Inherited a stamp collection

I am not into stamps nor will I be. I've looked through them and they are neat but really not my thing.

How would one go about getting a value for their stamps and selling them?

 

Assuming you have a library in your town, they may have a copy (even if dated) of a Scott stamp catalog. At best, you should expect more than 25% of catalog value listed. If the stamps are pretty much run of the mill world wide, at most they're probably worth 2-3 cents a piece. If mint US, anything after the year 1940 will be good for the postage value printed on the stamp. Otherwise, I'd think about maybe 'gifting' it to a grade school-er that might be interested.

 

boogie73:

How large is the collection, i.e. number of stamps or pages of stamps? Are the stamps from the U.S. or are they from other countries? Could you scan the first page for us? A little more information would bring more specific advice.

Don

 

There are 2 full binders plus some small envelopes with random stamps in them.

Here are some pictures

 

Boogle73:

Thanks for the scans. The White Ace U.S. commemorative pages looks a lot like my collection and probably a few thousand other U.S. collections. As someone mentioned above, post-1940 stamps have little resale value and nearly all of the single U.S. stamps shown would be difficult to sell. It appears that they are in mounts and not hinged. That is an advantage, but these stamps can be purchased readily at any dealer's shop or stamp show. In my opinion, the best opportunity to sell the U.S. collection would be to offer the albums as one lot and expect a low price.

The two full sheets shown (flags and Elvis Presley) are seen for sale on eBay in abundance. The flags can be purchased in $6 - $8 dollars range, but not a lot of demand. The Elvis Presley a little more, maybe in the $10 range, but this sheet is also readily available.

The non-U.S. stamps appear to be Princess Diana-related. They probably appeal to Diana or royalty topical collectors, but I don't know their value.

Ebay may be the best venue to sell this collection, but if you are not a known seller it may be difficult to attract bids, and, if not a collector, it probably will be difficult to describe the lots adequately or correctly. Show lots of photos if you list the collection. Best shot might be to set a low price, i.e. $10, for the U.S albums and see where the bidding takes it.

The other option is to go to a stamp dealer and ask for his/her offer. Again, expect a low amount.

I assume you are not a collector and don't belong to a stamp club. but if you are a member, a club auction might be a sales outlet too.

Don

 

Thanks for the info Don