How Stamps Were Sold Before The Internet

I bought a box of stamps and coins. In included some old approval books, I thought folks would enjoy seeing them.

I use to do it on approval including a little bit now with a couple of dealers. Either works well for me.

I believe a whole lot of people are still using sales circuits - which is a form of approval books?

Peter

Yes, but they put very different kind of material in them.

I believe MYSTIC still does it. Personally, using the internet is a whole lot easier.

Jack Kelley

Before the internet -----Most collectors subscribed to LINN'S STAMP NEWS or WESTERN COLLECTOR stamp newspapers or even BOY'S LIFE or STAMPS magazine. The classified section was the go to section for purchases .

I use to use the 49'er Stamp Company (out of New Hampshire) for approvals back in the 1990's. I was able to find some nice Australian states material that way, but most older approval books I've seen from bulk lots have common stamps like seen above.

In my early teens I got approvals from H.E.Harris. In time I collected US only and around 1964 when I was 18 or so, I responded to an offer for US approvals from Bill Egleston, a dealer operating out of Utah and later North Dakota. I continued with him for a couple years, still have many of the stamps he sold me, all the basic sets. He had to have known I was a novice on a budget but it didn't matter, he was happy with a $5 purchase. Gone are the days..

You just need to order something from Mystic Stamp and you will see what approvals are.

Al

Back in the day, there was actually a part time dealer in Augusta, GA. I would go on Saturday morning and always find something I wanted. There were dealers in Atlanta and it was fun go go through their stock books. I also got sales circuit books from APS. There were a lot of ways to buy stamps.

One particular adventure was when I ordered from London a selection of penny red with letters in all corners. It was a minimal amount of money and I forgot about it. Six months later it arrived in the mail . Talk about surprised and delighted.

I also got approvals from Stanley Gibbons. Payment was a bit dicey, but I managed it. The New York office would not accept payment in dollars for stamps, so I had to write a check in dollars and hope that when it cashed in London there was enough at the current exchange rate to pay for the stamps. I always added 5 dollars to the amount and hoped.

I find several things very interesting about these books.

1. There was a tremendous amount of time put into these books of very common stamps. Specialty pages were printed up for sets. Or Scott numbers and prices were typed onto the page. Then stamps were hinged onto the page. This all took a lot of time.

2. Centering did not seem to matter much.

3. The differential in prices for these commons stamps. Scott # 739 $0.15; Scott # 1125 $0.06; Scott # 1013 $0.05; Scott # C52 $0.18. etc.

If I remember well, approval company was advertising on match cover.

Edit, I find this on Google, I remember the one with Kennedy

Internet makes buying stamps much easier.

I still remember when ebay just started and I bought some stamps there

I bought my first stamps from approval sheets just like are shown above. That was the early 'fifties. Common stamps, usually, but to me, a kid, they were all new, and it was exciting. And I still like getting stamps on approval. I do find stamps I didn't know I wanted. If I know what I want, and it's cheap, I might order it from Mystic. If it's not cheap, I'll go to ebay. I rather like the auctions. If I want something that at the time nobody else wants, I end up paying a small fraction of CV. All in all, I'm glad Al Gore invented the internet.

Don

angore,

If you don't want MYSTIC to send you approvals, all you have to do is to tell them. I sent an unsolicited set back once with a note and never received another one! And I still do business with them.

Jack Kelley

I know. I was just noting that approvals are alive and well and will get them unsolicited from Mystic at least one time.