The Right Way To Collect Stamps

Buy kiloware, or get kiloware for your birthday.

Break down the kiloware. Now you have duplicates.


Get together with other people in your town and with good information about your inventory, bring your duplicates to the get-together and trade what you have for what you do not. First check the catalog and make sure they aren't valuable.

Any stamp you don't have one of, is worth more than a duplicate.

Or buy collections at auction like floortrader does. May be a good idea that your get-together is at a stamp club meeting.

At the end of the day, the "right way" to collect is whatever way gives you enjoyment. If you're not enjoying it, you're not doing it right. This is a hobby, after all. But, as has been alluded to, the most economical way to collect is to buy in bulk, whether that's kiloware, collections, or other bulk lots. You can usually buy such lots at well under 10% aggregate CV vs. the 50% (give or take) you'd expect to pay buying individual stamps or sets.

I pretty sure I will mostly have the stamps included in a kiloware and probably all the low value duplicates of club members , so it's not the right way for me.

My problem is that at this point in my life I have more money than I have time or storage space. I can certainly see the appeal in buying in bulk but the divorce would be expensive and then I'd be without money, time or space. ;-)

George

If kiloware is the right way then I am doing it all wrong. And I will continue to do it wrong. Come to think of it, I think that statement is all wrong!

Peter

Kiloware will be OK for some, but do I really want masses of stamps, mostly on paper, with extensive duplication. Like geosafe, but without his Croesus-like riches, no.

"Croesus-like riches"!

Yikes! I guess I need to quit soaking Showgard off old album pages for re-use if I'm going to have that kind of credential!

George

2nd conversation starter like this that 'Somebodysmart' has thrown in without entering further into the discussion. Wonder why...?

THERE'S A RIGHT WAY TO COLLECT STAMPS? Tell all.

Have I been doing it wrong all these years?

Curious minds want to know.

The right way to collect stamps? Don't use scotch tape. The rest is up to you.
[I helped to teach one of the stamp collecting 101 courses at NY2016; that was my starting point then and it's true here]

As usual Artful Hinger is correct. You can also sell extra stamps on Stamps to Go. Or here for that matter.

George

Due to lack of imagination, I hadn't thought of soaking mounts - which often appear to be super-glued to the page. My own are lightly held with a dab of glue-stick. Thanks for the tip.

Geoff

The idea is, why spend five dollars to add a stamp you don't have in your collection when you can get a hundred stamps you don't have, for the same price?

Because you need that $5 retail stamp to complete a set for which you have all the other stamps, whereas the 100 stamps might end up leaving the collector with several new sets that need to be completed?

Unless you are saying completing sets is not important, then that is up to how you collect.

Wish I had known this when I started collecting 60+ years ago. Of course, it doesn't take too many ruined stamps to learn the requisite lesson the hard way.