Getting Started In Stamp Collecting

You should be able to find "Warsaw Pact" era stamps at knock-down prices. Issues appeared (too) frequently, aimed at collectors, and haven't, in most cases, held their value. At the same time, Czechoslovakian stamps, worth anything or not, are probably the most attractive, well-designed issues of the post-war era, and look great on the page.

Congrats to your new zeal as a stamp collector! I only recently reignited my own interest which had been dormant from when I was 14 or so until I reached 60+ years old. But in 2011 I did exactly what faces you now. I had several old albums with 1000's of stamps world wide and glassines full of unmounted stamps. What was I most interested in? What amount of time could I invest in my new hobby? How much could I invest financially? Was my interest to follow a topic, or build an investment? Or both?

Several folks have already emphasized that this YOUR choice. I decided to sell off all my worldwide stamps to focus on older US pre-1930.
Being focused works for me. While I love the British Commonwealth colonies stamps I decided for now to build the best US classics collection I can afford. Main thing is that you enjoy the unique qualities stamp collecting affords by combining information that is historical, graphic, social, geographical, topical, national -- or whatever you the collector desires.

BTW -- I buy my Scott Catalogues used at tremendous savings from library sales on Amazon or ebay. Enjoy!

Ask your local libraries how often they update the Scott catalogues, and how they dispose of the replaced volumes. A library volunteer in Illinois told me her library disposes of them every two years at $1 per volume.

I'm a few hundred miles away, and I have a set that is a handful of years old, so the news was interesting to me, but not interesting enough to make a trip.

Whether you pick up a used set, or not, make sure to read the introductory section of the Scott catalogue. And then reread it. There is a lot of information there, and most collectors could probably benefit by revisiting it every few years as a refresher course.

The other bit of advice I would share is to not be too quick to get rid of anything, as you never know what will be interesting down the road. Hang around here and you'll keep learning every day.

I have been a long-time amateur collector now devoting more time to my hobby after working in estate sales here in Winnipeg for many years.
It all depends on how much time and effort that you wish to put in to the endeavour. Yes, you can get a Scotts catalogue and look up each of the stamps...some will be worth a fair amount perhaps and others will be practically worthless. As well, also to consider is whether you wish to sell off just part and then concentrate on topicals or nations that interest you the most. It seems from your posting that the majority of your collection would be US/Canada/Europe in origin. Eastern European issues may have little value, but your US/Canada may have the potential to earn you perhaps 20c or 30c each if you utilize the bulk sales method. I have had several estates where the entire collection of several thousands of stamps have been offered for sale at 1 set price that would average 20-30c each as it would otherwise be too consuming of time and effort to price out each member in the folio. This will work best when selling on Craigslist or Kijiji to amateur collectors who are also looking for a "big find" on a "treasure hunt" while also making it easier for you to sell them all and not sell piecemeal which is time and effort consuming.

I just bought the 2009 6 Volume Scott catalog on CD for $9.95 on ebay. I put it on both my computers and next week when I go on vacation I will have it with me. I don't find it as easy to use as the paper catalogs but the price and convenience are terrific.

Another idea is to buy used stamp albums on ebay. If you shop you can get clean used Scott Internationals with a few hundred stamps for $50-60 and these retail for about $300 with a binder. Scott Internationals are an excellent album. I also like the Minkus Global Supreme, but there aren't as many nice ones on ebay.

Most importantly have fun!

Mainly all Scott International used albums sold on ebay are old editions with cheap paper, the holes are not at the same distance from the edge too, so old editions will not align with last edition

Hi Zedwardson, like you I picked up my boyhood hobby after going dormant for many years. And like you I also joined this noble Stamp Community Forum Family. I have had the good fortune to chat recently with several of the collectors who have already responded to you in this string. They enjoy sharing their learned experience and their passion for the history and beauty of stamps.

Best of all, you can decide what niche or avenue of stamp collecting is most appealing to you as an individual.
Like others, I have purchased used Scott Catalogues which are resold by libraries. My 2014 US reference is in excellent condition from Oklahoma City Library and cost me about $45. Since you might want to collect World Wide, you might need to purchase a set of catalogues which each cover a number of countries. I'll soon put 3 Scott catalogs on ebay so that another collector can put them to use. Good luck and have a great time!