Struggles Collecting World Wide

I have been collecting for a good portion of my life. I really don't think it's possible to complete a world collection. At least it's not for me. I can guarantee you I have many, many blank spots and pages in mine. I like to collect singles, blocks or preferably full sheets and most likely it will be all of them, if I can swing it. As far as singles go I look for units that still have the margin attached. Corners are really my favorite and beyond that I look for gutter pairs, or again, I prefer gutter strips with top and or bottom margins. Then there's one of my greatest weaknesses,booklets, I can't get enough of them. This is where I get sidetracked from the so called "goal" of completing a country collection, not that it matters.

A stamp collection is almost a living thing, it continually changes and evolves into whatever it becomes, then it changes again and again. When it stops I guess it's complete. I hope I never find out!

By the way, I also collect US but for some unknown reason I really don't spend allot of time with it. Not that I haven't amassed a huge amount of them. Same rules as above though. I always tell myself, next year I'm going to mount more of the US....it just doesn't happen.

I'd like to hear other collectors struggles and successes. All of us that are fortunate enough to have a serious collection can and should try to steer those that struggle to achieve goals of their own. As I may have mentioned in previous posts, my father was my mentor, he was the Philatelist, I am the collector. I hope to pass this to one of my kids. My collection needs an overseer to continue my fathers struggle as I have tried to do for him. There is still hope for me to reach my ultimate goal. The passing this collection to the next overseer.

Flyinlo - That's the nugget.

I "struggle" with the sheer numbers/possibilities of WW collecting.

Even with limiting the collection to 1840-1940, it's like drinking water from a fire hose.

Then theres the discipline of not only putting stamps we really like in the album..the plain Janes have spaces also..and the time we spend where we could be doing something else..and yet a lot of us justify it !!

i don't know where my love of reading and stamp collecting came from..it certainly did not run in the family !!

Why struggle? Why not simply enjoy the hobby & stamps?

And yes, I agree with Jim that the number of possibilities with worldwide stamp collecting is infinite. But I think it's the same for every (stamp) collector no matter what they collect. If you want, you can even specialize on just single stamp for the rest of your life and be equally happy. As captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of Caribean says, 'it not so much the destination as the journey'.

"Its the journey" agree .--------For me its the escape ,into a world and a place none of the family or friends understand . There has been all kinds of issues to deal with thru out my life but to escape into a world far far away and sit in quiet and work with the stamps has been its own reward .

If a person likes puzzles, they may well enjoy stamp collecting. Identifying a stamp can be an education in itself, and finding the right spot in the album(s)a definite challenge at times. Then there is the history, which brings with it an understanding of what the world was like "back then". When I work with the war torn countries of Europe during WWI and the countries of Europe and Asia during WWII, the impact of the war is so brought to light. And then there are the pictures on the stamps - be they an individual's portrait, the countryside, the farms, the manufacturing, the sea shores, etc. - which all tell a lot about the country itself.

When looking thru one's album(s), there is always (to me) the problem of the "glass is half empty or full". I prefer to enjoy the filled spaces, but can't help feeling a bit down over those blank spaces.

But here is the rub........ if you had all the spaces filled - with all the varieties and even errors - what would you do?

I can't collect World Wide. I can't even wrap my head around the thought of trying to fill that many spots! I'd need a rubber room adjacent to my stamp room! lol I'll just stick with my Classic US collection, advert covers, interesting cancellations on cover and proofs.

Maybe you can show us some of your US collection or your other "gems" you MUST have in that massive collection...I, for one, will be waiting patiently!

I think any stamp collector could relate to your 'troubles.' I collect Canada and the provinces and still find I run into a number of challenges that keep from ever seeing a state I would call completion. When I started collecting just a few short years ago I had the simple goal in mind to try for one of each issue from start to present in Canada. Using the Canadian Postal Archive as my guide this goal seemed pretty reasonable as the archive pays no attention to varieties. Then someone gave me a copy of the Unitrade specialized catalogue...

Now I am amassing admiral varieties, checking tagging, separating booklet and sheet stamps. There's perfins, overprints, semi-official air mail. I've got plate flaws, perf varieties, shades and colour varieties. The goal just continues to grow and the scope of the collection expands. But maybe that's what I love about it; there is always something new to examine and acquire.

Here's the Canadian Postal Archive in case you haven't seen it; http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/...11703_e.html

I just adore those early Canadian Prince Albert stamps.

My stamp collecting struggle is most definitely storage!!

I originally started stamp collecting 25 years ago at the age of 7. Back then I would just store them in stockbooks and over the years I just kept accumulating stockbooks until one day I realized how unattractive my mishmash of stockbooks of various colours and designs looked.

I then started trying to get the same kind and colour of stockbook but after buying out every single stockbook of that particular kind and colour from my dealer, I found out that they had discontinued that version of stockbook!

It was at that point, when out of frustration I joined SCF to see if anyone knew where I could find more of the stockbook. Many people had ideas but none of those leads were successful.

Then after reading a few forums I discovered the Vario system and decided that that was going to be my new storage system. I am very happy with the Vario system because of its flexibility with respect to different storage options for my variety of stamps BUT it is really expensive!! I estimate I've spent about $6000 so far on Vario products and I am not even remotely close to reorganizing my entire stamp collection! It does look pretty though

So that is why storage is the biggest struggle for me.

Not finding it a struggle at all so far - hey this is a hobby to be enjoyed!
Including all those varieties of perforation, watermark, paper, tagging, flourescence etc. etc. there are say 1 million stamps to be assembled into a comprehensive worldwide collection. I for one will not get there - some simple arithmetic calculations can demonstrate that.
However, I do have my eye on the 100,000 club even though I am not yet at 10% of that objective.
Like canadianphilatelist I have gone with the Vario system. Here are my cost calculations to get to the 100,000 club.
I am using the two sided Vario 7S size and get on average 35 stamps/side. This will need 1429 sheets and at around $55/100sheets I will spend $786 on the sheets. I can't afford those nice Vario binders and get used 3-ring binders at the recycle center. Let's say total storage cost of $850.

I'm only using one side hehe because I think it looks better so I use double what everyone else will use.

To the canadianphilatelist,

Storage is probably the single most encountered problem for any serious collector. I have "struggled" with it as long as I can remember. At this point my collection encompasses one of the larger bedrooms in my house, I cannot and will not put anything in there that is not stamp related. My main collection is stored in Minkus albums. I also use G&K binders with the black and some clear storage pages. I use these to hold any sheets that will not fit the Minkus size pages I use. Any small items are stored in glassine in plastic boxes until the day I am able to get to mounting them.

One of my favorite binders, of which I only have 3 are the G&K book that are large enough to hold uncut press sheets, well most of them. Some of them are just too big to fit. The problem with them is I don't have the space in my "stamp room" the even look at the items within. When I have to store or look at something I must lug them down to the kitchen counter. The stock books that, I believe, most collector are using just don't fit into my system. Minkus albums and the pages I have been producing for a few years now cost enough.

I guess one of my struggles is finding the time to do what I do with the collection. I still have a young lady to raise and, of course, I do have other interests that eat into my stamp time.

The one guy I know who made money(he said he broke even) on his collection is convinced that he would not have received what he did from Harmers if he did not spend 25 thousand on lighthouse binders and slip cases..i am a 3 ring binder guy myself..i have no illusions about profit,would rather spend on stamps ..my albums might be a bit ratty and mismatched..but they hide hidden treasures !

Philb,

BINGO!