Where Do You Find Your Stamps?

Trades, swapping, ebay, Bidstart, DeClampe.

Regarding buying collections on ebay hoping for finds, I can definitely see how this can yield good results as I am one of the guilty sellers who often just tosses things out for sale without checking because A) I have no knowledge of that country; B) too lazy to care; C) I'm not allowed to have more stamps in the house til some go so I just grab a book or box collecting dust and fire it off for sale.

I've had more than a few buyers now come back to tell me "thanks for the gems" lol.

So yes, although many "unchecked" lots on ebay are probably lies used to beef up bids, I can personally tell you that isn't always the case! For example, I recently sold a book of China that apparently was a gold mine and then my USA cover collection was worth about 20x the price I listed it as.

In Ottawa there is a great stamp store Ian Kimmerly's..also a monthly stamp bourse with about 7-10 dealers...apart from that Bid Start, Delcampe and ebay.. I usually check out their outlets in the UK, and Europe.

So far this month I have found them:
Under the bed
Stuck by static electricity to the back of a plastic file
In a computer's DVD drive drawer
In the bin in the bottom of an envelope I was sure I had completely emptied
Mounted on completely the wrong album page

There is a Yugoslav Olympics stamp I still haven't found yet. I'm going to look in the fridge - experience teaches me there is a fair chance....

The positive side of forgetting where your stamps are, is that it's a nice surprise when you find one of the missing beauties.

To answer the actual question though...

I started by buying large lots from ebay. The ones with hidden treasures are much harder to find these days, but still out there.

I also go to a local auction a couple of times a year. I can sometimes get some very nice lots for a good price. That has become more difficult as well lately. There seems to be more bidders last couple of years (willing to pay more than I can justify).

A few times I have found nice individual items on Bidstart and Delcampe, but by far the best deals are still on ebay.

I'm at the point now (as someone above mentioned) that I am more selective and choose more carefully on individual items. I no longer have as much time to sort large lots, though it is still a pleasant way to pass the time - always with the hope of a find.

I agree, sorting through large lots can be very time consuming. Especially if they are still on paper. Then you have to figure out what to do with all the duplicates and the ones in terrible condition. I feel like I shouldn't throw them out but then I have 200 duplicates.

I buy at flea markets and thrift stores (hard to find anything).
I trade (gets harder as time goes on).
I buy on ebay (when I can afford a bargain).
Or I just go through the stuff I've already acquired and work on sorting and mounting what I have at my disposal.

68W: I don't throw away much, since there are other venues that can use the stamps: other collectors (especially new and young) I give some to an orphanage to sell as a fundraiser, sometimes crafters (badly damages stamps), and those of us who have humble collections and will appreciate any donations!

Just dropped more than I ever have before on a mostly unseen lot. There was enough showing to know it wasn't any kid's collection. Hopefully, I'll be able to show it off over the weekend.

The anticipation of this one is gonna drive me up a wall until it shows up. Hope the underbidders aren't members here and mad at me. I had a huge snipe set last week and probably upset the others a bit as I swooped in with 6 seconds left :)

Getting large unsorted lots can be fun. I know what you mean about the anticipation. I keep telling my wife, just wait until I find the $20,000 stamp! in one of these lots! What I don't tell her is that I would most likely keep it haha

Bamra1...that's not so unusual, even though it was meant in jest! Just yesterday,my wife looked up and said,"Hey, you have something stuck to your left elbow!" Well, you guessed it! A pre-1900 goodie! LOL!!

I have been buying from Bellmore Philatelic and their "in house approval system" where they send out a shipment of albums or pages in folders or dealer stock and you get a week to look through it and whatever you decide to buy list catalog info and price and pay certain % of Cv. It makes for a nice afternoon looking or items for my collection. You do have to pay shipping back the albums etc back but to me that is fair. I've been working on my French colonial collection and found a lot of nice stuff.

I love stamps,

Who do you trade with? Is it all through the Internet or do you trade face to face?

I go straight to everythingstamps.com