What Are Worldwide Stamp Collections Worth?

ADCAPLAN----"The period of 1988 thru 2002" ,what time frame are you talking about .

revenuecollector: I agree with you, folks should build their collections and choose their albums to suit their own preferences and not based on some possible future gains. Personally if I was going to start a worldwide collection I think I would look for a clean Vintage collection as a starting point, if Vintage collections are slightly undervalued I would take advantage of that when I bought it. The reason I would choose Vintage albums is that it always frustrated me when I couldn't find a space for a stamp. As an 8 year old with a Traveler WW album that happened a lot, now as an adult I have moved on.

adcaplan: I empty a lot of binders and strangely Minkus Global binders are much more in demand than the Scott Internationals. I usually sell the better binders in lots of 5 because I can get 5 into a Priority box. Last spring I sold 5 Minkus and 5 Scott. The Minkus sold for $140 and the Scott for $22.

Then you will get a specialised catalogue from a country philatelic association and you will be again frustrated for missing spaces.

Completed or near completed BB pages sell well and they are easy to sell too ; you just scan the pages , the images speak by them self. A lot of peoples will purchase the pages to complete their BB albums, they focus more on filling the holes than the quality of the stamps, so chances are for the sellers to ear less complain about hinge, minors defaults and other things.

I purchased the Vintage Reproductions new a year or so ago, and I've started using them initially for a few countries, while continuing to use BigBlue for everything else. Basically running both systems in parallel to get a better sense for which one I like the best.

No question that it is nice to have a space for most any stamp I acquire. However, there is something to be said for the BigBlue as it gives you a doable goal of completing the album in your lifetime! As has been mentioned by others before, the fun then becomes the "hunt" for the stamps to fill your empty spaces and complete the album, which doesn't have to break the bank either.

Ken

It may be that a big part of the Schaubek's real attraction was its completeness of scope, and the possibility of continuation. Once you break the album up, it becomes a less attractive proposition. By contrast, I'd guess that US collectors are more used to seeing Big Blues broken up. My guess is that, of older albums, few would be bought here (in England) for the album as well as the stamps. Old Ideals, Imperials and George VI Crown albums would probably be exceptions. I can't imagine much interest in Big Blues aside from the stamps themselves, given the drawbacks of content and layout.

Geoff

Okay! Now you all have me very curious. Can anyone point me in the direction of where I can see this fabled Big Blue album? You have all made me very curious. Is it possible to pick one up secondhand?

Check out Jim wonderful blog:

http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/

Used ones abound on ebay

Welcome to "Big Blue"

Thanks for info! Going to have to see if I can find one on ebay.

Okay! I am watching a few on ebay - wish me luck! What of date range of album do you recommend?

Depends on what time period you want to collect. For example Vol 1 is for the classic period (1840-1940), Vol 2 is 1941-1950, so on.

Most world-wide collectors start with 1840 and go up to 1940 or 1950 or 1960, etc.

Here is my collection of Big Blues .

Bear in mind that older copies are likely to have distinctly average paper, which may not be what you want to build on - see this live thread

https://www.stampcommunity.org/topi...47676#440711

Very true! My 1985 edition has nice thick paper, but earlier editions have quite thin paper.

Best to buy new ones.