I estimate there were 1.5 million people in the Sydney downtown area alone at 1am after the fireworks -  wonderful atmosphere.  In my view,  the Olympics were THE most defining moment in Australian history,  since Federation.  It proved we had truly come of age as a major Nation and could do something bigger,  better,  safer,  and far,  far more smoothly than ANY other major country has even done before.  The  ‘instant’  stamp sheetlets 10 Australia Post did for the 16 Gold Medal winners have been a sales sensation.  

See my full detailed front page “Linn’s” stories on line at www.GlenStephens.com/column.html  for all detail and photos.  I still have a few sets of ALL 112 different  sheetlets of 10 @ $A650 ($US345)  or the basic set of 16 different sheetlets for $A125.   These are not much above face value and the set 112  “instant”  sheets was done in VERY limited numbers,  and overseas demand is of course phenomenal.

In late October I flew to the South island of New Zealand and rented a car and drove all around that beautiful place.  To  Nelson,  Blenheim,  Greymouth,  Reefton,  etc.  The scenery is magnificent there,  and can change dramatically within a few miles.  In November I made another 31,000 mile round trip,  starting in Adelaide,  then Melbourne,  Los Angeles,  Seattle,   Los Angeles,  Chicago,  Dusseldorf (Germany),  Chicago,  San Francisco,  Sydney,  Adelaide.  The entire trip took only one week,  start to finish.  Had some business in Seattle,  and also in Dusseldorf,  and caught up with some frequent flier friends in Dusseldorf,  and we caught the train to Cologne to visit that superb old cathedral they have there.  There was an “Altbier” festival in Dusseldorf,  so we had the traditional Goose “Gaanzen” dinner.

   Tomorrow I fly out to Los Angeles via Dallas for a meeting in Chicago.  Then to Santiago Chile for a few days,  where I will catch up with an old client who is the US Consul there,  then to Puerto Montt in the beautiful southern alps Chilean Lake district for a visit  Then a long flight to the Falkland Islands  where I’ll spend Christmas Day on a tiny  island populated by 10 people!   There is only ONE commercial air service to the Falklands from anywhere in the world:  this once a week flight from Chile.  In that week I’ll tour the sites around Port Stanley of the British/Argentina conflict and better still,  visit the large Elephant Seal breeding  colonies & the cute penguin rookeries -  especially the very colorful Royal Penguins that I didn’t see in Antarctica.  There are 420 Islands in the Falklands group,  but only a 2,200 population  -  all the Military included!

  Fly back to Santiago,  then a Varig flight to Rio De Janeiro for New Year’s Eve.  I spent a NYE once in northern Brazil in Bahia/Salvador,  and man do these guys  PARTY!   Rio hoteliers set prices for N.Y.E. (‘Reveillon’)  and Carnival (February) at literally about FIVE times the usual tariff,  for ALL hotels in the Copacabana/Ipanema area.  A four day stay at a moderate to better grade hotel,  basic room is about $US1500 ($A3000)  for 4 days : payment in advance.  No refunds.  No bargaining :  ‘take it or leave it’.  And they are 100% full.  About  TWO MILLION people gather on the Copacabana Beach sands right on midnight I am told.  Flying out after a few days in Rio then  to the city Sao Paulo which  has a larger population alone than ALL of Australia,   then to JFK airport in New York for some sleep,  then straight back home.

  During this year my father in Adelaide has been ill so have also visited there several times.  All this travel means my servicing of customer orders has been disrupted fairly often and my  apologies for that.  My email system “crashing” latter year did not help either!  As a strictly ‘one man’ business it is a juggling act at times,  but it DOES all get done in the end.  The weakness of the $A has seen me inundated with overseas orders,  especially from the UK and USA,  and especially for the Olympic Gold Medal sets at $A650. (1,120 stamps!)   $A100 has been costing my clients about $US50 or £35 in recent months -  the lowest rates in history.  

All my website and printed pricelist prices are nett export prices,  as the great bulk of my trade is overseas these days and are free of the nasty GST that arrived July 1^st,   to further chew into the limited time a small businessman has available to him.   A stamp item shipped to another dealer,  or  to an Australian client,  or to an overseas client all need different  invoice types and paperwork accounting.   NUTS.

All this flying is FUN to me.  I have picked up some superb contacts and deals.  I can obtain for any reader,  or their family members etc,  a Business Class/First Class return ticket to New York,  Washington,  Miami,  Boston etc  (or even to South or Central America) for about $A4,000 if you ever want one.   Indeed almost the same price gets you from anywhere in Australia to Europe via stops of your choice in the USA in the “pointy end” all the way,   AND on any of these flights you earn a free  around Australia trip to use at a future time with all the Flyer points you accrue.   If this deal interests you or your fiends give me a call.   It is about HALF what your usual travel agent will quote,  for same routing, and all credit cards are accepted,  and all months of the year are possible.

  So please note I will be back home about Tuesday January 9^th.   Any queries please email me with,  and I’ll attend to them after my return.   My newest price list is being worked on NOW  (List J-2)  and will be mailed or up on website soon.   I attach my current list,  list number  ‘A-7’ for my EXISTING bargains  -   www.GlenStephens.com/A-7.html  and remember the folks staying at my house know NOTHING about stamps,  so phoning them wil be a waste of  BOTH your time!   Any order that appears to you to have been overlooked in recent weeks (especially since darn email crash)  please jog my memory on that.   I will be here for another 12 hours,  so if you are quick,  I may be able to assist BEFORE I fly out!   And finally at this busy time of year,   I wish all clients and their families,  wherever you are in the world,  a happy,  restful,  peaceful and safe Christmas Break,  and a Happy New Year for  this “real” Millennium!   And thanks once again for your tremendous support during Year  2000.   

GLEN STEPHENS  …….     Castlecrag,  NSW.      December 17,  2000.

Millennium special!!!   I just obtained a little more stock of  my BEST seller line for 2000.   I have never seen them on offer ANYWHERE else!   These are proving a GOLDMINE for some sellers as approvals broken down per set,  or on eBay on-line auctions etc.   Very nice lot,  and the price has for ONE MONTH only been dropped even further.   YOU MUST mention these as Promo Code C46 when ordering however, or normal price will apply (normal price is shown in typed ad below - the C46 promo code is two lines down below this sentence .   Remember that Catalogue value of these things as genuine is $US6,686 or  about $A12,500 - PER album! 

ONE album of them is now $A85 ($US 45!)   5 for  $A380 ($US200 ) 10 for  $700 ($US370) or  25 for $A1500 (=$US790)! ( #C46)

NOTE --- postage and Registration fee is IDENTICAL to send one album as it is to send Five, whether to Australia or overseas.

CHINA ... Mao Tse Tung - Entire Cultural Revolution Way Under 1% Cat!

91. From April 20th 1967 to August 1970. Scott 938-1046 complete, (less the cheap #1019/37) 81 stamps. Full colour perforated FORGERIES in an 8 page colour folder/stockbook, all neatly arranged in hawid mounts. Includes all 4 of the se-tenant strips 5 and the rare 1968 8f "Entire Nation Is Red" stamps, Scott #999a. That one alone should surely sell for AT LEAST for what I sell the entire package for! Scott is around $US6,686.65 for used stamps. My price is way under 1% of Scott for the genuine stamps i.e. $US 66.86 per album of 81 stamps complete. This I will charge on credit card as $A100. EVERY collector of China with a printed album, pretty well has all the pages empty for this scarce era.  Most will consider spacefiller attractive forgeries than live with blank spaces for eternity in this era in their album. Even if you sell these at 2% of Scott catalogue you double your money.  Profit margin considerably higher if you buy in bulk.  Would make VERY interesting auction lots!  5 albums for A$450 10 albums for A$800 25 album (Cat Scott $US167,141) for A$1,750

(See Special Promo code C-46 offer above on these, making them even CHEAPER for orders received by Janaury 17th)


And finally to clear stock of Super Dooper SG Catalogue buy, the price has been reduced to $A170 for all FOUR massive volumes.  Not $A200 but  $A170.   ( 5 sets $A350)  You must quote offer Promo Code F- 59.