Question About Appraisal Of Inherited Stamp Collection

Hi-

I'm new here and new to stamps in general and was hoping to get some advice about selling a collection I inherited.

Basically, is it customary to send a collection away or take it to a dealer and leave it to be appraised?

The collection I inherited is somewhat large (about a dozen 1'x1'x2' boxes) and for the most part, not organized. By that I mean about 2/3 of the stamps are still in the envelopes shipped from whatever auction or dealer they were purchased from. A local dealer (who was recommended by a friend who collects) expressed interest in my collection but said that he would need time to appraise it and offered to do so at his store.

I can appreciate that it will take time to sift through the collection and that I can reasonably expect a better offer once someone has taken the time to really look through it, but I was just wondering if this is standard practice.

Thank you.

There are many avenues you can take tommyball007 [can I call you James?], but the most important and relevant one for now is....do you really want to sell?

Philately is a hobby of a lifetime and should not be dismissed lightly.
Take your time, look through a few of those envelopes, you may tweak something inside that causes you to go in another direction.

Then, in six months time when you are an established member here, and of Pillardom no less, you will be so glad that you asked your original question at our place. And you will be an excited and Happy stamp collector to-boot.

Londonbus1.....SCF recruitment officer.

hello Tommyball007, welcome!

I am of a like mind with londonbus1 mostly.

But, if you are thinking that it is all too much for you, it may well be just that.

However, with help from folks on here at SCF the chore and toil and work seems like a lot less and actually fun as you share and learn from people who really care about stamps and people.

With all that said, when you sell a collection you usually get a small percentage of what you can get by spending some time and learning about what you actually have (and whether it is rare or common or a forgery for heaven's sake do those exist? Yes for anything expensive, they do) and selling it piece by piece.

When you sell things bit by bit in smaller pieces (more common stuff) or one at a time (if they are that good) then you can more closely realize the full market price of a thing, whatever it is.

If you want to sell Now then you will never get what the catalogues and books say a thing is worth. Because those who buy from you will want to sell the things again and make a profit probably so you will only get 5 - 10 % of it's worth.

But when you pick and choose and sell the good stuff one at a time you most likely will do much better. Time versus money.

The good stuff sells well, the poor stuff doesn't sell, even if the catalog makes you think it should. Supply and demand.

If you have better uses for your time at this time (I can't imagine really) take some pictures of things or a quick inventory before you leave it all at a dealer you trust or was recommended by someone you trust. Otherwise, stay with it and just sell it off in small chunks.

The study of stamps and letters and envelopes and cancellations and everything to do with postal communications is a vast and most interesting use of one's time. If you aren't learning and making mistakes you aren't living.

If you have access to a scanner or a camera then please upload some photos or even to a photo-hosting site like Flickr or Photobucket or Imageshack and post a link on here and ask what we think in general and the responses will be most helpful.

Very true!

But if you're relying on a dealer, don't allow him the opportunity to just "pick and choose" what he wants to buy and hand you back the "junk", as dealers will often try to "cherry-pick" the best material and try to get it for the lowest possible price in order to turn a profit.

I would also agree that you either photograph, scan or provide a printed inventory of what you have before handing it over to a dealer to make an offer.

It's like buying and selling anything, you have to beware. If you have a friend or a friend's recommendation as to the dealer you are using, hopefully they will be honest with you and give you a reasonable evaluation and/or fair offer should you decide to sell.

Hi Tommyball

You also have to understand that a dealer is looking out for a profit, which is understandable, otherwise he / she would not be in business. With the vast majority of collections, you are lucky to get 20% of the catalogue value and this is simply because they are only needing the better items for their customers.

Actually, you most likely would be better off trying to sell to another collector who would not mind the time involved for their labour.

Hope this helps

Chimo

Bujutsu

Stay with us and start posting pictures of what you have. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here that will give you opinions and information.

Get your 50 posts and if you want to sell some of it, list it here with pictures.




Butch

Hi-
Thank you all very much for your tips.

I do appreciate stamps, but unfortunately it comes down to the basic issues of time and space. I'm a student with limited free time and was just about to tackle the reorganization and trimming down of my own various collections (comic books, coins, music etc.) when my grandfather fell ill several months ago. I have very limited space in which to house this collection and will be moving within two years so I don't want to be in a rush as far as deciding what to do with the collection.

Thank you again for your advice. If I do decide to hold onto it longer or find a willing relative, I won't hesitate to consult this forum further.

Thanks.

Hi Tommyball,

Question: do you have any sense as to whether your grandfather spent any serious money on his stamps? If he spent what I would call beer money, you could then expect that you will not realize much from the collection. You should also understand that insofar as the material is not organized doesn't bode well, both in terms of his seriousness and the value you will extract.

But, if you think he spent serious money, then there is a chance there is real value there.

The reason I ask is because if you have determined that stamp collecting is not your thing and you'd just as soon dispose of the stuff, if he didn't spent real money, then I would suggest you just move the stuff out. You are not likely to want to spend the time and effort involved in maximizing a return.

BUT, if he spent real money, then I would strongly suggest you slow down because there could be serious money at stake and I assume that would be of interest to you.

Just my two cents and I am sure many here will disagree.

-Larry

Thanks ldhaber, that is a very important idea that I hadn't considered at all.

Another point - the dealer will include in his/her price a factor to take into account the amount of time spent in the appraisal - which is fair enough, as they are in it to make a living, unlike us collectors who do it for fun. So the more disorganised the collection, the less you will get.

What you could do, tommyball007 (or James!) is scan in a few items at a time, get our collective advice (which we'll be happy to give) by posting in the General Stamp Collecting forum - and then when you've reached 50 postings you could try selling / auctioning the stuff here. You'll probably make a lot more and have some fun along the way. But it does mean your investing some time. Your call!