Advise On Selling A Stamp Collection

Hello Everyone,

I am not an expert on stamps, but I have a friend who wants to sell his collection. He had it as a hobby since a long time, but he isn't an expert too.

I wonder if someone can give me the best method to sell such collection. Kindly note that I can't post it on ebay due to time issues. Please note also that I am in Europe.

The collection consists of stamps from all over the world: US, UK, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Middle East....

I can upload some pictures if this might help.

Thanks in advance for any advise.
All the very best,
Ali

You might consider uploading a sample of stamps. You might consider uploading the oldest stamps with the highest denominations. Maybe just a half dozen to start. I am sure the many fine collectors here will offer an opinion.

Probably the best idea would be to obtain a catalog (would a local library have one that could go out on loan?) and match the stamps to the catalog to determine a catalog value. Always remember the cat. value is just a guide and most stamps will only receive a fraction of that value from a dealer.

Just like what centerstage98 said, pictures of the oldest stamps in the collection would definitely help in valuing it. From there, advice could be given on where to sell the collection.

craigslist europe, I dunno, ?

There are a few auction houses that you could easily find on the web that you could mail the collection to and they can evaluate the set and tell you if its saleable.
You could offer the entire lot as a single listing on ebay, posting pictres.
Bottom line is, If you want to sell it, you will most likely have to do the leg work to get the job done, IF you dont want to be taken to the cleaners.

Suggestion, since you are in Europe:
1) go to ebay, Stamps, Worldwide, Collections
2) Sort highest price+shipping highest first
3) scroll down the listings until you find several "local" dealers
4) take the collection to them and see what they will offer (a) in cash, or (b) as a percent of sales price on consignment.

I found one in the Netherlands that I have bought from: eGlobals-Stamps - you can send messages through ebay to the ones you find in order to get contact information

Hope this Helps,

Rick

I would try to find the local stamp club and contact them.
Another route would be Delcampe since I think they are based in Luxembourg. Anyway, if you go to Delacmpe.net and go for Luxembourg stamps, you will find sellers in your country!

Peter

Dear All,

Many thanks for your kind hints; they are all indeed very helpful.

I don't really know which ones are the most valuable among the collection, but I have some samples uploaded at this link. My friend has few books on stamps, but as #centerstage stated, the values there differ totally from the market (checked 3 of them).

I would really appreciate any general advise on whether the collection has good selling potential or not. If needed, I can upload more images.

I am grateful for the other advises, and I will try the different mentioned methods.

Thanks again, and all the best+
Ali

Hi again,

Could anyone please provide some hint on whether such collection has selling potential?

Thanks & Regards,
Ali

I have tried to view your stamp photos on google, but they are not available. Consider uploading them to to site like Photobucket, or dropbox. You can even upload them here.

AliND,

I was able to view your images on Google. I looked through the three pages of US stamps, and didn't see anything of significant value there. I know this is just a sampling, but for example, if you were to offer the three pages of US stamps on ebay as one lot, you might be able to sell the lot for $5 or so. I can't evaluate the other pages.

To be really honest, as your friend himself does not have any idea of the stamps, the collection will be a standard kids type collection which usually has no value or very little value, maybe 10-20 bucks at the most.

Of course, there are exceptions where a kid's collection might have a couple of rare stamps which again depending on condition can be worth at the most above 50 bucks. And this too is being very optimistic.

Most expensive stamps (any stamp that costs more than $ 10.00), usually are acquired when a collector gets serious or if he inherits a solid of collection from a family member. All other stamps can be worth between 1 Cent and 10 Cents (The common ones).

The common public opinion is that all stamps are valuable, which is incorrect. In fact most stamps are not, the few that are, again depend on their condition. The most value here would be to get back into collecting, acquire a catalogue and start identifying your stamps. If you or your friend have fun doing it, you can then get into full time and acquire some rare stamps eventually.

Hope this helps and good luck!

#guykickinit, #Classic Coins, #Mindpsyche and all the others,

Many-many thanks for your very useful hints. I appreciate your time.

Now, I know where we stand. I guess the collection is not really worth much. It could be the case that there might be some rare stamps included in the full collection, but the probability of such is probably low.

Thanks again, and all the very best++
Ali