That Weird Librarian They Warned You About, From Cleveland, Ohio

I've been collecting US stamps for a couple years now, with the intent of building the most interesting collection possible on a budget. My (at the time) girlfriend's sister found a 1972 Harris Liberty stamp album in the trash, and it provided a solid anchor to guide my collecting. I now have... at least $1200 into said album.

From the beginning, my goal has been to not spend more than either $2 or 5% of the cheapest example that Mystic has available on each stamp.



Yes, it's doable, and yes, I have a good few placeholders, but I am loving the search. I'm always looking for dealers who have great stamps with issues.

I'm closing in on the point where even if I could find stamps at my price criteria, it would still be too expensive, so I am working on cleaning up my album and providing context.

Welcome, enjoy the forum.
I like the way you've set up your challenge, and it does seem you are suceeding in creating an interesting collection within your regulations. Nice.

Welcome - great way to collect!!

That's exactly how I started out. A dealer once asked me if I was interested in mint stamps and I said I got kids in college I can't afford to even think about mint stamps. What happens is it grows on you, and for me at least it was slippery slope to really nice. A great album to fill and the timeline pre 1972 is my sweet spot. My brother gave me a Harris Traveler Album that he got at a yard sale for a buck. This is my first foray as an adult into foreign stamps. Another slippery slope. Enjoy the journey
Cheers

cbustapeck,

Collecting for the enjoyment of collecting, whatever that might be, is the name of the game. Don't hesitate to ask questions especially if you need basic information and especially more advanced sources of information for any possible topic. You should be able to find folks on this board a little further along on their collecting journey glad to share experiences. Russ

Added later in the afternoon: It is refreshing to find a collector who values a used stamp for what it represents - a piece of well traveled paper that may show some wear and tear in its journey. They are especially collectable when left on the envelope further documenting their travels.

cbustapeck!

The hunt for a stamp is always a fun aspect of collecting, especially when you set parameters like you have. Good luck with your searches and keep us posted!

Dan

Thank you all.

I'm always looking for interesting things that other people are not paying attention to - because it means that I can have the most fun stuff on a librarian's salary - and because I love the search.

I don't know if suggesting dealers is within what's allowed here, but I would really appreciate suggestions as to dealers that list higher point 19th century US stamps with major faults in regular inventory posted online or dealers that I ought to talk to. In addition to regular series, I am looking for many of the officials.

I know and have purchased a good few from Stamps by Paul Cook and Longman Stamp Co.. I would like to believe that there are others, or maybe dealers who have some hidden away in a drawer somewhere, but I don't know where to look or who to ask, and would appreciate suggestions.

cbustapeck

Glad you could join us.

Dianne

to the Stamp Community !

Welcome CBU. I'd make another suggestion; search ebay or Hipstamp for auctions startign at $0.01 or a low price. You can always bid what fits your parameters for what you want to spend. Won't suggest you will win many; but might be really fun; especially if/when you do. When you get to 50 posts; email a want list to me if you'd like, surely have some used US junkers in a stockbook somewhere you might be able to use.

@Andyrich74, I appreciate that offer, and I will see where I am when I get to that point. I'm dealing with what I am sure is a common mental debate: Do I spend as much on the last dozen stamps as I have spent on the remainder of my collection to date?

CBU,

At some point, depending on your level of patience; you will likely come to a roadblock in terms of what you will have to spend to fill a hole in your album(s) but if what you are doing/collecting is enjoyable, keep doing it and make that decision when you need to. You'll also likely find a few folks along the way who will tell you that by buying (heavily) damaged stamps that you are not making a sound investment financially; and they are generally right in that you will likely get $.25 out of a stamp you might buy for $2.00 as an example. Don't let that deter you if you are fine with what you want to collect and understand that.

If you do ever decide to move up to more expensive material; this forum is a great place to find suggestions on value/potential/forgeries and all sorts of other stuff. You also might find that some foreign countries might be fun to collect; and many can be done vert inexpensively as well.

In any event; just enjoy the ride and welcome to a great and endless hobby!

Welcome CBU :) I really like your unique approach - I am the type of person that sees beauty everywhere and where many do not. As they say now a days... You do You. I am a 1 year in collector that rarely buys a stamps over a couple of bucks (I have made some exceptions). My purchases are mostly in the cents range and I have a lot of pride in my collections. I, like Andy has suggested, go after ebay and Hip stamp country pages at low prices and I get lucky sometimes. I even get a few stamps for dirt cheep that were mis-categorized. Also once you reach 50 posts - I can send some duplicates/undesirables that I have in a stash. Nora.

Andy,

I'm pretty close to that wall with the main US run as it is. I'm working on the back of the book portion right now as well finding good contextual material to face the pages - to make it a more interesting narrative.

As I see it, the money I spend on this album is an entertainment expense, rather than something I ever plan to recover. I'd far prefer, when the time comes to move the collection on, that I get $50 for it and have it go to someone who appreciates the collection for what it is as a collection, and who will keep it whole, than to split out the high points and make money.

Nora,


I appreciate the offer. I'm going to have to spend some time going through your posts - I took a quick glance and can tell that I already really appreciate your vision.


-Christopher