Help A Newbie!

Hi there,
my grandmother used to collect used stamps because she had a lot of friends around the world and loved stamps. Now I know a lot of these are not valuable as they are used but I had a few questions and was hoping the nice people here could help me.

1) If I decide to sell a used stamp on ebay is there anything specific I should do to the stamp before I send it? I collect sports cards and it's custom to put them into penny sleeves and top loaders. But I have no idea about stamps.

2) She had some stamps from Iran and I read somewhere that I cannot sell these to the US, (I am from Canada) as there is an embargo? Is this true?

3) Is it best to sell these in a large lot or list them individually. There must be a couple hundred stamps in here.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Alex.

Alex, welcome to this forum!
If I may, let me set you straight on one small point. Just because a stamp is uaed does not mean it is cannot be valuable! The most valuable stamp in the world is used one!
As for Iran, since you are Canadian can you not just ignore the embargo? Here in the States we can not sell or buy them but I do not believe you should have any restrictions.
Lastly, please post some of the pictures of the stamps you might sell. We love pictures!

Peter

Hi.

As regards to question 1, I'm not sure what you mean. Are you asking about packing? If so, place the stamps in a small and carefully folded envelope so they can't fall out, then place inside a normal envelope with a piece of card to prevent accidental bending in the post. Address the large envelope before putting the stamps inside. You can tape up the small envelope for added protection, but beware that tape and stamps don't mix, and buyers often aren't keen on sticky tape placed near their stamps.

Regarding Iran, I don't know that it's illegal to sell them, but ebay have a policy which seems to block them, because of the way ebay interpret US law. If you list them they will probably get blocked by ebay. A trick is to use the country name Persia instead, which collectors will understand.

Question 3 - I'd go for a large lot. Assorted modern used might well have a market - individual modern used is practically a non-starter. The individual value of the stamps is likely to be very small, but a collector might like to sift through a coupe of hundred for fun and maybe the odd 'find'. Be prepared though, they are unlikely to fetch much money.

Hope this helps - others will give their views too, I'm sure...

Hi Peter,
Thanks so much for the quick response. I will gladly post some pictures. Mostly 70s onward, a lot of Iran, Canada, USA and some other European and African stamps.

As for selling, I meant can I ship them from Canada into the states? Or will they get seized at the border?

I will upload the pictures to photobucket and add it here soon. But they aren't very detailed as they are just sitting in a tin box. I tried sorting them but there are soooo many and I don't know what to do with them.

Thanks again
Alex

Thanks for your response Ringo, that's what I meant by question 1 thanks. I didn't know if I should just put it with the invoice just leave it unsecured. But the card advices is great for not having them bend. Thanks

Here is the tin full of them, it doesn't do justice to how much there is in there. I know the pictures are kinda crappy.



One of the few unused ones:


This one was a bit strange too:


I then tried sorting by country: Here is Venezuela


Portugal:


Italy:


USA:


CANADA:

movel23,

I am new to stamps too so I don't know the answer to what you are asking. I'm sure there is some type of traditional storage device used. I've seen little envelopes made from weird semi-transparent paper-like material, but don't know what they are.

But I do want to say is, if I was a Canadian in your position I would avoid selling stamps that are from Iran, Cuba, and the Sudan through any US based system. Earlier this year I've read Paypal agreed to a settlement of 7.7 Million dollars with U.S Regulators for violation of U.S Sanctions relating to those countries. Further they have stated that one of the steps they have put into place to improve compliance is real-time scanning of payments.

I have also read stories (which started popping up in September 2015) of paypal accounts being automatically shutdown & people being banned from the service when they received a payment for an item sold through ebay and the item sold was from one of those countries.

I also have read claims on various collector boards that some items (according to date) are allowed to be sold (I don't know if that is true or not) but paypal seems not to care or they just have a blanket system in place to deal with the issue. Even if you are in the right, I doubt a few dollars would be worth the hassle of your paypal account being shutdown and being banned from using the service.

Thanks for the honest advice dsmith426!

I was thinking the same thing, I was getting ready to post a few on ebay to see how it goes and I noticed there was no category for Iran in the stamps section, the ones I saw had a blurb in the description about the embargo so I figure not worth the hassle. Just thought someone here would know better as this is your field of expertise. I am not looking to have my ebay or paypal account shut down so I will hold on to those for now. As for the rest I guess I can put them in a big lot and sell them. Any guesses on how much they would fetch? A rough guess would be fine as I know its only worth what someone is willing to pay. Thanks everyone, this is a very friendly and helpful board.
Alex

If you are asking me to guess, I have not a clue. I'm new to learning about the hobby. So someone would have to answer that. I have just been saving the stamps that show up on my mail. I have only have 7-8 so far. lol.

The envelopes to which dsmith refers are "glassine envelopes". You can find these for sale on ebay. There are many sizes of glassine available, from extremely small (can hold very few stamps) to large (can hold complete sheets).

movel23, Greetings:

The mixtures you will be selling go under the nickname 'kiloware'.

You can search with that term, and get an idea for what is selling for what.

The question is whether/not you would like to put in some time to add some value.

If you look at the kiloware listings, you will notice the terms 'on-paper' and 'off-paper'. As most of your stamps seem to be attached to a piece of the envelope they arrived on, they would be 'on paper'.

Frankly, I would sell your mixtures 'on-paper', as removing the stamps is a laborious labor of love that some collectors really enjoy and, as a non-collector, would only pay you a very modest (pennies-per-hour?) wage.

Another way to add value is to continue doing what you seem to already be doing: sorting my country. But be very, very careful, as there is great danger in sorting stamps by country: you might start to enjoy yourself and, well, there goes any money you would have made by selling them.

As to the Persian-Iranian stamps, set them aside, and wait for a better day.

Or, sooner than that, an eMail'd offer from someone on SCF.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Hey ikeyPikey,
I already feel like I'm getting hooked just by the niceness of this community. I collect cards and it's become such a cut throat money only business, so much so that it has sucked the life out of the hobby. There seem to be such a good positive and helpful group of people here. Thanks everyone.

As a collector of postally use materials, I love finding used stamps on paper with clean, clear cancels. I hate "CTO", Cancel To Order, because they were mass cancelled but never used.

Move and Arctic Wolf: welcome to the Forum. You will find a lot of information on this site. I've been collecting stamps since age 10 in 1960 and I continue to learn new stuff here.

Move: since you live in Canada, here are two web sites for you to consider checking into.

www.rpsc.org (the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada) http://bnaps.org (British North America Philatelic Society) Note that both of these societies specialize in the stamps and stamp history of Canada and its former provinces. However, both probably have lists of local stamp clubs throughout Canada somewhere on their sites (I did a quick check just now to make sure I have the correct web addresses, but did not go further). Both may also have lists of Canadian stamp dealers where you can get other information. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned buying stuff on ebay and that is an option. Myself, I have other ways to get stamps, sell stamps, get supplies like glassine envelopes, and so never have to deal with the ebay hassles that sometimes seem to be never-ending.

I was an RPSC member for about 15 years, ending in the early 1990s, when I joined the organization for Portugal and colonies collecting. Have not belonged (yet!) to the BNAPS.

For Arctic, and actually Move too: here is the web site for the American Philatelic Society in Pennsylvania: http://stamps.org . I've been an APS member for almost 42 years and have never been disappointed. All sorts of good information is available, including a monthly magazine, expertization services, buying stamps both via an online store and circuits mailed direct to your house, etc.

I don't suppose they are worth anything much, but those Venezuela stamps are nice, with the blue cancels. If you sell, I'd list those as a lot separately from the rest, just because someone may like them like that.

Not sure what the scan just above it is - doesn't look like a postage stamp. Looks like something to do with a lottery.

Hi There, Movel23 - The news papers recently have been playing on the efforts of Obama to get the embargo on Iran lifted. He wants it right away and I believe it was the Washington Post that said it looks like that may be accomplished in January. Maybe. In the case of your grandmother's collection of postally used stamps which has been handed from her generation to yours, the economic harm is upon you, as an interference to commerce, with no current benefit to Iran whatsoever. Find a stamp club!

I think you may have more fun transferring your stamps to a scrap book or photo album. No need to spend a fortune on supplies until you get hooked. As Arctic Wolf said, he leaves some stamps attached to paper. I like that for strips, interesting, colourfull stamp combinations, nice postmarks and dates. Just have fun with those stamps.