Why Not Collect Australia?

The self adhesive removal is completely new to me. Does the bleach attack the adhesive? I would think that any colored envelope would also be out?
Tom

Hi sdtom.

Yes coloured paper is out because in seconds all your stamps would be totally stained but I find paper if the back of the paper is white and front is coloured is not a problem but we always do them separate.

With the self adhesive they have 2 layers of different gum I believe. It is use so the self adhesive gum will stick to the stamp. It is the 1st layer of gum on the stamp that I believe is attacked. It also turns the self adhesive gum to very soft gel type rubber mess.

The whole process does not work unless the water is kept very hot. The gum will just not come away and it has the problems that Celticveil has had. It was a very frustrating situation until I got it right.

I do care about your situation CollGStamps.

I am off to the mainland in minutes & will not be back until mid night our time tonight. The boats wait for no one!

I want to answer your situation and kiloware in general when I can have more time to do it properly.



Thank you AnthonyUK

I will get it right.

So KGV Collector, to be clear about it, those kettle boiling
hot baths are strictly for Australian self adhesives and maybe even
American pressure-sensitive stamps?
Correct ?

I hate to see what would happen with regular paper type of stamps.

For myself I use lukewarm water and the stamps whether Austrian,
Czechoslovakian or Canadian, for the most part come off the paper
in about a minute.
Granted the pressure sensitive stamps take a bit longer.
Those, while still immersed in water, I help them along by gently inserting the tip of my
pointed tong between the paper and stamp and just shave off the stamp.


Anyway KGV Collector its good for you to get away from stamps
for awhile, you need a break.

Have a safe trip to the mainland and back home again.

KGV Collector, thanks for the info. At present I'm not inclined to even remotely attempt that maneuver. I guess I'll just settle on keeping them on paper for now.

The very modern US stamps I believe are oil based gum and a different kettle of fish but I have not tried the boiling bleached water on US stamps.

Yes it is a method for taking Australia self adhesives stamps from the 55c era & the 60c era off paper if you are have trouble. The trouble that happens with cold to warm water soaking is the 2 different gum layers stay attached to 1 the envelope the other to half of the stamp's paper. The stamp looks like it has been filleted as the 2nd layer of gum that is attached to the stamp will not come off. So we end up with a very thin stamp that is useless and piece of an envelop with 2 layers of gum plus half the thickness of the stamp.

If this is destroying your kiloware on paper stamps, then I have explained a way to get stamps into your collection and not the bin.

You will get a result maybe if you maybe soak in warm water only but out of 20 sets you will be lucky to get 1 set with the difficult stamps.

All older stamps before the 45c era MUST be taken off paper in cold water. The 45c era the 55c era we use WARM water only.

We have about 1,000 to 2,000 sets of 55c & 60c stamps to take off paper & we need every stamp so we use this method to get as many sets as possible into stock.It smashes the traditional rules of stamping but so have the stamp makers.

Australia kiloware is divided into many ways of buying it.

The 60c era from 2010 to now is extremely expensive kiloware simply because people are just not using stamps & Australia Post is not using stamps over the counter. They use a useless label etc instead.

The kiloware from charities & other collection places know that stamps are getting harder to get and instead of taking kiloware off paper because it is so difficult they sort the kiloware into 60c stamps & remove all high values.

I can buy horrible(but good for us) 10kg lots of this 60c era for $20 per kg on paper mailed or I can bid on 15kg to 10kg really nice lots of 60c stamps only, for up to $60 per kg delivered & that is a 15kg buy! Other people are bidding over the top of my bids I do not win many lots at this price. Then the buyers have to make a profit out of it all. Then the question is how many people can get these stamps off paper.

The mixes of 45c, 50c, & poor quality 55c eras in kiloware are easy to buy in 10kg plus lots for $20 to $30 per kg on paper delivered.

The charities are now selling modern(last 10 years) high value stamp kiloware at auction only. It is not very common and a sells for as much as $750+ per kg on paper.

International Post stamps are mostly high values and sell at auction for $2,000+ per kg on paper.

Very few sellers of kiloware are getting kiloware mixtures of all eras including high values and for us this kiloware is not worth buying. It sells for around $60 per kg on paper.

Last year we sold over 300kgs of kiloware mostly on paper. A large portion of this amount of kiloware I swapped for recent high value off paper Australia. In Nov last year I started buying kiloware again and have already collected about 120kgs of kiloware but most of it is from 1966 to 2002 and contains very little high values. At present I have some very frightening bids on 60c era kiloware.

I am in the middle of making packets of many different Australia + kiloware off paper that will be sold by weight. We will also have hopefully a couple of different high value off paper packets in numbers as well.

Our selling model is to sell single high values or in sets or mini sheets from 1990 to now. We are just now trying to prepare to start selling this pre 1990 stamps in some sort of bulk.

KGV Collector, I just love reading about all the trials and tribulations
you go through to in your efforts to put food on the table for your family.

It's just great reading how you started doing this because you had
no other options after you had all those health problems.

The whole family chipping in and helping.

Your various dealings with ebay and paypal.

Your precise, methodical stamp soaking and drying method,
which you developed after trial and error.

And how you source your material and turn something
like used stamps which are discarded by most people
into making a living.

You should either write a book or some producer should
check into making what you and your family are doing
into a reality show on the History channel.

As always good luck to you and your family.

What a great idea! I know what to call the show: Stamp Dynasty.
John, you can grow a long beard!

Be sure to have it in your contract that you get seasonal breaks for stamp hunting. And when you do go stamp hunting. I want photos of you hiding in your stamp blind with your stamp gun and stamp call, waiting to send your golden stamp-retrievers into the water to recover the stamps after they've soaked a bit.

It's just so much easier to collect mint stamps and not have to worry about soaking. The last stamps I soaked were more than 20 years ago and I'm never going back. :)

I've read your kiloware manifesto, KVG. It might be fun to sell, yet no fun to buy someting as expensive on paper (paper = 50% of the weight at the very least, also a minimum of 10% faulty) paying in addition for the shipping which is very pricy my way. Also one does not know exactly what is in there. In one of the lots I bought (not too expensive though) I had a few hundred ElizII penny values of 1960s included, in a different lot - all kind of other uninteresting small denominations en mass. So I concentrate on easier areas, yet when I see good Australia at sensible price, I tend to buy.

Got lost amongst the power poles for a few days! Had an accident but all is well amazingly.... The mesh held, steel plates and screws held and so did my bones. Awesome!

Very nice to come back and see the kind words, have a laugh and enjoy very much the sharing. Thank you to all.It means a lot!

Some kiloware on paper.

Issued 14th Jan 2014 Native Orchids.

Our new mailing stamp order for Australia buyers.

More King George V 1914-38. The 4d's