I have lots of stamps that are not worth much, but still they are a treasure to me as much as the stamps for which I paid a pretty penny.
I also have lots of stamps that might only worth a penny. Very few might worth more than I thought its real worth. Sounds cheesy but I would say my stamp collection is priceless for me.
My collection would probably be worth more if the better items were sold individually that if it were sold as one lot. The problem is, however, finding buyers for the single items. Lots of competition selling stamps and covers and lots of resistance to buying from non-dealers. Don
As most of my stamps were collected when I was young, I wasn't able to buy expensive ones and the quality and care of the collection was that of a child. Having said that, it has been a long time since I was a child and the majority of my collection is thirty to forty years older than it was when I was collecting as a child. There may have been some appreciation in that time.
I have zero idea at all, I have lots of mint stamps, sheets of stamps and literally large buckets of unchecked stamps. Buckets like this below. I used to buy and sell stamps 5-10 pounds at a time. Hey someday when I retired, I plan to go through them!
I'm not entirely sure. Not much, I'm guessing. I had my coin collection appraised at around $35 just from coins I'd been finding on my own that other people had discarded or given me.
Not sure what they're worth / would sell for. I know what I paid for some of them. Selling to a dealer will net me less than what I paid for them. Selling them off piece-meal would undoubtedly net me more, but be a bigger pain the the arse. Maybe that's what I'll do in my second retirement - sell 'stuff' off on eBay or Stamps2Go. I doubt there are any collectors out there that would want to shell out the bucks for 50+ albums full of foreign / specialized country (Canada & US) / US plate blocks/ US sheets I've collected over the years. What are 28 Minkus Global albums with ~90,000 foreign stamps worth? At 5 cents a stamp - $4500? The album set in the Minkus binders is no longer obtainable as far as I know. The annual 2-vol supplements cost in excess of $200 per year. I've got enough spare binders to keep buying those supplements for another 12 or so years (assuming they keep printing them). Nominally, I figure about 20-25% of catalog value because often times in stamp auctions, that's what I got for a winning bid on foreign stamps. What I can tell you is almost to a stamp, how many I have in each foreign country. For my US and Canadian, I am in the process of building spreadsheets by catalog number and stamp condition with valuations based on: 20% of catalog, 50%, & listed catalog value. First US album volume is a little scary in terms of valuation, and my homeowners insurance won't cover any of my collections. A dealer I talked to about how they handle large collections is that they part them out, usually by country. I'd hate to see such an album collection broken up, but after I'm dead my guess is neither one of my sons could care less about the collection, but more about the money they can obtain by selling it. They know next to nothing about stamp collecting, so my guess is they'll settle for pennies on the dollar for what I've poured into the collection over the years.
My estimate of my stamp collection's worth would be just that, a complete estimate. However, after collecting for several years, I would say that my collection is probably worth somewhere in the 5-10 thousand dollar range. I would like to have it evaluated one day, and of course I keep adding to the collection.
Depends of the stamp value in every country. However, I don't believe that my stamp collection values more than $50. But if it comes to selling old or rare stamps, I think it would value even more. But it has a very big emotional value for me if that counts.
Yes, there ARE a lot of stamps out there for sale, but there are a number of 'non-dealers' like me that buy singles and collections both. I have mentioned in other posts that NOW is a good time for buyers as there is a lot of quality stuff out there which means there is a LOT of people looking to fill holes, find bargains, get back into the community, etc.!! I won't say how much I spend per month but it is in the high trips and I buy from no less than 10 - 12 'traders' per month... I do shop around and yes, I do have some favorite sellers that I deal with many times. The reason I buy so many is because I am filling 2 MINT and 4 USED collections and I have a lot of items going through my hands. I am also doing a double set of Plate Blocks (one is 4 corners) for a friend of mine, but he pays for those items (even though I get credit for the 'spend'). Finally: I am building a couple of topical books that will be published in the next couple of years... the 'draft' will then be put up for sale and will consist of all the stamps that built the story in addition to the original manuscript! What I am trying to say is don't lose faith in selling singles or mults... WE ARE OUT THERE and you just need visibility, fair pricing, and quick service. Word of mouth amongst buyers (i.e. eBay, BidStart, etc) using feedback is priceless advertising you could NEVER pay for. If you are actively trying to sell or trade, let some of us know what you have to look at.
Similar comment. I have started my inventory and have over 7600 items catalogued by replacement value (from dealers sheets) and have at least twice that number to catalog. BTW: those are just the USED items (90%) and MINT (10%)... I still have at least that many MINT to catalog.
Appraising an entire stamp collection is very difficult for the collector. The collector would never sell his lovable collection to anyone at any instance, provided he is need of money. So the best way to value your stamps, is by weeding out your excess stamps. Once you find out what you have to sell, then you start enquiring for market price. The catalog price is too much for common stamps. Hence i do not recommend catalog price. Catalog price is just a reference to find if it is any rarity. Then how to sell your excess stamps, if it is not valued properly. Try to make sets of the stamps available. Then try to showcase in nice stock pages. Show them to your fellow collectors in your city or worldwide. Try to exchange the excess stamps with other collectors. The excess stamps at your residence, could make some other collector happy. Donate your stamps to budding young collectors, thereby promoting philately. Try to write letters, send emails, create a blog, to improve your collection and thereby help to improve other collectors collection too. Exchanging stamps would make you brisk after retirement. If you do not want to write letter, send emails, and you do not want to become busy again, then dispose off the entire collection to a stamp dealer. The dealer would take away your entire collection at an attractive price. The attractive price depends upon your negotiating skills. If you want to become busy, then do not sell stamps, but exchange. If you do not want to become busy, then do sell your stamps to any of your friend or a local dealer. I am 34 years old, hence the above view point, collectors who are older than me, would have a different view point. Hence i always agree to disagree, if you are on the other side of the table. warm wishes.
