Stamp Collectors

[RUDisney]

Are there any stamp collectors out there?

My DS bought a man's entire collection and is looking to sell it. He evidently has some expensive/rare stamps. Is there anyone you would recommend using to evaluate and sell the collection?

 

[starry_solo]

I would recommend you search online for a reputable dealer that is local to you.

 

[RUDisney]

I would recommend you search online for a reputable dealer that is local to you.

That's what we've started to do, but if anyone has a recommendation of one, we are happy to try that first. We are flying blindly into this, so recommendations are very welcome.

 

[cabanafrau]

I would stick with someone local and try asking estate sale companies and/or antique shops if they have any recommendations. If you do enough asking you'll probably wind up with a specific name or two repeatedly showing up by consensus.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I'm interested too. My father was a longtime avid collector. He passed 6 yrs ago and my sister has the collection. I highly doubt she could part with them, but I'm curious how to go about selling them.

 

[LuvOrlando]

All that is such special knowledge, maybe ask your Insurance company for an appraiser recommendation for add on coverage and go from there. I would imagine Insurance companies have a list of trusted appraisers esp in big cities.

 

[_19disnA]

I would look for TWO different local stamp/coin stores to give you a sense of their value. Someone offering to also BUY it from you may not be honest in what they are worth. Typically, a few of the rarer stamps will have much more value than most others. If the person collected stamps more as a hobby, it might not have much in the way of collectible value. Unless we are talking about some huge/valuable 6+figure collection, I doubt any type of auction house would have any interest in it. What someone says they are worth only has meaning if you then find someone else willing to pay that much for it.

 

[Minnie1222]

You can get additional information from the American Philatelic Society.

 

[Minnie1222]

Another fun place to try is Ebay. I also inherited a stamp collection, and I thought for sure my Evita stamps were priceless. They're only $1 to $5 right now online.

 

[tony67]

Yeah be very careful with any coin\stamp dealers - I used to be a collector and most of them will take advantage of people who don't know what they have.
Also don't just go to a dealer with entire collection - if you know there are some valuable ones just try and sell those.
If you have a collection they will try to low ball you for the entire lot.

Although selling on eBay may be the best option that can be tricky as well - lots of scams etc..

One of the big problems now is people wont buy things that are not graded by a service - and the cost to get stuff graded is not cheap.
In the end a lot of the stuff, although of "value" was not worth the effort of getting it graded.

I've had to deal with some collectables in the past and found it best to have someone else deal with selling them on eBay and taking a cut but it was a lot less work.

I've pretty much given up on collectables for profit at this point and just collect things I am interested in.

 

[_19disnA]

Ebay would probably be the last place I would try to sell any sort of collectibles. If you have NO idea what they are worth, you could lose if someone offers a very low price. Think you need to start by having some local/reputable coin shops evaluate what you have so you have an idea of what a reasonable selling price would be.

 

[Minnie1222]

I'm not suggesting to sell on Ebay. Just to browse and see the price range of the stamps similar to yours. Sometimes it's funny to see how worthless your items may be. I don't plan to sell my collection at all.

 

[RUDisney]

My DS has some of his cheaper stamps posted on eBay. He has done some research on some of the collection, and he thinks he has some more expensive ones. He just needs validation of their value.

 

[_19disnA]

There is a HUGE range of value on things like stamps/coins/currency based on a number of factor the novice may not be familiar with. Even if something 'looks' similar, you have NO idea if their prices are comparable. That is why you need to consult with an expert on such thing to get an understanding of their value.

 

[RedAngie]

My father collected stamps starting in the mid 1930s. I did for while from maybe ages 8-15.

After my father died I took the collection to a stamp dealer and he offered $250. I don’t know if it was worth more, but I took the money. Otherwise it would just be collecting dust in the basement.

My father had an official “Ivory Soap Stamp Collector’s Book.” There were spots to attach stamps from all over the world. The Africa section was fascinating because many of the current countries didn’t exist but were labeled such as British East Africa (Kenya, I presume), The Gold Coast (Ghana?), German Southwest Africa (Namibia), and similar.

 

[leebee]

Clearing out old family stuff, my brother pulled the pages with stamps on them from someone's stamp collection album ("Denhof's Encyclopedic World Wide Collection Album, c1954). A lot of the stamps are from England, France, and Germany, and I can see some from other countries that have dates in the 1940s (Hungary, for instance). Also lots of US stamps. I know you can't tell unless you see them, but is it worth the hassle of having it evaluated? Most of the stamps are used, with some sort of postal mark across them, but it's also hard to see if any have any years on them.

 

[RUDisney]

It's better to do a bit of research before you invest in an evaluation. There are differences in the length of the Us against the sides of the stamps that can make it more or less valuable.

My DS has been selling stamps on ebay. He earns $1 - $10 on average for the ones he has and he bought out an entire collection... boxes and boxes. He researches each stamp himself before he posts them. He believes that he has some valuable ones, but he hasn't had them evaluated yet.

He bought special calipers for measuring those Us, etc. I don't know what they're called.