"Penny Approval" Services: Are There Any Left?

Ursa wrote: "Nowadays, I am sure all of us on this forum will first peruse ebay for less than common stamps......."

Uh, no. I don't use ebay. When I've browsed on ebay for my main specialty (Portuguese colonies), I've found the material offered there to either be damaged or way too expensive. My favored way has been to develop good relationships with several dealers who attend stamp shows. I've used D & P Stamps from California extensively; also Filatelia Macas from Lisbon (Portugal, not Ohio!) and RASLAD from Gallup, NM. There are others that I'm beginning to look at, but these have been the main three.

Should note that I don't attend European shows. Rather spend money on stamps than plane fare. Met the good folks in Lisbon when I was hiking & walking in Portugal in 2017 and will be back in Lisbon this coming June.

I do agree that the common stamps can be difficult to find. But a good dealer can really be of help. Oh, over the years, I've returned a grand total of two stamps bought from these dealers; one of which was a fake overprint and the dealer had agreed in advance to refund my purchase price if needed. So, in my thinking, that's a 99.9+% quality rate.

Have you tried Portuguese auctions, Steve? I hope you have a good time in Lisbon - a wonderful place, as you know. My daughter's going there for an energy event in March - I'm very jealous!

@Climber Steve: You got me...I should've prefaced the quoted statement with "Generally speaking". For certain specialized philatelic and numismatic areas such as the Portuguese Colonies collection you're working on, ebay is close to worthless.

If/when I embark on my proposed German States collection, it will most certainly be done with the assistance of a trusted dealer.

But, we're drifting a bit off-topic. For a less-common USA stamp worth, say, ten bucks, I'd at least look on ebay if for no other reason than to determine a reasonable price.

Hi Ursa,
I am relatively new here, but a long-time collector. I have found HipStamp to be one of the most useful online sites for finding those elusive, but not necessarily expensive stamps that are missing from my collection. If you do a search by country and catalog number you can usually get many good choices, often with a wide range of prices. Since most stamp listings include a good scan, you can choose by condition very easily. If you still need them, there are even plenty of listings for the nickel and dime stamps that you won't likely find on ebay.

If you are lucky enough to have a stamp dealer within easy reach, some have nickel/dime pick books from old collections. Also a stamp club usually has trading and/or pick books offered at their meetings. I know the Knoxville Philatelic Society has an extensive selection of nickel pick books that are occasionally marked down for volume purchases or clearance sales to 2 cents.

ursa: wasn't trying to "get you." Just making a comment. A problem for me with ebay is the use of PayPal. I had a subscription to PayPal years ago that I allowed to lapse. When I tried to renew, I was told they needed my social security number which I could either call in to them, or fax it to them. My reaction: "Hello identify theft." So, no PayPal now for me.

Geoff: thanks for the suggestion about Portuguese auctions. I'm a little wary about bidding in auctions outside of the US and Canada. I know that it is already an effort to get stamps from the Lisbon dealer. No fault of theirs, but I have to wire money since the Portuguese banking system does not allow for receipt of foreign checks (probably with good reason). I'm stopping in Lisbon on the way home from a multi-day hike/trek in southern Bavaria. Plenty of uphill walking also in Lisbon, as you know.

eagle79: welcome to the Forum. I've heard good things about the Knoxville club. Another good place for cheap stamps, that are hard to find, might be a philatelic library. The Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library here in Denver is one such place, especially since there no longer are "brick and mortar" stamp stores in metro Denver.

Another option is to do what Floortrader does; buy bulk lots at auctions like Kelleher & Rasdale. Yes, you may get a lot of duplicates, but possibilities for getting shades and other varieties exist.

I suspect paypal wanting a social security number is tied to reporting requirements of transfers over $10,000.

Must be a US requirement. I don't think I've ever been asked for my National Insurance number by anyone other than an employer or the government.