Q. How to Build a Good Stamp Collection?
A. (Hint) If it’s easy – maybe it is TOO easy...
10+ ‘TOP TIPS’ for Successful Collecting
As many of you know I made the decision to give up collecting
when I started full-time in the trade 43 years ago. But here’s what
I perceive as a mistake I made in terms of re-sale value and in
enjoyment. If you are not bothered about V A L U E then you don’t
need to read further...
What I collected then was easy to source. It was
good quality. They were (and still are) lovely stamps
but they would be worth less now than when I col-
lected and that’s more than 40 years ago. The basic
mistake I made then was thinking that ‘easy’ made
for a good stamp collection. Yes, ‘easy’ made for a
lovely collection but I could buy those same stamps- in the SAME quality – from any number of differ-
ent sources. I still can today ... so if I can buy them
easily today – will their value have appreciated? Has
demand for what is/was easily available increased?
The answer is a fi rm NO.
TIP As an ‘aside’. In particular be wary of ‘inertia’ sell-
ing delivery systems – where you pay on direct debit
/ standing order system / monthly invoice. These sys-
tems usually hide the highest mark-ups in our in-
dustry and the lowest recovery value when it comes
to sale. You are going to fi nd this story particularly
incredible – but about 13 years ago I was once called
to clear a house-full of stamps. The owner had died
leaving many 100’s of unopened New Issue deliv-
ery envelopes. I opened one of the oldest envelopes.
Inside was a note from the supplier saying sorry theyhad not delivered the MINT 1929 PUC £1! Ah well,
I thought “such is life” – the collection included both
mint Wembleys + literally masses more. Imagine my
surprise when the next envelope opened included a
MINT PUC £1 with a note saying “we found one for
you” (and then the realisation that this High Value
stamp had lain inside the same envelope for so long
that it had a large brown ‘rust-spot’ on the reverse!
Returning to subject: So, what forms the basis of
a GOOD stamp collection if I want ‘resale VALUE’?
TIP 1). The answer is, as usual, a combination of fac-
tors ... BUT, if you think in terms of desirability and
then dial in quality ... this makes for a collection
that others will wish to purchase. Of course collect-
ing means that some of the stamps you source will be
easily available ... but if ALL the stamps you collect
are easily available and on average they cost very
little each ... then you may have 1,000’s of different
stamps whose value lies in the actual handling cost
of the supplier – not in their intrinsic value. So when
it comes to selling this may result in little / no inter-
est. Of course it goes without saying TIP – Always
collect the Best quality that you can afford.Where Do I Source Good Stamps?
2). Sadly, in some senses, the Philatelic World has
changed. Gone are the days when in 1980 100,000
different Collectors descended upon the 1980 Inter-
national Stamp Exhibition at Earls Court. I know be-
cause I was there. An International Stamp Show in
the ‘west’ today may be lucky to see 10,000 visitors. A
stamp fair today in a local village / town may be lucky
to see 30 visitors let alone 20 actual buyers ... when
you consider that 15 dealers may have travelled to
such a venue – is it any surprise that many Collec-
tors may see the same stamps they saw at that same
venue a month before?3). No, the answer is that Stamp Collecting is alive
and well – stamp shops are almost non-existent, for-
tunately there’s still a few left – but ‘underground’- on-line, by mail-order and at auction things are
still ‘humming’ depending upon whom you are deal-
ing with. So, let’s look at potentially / probably the
biggest sourcing area of the hobby apart from retail
which is fairly self-explanatory ... and that is bidding
/ buying at Stamp Auction.
4). Nowadays there are three types of stamp
auction: – Pure Internet / Public - (including on-line
bidding) / Postal (Mail-Bid Sales – including on-line).
Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Let’s start
with Pure Internet live auctions, I won’t mention
names but in some senses these are today’s equiva-
lent of the ‘Wild West’. As fast as these internet Giants
catch up with the some of the crooks using them, the
crooks move a step ahead ... many internet bidders
using them are ‘hooked’.
TIP 4a). They have become ‘live auction obsessed’
unwilling / not capable of looking elsewhere – thinking
that bidding / buying this way guarantees value whichI Can’t Give ALL these
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What Do they Know that YOU don’t know?
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Please turn to page 85☛
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