Might Have To Sell My Stamp Collection, What Should I Do?

Thanks Minesweeper for your post.
My family and I are in a similar situation of needing to sell.
I've inherited a collection that I would rather keep but it's been a year since my husband's lay off and the birth of operating our own business full time.
Money is tight and our only asset right now is our house. So in efforts to keep our home we are selling some of our possessions, the stamps being among the lot. I started out knowing absolutely nothing about stamps but I've learned soo much from the SCF members.
Posts like this one continue to educate me.
I've begun the work of breaking up and parceling out the most valuable and will be selling online when I'm ready.

thanks also to Rod on the link posted regarding inherited collections...very informative.

Cool thing about all this...I've come to really appreciate this hobby and plan to cultivate it in my 2 little boys. My oldest just turned 4 and is showing interest in what mommy is doing.

Ironically many of my favorites, the ones that artistically I find the most captivating are not worth very much monetarily. Happily, these I will keep and will be the beginnings of my own collection.

I've never sold ANYTHING on ebay so advice from the experts is always welcome.

Good luck on your venture!

Looks like I'm not gonna be selling after all, at least not in the near future. So I guess I'm gonna continue to visit Stamp community daily!

@Stampvirgin

You asked how much I think my collection was worth. Well I did get it appraised for insurance purposes about 4 years ago by Lyse Rousseau (She used to make the Darnell catalogues, last one came out in 2005, I think). She made me a paper with a 25k on it. Of course the price she gave me is higher than what it's supposed to be and I know I could never sell it for that price. But if my appartment burned down, that what I would get for it. Might be the best sollution after all NOT!!

actually if your apartment burned down, you would get nothing for it.

Collections... gems... furs.. require special riders or alternate insurance.

I actually pay an extra each month for insurance on my collection, that's why I had my collection appraised!

How long before the fire is acceptabble to have that rider added? Hypothetically of course.

Well first of all it's not just fire..it culd be water damage, theft, fire...etc.

If I understand correctly your question Nitro...it's from day one

Forgive me if I sound like I'm trying to rain on your parade. I'm not. I'm simply trying to give you realistic expectations.

Insurance appraisals for collectibles are rarely accurate. They are almost always estimates of full retail (replacement) value, and not a reflection of market value - else the collectible would have to be reappraised often - and the valuation is heavily influenced by the insuree. From my own experience, $25k is the standard maximum allowed by my insurance company without having the collectible(s) professionally appraised. A professional appraisal would include certifying and grading ... a long and expensive process.

Without seeing your collection, it would be impossible to say if you could make enough $$ to buy a house, make a down payment, or even make a single, monthly payment. My advice is not to get your hopes up.

Brian

A farmer takes out a $1 Million Life Insurance policy on his wife.

After signing all the papers, he asks the insurance agent, "Now, if my wife dies tomorrow, what will I get?"

"About 25 years," replied the agent.