New Collector

Any good tips? Thanks.

There is a wealth of information at http://stamps.org (The American Philatelic Association) and http://linns.com (Linn's Stamp News, owned by Amos Publishing).

Welcome. I guess the only "tip" I have to offer is to enjoy collecting the way you like it - don't let anyone tell you that you need to do things a certain way or to collect (or not collect) certain stamps. Thankfully not much of that actually happens, but long story short, don't worry if you're "doing it right". If you enjoy what you're doing, you're doing it right.

You'll probably get more feedback if you provide a little background. What are your interests? Are you mostly interested in old stamps, or are you more interested in the colorful stamps being issued today? Do you have any past experience with collecting stamps, such as when you were a young child? If you can expound a bit about what you find attractive about stamp collecting, I'm sure you'll get lots of great responses.

Advice: hang here.

And, what Artful said.

I like finding the very old stamps. The ones that have a lot of background. I like the new and colorful ones as well though.

to the list tillerv33!




Do you have a plan in mind for how you are going to "find" these old stamps, or for what you intend to do with them once you have them?

Mind if I ask how you got started?

Welcome tillerv33!

I am presuming you are new to the world of stamp collecting, as well as new to the forum? If so - my first tip is to be open-minded. The world is huge - please do not constrain yourself to US stamps from the start.

There are endless options, but I would recommend to purchase a large and unorganized worldwide lot/box with another collectors 'junk'. Such a box can easily contain thousands of random old stamps, new stamps and topical stamps etc from all corners of the world. This should not need to set you back more than 150-300 bucks. Then simply start organizing them any way you like. Pretty soon you will find what fancies you the most. Most tend to end up specializing on country collections from certain countries. Others collect by topics, others collect only stamps issued before WWII etc. And the most stupid ones end up with no constraints whatsoever - collecting everything coming their way - me included

Ultimate tip - do not collect as an investment - collect for the pleasure of it above all

Yes, always remember that there is only one rule to collecting.

1. Always collect what you enjoy.

There's an app for that (so to speak).

https://www.championstamp.com/inventory.cfm?grp=2 ... Champion Stamps "Mystery Cartons"

https://www.championstamp.com/inventory.cfm?grp=3 ... Champion Stamps "Treasure Chests"

They've been selling these for ages.

http://themidtowngazette.com/2012/1...p-collector/ ... puff piece

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I don't know how far along you are. How about basic supplies?

Stamps (This is the thing you'll need most)
Stamp mounts
Stamp Tongs ("tweezers" everywhere else in the world, "tongs" in the USA)
Magnifying glasses (one for just looking. One 20x for examining)
Album (Do a search here on the words "Album" and "Albums")
Perforation gauge (There are many opinions which is best)
Stock Book
Glassine Envelopes
Stamp catalog (whatever is used for the country you collect)
Watermark fluid and tray
Accurate ruler that measures in mm
Desert magic drying book (for soaking stamps)
Ultraviolet lamp (254nm) (to see tagging on "modern" stamps)
These websites:

http://www.stampsmarter.com

http://www.stampsmarter.com/1847usa/index.htm

And this forum.

Can't think of anything else off the top of my head. Geez-- they write books on this subject.


-IBFS

Oh...and welcome tillerv33!




-IBFS

Hi Tillerv.
Just one thing to add to all the good stuff above.
Whatever you decide to do remember the first rule of the plan is "The Plan Will Change".
I'm am collecting stuff I never even thought of when I first started.
Currently it's just GB Victoria with a Jersey 409 postmark.

Happy hunting.