Where Do You Buy?

I like Stamps2Go for low value BUY-IT-NOW stuff.
BidStart is also good for BUY-IT-NOW and there is a robust chat function. The auctions are OK.
ebay is the best place to pick up bargains if you know how to identify wrongly categorized stamps.

I have been buying from Bidstart and tomiseksj

ebay sellers have to jack their prices sky high to handle all the fees...

So I wonder if anyone has published anything to help find and identify those wrongly categorized opportunities?

I have signed up with Delcampe
nice stamps, but a bit clunky after ebay.
There seems a habit of listing single stamps for 50c etc
I find this unusual.
What if you want 6 stamps from 3 vendors?
the shipping will be expensive.

Rod: Delcampe takes a bit getting use to, but there are some parts of the site that is actually less clunky than ebay like the feedback system and marking items as shipped. You'll see a lot of low priced items for now, but that will probably change as Delcampe has implemented a 12-18 cent fee on all items that are sold. Older material posted prior to September has been grandfathered in without the fee until the end of the year. After that you'll probably see a lot of cheaper items disappear. Delcampe doesn't have a listing fee thus a lot of cheap material for now. There are some vendors tthat have huge amounts of mnaterial thus you might be able to find or most of what you want from a lower number of sellers. You just have to weigh the shipping with the opportunity costs.

As for myself, I've had most of my luck with local antique stores, flea markets, stamp shows and a couple of online auction houses.

This UK Moneysaving site lists some ebay buying tips to maximise bargain hunting. Applies to all types of products, including stamps. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sh...y-protection
The main ones I have used are - searching for misspelled items, and searching for local items. Both of these are near the top of the list.
Searching for local items helped me find a seller fairly local to me who was selling a lot of albums and stockbooks. Because I could pick up I did not have to factor in a hefty shipping cost, so I was able to bid a little higher and I won some lots. Plus when I went to collect them he threw in a bunch of other stuff - he was having a clearout prior to moving house

Thanks Battle, nice to hear of others experience.
it was curious to see someone list individual stamps for as low as 14c
sometimes, you would think it be more attractive to bunch 6 or 7
together and ask a couple of dollars.
I'll persist as they have interesting european stuff not necessarily seen on ebay.

Nice link Stampgal ! great info.

I have had opposit experince in buying local,
most people have an overinflated impression of
what stamps are worth, albeit these were local newspaper ads
not from ebay.

Thank you Stampgal for the nice link.

OMGosh, I was just at stamps2go.... My finger just kept clicking.

Must log off... what a great site.
Got 200 israel for a buck. a 2 & 1/2 cent washington cover, 1963 russian rocket set of 3, and some Brazil to pick thru.

Must not click any more!!

I have bought quite a few issues on Delcampe - as has been said, it takes a little while to get used to but once you get the hang of it it is just another way of searching. Being a topical collector, I don't mind single stamp offers too much, even if cheap. I think what Delcampe offers over ebay is that it has many European and "colonial" issues; also, many first day covers; as well, if you select "international" to browse, you do get all offerings from any Delcampe site. This is not the case with ebay "international". I find that going to "national" ebay sites (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, UK)often shows interesting issues even if some do not have a great number of listings. And sometimes you can strike it lucky just googling for soemthing since Google will list auction items and ebay listings - even if you may be too late.... good hunting everyone! Cobie

So far I have used ebay and Stamps2go. A few years back I happened to meet a fellow collector who was getting rid of a lot of his duplicates. What a great time I had! We went through hundreds of stamps and I picked up a lot of the common plate blocks from the '30s and '40s for literally a couple cents over face. Also got some blocks of 4 and many others, all MNH. Wish I could find someone like that again!

Apfelbaum? Yeah... Years ago when I was broke and tempted to sell my collection I spoke to Earls son on the phone. I sent him a CD with images and he in return told me my collection was worthless and I should donate it in his name. Pffff
I am so glad I didn't donate or sell. I will never deal with him or his company. I'll shop at walmart before I deal with his Co. Besides which they were sued for attempting to manipulate the stamp market by fixing prices.

(sorry... re-read a previous post, and got had to comment)

You might try going to your local dealer on a Saturday. Wait outside until someone comes in with a collection. Go inside to see if he's trying to sell it. When the dealer turns him down, follow the guy/gal outside to see what he/she's trying to sell and, if you like it, make a deal.

I like it, Art!

I like it to Art. But I'm afraid of how long I'd have to wait.