I Will Be Throwing My Worthless Stamps Away!

Good one Bobquadg



Dianne

I tried trading at stamp "meetings" and I tried trading over the internet. The only place I ever successfully traded was in a chatroom, even there I mainly received stamps others had and were glad to find someone who wanted them.
Just today I received a package weighting 2,5kg(!) full with envelopes stuffed with thousands of stamps. I got this for free, because the person who send this to me didn't want to throw them away, but also couldn't find anyone who wanted them and was happy to finally get rid of them. He already said I can have double that if I want to.
Just look at this, all for free:
Image: box1.jpg
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I already spent around 4 hours of sorting on this. So here on this picture all US, NZ, Canada and Australia stamps are already sorted out, as well as all "damaged", which in total was like two more envelopes.

This is how it goes here, the hobby is "dying", you can read of stamp clubs closing every week due to lack of members, quite recently a youth club closed, because they had only like two members.
The market is literally flooded with stamps and people still collecting have been doing so for decades, having extremely high expectations "quality"wise.
When I tried to get rid of my Germany collection, I unsuccessfully tried to trade it, so I sold it. It was a nearly complete collection, from the late 70ies onwards complete, MNH as well as cancelled. It got sold for under 30,-, although it contained stamps that you could still use worth over 100,- as well as several sheets of the "Heine" issue, that was withdrawn and has a catalogue value of over 30,- alone.
As I said, the expectations are very high, the slightest flaw and nobody wants it. CTOs you can either "recycle" or donate, if you don't want to keep them.

But in general it seems that hinges are more popular in the US, than they are here and also the "collecting habits" are a bit different. At least that's my impression.

Dear Drudenfus,
I forgot to mention that by limiting yourself to modern mint unhinged stamps you are really missing out on the best part of stamp collecting. Mainly older issues, say prior to 1960. These can often only be found in used condition but their design, quality and esthetic appeal is much higher than the pretty colored labels being issued by so many countries today. I'm talking about Disney stamps and the like. If you really want a challenge and learn more about stamps, their use, design and printing, get into the older issues and don't worry about the monetary value.

Drud I think I follow you. I would agree to collect for maximum value having as many MNH stamps as you can collect is wise. I do in fact collect US MNH and would never consider a hinged or damaged gum stamp for that part of my collection.

However I have a much larger used US and Worldwide collection. They are of mix of hinged and whatever. In this arena is just doesn't matter they hold near the same value regardless of hinged or not.

In any event it has been a fun conversation.

Bob,

Sanitation truck? Are you calling me crazy? Is this part of a Soviet style re-education campaign toward philatelic correctness so that I conform to collecting only mint, never hinged and postally used and swear off accepting CTO and previously hinged copies, even from you?

Too bad the hobby is dying in Europe. It is booming here. Our local stamp club (one of four in Ottawa) has now 100+ members. Our youth activities are growing, too. I was at the local stamp shop this morning... it was busy.

David

i guess value is a relative thing...my stamps are very important to me..i do not think of them in monetary value...just like I can not imagine counting if I have 25,000 stamps or 50,000 stamps..it does not matter..your collection either makes you feel good or it does not !!

Hi Drudenfus




As Dianne has stated I too have received many Used/ hinged and other
wise not mint stamps.
I have always been very grateful for the stamps and the international friendship that this trading has sponsored.

As for that box of junk if you want to get rid of it I know of several people down here that will take it off your hands and they will appreciate the many hours of entertainment (and frustration) it would provide.
We get plenty of stamps and we like to send them on to others to share and I have yet to hear that they didn't want any of them.
But really if you want get rid of junk like that try your local scouts or red cross.

In fact that's what I'm doing
Out of the modern issues I only collect definitives (I'm still not sure if I'm mixing up terms here), that's why I sold my Germany collection and only kept those. Out of the stamps I collect I prefer used, with nice cancels. I'll keep any MNH, but I don't specifically collect them.
The only modern stamps I collect are the New Zealand issues and stamps for my themed collections.



You're lucky, if it's booming.

Here is the latest article I found concerning lack of members in stamp clubs:
http://www.badische-zeitung.de/loer...0808340.html
This is the one talking about the youth group being shut down. The photo is representative for the majority of collectors.

Only a week earlier: http://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten.../detail.html
Again, "Briefmarke in grosser Gefahr" - "Stamp in big danger".
The clubs are constantly losing members, the youth isn't interested.

The youth likes spending their pocket money on celphone ringtones and alcohol better.



I don't either, but sadly a lot of people do. Either that, or you're talking to very advanced collectors who already have anything and now are only interested in really rare issues.
Either way, if it doesn't have a catalogue value of at least two digits, it seems to be impossible to find someone to trade with.
And that is why it also is very difficult to trade hinged stamps, used or not. Because the people interested can have them unhinged any time they want, so they don't want it hinged. I think this is the consequence of already having anything - you start adding new quality criteria, to further sort out what you already have.

The good thing about that is that you can get pretty much anything for nothing, as my latest addition to my collection shows.
Thus I have a very interesting and relaxing hobby that barely costs me anything.



I don't want to get rid of it, I took it from someone who wanted to
When I'm done sorting maybe I want to get rid of the doubles... if you don't mind that they are mostly "Raubstaaten" issues (like Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Yemen and the like...).

Drude
I think you'll find that that here more are more than greatfull to take your doubles not matter what you have to offer. I have built what is to me an amazing collection thanks to my friends here and around the world. I now am in the situation that I can share with youth groups and beginners. And it makes me smile that my spares are making someone happy.

And as you stated I also have a wonderfull hobby that doesn't cost me much because of the great friends I have made.

Dianne

Dianne

why not give it away instead? :)

John, this was not meant to be taken seriously.
Slow down and read. You don't need to get 50
posts in one day!