How Do I Know What My Stamps Are Worth

I have some stamps from all countrys all years how do I know what they are worth being a coin collecter I never got in to stamps.

A lot depends on how they are kept, how you obtained them, and from who. If they were just given to you, then odds are that they are worth very little, as in pennies each. Best idea is to post some scans of the oldest and get some comments from the group. Don't hold your breath, though.

What kind of car? Where/when did you get the car?

Got to be a '69 Chevy with a three-ninety-six, Fuelie heads and a Hurst in the floor.

Just like coins, there are catalogs and websites.
You just have to learn how to use them.

Search this forum for the many posts about identifying and valuing.

You go and get a Scott catalog and you figure it out. If you're hoping that people here are going to do all of the work for you, you're in for a surprise.

I just asked how I know what they are worth I didn't ask you to figure out what they are worth

Personally, I think pricing is a 2-3 year journey.
You must have experienced that with coins.

But for Pricing 101
my route is
25% of Scott Catalogue price
ebay search of that particular country, collections etc.
Esp do this when a catalogue price is >$10 for singletons.

The Majority of worldwide stamps are 10c to 30c used.

This is a big hobby so it's difficult to answer your question quickly.

And so much depends on what you have - thousands of stamps? a couple hundred? are they organized in an album? or just loose in an envelope? are they mint and in good shape? or ripped and torn with heavy cancels? - there are hundreds of questions like that ...

BUT - a good basic way to start is to obtain a catalog (Scott is the most popular in the U.S. and a good general catalog). They are available at some libraries. Pick one country and search the stamps you have in the catalog (which has a user guide in the front) ...

It won't take long for you to see if you have a lot of common stamps (not worth a whole lot on the market) or some interesting things - often high values.

The catalog prices are NOT what you can sell them for. It is what you could expect to pay for that stamp at a retail dealer (though there are plenty of ways to likely get the stamp cheaper than that.)

Stamp clubs and online websites - there are many - can help you.



Here's a small start -


https://www.linns.com/insights/what...lection.html

https://stamps.org/services/inherited-a-collection

https://www.apfelbauminc.com/inheri...-collection/

Seahound, please bear with us. You are asking a question "in the dark", without telling us or showing us what you have. There is a huge difference if you have say an album or box full of 19 century stamps or if they are all 21st century definitives. At this point the best you can do is take them to a local stamp club - someone has to see them to appreciate them!


Peter

No matter what catalogs, ebay sellers, newspaper ads, etc. say they are worth, like almost anything else, they are "worth" what someone else will pay you for them

Please post some full page pictures. Everyone here can spot common stamps, and most stamps aren't worth a whole lot.

You're asking a question no one can answer clearly except to tell you to get a Scott Postage Stamp (or other) catalogue and start adding up their "catalogue value". Keep in mind that the rarity of the stamps matters a great deal as does their condition. If they are common stamps from about 1940 onward, they will have very, very little value at all. And "catalogue value" is never selling value which will usually be a tiny fraction of that, 10-20% many times, no more than 30-40% nearly all the time. So you might save yourself a lot of time and trouble if you have mostly modern stamps.

With no idea what stamps you have, we can't guess what their value is, of course, but since you say yours are from "all countrys [sic]" and "all years," I'm going to guess they have very little value.

Like coins, a sale is between a willing seller and willing buyer. If you want a quick sale, you wlll get less unless you wait for a buyer willing to pay a higher price. Much is about being in the right place at the right time. Some sellers have material that never had a buyer. Now, stamps are not like coins where there are published price sheets that have buy/sell like a commodity.

The OP edited his original post to remove the fact that he found the stamps in "a car". That leaves much to the imagination but generally speaking, stamp collections which are stored in cars are not of the premium variety if they are really collections at all. Perhaps I am wrong and the collection stored in that 1979 Chrysler Cordoba with Ricardo Montalban's "rich Corinthian leather" is a stunner.

I don't think we are going to hear from the hound again.