Questions On Ebay Listings

My neighbor today gave me a box of stamps. there are thousands of them and I hope some are worth my time researching them.
My question is when I search for the stamp I have on ebay, I keep seeing a pattern. There are either four stamps together or whole sheets and in mint condition. These are 60-80 year old stamps.
Are these stamps legit or some kind of reprint? They say Scott or SC#such'n'such.
I know that the stamps I've researched so far are not rare. I see single stamps, some with postal ink on them sold for, say, $3 and then I see a whole sheet sold for $8. It just doesn't add up. When I look at the sellers list of stamps for sale they have tons of sheets.
Thanks

Post a picture or three of some of the stamps you are looking at and someone will offer their opinions or advice

1. Value Is established by what someone will pay for an item.
2. Just because an item is old doesn't mean its worth a million dollars.
3. 20+ plus years in stamps and I'm still learning, everyday.
4. Here's a stamp from 1894! It's worth a buck!

Continue you journey into 'stamps', the water is quite shallow right now, but if you decide to go swimming the water will get so deep it will blow your mind.(I hope you will enjoy and stick with stamps)


Andin the future, post pictures with your question-it helps all of 'us' to better give opinions with our response's.

Good luck.

My questions are: Are there really THAT many stamps that people have dozens of sheets of them even of that old? I mean I'm sure you run across sheets of old stamps from time to time but there just seems like more than expected.
Are people posting replica stamps on ebay? And does "Scott" have something to do with reprints or is it just some type of identification?
These are just beginner questions I have. Forgive me for my ignorance. No photo to insert for these questions.
Thank You

To answer your questions:

Yes, there are really that many stamps which are 60-75 years old. They were printed in the millions and sometimes billions.

Scott is a catalog which lists all stamps issued by a country and is the go-to for collectors to identify and easily describe the stamp(s) they have.

The four stamps together you are seeing are likely what are known as plate blocks. Each sheet of stamps in this period had the plate number used printed in the selvage (that's the paper to the side, top and bottom which doesn't have the stamp image). There are collectors who seek these plate blocks out. Of course, most collectors collect singles or pairs for coils or imperforates.

If you do not have a catalog, check your local library - they may have some. They are usually in the reference section.

Hope this helps.

By the way, justme!

Unused US stamps from 1950 onward (with a few exceptions) are worth approximately 1/2 of the Face value that they sold for at the post office originally. A sheet of 100 10c stamps sold for $10 60 years ago now is worth $5. US stamps for this era are plentiful.

That same 10 cent stamp is still worth 10 cents if you use it as postage. The discount occurs when one tries to sell the stamps outright.

One of the things that contributes to value is how many of the stamps were printed. Unfortunately many stamps were printed in the millions, so they will never be scarce. My suggestion for unused U.S. stamps is that you use them to pay your bills. That way you get full value and don't have to go to the trouble of selling them.

Your example really tells it all. "My neighbor today gave me a box of stamps. there are thousands of them...". Most stamp collectors have friends and neighbors that give us stamps like this all of the time. These boxes are fun to sort through but generally of very little value. There were also many, many collectors (and their children) coming out of the depression that started collecting sheets (50 stamps) of every stamp. Those collectors have passed away and those stamps are on the market now. We now need 50 new collectors to absorb one sheet of these stamps. There is just not enough new collectors so demand is rock bottom. That is a picture of the US market from the 40s forward for mint stamps. Used stamps are a also low demand back a little further, say late 20s though there are some exceptions.
Try to find a local stamp club and pay them a visit. They will help you. You can search on the American Philatelic Society pages.

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Personally, I would bump that back 2 decades: 1930 onwards.

When I go to the PO they always ask "Do you need stamps?" If it's a teller I haven't seen before I explain I buy my stamps at 50% discount. The reactions are often very amusing, some tellers think that it's illegal to sell postage for less than face value.


Down here in rural FL we have to get our fun anyway we can.

Once again, post some pictures. Or are you just seeking info? THAT would be nice to see.

One other thing, checking ebay listings for the "value" of stamps can often be a dangerous endeavor.

https://goscf.com/t/63400

When using ebay to value stamps it is critical that you check the "Sold" items. The active listing often have ridiculous asking prices, but the Sold prices are useful.

Also understand that prior to the telephone letters and postcards were the only way to communicate with others.
Stamps from the late 1800's were printed in the millions and are readily available for pennies. As postal routes expanded in the 20th century the stamps were printed in the hundreds of millions to keep up with demand especially during war times.

99% of stamps have a value of less than $10. ebay is a great place to build on a collection and fill gaps with common stamps that are cheap. Buying expensive stamps on ebay gets a bit riskier and knowledge is your best tool when it comes to these.