I Do Not Collect Stamps....i Just Recycle Them!

The above was the title, if my memory serves me well, of an article in the American Philatelist around about the early 1990's.
The article came out the month that my membership lapsed......I have been a member 3 times so far
The author said he was planning to write a follow up article saying how he had done, (he was buying middling sized lots at places like Sandafayre and then breaking them down and selling the stamps in the APS circuit books).
Any long time APS members able to tell me if he ever did write the follow up and how did he do?
Best wishes,
Brian.

Machins, I am a life member but I am not familiar with the story...i do know its an unbelievable amount of work...if you factored in the hours of labor forget it....about 20 years ago I used to drive down to Dutch country auctions in Delaware and stay two nights and come home with a car full of box lots for around 400 dollars...those days are gone..but there were small dealers from Baltimore and Philadelphia that would come with a van and purchase 4 to 6 thousand dollars worth of box lots....i asked questions and finally one of them told me...no problem...we cherry pick the lots and return the unwanted to the next auction in 6 or 7 weeks.thats probably the labor saving way !

philb you are certainly right about the amount of work needed to break down large collections / accumulations.
If I remember right the author of the article was a retired Newspaper editor who lived in Japan and he was actually looking for something to do that would take hours and hours.
I have in the past bought large lots and broken them down to smaller lots and then sold them off through smaller auctions, club books etc and as retirement ? looms I am planning to do similar again.
As long as you place no monetary value on your time it is a very interesting way of spending time and has proved in the past, for me, to be if not particularly lucrative then at least not loss making.
Best wishes,
Brian.

PHILB and MACHINS ------I done the same thing around Chicago for many years .I would go to stamp auctions and bid and win many large lots but since e-bay came along the crowds and prices are much higher to purchase those bulk lots . I was really getting a lot of good material from those lots and selling off the "junk" in small mixture lots thru philatelic newspaper ads .I was trading for a living and that means I was standing and getting pushed and shoved 6 hours a days trading on the exchange floor .It was a relaxing way to end the day sitting downs and mindless going thru bulk lots for fun . I spent over $100,000 on those lots and for the relaxation and piece of mind it was worth every penny .It was a way to shut out the world and wind-down at the end of a hecktic day . Now the lots are selling for much more and I have to fight with some big e-bay buyers to get a decent lot to enjoy . I still trade but on computer and now work on stamps as I watch the markets on a computer .........life goes on .

Machins,

The online archive of American Philatelist only goes back to 2008 so you might want to pose your question to the APS Librarian, Tara Murray, 814-933-3803 (ext. 246). There is also an email link for her on the APS website at http://stamps.org/About-the-Library

Steve

Steve,

thanks very much for the information re contacting the APS librarian.

I would imagine that the online archive only going back to 2008 is due to time restraints / costs?

Do you know if it is an ongoing project to put all of the journals online?

Brian....Machins