Just About Ready To Give Up

Not a collector but I've accumulated 4000-6000 worldwide stamps years 1960=2010, from virtually every country, islands, etc, that I would like to sell. I'm in the early learning curve, but from looking on ebay and other sites I see many, many stamps offered for sale at extremely low prices and very few buyers. My conclusion so far is that it likely not worth the time and effort to sort for very little return. Many are off cover, many on torn covers with postmarks. All stamps are from mail sent directly to me over the years. Dealers seem to have no interest. Thanks.

The stamp business is a very tough one and many people over estimate the value of what they have. Not an easy buck in most cases and although some may digress, modern issues really don't hold as much interest as one would hope.

It may help the others who may have an interest if you shared some photos or gave an idea of what you're looking to get.

ebay or Craig's List may be your best bet if you just want to get rid of them. It's more work but to get the most out of it try and break it down to sets, or small lots. Larger lots "usually" bring a lower price-per-stamp.

If they're common stamps, the effort of breaking them down may be too great for the return. Most stamps really are penny stamps.

Nordfrim - see ad at the top of this page - sells 5,000 Different worldwide, off paper for 50 euro.

I'm afraid that what everyone has told you is true. Recent and common is not a good combination to expect any financial return on stamps. Personally, if there's Canada, Great Britain, or France stamps in there, I'd gladly take them off your hands.

1960-2000 (or so) era stamps are among the most common there are. Kind of an ironic twist is that post-2010 used stamps, while still not truly valuable, are more in demand and often more valuable on an individual basis than stamps from 60 years ago. The use of stamps on mail has declined so much in recent years, plus post offices issue so many new stamps, that certain stamps can be downright scarce in postally used condition. If you have any of those, you could try sorting them out and selling them separately. You might be surprised what you'll get for them. Recent used issues can often sell for a fairly significant portion of face value.

It's a give away / donate type of item.

Try your local stamp club. We're always having people come in with their collections. Sometimes they are successful in selling something.

Jack Kelley