel became very hot and collectors thought the first issues of Ghana would also go up in price. Ghana had overprinted the old Gold Coast definitive issue and collectors thought there would be limited quantities available.I know that Herrick Stamp sold over 5000 of that first set. Also the Nkrumah set of four values #1-4 was cheap and it sold great too. Later in 1958 when three more stamps were printed the demand was over the top and we sold over 50,000 sets. These stamps ( Scott #25-27) catalogue for $5.00 but this price is way too high.
Stamp News: How did Herrick get involved in Ghana stamps?
Herrick Stamp: Our neighbor in Lawrence New York, Manfred Lehman ,was doing business with the Ministry of Communications in the Gold Coast. The Ghana government asked him if he would like to sell stamps for the Post Office to collectors. He spoke to my father about the matter when he returned from Africa. My dad gave him some background information on the stamp market and then Manfred started to import the stamps. This was the beginning of Intergovernmental Philatelic Corporation , which today is one of the worlds leading philatelic stamp marketing companies.
Stamp News: Very Interesting. Any other stories like that?
Herrick Stamp: Well the matter did repeat itself ten years later in a rather surprising turn of events. In 1967 the Caribbean island of Anguilla separated from St. Kitts and Nevis in an attempt to control their own destiny and overprinted the current definitive stamps. Supplies were very tight and the post office only sold stamps over the counter to people who actually used them for mail. There were no mint stamps for collectors as the postal clerks affixed the stamps to mail presented at the counter and then sent them through the postal system. A visitor from Anguilla appeared at Manfred Lehman’s door at 9 PM one night with a satchel of mint Anguilla stamps. Manfred called my father and together they met with the Treasurer of Anguilla.
Stamp News: Sounds like a good story. What happened?
Herrick Stamp: Briefly stated, Anguilla needed money and the only thing they had to sell that people wanted were their stamps. So the entire remaining post office stock we brought to New York. Manfred Lehman and my father became partners in this holding of mint stamps. My father knew that only used stamps were known in the market and wanted Anguilla to cancel all of them and the Minister agreed. But he had to go home with desperately needed funds. He gave a bill of sale to the partners and left his letter of authorization to sell the stamps . He promised to cancel the stamps in Anguilla within thirty days. To summarize for you the fact are as follows. The minister did not return to Anguilla, but went to Europe to enjoy himself. Three years later Scotland Yard came to our office looking for information about him. In the meantime Anguilla started selling some mint stamps to John King of London. Herrick Stamp Company distributed the issue to standing order new issue stamp customers. Quantities of these overprints do not exist in dealer hands because both Herrick and King sold them to collectors one stamp at a time. They are widely disbursed and well worth $5000 for a complete mint set today.
Stamp News: Does Herrick have any Anguilla first issue left?
Herrick Stamp: Sorry, we have no complete sets on hand. Some of the high values are really rare and we never had more than 40 of the best ones. The post office used them for parcels.
Stamp News: Some nerve !