What can I expect to sell these for at a local dealer? I have a few of them and they're perfect. (4444 if that helps?) Thanks!
Hi Arthur, Let me give you a quote from a stamp site. "Often the best you can do with postage is to use it for mail. Unfortunately, many collections have so many modern mint stamps that there is no chance to actually use them all even in a few lifetimes! This is why people routinely sell stamps at far below face value (many stamp dealers offer 50-70% depending on their customer base, how much postage they already have in inventory, and what denominations are included). They will then either use it for postage or resell it at 75-90% of the face value to buyers that use it on mailings" http://www.stamp-collecting-resource.com/stamp-collecting-values.html
Thanks Hoch, I think I've mailed about 4 items in the last 15 years so, like you said, there's no way I could ever use the stamps I have. 2 questions: Did people not collect stamps with the intent that someday they were going to increase drastically in value? (It just seems like a shame that some kid purchased stamps with his hard-earned paper-route money in 1961 and kept them in pristine condition for 60 years only to get back 50-percent-on-the-dollar of what he paid for them back then. Some hobby, eh? ) Where do I find the 70-percent guys? The ones that buy from the local dealers? I'd prefer to go directly to them if possible. Thanks!
Hi Arthur, I think one of the most salient points I have learned in philately is "rare today, rare tomorrow". Stamp collecting is not about the expectation of a windfall in increased collection value, the history of thousands of collections doesn't bear that out. Collectors collect for the joy it brings them and in the end having some residual value. The record prices that extremely rare and pristine stamps fetch at auction are not the norm for common stamps. As far as getting the best price for modern mint stamps a collector has to do some leg work and put them in front of multiple dealers for an offer. A dealer willing to pay more isn't always buying. Many collectors wanting a better deal sell their stamps online.
