Recognizing and realizing stored value....

Hi Gordon,

I've been thinking a lot about what you wrote earlier about STORED VALUE.... It's a grabbing, powerful idea....

When you think about it, there's a lot of "stored value" surrounding us....

And even within us....

"Stored value" in chattel is everywhere.... In people's attics and garages, in some of the "junk" that some people throw away, in the remains of bankrupt businesses.....

And "stored value" is also in SOME expired patents (like you pointed out)....

There is "stored value" in products which are marketable, but which are not yet being marketed to their full potential.....

And it also seems to me that knowledge and skills are a kind of "stored value" too, which can be tapped.... They are "stored" since those skills are within you, lying dormant until you do something with them....

I like the idea of unrecognized "stored value" surrounding us. Many things have unperceived "value" -- people don't see the true potential value which is there. But if you can recognize this value and if you're able to "mine" it, you could do well....

Anyhow, I've been pondering these ideas.... Recognizing the hidden "stored value" around you could be a highly profitable skill to develop....

- Dien

Dien -

As a top notch physicist, you're attracted by the Stored Value concept 'cuz it's rooted in physics:

Stored Value = potential energy turned into Kinetic energy (new value and worth) by the catalyst of action and the spark of creative vision.

Enthalpy, I believe, eh, Dr. Rice:-)) (as opposed to entropy!)

Your gentleman's C physicist,

Bob

Hi Bob,

> As a top notch physicist, you're attracted
> by the Stored Value concept 'cuz it's rooted
> in physics:

> Stored Value = potential energy turned into
> Kinetic energy (new value and worth) by the
> catalyst of action and the spark of creative
> vision.

You're right! It's a very close analogy.... :)

The energy that drives a lot of our world is based on releasing the "potential energy" stored within natural resources, like natural gas, petroleum, coal, or even gravity which is tapped through hydroelectric dams, or the binding energy in the nuclei of atoms for nuclear power....

You almost always have to spend some energy to get the potential energy out, however.

For example, you have to light a match and get the wood burning, to tap the rest of the wood's energy when you start a campfire....

But when tapping potential energy, if you've identified your source of potential energy correctly, you can get out more energy than you put in....

And I think you're right, Bob, tapping the "stored value" in the products and ideas around you is a very similar idea to releasing potential energy....

Yes, maybe that IS why I like this idea.... :)

It takes some "sweat" and cash to tap that source of stored value.... But, if you've recognized the stored value correctly, you can get more value out than you put in!

Long term "value investing" in stocks is an example of this.... I try to buy stocks which are "undervalued." That is, I try to buy stocks which have a "stored value" (in terms of their future profits) which is much higher than most people realize.... That way, I can pick up a bargain. When people finally realize what it is really "worth," I can sell it at a good profit....

Chattel is another great example of this, and Gordon's Chattel Report tells you how to do it....

I was thinking of looking more closely at antiques, so I recently also bought the book, "How to Make $20,000 a Year in Antiques & Collectibles Without Leaving Your Job" by Bruce E. Johnson....

Here's an interesting story he tells (from p.26-27)....

Not long ago a dark, dirty, but signed Gustav Stickley music cabinet was pulled across the stage at a well-attended Midwest auction. Over a dozen dealers were in attendance, but the music cabinet barely attracted any attention, and the auctioneer could only coax a bid of $50 out of his audience.

The dealer who did buy it promptly sold it to another dealer the next morning for $200; she, in turn, marketed the music cabinet at $500, having, by this time, realized it was a signed Stickley.

Two area dealers looked it over that same day, but passed on it. A third, a rather new and inexperienced dealer, had read about the resurgence of interest in the furniture of Gustav Stickley and knew it had to be worth more than the new owner was asking. He offered $450, she accepted, and he left with the music cabinet in the back of his rusty van.

The next day he simply cleaned it, took some color photographs, and began doing some additional research.

Three months later the call came from Christie's in New York: they had sold his $450 music cabinet for $15,000.

I guess these stories aren't too common, but it shows that "stored value" really is there! You have to know how to recognize it, and how to release it....

Here's another story from the same book (p. 28)....

A young college chap who used to work in our [antique] shop had the uncanny ability to spot these great "steals," as we called them, right in the middle of the largest shops in town. He claimed it was more out of necessity than luck, since at the time he was living on stale peanut butter sandwiches and what little I was paying him.

His once-in-a-lifetime steal (I think it was his third that semester) was a small, unsigned original painting stuck irreverently in the corner of a very busy and very successful antiques shop.

Although he had no formal training in art or art history, he sensed the painting was worth more than the $35 being asked for it. Naturally I lent him the last $10 he needed to buy it, never thinking I should have bought a one-third interest in it instead.

He took the painting home, went to the art library and did some research, discovered it was the work of a recognized and collected nineteenth-century artist, took photographs of it and mailed them to five major art dealers in New York City.

Three weeks later, after a minor bidding battle between two of the dealers, he collected $4,500 for his efforts.

While that kind of story may not happen every day, it shows that unrecognized "stored value" is all around us. It's a matter of being able to recognize it, and knowing how to release the "stored value" in order to make a profit!

Thanks Bob for the analogy, it was a great one! :)

- Dien

Dien,

Last year I had a chance to "clean up" after a remodelling/construction project which involved a lot of scrap metal--"stored value", if you will...

Loading up the copper and aluminum was a joy--well, there was some sweat involved--but knowing I was going to get 50-60 cents/lb. made it worth it. I remember one pick-up truck load weighed in at about 500 lbs and I got $250 cash for a morning's work.

And then there was the day I spent the same amount of time loading over 1000 lbs of steel, and only getting a measly $25--2.5 cents/lb. (And that was premium for steel at the time!)

So there definitely is "stored value" in other people's trash and junk--you just gotta pick the right junk!

JDB

Dien -

To add to your antiques stories, a friend of mine who is a fairly knowledgeable art collector found a dusty old painting in a second shop in London.

He recognized it as by some 19th century artist being rediscovered at the time. He paid about $50 for it, brought it home and had it appraised -apparently it's worth in excess of $5000!

He also collects ceramic art tiles and trades them on ebay. All are worth hundreds of dollars. To me, they just look like old tiles!

All of his stuff would escape my attention. as I'm not familiar nor interested in the collectibles he has. But, obviously, there's a whole lot of stored value in antiques and collectibles - all we have to do is be interested and knowledgeable in an area of choice, and find that occasional rare deal!

Great reply and dusty food for thought:-)

Bob