Pugetsoundwa

I am from..well, the Puget Sound area of Washington State. Found this site while Google'ing. I am interested in finding a decent part time income buying and selling items.

I belong to a Political forum where a few members mentioned they make nice money selling items such as Books, tools and such. Thought Coins, Stamps and Books might not be a bad area.

NOT expecting anyone to hold my hand and give ALL their secrets but this site seems nice to get some Intell and advice even if we would technically be in a friendly competition with each other depending on the sites we sell at.

I am 42, married and a Army Reservist.

First, Welcome!
My advice to your post is simply this- don't bother. There is no fast fortune in stamp collecting. The joy of Philately is simply just that; it's enjoyable. What exactly were you thinking of doing? Unless you are wiling to spend buku cash on a few huge stamp hoards and hope for a high dollar issue is about as fruitful as playing the lottery. Selling off every individual stamp is very very arduous at best and with all the fees and penalties involved, it would make selling a .20¢ stamp well over a 1.00 so you could very well lose your shirt. I don't want to discourage you but unless you are educated on condition, quantities minted and all the different variations and varieties and even then, you must have a client base. sounds too sketchy of a business to me to just start from scratch! I would hope you at least entertain the idea of starting a collection yourself? You never know, you may find a new hobby and a few new friends along the way. again, Welcome!

Thanks for the advice. I am leaning a bit more towards Books and Coins. Still stamps can be fun I am sure. I did a bit as a kid but those came from Littleton Stamps although after 30 years a few might be worth a bit more now.

Get yourself a scott guide to US postage stamps. That lists almost every US stamp from #1 - curret and lists cat. value for them as well, although it's also the best case scenario price listed. I believe the listings are for F-VF condition & with no flaws for both mint and used. Good luck in whatever you decide pugetsound! ~Jay

Here's an inexpensive starter guide, but as you get more serious, you'll need Scott (and other publisher's) Catalogues
https://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/st....ac=S_891000

KirkS

Welcome, but take heed of an old mans advice...stamps are easier to buy than to sell..i can take junk gold to my stamp dealer and he will give me 1700 dollars an ounce on the spot..but he is not buying stamps !!

Welcome to the forum. I echo phil's comment. It's WAY easier to buy. But if you look at it as a hobby, then this is a good thing.

Welcome pugetsoundwa. Sounds like you are getting some great advice. Please be sure to understand that collecting can be fun, relaxing and rewarding, but probably not profitable. We would love to have you with us, answer some questions, see some pictures of some of your stamps all the same, and WELCOME! Jeff

Hello pugetsoundwa, welcome!

You can make money with stamps but you need the skills of a salesman, and have to be able to do it in a businesslike manner. That means, don't turn into a collector and start buying, like most of us do.

Salesman skills can be learned. The simplest way I know to be a good salesman (and I am not one) is to be truly friendly, act professionally, no emotions, just passion, and learn what people want to buy and pay money for.

For a lack of knowledge (don't know where you are on this scale) the easiest stamps to sell are topicals (stamps collected around a topic or theme) like cats and dogs and such. It's not a really and truly philatelic way to collect or sell stamps but it gets you started.

The more you know about a subject or era or a certain stamp series, the more chance you have of picking out that $100 stamp that you know you can sell for that amount and getting it in a lot for $1 or so. Of course that doesn't happen all the time or that often but not everyone has the highly developed skills of an experienced buyer and salesman either.

Don't be dismayed at the seemingly small money in stamps though (to start). Any activity is basically the same, follows the same rules that is, as stamps. The more you know, the better your chances. If you do not know about books and what works and doesn't and have no passion or are unfriendly and unprofessional then you just spent a wack of money on books (or whatever) and that's where it's gonna stay.

So go with your strengths, and if you don't really have any at this time, be realistically prepared to do some learning and get yourself passionate about something. That way it stays fun.

If you want to talk further I am puzzler47 on ebay, as you meed 50 posts on Stamp Community to email through the forum's system. I haven't been selling lately but am always interested in how others sell and what they do to get the job done. I sometimes just look around on ebay (and other sites) to see how things are being sold and trying to figure out what works and doesn't. A side hobby of mine.

Hi Puget,



It's more fun collecting, chatting about stamps and having fun with a great hobby.
You can always sell off those spares you'll get.

Give it a try.

Londonbus1

Welcome pugetsoundwa

Good luck in your endevors.

dianne

Hello and welcome!

I live in Seattle, so I don't know how far apart we are.

Collect what you love and (maybe?) the dollars will follow.

I'm homebound due to a disability so I know what it's like to want to make some money from home.

Welcome to SCF!

Great to see other collectors from the Pacific NW on this forum! I belong to the Oregon Stamp Society here in Portland, but know of no one in the club that participates in any online forums. I'd blame it on the average age of our members, but SCF seems to buck the trend in that there are many retirees here.

Brian