Is There A Best Los Angeles Dealer To Sell Inherited Stamp Collection For Fairest Price?

My grandfather who died 60 years ago owned a Stamp Store and he left his inventory/collection with my mother who has now left it to me after she sold the "Valuable Stuff 30 years ago". I don't collect stamps and just a quick sample of stuff showed that the stuff I sampled only went for $1-3 apiece on ebay which simply is not worth my time to get involved with.

There are a few thousand stamps I'm guessing, Some in Stamp books and a few thousand loose. I live in Los Angeles. Is there anyone you'd recommend who would give me a reasonable price- 20% or so of retail value I'd consider reasonable.

Appreciate any help or advice. I simply do not have the time or inclination to go through all the stamps, its not worth my money to get an appraisal, I just don't want to find out that I got $1,000 for a collection that is worth $20,000 for example. Thank You. PS I will not donate it or give away to a friend or relative.

You need to do some minimum work - I's suggest you start by dividing it up by country. If just one country - divide it up by mint (unused) - singles, blocks and sheets; used and non stamps (i.e. covers, other philatelic material). Then you have a better idea of what you have. Then - with a description - list it here or on ebay. If you have Canada material you can contact me directly - with a description - and get an offer. Just a suggestion.

Oh - and you need to configure your membership here so you can send and recieve what is called "direct mail" so you can have individual contact with people.

Go to the APS website for info on LA stamp clubs and ask the folks there your question. Chances are you get an answer that way.
Sorry, the website is http://stamps.org . On that site you will find information on local clubs.


Peter

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Perhaps you could donate it to a charitable organization (something like Boys Town, I know they take stamps), then take a healthy tax deduction. Keep in mind that while you don't want to take $1,000 for a $20,000 catalog value accumulation is pretty much what sellers of bulk lots offer their stamps for in Linn's.

I know nothing about dealers in LA, but the answer depends somewhat on what you've got. If the stamps are mostly worldwide, for example, a dealer who specializes in US stamps won't be interested, for example. And keep in mind that dealers may not be interested at all in stamps that retail for a few dollars or less, as they typically have plenty of those types of stamps. You could compile them into bulk lots of several-to-dozens of such stamps and try to sell them on ebay. You'll move them faster and will (hopefully) bring in more than a dollar or two per sale.

As mentioned, finding an LA-area stamp club and seeking their advice is probably the best way to go. They'll know the dealers in your area and can probably steer you in the right direction.

Thanks for all your replies. I hadn't thought of trying to sell some on bulk on ebay. I'll research that. Also appreciate you people telling me that dealers may buy US stamps only or world wide stamps only, etc.

The problem with this mess she gave me is as my sister says, unless I spend 6 months every day for 8 hours a day researching each stamp, I possibly could be basically giving away a $5,000 to $10,000 stamp, etc. for virtually nothing. Unfortunately, that just is how it is as she saw no alternative either. Right now from a quick sample of stamps from 1860 - 1940 or so, I didn't find anything that actually sold for more than a few bucks on ebay (I always used sold prices for reference not current listed prices).

Yep lots of time...agree with all above...find a stamp club on line and contact the president...show him/her..good luck...

HR Harmer is a reputable stamp auction firm in the LA area. If you made an appointment with them and showed them the collection I think they would tell you the approximate value and the best way to dispose of the collection. If they think it is valuable enough to list in their auction I can tell you they get good prices, I am rarely able to win an item in their auctions.