I Found a Bunch of Stamps....

I found a bunch of stamps or I inherited a bunch of stamps is for intents and purposes a very common refrain heard on the internet these days. It almost always is uttered by non-stamp collectors who lack any real experience involving stamps. Most unfortunately cling to stereotypes about the collection or about finding a few "rare" ones with possible big values. And most are often urgently searching for valuation and a means to convert what they found or inherited into cash.

The following facts should be of real value to people in this position:


Fact 1: The collector who is no longer in the picture collected for the joy of collecting. Most collectors, even very serious collectors, do not collect stamps for high value. There are instances where a collector might invest money into specialty stamps (like revenues) or specialty items like (First Day Covers) and occasionally some collectors just focus on one region, say for example Vatican City. These all might have value in the hundreds of dollars. But after you pay an appraiser, an auctioneer and shipping you might see a fraction of any true value and this before you have to pay taxes on anything you earned over $600.

Fact 2: If you want to keep them, keep them. Have fun sorting. It's both laborious and educational. My father's estate was slightly under 2 million stamps and took nearly a year to sort. If you want to sell them there are plenty of private buyers on the internet in various Facebook stamp pages. Do your best to find a value, set a decent price and sell them off. Understand this important fact, your buyer will likely be an experienced collector. The average person doesn't just buy stamps. You will not get a retail value but might get close to a fair valuation.

Fact 3: Stamp collecting is not just a hobby it's a serious passion for the collector. But even though the internet has given it a boost in the arm over the years it has also flooded the market with tens of billions of stamps from all corners of the planet. The experience of walking into a brick and mortar store to get valuation, supplies and etc. is nearly extinct. This is now a mail order/internet/Facebook/Ebay transactional occurrence. The more collections are added to the heap the less valuable or unique a great many stamps become.

Fact 4: Stamps are art. Stamps are beautiful. Stamps are educational. Stamps are collectible. But stamps are rarely valuable. You might hear or read about someone finding a stamp and selling it in an auction for a tidy sum. Every so often that does occur but mostly these stories are floated by people who make their money appraising what turns out to be a common collection or regular stamp. They have their fee and you are still stuck with a low value high fun set of stamps.

Fact 5: If you want to do something constructive and useful with the stamps you found or inherited here are some solid suggestions:

Donate them to a charity. Stamps for the Wounded is a great place that collects stamps donated and set up wounded veterans in hospitals to focus on stamps and not the pains of their medical treatment. There are a number of places around the world that accept stamps and convert them to money to pay for animal treatment, veteran services, poor children, educational projects, you name it.

Keep them as your hobby. You could create your own inexpensive albums and be a collector. You can then trade with internet collectors for ones you don't have and give them the extra ones you don't need. No money involved to expand you collection just pay for the postage to get them to the trader.

Sell them for whatever you can get and be done with it. Avoid losing your manners and common sense with believing something is valuable and hidden in your common collection. You did not hit the lottery and ironically your chances of hitting the lottery are greater than you finding even one stamp worth $1000.

I am a serious collector for nearly 50 years and with my two sons we are carrying the mission to sending free stamp kits to parents and teachers around the world. As my father before me I see the value of stamps as a good instrument for education and international understanding. Whatever you decide, decide with respect and appreciation for those out there who revere stamp collecting as a pastime worthy to stick around another few hundred years.

 

Produced by Kids Need Stamps 2
https://kidsneedstamps2.blogspot.com