New To The Fourm, And Newish To The Hobby

Hi all,

I am new the the hobby, doing it on the cheap. Been doing it off and on, and how have two stockbooks, one is for US issues, the other is world issues.

I am in the US so the US stamps are easy to get, while I generally prefer the worldwide stamps. I might take some photos (my stamps are as far as I know nothing special) and since I don't have a mass of stamps I am happy to just get any stamp outside of the most common US stamps (Flag/Love stamps)

Plan to get some equipment (tweezers and such) in the morning. And perhaps see if I can find some bag of stamps to sort.

Welcome to SCF!!

If you have any questions on just about any topic related to stamp collecting, this is the place where the experts gather.


Scott

Welcome
I too collect mostly cheap stamps, and since about 400,000 of them are considered cheap or "pennyworth", you shouldn't have a problem.
I've found that obtaining my country's stamps isn't easier, because fewer private people use stamps, so it's less easy to get them from friends and family. My main source, therefore, is exchanging worldwide and cheap bargains online, like a German dealer I found on ebay that offers 10,000 stamps, with duplicates, for 40 EU.
As for equipment, being a low-budget collector, I found I can get along with eyebrows tweezers, nail polish UV lamp, and so on.
Good luck.

Distorted Humor,

Enjoy having fun with stamps! That is the name of this game.

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.

My personal bias is a used stamp loses the story of its journey in the postal service when it is removed from the cover it transported to its destination. Collecting postal history adds a whole new aspect to your journey in our hobby.

Wishing you many enjoyable future days in our hobby. Russ

Hi there! I'm new to the forum too. If you're not looking for high value stamps, you can get large lots on ebay quite cheaply.

Hit up the Stamps>Worldwide>Collections, Lots category (seriously, you can pick up lots of 100 for $2.50 or lots of 1,000 for $15-20) or do a search for stamp lots with a broad topical theme like animals, plants, or ships. You can also check for lots from a specific country if you get a sudden hunger for stamps from Mongolia (they are, by and large, beautiful) or Hungary or French Guiana or wherever.

I have several sellers who I repeatedly purchase from in various parts of the world, and even when I receive batches that aren't exactly what I'm looking for there is always something interesting.

Greetings and good luck with your collecting. Plenty of answers to your questions here in this forum. You might consider a subscription to Linn's Stamp News - you learn a lot by going through every issue, including the lingo (as in "tongs," not "tweezers.") Good luck and enjoy!

Welcome!

There is nothing wrong with an inexpensive collection. You can spend your entire philatelic career spending not more than 20 cents a stamp. (I would kick that up a bit though). When I saw the rarest of the rare British Guiana 1 cent magenta at the museum, a stamped I dreamed about since a boy, I was totally unimpressed. Collect what you like!

Welcome!
Dale