Worldwide Collecting - Point Of Diminishing Returns On Mixes

Erik, after I congratulate you, I will be one post closer to that magic number!

Wish I'd see more "Can you identify this stamp?" here! That's where "world" collectors shine.

I'm just shy of 72,000 different and I can pretty much close my eyes, grab a random stamp and find I probably need it. I concur with scb with the common countries you run across the likely hood that you already have the stamp goes up quite a bit (US, Germany, Hungary) I am a big fan of box lots and I really like stamps on album pages. This really cuts down that time to sort. I still find stamps I need even in those Harris or Mystic approval packets that seem to be found in most box lots. The biggest challenge is finding good box lots (that I can afford) with stamps from around 1980 and newer. Mixtures take too much time, but I still dig in once in a while. There is a real serious glut of stamps from 1940-1965.

Good topic. I usually stop buying lots when I hit the point in a country collection where I'm about 75-80% complete. That typically means I need the high early values which are hard to find in a lot anyway.

I have a stamp museum near my home and I buy collections/leftovers from stamp bazaars that are held here, from there which I can build on. Collections save me sorting time; all I need to do is mount/hinge them into my albums and hunt for the gaps.

Cheers
Ram

It would seem then that the English overprints are the collection most of you do not have.
Whew thank goodness, we thought we might be the only club struggling to get a set, even between us.
Are there other sets out there that anyone seeks yet cannot afford?
Bear - YorkStCb.