Unless you have some that are early and rare....I wouldn't let a dealer/appraiser pick through them and take what they want.....then for sure, you'll be stuck with a whole lot of nuthin'
Posted on 01/30/2015 9:47:40 AM PST by kjam22
I've inherited this good size stamp collection, and I'm trying to figure out what its worth and how to sell it without getting taken to the cleaners.
Do any freepers have any experience with this sort of stuff?
Tally up the face value, photograph the group in organized piles and sell them on eBay. A lot of dealers (myself included) ship items for free. We use older stamps for postage that we have purchased at reduced prices. Many, many unused US stamps have face value only. They just are not worth anything.
One of the saddest sights around is to attend a large stamp show. There are so few young people interested in stamps. But in other countries stamp collecting is still doing “ okay “ and sales can be good.
Sad, but stamp collecting is much less popular than it used to be, not just due to self-adhesives, but that doesn’t help. FDR was really into it, and I like to think that he would have done a lot more damage if it weren’t for that distraction. Like golf in modern times.
Recently, my friends wife was showing off some interesting stamps that she'd gotten on an overseas letter. I asked her if she was "a Philatelist".
She said I was "Disgusting", and threw a pillow at me.
I doubt my buddy married her for her brains.
LOL
Yes, FDR was a philatelist. Reagan, on the other hand, was an out-and-out thespian and so was his wife.
Unless you have some that are early and rare....I wouldn't let a dealer/appraiser pick through them and take what they want.....then for sure, you'll be stuck with a whole lot of nuthin'
If you think its a good collection get it appraised.
The American Stamp Dealer’s Association (ASDA): Appraisal fees vary depending on the size of the collection.
The Mystic Stamp Company: A very reputable company with over 35 years experience valuing and buying stamps.
The American Philatelic Society: Excellent company will well established code of ethics, will appraise some collections for free.
If the appraiser thinks you have any stamps that are particularly collectible ie valuable get them graded and then you can auction them. Check out www.bidstart.com
Of course. They are in business to make a profit, after all. But from my experience, pawn shops and the like will offer 1/3 to 1/2 (if that much) of the actual value of the item.
Reminds me of a funny story, told by a postmaster friend of mine from the next town. He said a man who was a lifetime serious collector, spent ALL of his money and time with his obsession.
Apparently he was truly obsessed. His wife became resigned to being second-fiddle to his collecting.
When the old guy died, his widow would put his beloved stamps on the envelopes used to pay the bills, as a revenge.
Not only that, but Reagan was also a shameless extrovert.
I guess Monica Lewinsky was our best known philatelist. She once told a date, “Now, it’s like I don’t eat meat, `cause I’m a veterinarian!”
(Geez.....)
Now.....real story, no bull: I have a beginner’s stamp album, a Christmas gift from 1957. Came with a bag of cancelled stamps. About a third were German, either Third Reich or 1920’s stamps which were overstamped with hugely inflated amounts. Many from communist Hungary (frantic letters following the 1956 revolt), U.S. victory stamps from WWII.
Retired now, I’ll organize them some day.
The actual value of stamps is how much postal service they can buy. Collectibles have value as long as there is one more collector willing to pay for them. Free appraisals are worth what you pay for them. If one doesn't have the ability and desire to market the collectibles and find the fish buyers, leave money on the table for someone who does. There is only a retail reward for a retail salesman.
I remember the Nazi stamps with you-know-who’s profile on them. My buddies and I were fascinated by those, as well as by the Nazi coins the veterans brought back with them.
I too have a huge US stamp collection that I don’t know what to do with. All original, unused, original glue backing as far as 1904 issues.
I bequeathed it to my 2-year old granddaughter.
Cheapskate!
There is actual value and face value. The face value of a 1913 Liberty nickel is 5 cents. The actual value is millions of dollars.
Consider yourself lucky its not baseball cards from the 80’s to the present.
Rarity and condition are the most important factors that determine a stamps value. Of course, older stamps are more rare because they have been lost over time and they were produced in lower quantities. Higher denominations ($1, $2, $5) were also produced in lower numbers. Many stamps, especially earlier ones have many different variations making some variations quite rare (one cent blue Franklin).
Any stamp of high value should be certified as authentic and if very high value, they should be graded, much as coins are graded.
Do you have certificates?
On The View, Rosie O'Donnell told very similar....ending with 'I'm a vagitarian'....
lol
There is fantasy value and actual value. I assume you are familiar with the Greater Fool Theory, where the price of an object is determined not by its intrinsic value, but rather by irrational beliefs and expectations of market participants.
To maximize the sale price one must find the last buyer in the ship of fools, so to speak.
For 1913 nickels, assuming provenance is provable, it is a trophy market for whales and sharks. Just try to take it to your neighborhood bank, store, or even coin dealer for immediate redemption. What is it really worth ? It's a sales game. For stamps and coins in general, Chinese entrepreneurs can make as many as the market demands, and there is a never ending war against sophisticated counterfeits and doctored coins. For stamps, there is decreasing demand due to technology and culture. In general, boys no longer collect stamps, or baseball cards for that matter.
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