Blue Chip Stamps

[ScottHall]

Hi everyone,

 

I've been looking for copies of the old Blue Chip Stamps annual reports, but they are rare and I have not found any sources online. Does anyone on the board have access to them, and if so, willing to scan them so we can read them?

 

Best wishes,

 

Scott

[wknecht]

Some libraries have access to historical annual report databases like ProQuest (http://www.proquest.com/en-US/catalogs/databases/detail/pq_hist_annual_repts.shtml) or something similar. You could check if your local library has such a database. Or maybe could try a free trial from the link above.

[Saidal]

If you do find the annual reports, please post them here!

[ScottHall]

Hi everyone,

 

Considering I live in the D.C. area, I'm going to just head over to the Library of Congress this weekend to see if there's anything there. I can apparently use LoC's subscription to ProQuest while I'm there, so I'l let you know if anything turns up.

[Morgan]

Hi everyone,

 

Considering I live in the D.C. area, I'm going to just head over to the Library of Congress this weekend to see if there's anything there. I can apparently use LoC's subscription to ProQuest while I'm there, so I'l let you know if anything turns up.

 

Great! I'm interested in seeing the annual reports too. Thanks in advance!  :D

[compoundinglife]

I have access to ProQuest @home through the Seattle Public Library. Just tried searching annual reports for "blue chip stamps" and "blue chip stamps inc" but no dice :(

[maxprogram]

These are probably going to be hard to find. When I had access to someone looking through Warren's archives at BRK HQ, I asked about reports for Blue Chip and Diversified Retailing, and apparently he doesn't have them either (at least not in complete form). But according to this person Warren says there's nothing special in them anyway. Would still be interesting to see though!

 

Addendum: Blue Chip, along with Berkshire at the time, traded on the OTC market and not on any major exchange. So this is probably going to make it pretty difficult. In the end it may come down to finding someone who was a shareholder at the time and kept the ARs.

[futile]

Hello,

 

After some searches it seems that there are some Blue Chip Stamps reports on paper here :

Stanford University : 1969,1978-1982

and

Columbia University : 1970-1980 (10-K)  and 1970-1974 (Annual report)

 

Also :

"Blue Chip Annual Letter - 1981 and 1982"; "Letter of June 30, 1983 explaining Blue Chip Merger"

http://boards.fool.com/berkshire-letters-30678005.aspx?sort=whole#30679685

 

Best

[ScottHall]

Hello,

 

After some searches it seems that there are some Blue Chip Stamps reports on paper here :

Stanford University : 1969,1978-1982

and

Columbia University : 1970-1980 (10-K)  and 1970-1974 (Annual report)

 

Also :

"Blue Chip Annual Letter - 1981 and 1982"; "Letter of June 30, 1983 explaining Blue Chip Merger"

http://boards.fool.com/berkshire-letters-30678005.aspx?sort=whole#30679685

 

Best

 

Thanks Futile.

 

I decided to skip going to the Library of Congress, knowing that Pro Quest does not have them. It's a bit more a trip to go to New York, so I had to plan that one a week or two ahead of time. I'll share the reports with the board, if I can.

[Saidal]

Any luck finding the reports?

[ScottHall]

Any luck finding the reports?

 

Hi Saidal,

 

I'm actually going to Columbia for the CSIMA conference in February. I'm going to see if they'll let me make copies while I'm there.

 

May as well kill two birds with one stone.

[twacowfca]

Any luck finding the reports?

 

Hi Saidal,

 

I'm actually going to Columbia for the CSIMA conference in February. I'm going to see if they'll let me make copies while I'm there.

 

May as well kill two birds with one stone.

 

Does anyone know how much the float of Blue Chip Stamps was when Warren and Charlie built up a substantial stockholding and what it was when they achieved control?  How much did the float decline after that?  How much was remaining after the redemption of stamps dropped down to a trickle?

[gfp]

according to 'the warren buffett way' on google books - In the late 1960s Blue Chip stamps had a float of more than $60 million in unredeemed stamps.  Berkshire began buying Blue Chip stock in the late 60s.  Buffett also owned Blue Chip shares personally and inside a bunch of other entities (Charlie owned it as well).  They ultimately bought the rest of Blue Chip in 1983.  Blue Chip purchased See's in 1972.

 

edit: 'Damn Right' also has a good passage on Blue Chip - float went up to $100 million according to this:  http://tinyurl.com/mbtxfkb

[dcollon]

I'm now going to go back and read Damn Right! again.

 

I would love to see the reports if you can review/copy them.