How Do You Buy Your Stamps ?

I mean how do you select which one to buy ?

How do you justify (make the compelling case to yourself) you buying ?

After you decide what to be bought, what process you follow ?

How do you determine how much maximum you are ready to pay ?

Where do you check for best deals ?

What questions do you ask to the seller dealer before you buy ?

Are you an impulsive buyer ? If not, how long you wait (or ready to wait) to add another artifact to your collection ?

Maybe too many questions but I want to know how experts like you buy a new stamp.

Sonalee don't forget we are degenerate addicted stamp collectors..we can justify anything to get a required item !!

Well, I think addicted people know what is more intoxicating and how to get it.
They use more rationale than impuse buyers like me who care less and get carried away little too easily.

I'm a freakin' cheapskate. I'll wait a decade until an item meets MY price, if I have to (and yes, I've waited over a decade for a couple of items).

I spend a lot of time looking through dealer stock and auction realizations, so I can keep up with the real price of stamps. Catalog prices are a reference, but not always a reality. I enjoy looking at dealer stock because I don't feel that I must own a stamp to enjoy it; and the dealers don't mind because I eventually do buy stuff -- also, I help point out some premium items they occasionally miss (it's great practice).

I rarely allow myself to pay more than what I perceive as the average retail price. Although like Phil's Honduras S/S, I've paid a little higher and bought some items on impulse.

I'm pretty cheep also

I collect purely for enjoyment so I don't mind waiting to fill a whole( which I have lots of by the way.)

I started out buying lots of mixed stamps for as cheep as I could get them. I have such an accumulation to go through that I now am more selective in my purchases.

I work on one or two countries at a time. So when looking for stamps I tend to stick to those countires.

I do a lot of trading now as well as buying from circuit book at stamp club meetings. But sometimes I just can't help myself when a good deal comes along.

Dianne

The questions you've asked deserve a term-paper length answer.



I'll tackle two of them.




If I'm buying a bunch of minimum SCV stamps I don't mind paying 75% or even 100% because I know how much time and trouble it is handling hundreds of individual stamps. I'll even pay 100% if it's an item I've been looking for and it will fill in a page, or if it's particularly nice.

If I'm buying from a storefront dealer, I don't mind paying a little more because I believe in keeping them alive. I buy the overwhelming majority of my material online because I live in the boonies, but would buy more from a store if I had access to one. There's nothing as pleasant as sitting on a stool and looking through stock books and accumulations for something you need or want.

One thing I will not do is pay 30 or 100 times SCV for a common commemorative even if it is PSE certified 99% or whatever.




I do all my online buying on ebay, StampWants and StampOffers, but there are may other good places out there. I've bought the overwhelming majority on StampWants.

I've also bought a fair number of items from SCF members directly. You'll get your best deals here.

I hope this helps!

My problem is I live in Eastern Kentucky where there are no stamp stores, stamp clubs or anything else. I feel lucky to have a post office. So I buy my stamps on ebay or from other sites on the internet. I am fairly new at stamp collecting, which means I am still collecting common stamps. They usually don't cost much so I don't worry about the price. If I see a stamp I like and it fits into something I am collecting I buy it. Of course that it part of the problem I want to collect everything! But I am looking forward to buying and trading here on SCF.

That last part, I'm afraid, describes me to a "T", the first part of your rational, not even close.
I tend to be a tad over eager and compulsive when I'm looking at stamps and that leads me to paying more then I probably should. I am still young at this hobby though, so I'm hoping I will learn some restraint before I sell the house to get that one "Really cool!" stamp I like.

Ha Ha I like KHJ...hey seriously..i think we are all looking for a find..if not that then a fair price is appreciated...we went to the Albany big show for two days and if a dealer was decent..you want to go back to him if you can....

Carol Owens...my wife does a lot of buying on Stampwants..the prices are usually good..you just have to watch who charges what for shipping and make your decision !!

I have so many interests that I can always find something to buy.
For my topicals, cancels, and "Just in case", finds, I have a couple of dealers I like to buy from who have huge tubs and stock books of 10 cent stamps.
For my country collections, I buy what I need if it's what I can afford. I check the catalogues before I go to a club meeting or a show, and I know an approximate value for the stamp. If it's too highly priced in the catalogue I don't even bother to look for it.
I will buy inexpensive collections for the pure fun of it, and the resell what I don't want. Or use them for trades. I have great fun bargaining with the dealers.
I am also a part time dealer at our local club and to be fair to the other dealers who don't know me at shows, I do tell them if my purchase is going to be for my own collection or for resale. I don't want someone thinking they are giving me a good bargain for something for my collection only to find out I am selling it.
Also just to be clear. EVERYTHING that I trade for, (except kiloware) is for my own personal collection. I never trade to make a profit. I don't see that as being fair to the person I am trading with.

khj Some of us, dont have a decade to wait

I used to buy everything under the sun. Then when I took a look, I was overwhelmed. I had to reevaluate everything and decide what to collect. I narrowed it down to three or four areas. Now it is much more manageable.

After you buy all the cheapies, you have to look for the more expensive stamps.

I keep a detailed list of the holes I need to fill in my SG KGVI Album. All the stamps are used. With the exception of a few VERY difficult stamps to get, all have light CDS postmarks, off to the side (so as not to obscure the stamp design) and are face free cancellations (so as not to obscure the image of HLM The King).

If the stamp fits those criteria first, and the price is right, I pick it up.

The lesson here: a want list is a must, and buy nice stamps you feel look good in your collection. Then you'll have a collection you can be proud of!

David

I specialise in just two countries, so selection isn't so hard. I only collect mint, unhinged unless it's too rare to get in that state.

I buy the vast majority of my stamps individually, mostly online, but I also buy from auction houses where I bid by mail or online bidding form. That's the only way to get some of the stamps I'm after from Victoria (the Australian colony.) Mint examples, especially unhinged, are not easy to come by, so I scour every online site I can, auction as well as dealers. When I find one, I'm usually prepared to pay full CV because they're so undervalued compared to scarcity (Victoria that is.)

I've just started collecting US, only a few weeks ago, so I can tell you my process as I start my collection. Firstly I select a year, and with my US collection I've chosen 1940. I prefer early issues and don't collect modern. So my goal is to collect everything pre 1940 Yeah I know, a big task that will never be completed, but it's nice to have goals. I guess I'm a fairly methodical person, so the way I go about it is to work backwards from 1940 - so the first stamp I purchased was Scott 902, the last stamp issued in 1940. I've found Stampwants to be the best place for these issues as they're plentiful and I can use BIN to get multiple stamps from the same dealer and save postage. So I go backwards through all the cheaper stamps (including BOB.) Once I've done that I start to fill the holes with the more expensive stamps one by one as I find (and fund ) them. I kind of go through the same process, sweeping backwards picking up the higher values, then higher values still etc. Of course I often see a stamp I love or that's the right price or hard to come by - I'm not going to pass because I'm not up to that year yet, that's just my guide.

I don't need to justify my purchases, as I'm a collector, it's what I do. I try to keep up with market prices on the stuff I'm after. I often add items to my watch list purely to see what they go for. That gives you an idea of what you can expect to pay.

Everyone has their own reasons for collecting that will affect their methods. Some love to sort, soak, flyspeck etc, or buy kiloware or collections. Others like me know exactly what they want, enjoy looking for that one item and buying it to add to their collection. You need to know what you want out of collecting and do what you enjoy.

Balf

Mmmmbalf, I agree with you. I don't justify my purchases either. If I want it, I get it (if within budget) I guess I am saying that if I desire a stamp enough, I will get it.

Also, like you I like pre WWII US. The older issues are so much more interesting. About three months ago, I decided to get US number 1. Knew that it was going to be expensive. But I had to have it and got it. Yep you can guess, I now want a number 2 to go next to the number 1. Don't know where the money is going to come from, but I will find it!