Why Do I Collect Stamps

In different posts in this forum I have seen references to concern for the monetary value vs personal satisfaction of philately. There are also concerns of what to do with inherited collections.
I go along with the personal satisfaction school of thought.

I have what may be a third concern. I have been collecting stamps since I was 8 years old, and a lot of my collecting has been junk. I am now 84 and have no one to leave my collections to. I have sold some on ebay, and I think I received a fair price.

I have some concerns about getting ripped off. Example: Remember the
Dag Hammarsdjold fiasco.
1203

and 1204


I was in a stamp dealers store in Las Vegas who I did some business with and he introduced me to a "Big Time Dealer" visiting from New York,and they were talking about the Jammarsdjold miss-print. The "Big Time Dealer" form N.Y. was saying if they hadn't made a large issue out of the miss-print that they "the dealers" would have made a killing off of the guy that had the page of miss-prints.
Now I am sure there are a lot of reputable dealers but I have been leery every since.
Any suggestions on disposing of my last and most personal 6 Volum album (STAMPS OF WORLD WAR II) I have left.
cONN

Hello King Conn......

I think most collectors share your concerns.....and many of us have seen collectors ripped off and less than honest sellers. With no one to pass your collection to and having had decent sales on ebay, why not just continue selling on ebay ?


Also, once you meet minimum requirements here you could post sales/auctions.....without fees....I'm sure at least some of your material will appeal to and be affordable for members of this club......there are quite a few members that are interested in WWII material......myself included.

I think it's a great time to sell a collection on ebay. The number of bidders on ebay and the interest in stamps seems to be at a peak. My perception is that winter and holiday periods are the best (when collectors have the most time to spend with collection and shop). The Xmas/New Year holiday season seemed to be hot this year for collections....despite an economic cloud. Perhaps Thanksgiving and Xmas seasons of 2010 will be a great time. Use the next months to prepare the descriptions and photos...or just sell it now over a 3-day weekend.

Collections in the sub $200 range seem to have broad appeal and my get good bidding action...they seem to have a good make-up of stamps while still being affordable. The bidding on these might bring a premium if the auction appeals to bidder as both an album, theme and assortment of stamps (vs. just anther worldwide lot). You seem to have a nice theme with strong market demand, Scott Speciality albums for example seem to bring value based on both the album and stamps. I'm not as familiar with the success of $1k+ auctions. Breaking your multi-volume collection down (where possible) seems like it might bring more value but if you loose the completeness or strenght of the theme then the uniqueness of your auction may be diluted....on the other had as multi-volume collection the price might be too high and limit bidders. At high prices the bidders are probably more picky but if it's high demand, high price doesn't seem to be a problem...but high price simply from volume (vs. rare high demand and high value items) seems to attract value shoppers.....I think I'm rambling.....

Market it well on ebay...look at the big sellers for examples...and shop completed auctions to get a feel for action and final prices.

Beware of sending it over seas w/o proof of delivery and having someone say they never received it. I see a lot of auctions with restrictions on certain countries due to past experiences.

As you know the power of ebay is more with the seller. I am more concerned about getting ripped off when I'm a buyer.

Collecting was fun...now enjoy the selling process...and putting it back into the hands of another generation.

The question, "Why do I collect stamps?" is a good one. Am I looking for relaxation and enjoyment or do I also value the quality of the end product (or quality of the collection as it matures)? I find that I need to be proud of the progress and end state vision to sustain interest.

Do I like having a small group of special stamps or volumes of commons? Do I value completeness? Do collections of sets missing all the premium stamps bother me?

Do I value resale? Do I value having something I can show off or am I happy with just another collection of the usualy suspects?

With baseball cards I like a few special items and would quickly trade volumes to get them. I also like showing them off and having something with a wow factor. With stamps I kinda like the process of just builidng a typical WW collection and having a good sampling of the countries of interest. I don't think I would be as happy with just a few gems. At the same time I'm not buying sticker books, pulling them off the back pages and placing them on pages just to kill time....I'm not too satisfied with my high volume Romania collection to 2000 for similar reasons. What I think will sustain my interest is....? At one time I was going to sell all my collection and just re-invest in 19th Century stamps or perhaps just a collection of very special hand selected stamps per country...but then I realized that was chasing all the high dollar items and I wouldn't make much progress.

I guess it's a journey that matures and evolves....learning about the hobby is fun...each milestone of maturity leads to another bump in interest. I also get interested in history and geography based on stamps.....one day I may create a theme specific collection that tells a story.

There is a difference between a collector,investor,accumulator,& dealer. Most dealers started out as collectors. To be a successful dealer one has to divorce themselves from the emotion and personal attachment that marks the collector. That is not to say that the dealer doesn't like the material but he or she is in business and if the price is right the deal is made- to act otherwise would doom the business. An investor doesn't have to like the item at all if is believed that the item will appreciate. The investor may or may not be a collector. The investor may not accept anything other than the absolut best--collectorsmay settle for a lower grade to complete a set--investors are less likely to compromise. Accumulators gather stamps but do so in a haphazard manner with no real game plan which becomes immediately obviou upon examination of their holdings. My advice: if you are buying for investment be prepared to pay for the best and hope that stamps will continue to be an attractive collectile in the future. No guarantee on that. If you are a collector, have a plan and follow it understanding that if seeli g your collection intact the more cohesive it is the more likely that buyers will be attracted to it. Most importantly,enjoy the non monetary benefits of collecting--if you used play money to fund your collection and show a profit at the end of the day, consider it a bonus--not the reason to collect. Finally, if you are an accumulator,make sure you have plenty of storage space,don't plan on a big return for scads of routine material,and maybe consider finding a field where you can be one of the other three categories mentioned

Conn, we always have a choice..you can sell on ebay and get the best price you can..or as I have considered doing..finding a person who would really appreciate my collection as I have....stamp collecting is my hobby..its not a serious part of my estate !

Why do I collect Stamps? Who the ^*@#(* knows ? I dont have a cabin cruiser down on the Hudson..my exotic vehicle is a 96 Toyota 4 wheel drive..no longer iterested in guns or killing beasts..i have to justify my existance somehow !!

I will admit to being guilty of accumulating..... "one who gathers, or, to increase gradually in quantity or number." I think all stamp collectors are accumulators of some sort.




Butch

I collect stamps because it is fun. I collect stamps because it is educational. I collect stamps because I make new friends buying, selling, and trading them.

I also take pride in the fact that my collection can be what I want it to be, different from any others.




Butch

i collect stamps because I cant afford anything else. you can hoot with laughter if you like :)

A great point nonetheless. Before migrating to stamps, trading cards were burning a hole in my wallet for themes I didn't really care for all that much. I jumped ship when a few manufacturers were exposed as selling forged or otherwise "fake" specialty cards. Authenticating stamps is a little bit easier and more economical than finding out if Shaquille O'Neal really wore the swatch of fabric featured in his event worn basketball card.

Conn,

I remember the Dag Hammarskjold fiasco. I was a budding stamp collector when my dad brought home a sheet of this new "error." He advised me not to run to Woolworth's to clean out the candy and toy aisles. The stamps were for his collection and weren't worth more than face value. Stamp collecting was a hobby, not an investment.

When dad's stamp album was permanently closed, I kept what I wanted for my collection and sold the rest. Did I "make" money? Sure. My investment was zero. Did I get more than what he invested? Nah, it probably wasn't close. I kept in mind that stamps are a hobby for me, not an investment.

I admire your persistence in maintaining a thematic collection. I would echo Quanah's suggestion. It sounds like you have a strong collection. I would suggest that you determine a price you think is fair and sell it as a complete collection. Failing that, I'm sure you can break it down and sell it. A third option would be to post some pictures of it here. I might ask you adopt me!

A couple of years ago with two walk in closets and a spare bedroom full of albums, stock books, stamps and covers, I came to the realization I was a "he who dies with the most stamps wins" collector. (Aka an accumulator) I decided to start over with new albums and a focus on the areas I liked. Like you, most of my stamps were "junk" so I was going to just get rid of them. Then greed set in. What if there was a pony in the manure? So I started sorting. It was like getting free kiloware. I didn't find the pony but I did find that I like manure! I found an interest in postmarks, cancellations and flyspecking common issues. Stamp collecting is fun again! My point is, one person's junk can be a treasure to someone else.

Dan

Danstamp..i guess there are two of us out there..i sort and sort through the same tubs of stamps..is it insanity ? No its just my form of relaxation..at least thats how I justify it..and also I can save my purchases for the better stamps out there !!

Superb replies in this wonderful thread.
What a pleasure reading them.

Why do I collect Stamps?

I collect stamps because in 1990, somewhere between the Alexandra Palace in London and the Backstreets of Cairo,Egypt someone told me to get a life.

So I did.

Londonbus1...Now I'm with you lot !

Well don't look now but you are a dual pillar !!

with Mick as it is a pleasure to read this thread,

Why do I collect stamps

Well I find it relaxing after a hard night's slog also I love the historical aspect of stamp collecting.

My albums = my stock books,my cover collection is far more vast.

I am for all intent and purpose a cover collector not only FDC but also FFC and Historical covers,I started out collecting Australian covers that lead me into collecting Australian stamps,I did the same thing when I started to collecting U.S. covers then headed in that very same direction I started U.S.stamp,plate block and Revenue collecting.

I am a collector border line hoarder and not an investor ,I do have a few space fillers in most of my albums as there better than a blank space's and I can't help myself when there's a bargain for sale and still haven't brought a Scott U.S. #1 or #2 for the album so I'm a hopeless romantic still tripping over his own feet whom just loves collecting stamps and that's when I can remember before the alzheimer's kicks in and that's if I remember what I'm still doing (when I buy a stamp I tick it's place in the album if I don't I'll buy it over again) .

regards Harry

P.S. Mick congratulations on the dual pillar