Where Do You Buy?

leoh:
What, specifically, are you looking for, in regards to countries, etc?

I'm concentrating on U.S. classics for now. I also "dabble" in worldwide but that's more along the lines that if it comes my way, I'll try to find a home for it in my album. Finally, I want to start a United Kingdom classics collection.

It would be cool to live near a stamp shop. So, who does everyone by mounts from. I bought a bunch of Scott once, and then went thru Subwaystamp.com

On advice from other members, I've started buying my mounts from Global Stamps. I haven't found anyone better (US Company). It's usually pretty easy to make their $25 minimum for free shipping. I just wish they had a better selection of other items.

I buy my Scott mounts at the local stamp store here in Renton, Washington. I'm a long-time customer & they give me a 20% discount on mounts. I am a strong believer in supporting local businesses.

For stamps or supplies he does not have, or cannot easily obtain, I usually browse ebay. If you are shopping ebay, you need to know your material and read the small print carefully. But, I can honestly say I have had maybe 1 bad transaction out of 300-400, so that's not bad odds. I also have shopped on Delcampe.com, but seldom fine reasonably priced material there.

I collect pre-1950 mostly mint worldwide airmail. I design & print all of my own album pages, so that means always searching to buy philatelic reference material as well.

Well, I always like to buy local also. But my local merchant has followed the money and become a gold and silver dealer. He quite honestly doesn't carry anything except left-over inventory from "before". There's a new reality and marketplace out there for most of us. It's how it is.

Does anyone here think it's too much to ask a dealer to show you the watermark to prove the stamp is what they claim? This is a problem I have run into twice on ebay, where you can't see the watermark, of course, but it turns out to not have one and therefore not the stamp it was advertised to be. So I went to a dealer's store and they wouldn't take the stamp out of the little cardboard and plastic holder (usually used for coins) to make the w/m test. I left without buying. What do you think?

Good move Leoh.

I only buy even if via the internet within my USA metro region. I like to support my local business community.