Hello, just to say I am in Sydney again, enjoying a relaxing weekend here and getting depressed that no one liked my stamp offer, (see previous posting) or bid on my Bidstart lots (none sold) :-) but seriously, why???? I wonder? the quality and value was excellent compared to most of the rubbish that is listed. Don't people value quality anymore ???

The highlight of my weekend, well one of the highlights, was I got to my PO Box and there was a really interesting letter from one of my readers. Thanks Charlie and I'll scan the stamp when get back to HK and share some of the interesting write up you gave me.

Hope everyone has / is having a great weekend where ever you are.

Best wishes... Michael

Something different again, my own mini auction on the blog. I have soaked some 1000 plus world mix - no Great Britain - and I am pretty sure I have removed most if not all damaged stamps including bad perfs etc. Anyone want 1000+ world mix for lets say US$20.00 including postage and packing. Not much for me after my postage but a nice gift for someone maybe. I want them to go to a good home. You will see individual stamps selling usually at minimum of 5c on most auction sites and the quality is often rubbish. This is 1000 plus (some duplication but not too much) at 2c a stamp and inclusive of postage. Interested just email me within next few days and offer US $20 or more and be prepared to pay by Paypal. If you want to offer more than US$20 please do so and the highest bid will get the stamps. Email me at cdddstamps@gmail.com. I will leave this offer open until Sunday night my time in Hong Kong.

And please dont forget there is some excellent quality in my Bidstart listings at michaelatcddstamps Don't believe me!!! just look at some of the other GB for sale. Single stamps that are just a waste of anyones time even listing if they were quality conscious, and certainly a waste of your money of you buy singles in that way. But as I always say, buyer beware!!

Enjoy your stamps.. Best wishes .. Michael (Director and Member of the Internet Philatelic Dealers Association Inc (IPDA) look us up at IPDA Are you buying from IPDA members? and if not why not?

Something different tonight that I found over the weekend in the parcel my dealer colleague gave me. I do not have my catalogue with me so cannot check but since this a circular "stamps", and from Tonga and has Airmail on it I thought I would show you anyway. Oh and yes it is in pretty bad condition. I would normally garbage this but I thought it was at least worth showing - hey I was checking Bidstart where my auction listing are and this is superb compared to what some people are listing. How do people get away with listing such damaged stamps and called them good used? I do not know, I just hope you don't buy some of the rubbish I see listed. More on that tomorrow maybe............ and if you do have a catalogue handy please look this up and email me details... I may even send it to you if you want a space filler. email cddstamps@gmail.com of course and with mailing address please.

Oh and if you want quality please have a look at my auction lots on Bidstart - you can find me at michaelatcddstamps

Best wishes ............ Michael

Hello, I started to list on Bidstart and a few more on eBay. 23 lots on Bidstart - you can find me at michaelatcddstamps and I think you will find something of interest and perhaps make a bid. The value and quality is there, of that I can assure you. I was speaking with a dealer the other day and he was telling me how the price in the catalogues is definately low and the price that quality material should be fetching is going to increase as it really is undervalued. Not my thinking but what is reflected everywhere these days on the stamp scene. If you wnat something cheap then don't expect quality as well.

I have a few loys on eBay as well - again at user michaelatcddstamps - these lots are GB Commemorative selections. In my humble view extremely good value (high catalogue and should be higher in many cases) and I hope there is some bidding as I have started the prices very low. Why? well I am trying to raise a few dollars as the Korean Air A380 inaugural is in June and I would dearly like to get on it.

If you do nothing else I hope you enjoy looking at the lots. And the image above is one of my Bidstart lots. Pretty nice I think.

Best wishes.. Michael

Hello, something special, perhaps!!! not sure what to write so here is a competition for a change hahahahaha ... I have two lots listed on Bidstart, one is at bidstart lot

It closes soon and may not relist, I dont know.. but why is it not selling? I wonder..it has free shipping and the price is 50% of GB catalogue and quality is Very Fine Used. Any advice??? If it doesn't sell the best answer will win the same stamps in same condition and again free postage, as I have a few of these.

Have a great weekend, thanks in advance for any feedback, Best wishes, Michael

Here is a wonderful example of what must be vandalism at worst and cost effectiveness at best.
Obviously, perhaps?, someone decided to use a sheet of stamps which they bought thinking they had an investment, but which they now realised was no longer an investment, to cover some postage. Yes, they realised sheets(like these) lost their value over time, except for postage. Or, perhaps a dealer bought an estate collection and used the mint collection. And why not. You can easily pick up mint gummed stamps for less than face if the stamps date back 10 or so years. What does that tell you. Anyway I hope you enjoy seeing these, just a pity the Post Office had to cancel with great big crayon scrawl, but hey, some postal worker somewhere got their rocks off destroying the sheet: what goes around comes around I always believe.

Best wishes.. Michael

Last night I was very fortunate to meet Philippe Poppe from Poppe Stamps He was in Hong Kong on a business trip and we had dinner in Kowloon, at a rather nice Japanese restaurant I might add. What a wonderful and interesting person. He was very kind and gave me a few stamps from a kiloware lot he had picked up that afternoon at the Mong Kong Stamp arcade and this MS was in the package he gave me. There were actually a few of these MS so I thought I'd share them around. Write to me at cddstamps@gmail.com with your mailing address if you want a copy. And do have a look at his brilliant website.

Best wishes ............ Michael

Thanks to my wonderful friend in the UK I received these in the mail. A rather interesting MS. It is made up of four new stamps (1st, 60p, 88p and 97p) featuring Thunderbirds 1 to 4. The sheet is printed using microlenticular technology so that when tilted the stamps show each vehicle’s launch sequence. The outer space monitoring station Thunderbird 5 is shown in the border. Now how many will be used on postal mail. NONE is the answer. If you haven't seen the MS in real life, what you won't know is that it is like a piece of think hard card and I cannot see anyone breaking it apart for postal usage. Prove me wrong?? :-) Nice money earner for Royal Mail though. Well done Royal Mail :-)

I may not be able to buy old Hong Kong Stamps but I can get new issues. This arrived today. I ordered the 2010 issues from Hong Kong Post and this was one of a set of 4 issued last year. I hope you like it. I am certainly enjoying the Hong Kong stamps. This from the set to commemorate Hong Kong's participation in Expo 2010 Shanghai China, to show the dynamism of Hong Kong.
If there are any new issues you would like I will be pleased to get them for you. At cost plus postage, just email me at cddstamps@gmail.com or watch out for my competitions!

Best wishes...Michael

Hello, I have been soaking and sorting and studying a bag of GB low value Wildings this weekend. Found a few inverted watermarks and a few sideways. Nothing terribly exciting to be honest and no real value but hey fun all the same. If anyone has some gaps they need to fill then email me at cddstamps@gmail.com and I might be able to help, all watermark varieties available. No charge or postage cost if your request is reasonable.

The real reason for this post though is to tell you of a really good website I found. Have a look at Machin and Wilding Definitive Stamp Issues if this doesn't impress you nothing will. For Wildings, for example, just click Wildings in the left hand menu bar then pre-decimal, then click any of the stamps shown. Pretty impressive and congratulations to whoever built this site.

Best wishes ........... Michael

What have I been doing in Hong Kong, well I was not the anonymous bidder on this lot. A very rare block of Hong Kong stamps featuring Queen Victoria which fetched for a record, the highest ever paid for a single lot of stamps in Hong Kong, $821,000 US dollars on January 27th.

The stamps in questions were a block of four 1865 stamps with a face value of 96 Hong Kong cents (approximately 12 US cents) each. The reason for the stamps being so valuable, other than the fact that these stamps are almost 150 years old, is that these stamps were misprinted in an olive bistre colour.

The first stamps of Hong Kong were issued in 1862 in seven values from 2c. to 96c. brownish grey and there were two printings of the 96c. totaling 138 sheets (240 stamps to each sheet). In 1863 the printers, De la Rue, introduced new paper with the watermark Crown over CC (Crown Colony) as well as some additional values. Some of the original supplies did not need replenishing for some time and the next requisition for 96c. was made in March 1864. This supply of only 52 sheets was in an unexpected olive-bistre colour. There were no reasons for this change of colour and it is believed that this was a simple mistake made by De la Rue as bistre was among the original range of colour trials supplied in 1862. By the time the mistake was spotted in Hong Kong, it was too late to expect a fresh supply to arrive in time. The 96c. olive-bistre had a very short life. It was issued at the Post Office around January or February 1865. A new printing, in the correct brownish grey shade, was made at the same time and these supplies of these were available in Hong Kong around late July or August 1865.

Only about forty unused examples are reported to exist today, including this unique block of four.

I received this today. Thought I would share with you. Best wishes... Michael