Are stamps dead? (sorry for posting this in the coin forum!)

comma

Yes, I know this is a coin forum, and I am a coin guy, BUT, my dad has an insanely large, awesome, and valuably stamp collection he wants me to try and sell.
The stamp forum and it's buy/sell forum here have absolutely nothing in it... (does anyone collect stamps anymore? haha)
By any chance is there anyone here who knows a good resource/forum/venue for learning about these stamps and selling them? Ebay is my last resort, especially not knowing anything.
Thanks, and if it's not allowed to talk about stamps here...an admin can delete this...just had to ask somewhere

laceupboots

There are some stamps that are being bought and sold. Research the ones that are being slabbed, The National Parks for example. Then yo can decide if that's the route to take. You can always try ebay. It will be hard to get the money you deserve for them though.

fivecents

Stamps are dead, but rare is rare.
You need a good price guide to value the collection.

comma

Dont see anything in your post laceupboots

laceupboots

Sign on glitche. Try the PSE link at the top of the page.

comma

He has hundreds and hundreds of full mint plate blocks (starting from 1800's) as well as hundreds (probably thousands) of first day covers...
It's just overwhelming I guess.
Thanks for the input!
Other than ebay, any suggestions for a selling venue?

laceupboots

No I don't . The Stamp experts at PSE may be able to guide you.

laceupboots

Here's a link you can check
Link for Plate Blocks.

comma

Thanks!
I just don't understand why there isn't a single post in either stamp forum here...

Twinturbo

Try camino Coin co in burlingame ask for phil or pam.
They buy collections and have done consignments.

Ive sold several collections to them.
And one time sold them a bulk lot of used stamps. He paud $100 initially
Two weeks later I was in the shop and he told me he found some good ones in there. Gave me another $2700
Thats what I call good business

JamesMurray

I inherited a large old album as well and promised myself id go through them "one of these days" , it's probably worth doing if this is any indication.

ebay stamp

It says its very scarce to be found used , i seen it sell for 30 unused pristine but apparantly a used one is the sought after one.I found this in my album , pretty sure its it.

TexasNationals

I have a full run of un issued airnail stamps. Some like the higher denomination zepplins bring huge money on even ebay. Pm me I can probably help you-TN

ambro51

Old US stamps and especially CSA stamps are very interesting, rare and historic. Especially so, stamped CSA covers.

I feel pre 1900 issues of US stamps are always going to be appreciated by serious collectors, but the issues that are most in the market, and collections...the myriad sheets of 3 and 4 cent commems...just a dead issue.

My local post office is busily using high denominations stamps as often as possible to make up postage on many of the large items I ship i my business. Sometimes postage can run over $150 on packages sent oversea...and they have plastered ten or more stamps on. When I asked why...it seems a lower echelon USPS employee made that stunningly astute suggestion ..."Hey why not use the stamps we print and dont sell instead of returning them to HQ where they are destroyed".

A few years ago I bought a dozen or so 1947 CIPEX sheets with the blue 5C franklin and orange 10C washington and used them all for postage. that was in my 'dip pen' stage....... an interesting way to send a letter (of course, the balance of postage was applied, I had them put it on the back and hand cancel all).

shorecoll

I don't think stamps are quite dead, but I don't think it's moved online as much as other collecting habits have. I accidentally walked into a stamp show (next to a coin show) maybe 2 years ago and it was fairly jammed. Mostly octogenarians but some kids...I quickly ran away as I can't afford another hobby. I did have a friend that collected just Zeppelin stuff and he had big bucks tied up in it and was still spending big bucks on it. Note: "Big" bucks in stamps is a lot less than in coins.

SamByrd

Stamps are very much depressed value wise overall the last few decades. The very best way to sell a large collection is to sell the higher value stamps one at a time or in a series in groups. The lesser value material can be sold in lots. Research your collection and really look at the early US material. Most people that will buy the whole collection will offer a very small percentage of Scott. Should you have plate blocks or sheets of the 38 Presidents series PM me I may be a buyer.

reddwing

My father used to go to stamp auctions and buy old us commemorative mint sheets for less than face and then use that as regular postage. I can remember getting letters from him that required 37c us postage plastered with 2 cent/3 cent/4 cent stamps to cover the full first class postage. I think one can still do that today by buying bulk lots of mint commemorative stamps for less than face.

johnny9434

thats to bad that there dead for all this time but there sure are some pretty ones ( rare ones to ) that are to be had.

LanLord

Everyone says that the USPS killed their golden goose.

There are some really valuable stamps out there, but none of them were made recently.

I love early US stamps, but there seems to be little interest out there, so I just collect them for me.

LindeDad

A stamp forum You can check out.......Text

It actually has posts that are from withen the last week.

comma

Thanks guys! a little over my head, but I will work at it
(some of the full sheets from the 40s/30s I really like and I'm going to buy off him)

OPA

<< <i>My father used to go to stamp auctions and buy old us commemorative mint sheets for less than face and then use that as regular postage. I can remember getting letters from him that required 37c us postage plastered with 2 cent/3 cent/4 cent stamps to cover the full first class postage. I think one can still do that today by buying bulk lots of mint commemorative stamps for less than face. >>



How true...Once in a while, I get my eBay winnings package plastered with a dozen or more older stamps.

MICHAELDIXON

Not dead, but they have been in a coma for years!

MsMorrisine

life support

I imagine there are a few out there, but they ain't buying sheets at face.


the overwhelming issues of modern commemoratives killed it for me.

SereneDude

<< <i>He has hundreds and hundreds of full mint plate blocks (starting from 1800's) as well as hundreds (probably thousands) of first day covers...
It's just overwhelming I guess.
Thanks for the input!
Other than ebay, any suggestions for a selling venue? >>


I recently was given several hundred First Day Covers for free by an older gentleman of my acquaintance whose computer problems I solved.
They have the engraved cachets (ArtCraft mostly I think) and are really quite attractive.
Not being a stamp person, I lugged a box of them down to the semi-monthly stamp & coin show to show them to a couple of the stamp dealers there.
They told me that, if I was extremely lucky, I could sell them on eBay for 1 buck each.
My dreams of an instant fortune went up in smoke
So I kept them and admire them from time to time.
I'll let the grandkids figure out what to do with them after I kick off!

RYK

Yes, for practical purposes, for the average collector, for the usual stuff, stamps are D-E-A-D!

SereneDude

<< <i>

<< <i>My father used to go to stamp auctions and buy old us commemorative mint sheets for less than face and then use that as regular postage. I can remember getting letters from him that required 37c us postage plastered with 2 cent/3 cent/4 cent stamps to cover the full first class postage. I think one can still do that today by buying bulk lots of mint commemorative stamps for less than face. >>



How true...Once in a while, I get my eBay winnings package plastered with a dozen or more older stamps. >>


I've rec'd packages like that also.

coinkat

Older stamps have great artistic merit-

Shamika

I suspect most of us dabbled in stamps when we were kids. I certainly did. I had a fairly decent collection 25-30 years ago, but alas, they are worth very little. I've seen large collections on eBay sell for LESS THAN FACE. But I know truly rare stamps still continue to sell for strong money.

coinkat

Stamps for what ever reason just have not made a transition with younger generations. In some ways it is a reflection that there truly is a disconnect among younger people with history, events, places and people. Stamps are very inexpensive for the most part and perhaps is worthy of collecting for the engraving alone

SereneDude

IMO, collectors of US stamps finally got fed up with the zillions of commemorative issued every year by the USPS.
It really got to the point of absurdity.
Just to bring this somewhat on topic, I feel the Royal Canadian Mint is doing the same thing with the scores of coins and sets it issues every year.
The US Mint is pushing its luck with collectors by issuing multiple commemorative coins every year. Did we really need both the Army and MOH coins?
Some of the events celebrated in the modern commem series bring to mind the excesses that caused the Mint to cease issuing commems 60 years ago.

TwoSides2aCoin

Not dead,


... seriously LICKED .

Klif50

Can I deviate the post for just a quick question? I too collected stamps for years and then watched their values evaporate. Same thing pretty much happened with my baseball cards and beanie babies. The one that has me a little confused is comic books. I had a lot. None of them ever got read, just lovingly slid into bags with backing boards and put away. I paid a lot for a few older books, certified books and variant covers and when it came time to sell they basically went for a little bit a pound. Now I follow one guy who found the Mile High Collection and seems to be the only buyer of comics of any mention. The confusing thing is if you look at the catalog value of the comics and then see that he is selling them at 65% off in this sale and even larger percentages at time, that tells me that he's not paying very much per pound for the old comics. He seems to be the last vestige of comic book sellers. I know that the rare books still bring big value but most others aren't worth postage. Did the comics do that same thing as the post office and just make too many and saturate the market kind of like what the US mint is doing now with modern commemorative coins?
As a collector of things (guns, trains, cars, military stuff, knives and what ever else catches my eye I feel like a stranger in a strange land once again in trying to deal with coins. Will they follow the same path down the rabbit hole that so many other collectibles have followed?

IwantNonCCs

Try STAMPBOARDS.COM or STAMPCOMMUNITY.ORG.

Collector's Universe stamp forum is to stamps what the NGC forums are to coins, a distant second place.

amwldcoin

I was back and forth between stamps and coins when I was a tweener. I have been saying for many years I would be very happy if I could get what I paid for the stamps I purchased 40 years ago! The money in stamps is early high grade high denomination along with a few others as a general rule. I couldn't afford those then.

comma

<< <i>Older stamps have great artistic merit- >>



The only reason I have any interest in any of them