What Are Your Favorite Web Sites For Buying Foreign Stamps?

I am hoping this will be a very informative and fun topic. Since I am starting the topic, let's run with the following as the "rules" of engagement:

1- The site must display and/or list foreign stamps that you can buy directly. Images of the actual stamps you will be buying = better.

2- Site can also sell USA, but should be focused on foreign.

3- The site should be updated frequently so the inventory presented is relatively fresh.

4- Please share with everyone what you really like about that site.

I will start off with a few of my favorites, with a few notes about each.

Murray Payne, Ltd.
http://www.murraypayne.com/rhome1c.asp
Murray Payne focuses on British Commonwealth stamps from KGVI (1938-52), but also has a large stock of Elizabethan and pre-1938 stamps that you can see and buy directly from their site.

Dennis R. Abel
http://www.drabel.com/
Large and varied selection of foreign stamps with images that can be bought directly from their site. They are away on vacation at present.

Mesa Stamps
http://www.mesastamps.com/
Also large and varied selection of foreign you can buy directly from their site. Pricing may seem a bit high but once you hit $20 they give a 15% discount and a $100 gets 25% off. Downsides for me are they don't have a lot of images and the site runs very slowly (for me).

Looking forward to learning about your favorite foreign stamp sites!

All the best,

Ed

Thanks for starting this thread shermae - good topic!

One of the main sources I use is the APS stamp store.

http://stamps.org/Stampstore

You do not need to be a member to use the site.... But the 10% surcharge might persuade you to do so.

I have used Jay Smith on many occasions - good service and wide selection for a Scandanavian specialist:

http://www.jaysmith.com/Specials/Wo...orldTOC.html

International auctions on:

Good stuff for that find-of-a-lifetime can be also found on ebay dot many countries
http://www.ebay .com in the United States
http://www.ebay .ca in Canada
http://www.ebay .com.au in Australia
http://www.ebay .co.uk in the United Kingdom
etc, etc

Or on Delcampe (The Home) in Belgium or Luxembourg with sellers from every country
http://www.delcempe.net


Good cancels and postmarks with stamp, on paper or cover, have to be hunted down and cornered I am telling you.

I have not yet used Jay Smith, but was certainly wondering about that company. I also wondered if anyone dealt with Herrick?

Jay Smith has an excellent web site though they have not completely listed some countries that they specialize in (Scandanavia). They also have some worldwide material but not a ton.

I've bought a few things from Herrick. They tend to be expensive but now and then I have found a tough item on their site. Most of their stock is left over new issues they didn't sell. Not many images on their site, and they kind of lack that philatelic "touch." By that I mean, doing business with them feels like doing business with a company like Amazon- big, slow, feels like an assembly line, and no attention to details.

I used Herrick for their approval system - they would ship a "lot" of albums and you could pick the stamps you wanted at 20% Scott and return the rest. Great idea and good selection, but the minimum of $200 per shipment were too high over the long run.

I should add "Champion Stamps" in NYC. I work in the city and stop by on a regular basis. If you can find a well stocked local store with counter books and collections to browse help to keep them in business!

I've been in Champion's store twice and they do have an amazing stock of material. But did you get sticker shock when you saw their prices?

try this store for sticker shock...with Canadian stamps any ways..
http://www.citystamp.ca/canada-provinces/mint.html

Ralph Schneider has a pretty complete stock of the entire German area and stocks Austria and Luxembourg as well:

http://rschneiderstamps.com/

He's probably got the best website and inventory of any US based dealer in German philately currently, although I'm sure there are much larger dealers and similar websites based in Germany. His service is very speedy - usually shipping within 24 hours or less. You can also order singles not listed on the website just by adding a comment with the order.

Definitely there with you on Jay Smith! I am fortunate that he covers some of the areas I like (Greenland, Iceland) but his "foreign" section is expanding significantly and has some very nice stock. Others I use quite regularly in the UK include Robstine Stamps (www.robstine-stamps.com) and Tony Bray (https://www.tonybray.co.uk), one of the biggest dealers in the UK. Downsides for both are that, for non-EU users, they only have Stanley Gibbons and Michel catalogue numbers, and both sites are very light on images. However, stock levels are huge and I have found that they will help me look for stamps within their dealer network.

Shermpe, yes Champion Stamps have high prices, but it's located in midtown Manhattan so I am not expecting "cheap" stamps. However, when browsing the counter books, it appears they do mark down material that isn't moving so deals can be found.

Since someone mentioned the APS site, I should mention ZOS (Zillions of Stamps). Plusses are that the entire world is covered and there are multiple sellers to choose from. Downsides are there are very, very few images, and there are fewer sellers involved then in the past. Not sure why, but it's definetaly a go-to when looking for tough items.

http://zillionsofstamps.com/

There is also Stamps 2 Go which is worldwide.

http://stamps2go.com/default.aspx

Shields Stamps seems to have a decent amount of stock listed online:
http://www.shieldsstamps.com.au/index.php

Aron R. Halberstam also has a very nice site for classic Br. Commonwealth material up to about 1960. I really like that I can search for only MNH material:
http://www.arhstamps.com/index.php