CTOR INVESTMENT RETURNS ON U.S. POSTAGE STAMPS: AN ANALYSIS OF EBAY AUCTIONS AND DEALER ADVERTISEMENT PRICES

Larry R. Woodward
Paul W. Grimes
Myles Clark
Pittsburg State University

ABSTRACT

Investing for retirement typically involves building a portfolio of stocks, bonds, money-
market securities, real estate, precious metals, etc. Some investors choose to add collectibles such
as coins, rare art, and rare stamps to diversify their portfolios. Financial investments in rare
collectible stamps have been popular since the mid-nineteenth century. The long-term return on
stamp investments was positive for much of the 20th century with the market peaking around 1980.
This study examines the returns, both nominal and real, on U.S. stamps to investors and collectors
since 1980. Furthermore, we examine the impact of the eBay auction stamp market on prices of
nationally advertised stamps in collector magazines by regional and national dealers.
From the prices realized on eBay auctions during mid-2022, we find that the U.S. stamp
market has undergone a significant downturn since 2010 after being relatively flat since the mid-
1980s. Additionally, the analysis of realized prices reveals that overall nominal and real returns
to both investors and collectors are almost zero or negative since 1980. The transparency of
realized sales of collectible stamps on eBay has resulted in dealers significantly lowering their
advertised prices to compete with the actual market prices as revealed by eBay auctions.

Keywords: Collectable stamps, eBay auctions, investment returns, auctions, collectibles, philately