Posts Tagged ‘organize stamps’

Except for the stamps that you bought at the post office, it is possible to sell stamps and covers in the same places that you purchased.

That means, sell them back to dealers, advertising or sale in the philatelic exhibitions, or sell them to other collectors at the meetings of your stamp club, have a dealer to sell them at auction, or offer them yourself in an Internet auction. Each stamp show, the dealers are there to buy and sell.

There is lot of sales opportunities by using the so-called “circuit books,” a part of the services of some of the philatelic organizations, and then the organization is moving forward with other collectors in the mail. Beneficiaries may choose what to buy send money to the organization, brochures and sends them to the next collector. Circuit books are an excellent way to sell low and middle price of stamps and covers.

Run an ad in a few publications is an inexpensive way to sell stamps. It is a good idea to try and find the best market for your stamps before its time – corresponding to what you have the best potential buyers. For example, offer your collection United Nations a dealer who specializes in Britain is likely to be a waste of time, although sometimes a dealer is willing to buy “outside” in his area if the matter is something that could be delivered quickly. Maybe the dealer may sell to another dealer at a future stamp show.

It will be advantageous for you to organize your stamps in very specific groups, and then offer for sale separately, rather than mixing together different countries and promote it as “the world.” Sometimes it is best to break it up by categories popular news – a group of birds, or trains, rather than a country collection. The reading ads on the market is a good way to get an idea of what sells, and how, so you can price your collection accordingly. The values listed in places like the Scott catalog are estimated retail price of – that you might spend to buy the stamps in very good condition. It is not the price a dealer would pay you, and it is certainly not the purchase price for stamps and less good condition.

A few words on the stamp value: value depends on the condition, on the quantity available, as well as market demand. These factors offset each other. For example, if there are only a few examples of a certain stamp, and everybody wants one. People are so eager to have they will not mind so many flaws. But if there are millions of mint copies still available, then nobody is going to pay top dollar for your stamp or cover.

There may be a lot of copies, and if they are not popular to collect, it does not matter if the stamps are perfect or imperfect, nobody wants anyway! If there are a lot of copies, and stamps are popular, then the best copies command the best prices, but less perfect copies will always be a market. All this is common sense.

There are “modes” and trends of stamps that in other markets and stamps you can not sell today can have their turn at some future time, when circumstances change. But, remember that this is supposed to be a hobby, something to be in the show for fun, not for future profits. Collect for fun and you will never be disappointed.