How to Sell Collectors Stamps
There are two kinds of stamp collectors. The first just loves stamps and collecting them. May be worth something and may not, they just like doing it. The second is a serious collector. They collect the stamps and all the philatelic materials that go with them. The rest of us run across these collections usually via inheritance, not by purchasing them. Here is how to sell them if you do not want them.
- Assess the collections value.
- Do this yourself, which will be time consuming and painstaking. There will be a lot of research involved.
- Hire an appraiser. They won’t be interested in buying it so the appraisal should be fair and neutral. You will have to pay a fee and this should be negotiated up front.
- Take the collection to a dealer. Try to find one who is a member of the American Philatelic Society (APS). However most dealers are trustworthy.
- Take the collection to a stamp club. Normally they would be happy to look it over and give you some idea what the collection may be worth.
- Was a lot of money was spent in collecting the stamps? Many collections are done in private and no one knows how much they really spent doing it.
- Has the collector put a lot of time and effort into organizing the collection? Are the stamps carefully placed in the collection and notes on what they are easily available? Usually the more serious collectors are as much into the details as they can be.
- Find out if the collection has “philatelic literature” with it. Really serious collectors usually do and it can also be valuable.
- What shape are the stamps in? A damaged stamp versus one that is not could be a large variation in the final value of the stamp.
- The first way would be to a dealer. Just remember, they are going to sell it so they won’t offer you the best price.
- Next would come selling it at auction. A great place is eBay for a large exposure to your collection and to make sure you get what you want. You will get more and higher bids if you have a very good description of the collection. If the collection contains stamps from more than one country, you may want to split them into different groups and sell them individually.
- Study your collection to see if any of the following is true. Indicating that the collection has a high value:
- Sell the collection and get the best price possible.