How Do You Buy Your Stamps ?

Pre 1940 stamps cost a ton of money. For newbies with limited budget, I donot think we have any option other than collecting 3c / 4c commoratives.

sonalee, there are many pre 1940 stamps which are very low in cost. Sure, there are some that cost a ton, but the 1930's two centers are very reasonable. Some of the common definitives back to the 1902 issue are low cost.

For the early 20th century commemoratives, the two cent value is usually very reasonable in cost. The 5 cent blues are a somewhat different animal and can be very pricey, depending on condition.

I am fortunate that except for the White Plains souvenir sheet and some of the Farleys, my commemoratives are complete. Yep, you guessed it, I am saving for that darned sheet.

just buy what you like and dont worry about it there are just too many stamps out there for any of us to ever become unconditional experts

For some reason there are no real stamp dealers here where I live in Pueblo CO. The closest thing I've come to is a coin/sports card dealer who sometimes sells accessories/small collections on the side. Told me he could get stuff for me if I wanted it-unfortunately he's way too high on price. So I buy from Stampwants or ebay or trade with collectors online. I also have a couple of dealers I used to buy from approval wise but again the price was just too much for me to handle with the economy and other expenses. I occasionally buy new issues from the local post office, they usually have a good selection of stamps on hand. Or I very rarely buy from the USPS stamp service catalog in KC. Not many places to get stamps these days. I have belonged to stamp clubs and got stuff through them too if I can find them.

Jleverin, if you have stamps to swap..i prefer worldwide to U.S. I would be glad to swap any flora/fauna stamps I have hanging around..i sometimes buy lots and they have 1970s and later stamps which I do not need..lot of them are fauna and flora...

A person can be a stamp collector on the cheap..but thats what they are going to end up with believe me a cheap bunch of stamps...stamp collecting once a person becomes serious about it ..is not an inexpensive hobby...if you have to..allow 10 dollars a week or whatever and say..this is my play money..its not an inexpensive hobby..but what you can learn as many of us have found out..is priceless !!

If I need it, and I've got the money, I buy it. If I'm buying several, I like to get a deal, and most dealers will usually knock a few bucks off if I'm buying in volume even before I have to ask.

At the moment, I'm contemplating buying a "housecleaning lot" from a dealer I know. It's likely there will be some duplication (which will likely be good news to some of you since I will probably flog them here, cheaply), but I'm expecting there will be some degree of fun going through such a package.

How do I buy stamps well I just spit on my hand a slap it and where the spit go's I buy naaa the truth is I look at the auction sites (eBay,stampwants,stampoffers or Ebid) and others,see what I like or need that's not to expensive or a bargain to buy or if I really really need it wait till the right price arrives and buy it now or find a site that it's a little cheaper than what others are selling it for and go for it ,

through stamp shows