How does one go about selling a collection of old stamps?
October 18, 2012 6:30 PM Subscribe
How does one go about selling a collection of old stamps?
My grandfather collected stamps. We have several books' worth of stamps from a few central European countries. They are probably not, in general, very rare, though it's hard for me to tell. I feel guilty about the fact that I never carried on his hobby, and now guiltier still about the fact that it's time to try to sell his collection of stamps. Problem is, I have no idea how to value them, or where to try to sell them.
Can people suggest how to start? I don't have time to go to events/gatherings of stamp collectors, and very little time to even go to a shop to get them appraised. If there are online resources, at least to get me started, that would be the best.
My grandfather collected stamps. We have several books' worth of stamps from a few central European countries. They are probably not, in general, very rare, though it's hard for me to tell. I feel guilty about the fact that I never carried on his hobby, and now guiltier still about the fact that it's time to try to sell his collection of stamps. Problem is, I have no idea how to value them, or where to try to sell them.
Can people suggest how to start? I don't have time to go to events/gatherings of stamp collectors, and very little time to even go to a shop to get them appraised. If there are online resources, at least to get me started, that would be the best.
Best answer: A good dealer is the only way to determine the value. Be prepared to discover that the collection is probably worth much less than you suspect, especially in this economy.
A dealer will likely take a quick look through the collection, determine if there are stamps of exceptional value and give you a price for it.
It is not worth the time (or cost) it would take to evaluate every stamp. (It took me nearly two years working two or three evenings a week to determine a value for my collection).
As COD said, there is no way to do this on your own using online resources.
posted by HuronBob at 7:34 PM on October 18, 2012
A dealer will likely take a quick look through the collection, determine if there are stamps of exceptional value and give you a price for it.
It is not worth the time (or cost) it would take to evaluate every stamp. (It took me nearly two years working two or three evenings a week to determine a value for my collection).
As COD said, there is no way to do this on your own using online resources.
posted by HuronBob at 7:34 PM on October 18, 2012
If you take it to two different dealers, you'll have two offers to compare. Wouldn't go much beyond that, but if the two offers are completely different you can decide if you want to keep researching. If they're similar you can just pick the shop you like better and sell the stamps there.
posted by belau at 5:57 AM on October 19, 2012
posted by belau at 5:57 AM on October 19, 2012
Don't confuse what a dealer would offer and the amount you would receive from an individual collector. Those are two different numbers.
posted by HuronBob at 6:44 AM on October 19, 2012
posted by HuronBob at 6:44 AM on October 19, 2012
Response by poster: OK, you all convinced me :-).
One of my problems was finding a dealer at all, but I searched around again and discovered there is a state philatelic club, and they have members who are willing to answer questions. I will ask them for recommendations about dealers or other people who could evaluate the stamps.
posted by StrawberryPie at 10:02 AM on October 21, 2012
One of my problems was finding a dealer at all, but I searched around again and discovered there is a state philatelic club, and they have members who are willing to answer questions. I will ask them for recommendations about dealers or other people who could evaluate the stamps.
posted by StrawberryPie at 10:02 AM on October 21, 2012
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posted by COD at 6:49 PM on October 18, 2012