Where Do You Buy?

After a few long years I have restarted my passion in stamp collecting. I have been filling the years 1900 - 1960 with mint stamps. While I had some spaces these years were mostly used stamps.

While the prices have moved up since I first started filling those years they are still cheap enough to at least do a good job.

But the challenge has been do I trust E-Bay when venturing under the 1900 years. While I can certainly see some better prices and I have more than my fair share of good experience with E-Bay I'm still cautious.

I stumbled onto a web site that had a lot of information about a person buying older low value stamps then a few weeks later using a different name selling them as more expensive varieties after a few modifications. Of course just seeing a photograph you really couldn't tell he made the modifications.

So for now I have been staying with the larger stamp houses, mail order. While you certainly pay a higher rate the stamps have been better quality and I trust them more.

So back to my questions where are you buy your mint stamps for these years?

Hello mkfarm.......

There are many decent sellers on ebay & the web. I've been buying & selling on ebay about 5 years without any problems. Yes there are definitely sellers that will do anything for a dollar, but the vast majority of them are just trying to get a fair price for their material. Anything you buy of substantial cost should be certified.

One thing that I see more on the coin community forum then here, is when a member is pondering an ebay purchase, they will post the link and ask what the members think. Of course they have more members, and often give conflicting appraisals , but sometimes it helps.

Mkfarm, when you get the required 50 posts, you can buy/sell/trade with some of the members with high confidence and very fair prices. They go fast!

Jim

Welcome mkfarm

I recently restarted my collection and have found some great deals on ebay. of course I buy mostly used but I found the sellers that I have delt with very fair and have received beautiful stamps.

Same goes for all the wonderful people on this forum.

Dianne

I bought some commemoratives form Kenmore Stamps that came in this past Thursday. I didn't get around to really looking at them until tonight. After checking a few other place out I found their prices to be on the high side. However since they are cheap to begin with it didn't break the bank.

Since I was busy with the girls soccer, farm work and the day job I just didn't find the time to review them. However today I had a break so out came my favorite tools, a dish and my home made stamp tongs.

Over all their condition was very good with great gum and firm crisp stamps. 99% of the stamps were centered very nicely. Out of 50 stamps there were on three that I would not of bought has I seen them. One had the Scott number written very lightly on the back, another has some of the paper gum and backing torn off and another was just not centered very well.

Since we are not talking about high value stamps I will keep them and find replacements later. I did find another place that has better prices and will give them a try. I might even try buying from a few people here is they have complete year sets that are MNH.

For now I think I will hold off buying MNH from e-bay.

I have a bid in currently on ebay. The seller is one this forum recommended, so I feel comfortable.

I do agree that in the long run it is better to buy from a reputable dealer and remove the fear of being duped. Especially if you are buying some of the more expensive items.

I only recently resumed my stamp collecting (mainly US, but with a British interest too) This time around, I am going to ignore the less expensive stamps and go for the ones I never in the past owned because of the cost.

I may not have as many stamps, but they will be "purty".

Mkfarm, rohumpy
Welcome I have had good luck with E-BAY Stampwants and Stampoffers, I have tend to stay away from the commercial stores. They are usually overpriced. I have bought supplies from them out of necessity. Enjoy working on and growing your collections. I look forward to seeing some post of the stamps you guys obtain!

rlorenz, Sorry I don't see Stampwants and Stampoffers on ebay. Can you help?

Hello PaulC, welcome!

I was just reading by and thought I'd answer.

Neither is on nor part of ebay. They are their own websites.


StampWants is now called BidStart http://www.bidstart.com/

StampOffers is no more as far as I can see on Google.

There is also Stamps2Go at http://www.stamps2go.com/default.aspx

Wenst Wensy at http://www.wensy.com/

and Delcampe (a European type ebay, worldwide, based in Belgium) at http://www.delcampe.net/main.php?la...cbca82474a19

Thanks Puzzler
If I'd just thought a bit I could have figured that one out. Thank you for your suggested links. I registered at BidStart, Stamps2Go and Wenst. Stamps2Go seems by far the most organized and easiest to use.

One of the best places I've found if you're in the US is Craigslist. Many people inherit collections and have no clue as to what to do with them. I've found a couple of nice lots.

I recently purchased a complete US mint collection 1938-1980 to fill some common holes. They are mounted on album pages, each in a page protector. I was delighted to find, on the back side of each page protector, mint plate blocks of about 80% of the stamps which were not even mentioned in the collection description! 38-80 Souvenir sheets and various gutter examples of Farley's were also included. Every stamp is an excellent example. Could not be more pleased! It was from Apfelbaum's Buy It Now auctions which have no premiums.

wait a minute -------Apfelbaum is not a place to buy stamps ,they are over-graded and priced too high . Many older collectors have told me to stay away from the firm.They have had problems in the past with the auctions they were involued in.....so a word from a long term collector ,stay away from them .

Floortrader ... I posted a response yesterday but it seems to have gone astray? The gist of what I said was that I don't have the experience to argue with you and others about them. Maybe I just got lucky. That said, the lot I got from them was in uniformly excellent condition and contained much, much more than what was in the description. Granted, none of it was high value stuff but still, there was quite a bit more than I bargained on. ... Cal

Apart from Cal516, do any SCF members have recent first-hand experience with Apfelbaum?

My last transaction with them was in 1984 and I had no problem with either the product or its price.

I have been dealing with The Bedford Company in Stuart, Florida for many years and I have been very pleased with his service. Once you have established a relationship with Bob is will work with you. I recommend this company.
Nick