Pushing 330,000 All Different Worldwide Stamps In One Collection .

Well said, Floortrader. My collection is much smaller than yours, but I can totally relate to what you're saying about 3-4 inch binders being too bulky. And also to the other end of the spectrum being a challenge! I have more 1-5 page areas than 100 page areas. :)

Your thread inspired me to seek out more full sets. There's nothing worse (to me) to printing out a new page, placing a single stamp on it, then filing the page away. My collection of empty spaces is the most frustrating thing of all.

This entire thread is a testament to the pursuit and process being the objective rather than the possession. There have been massive collections brought to market over the years and in the long run it likely would have been more cost effective to scoop one up and adjust it if necessary. But then what? Stare at it on the shelf? Fascinating to see what makes collectors of anything tick. I watch the Mecum and Barret-Jackson auctions of vehicles and there are people there that could buy an entire 100 car collection in one fell swoop, but they don't. They fill in their spaces a few at a time. It exudes passion. Love it.

Very much agree that the 3-4" binders are cumbersome... currently breaking down a Scott International (not junior) that's been hole-punched into a tattered blue binder.

Some countries are on Minkus pages - I don't think I'd use them as a 'final resting place' for my stamps, but I never complain when I come across them to mine for stamps, particularly when the pages look like this!

Ah, some well-loved Minkus pages... There are days where it isn't fun to be colorblind! I agree that large binders are a pain, but there is always another page to insert... ;)

I collect by region rather than A-Z. South America together, Europe together, Africa together etc...

The right way or the wrong way to collect is what is the purpose? If the purpose is just for fun than it does not matter. However, if you are collecting for value, how you collect matters.

"if you are collecting for value ,how you collect matters "

No ....I don't collect for value !

time for a little history about me .

I join a stamp club at the age of 16 ,every other member was over 40 years old ,they each had collections worth thousands ,as for me I had a collection worth far less maybe $10.00 maybe $12.00 .My stamps were purchased for a penny or less .
As I stayed in the club ,I started buying stamps at stamp shows, buying stamps means buying 200 or 300 stamps at the 2 cent tables in the back room. I would mount those stamps and then take my album to the club meetings .
I was proud of my collection

What impress those old farts was not the 4 or 6 dollars I spend ,since they last see my collection ,but the stamps soaked off paper and mounted {all hinged } in order in the right country on the right page . .

I will never try to impress readers here with high price gems . The value of my collection is in the satisfaction in the time I spend with it .

floortrader - I did not say you collect for value. I was referring to those who do. There are collectors who collect for value. And how you collect then does matter. It's a hot button topic no one wants to talk about. Most collect for fun but some do speculate on stamps.

I am probably one of those who do collect for value among other reasons, but not to speculate on stamps. When I started collecting at 10 years old, it was to get any stamps that I didn't already have and stick them in an album. No plan, no goals to achieve, no thoughts about the quality of the stamps that I was accumulating. I paid no attention whatsoever to the quality of the stamps that I randomly stuck in my collection. I just added more and more stamps and life went on.

Along the way, I made many missteps in how I thought I wanted to collect. I fell for the "only never hinged" craze for a while, but moved away from that. I started a new collection buying current stamps and moving back in time only to realize that after years and years of buying stamps, I had many stamps but little in the way of value for my collection. I built up a new collection only to have my ex sell it off when I wasn't looking.

I am currently on my fifth (and final) iteration of stamp collections. The collection I have now is the realization that those missteps gave me wisdom and clarity in the purpose and goal of building a collection that I could be proud of. Although I still want one of everything, I've learned how to research and plan and carefully acquire each stamp that I add to my collection. While value is not the first consideration when adding stamps to my collection, it is something that I keep an eye on.

I have no illusions about the value of a stamp or set of stamps or an entire collection. My collection, as with every other collection, is worth exactly what someone else will pay for it. I want nothing but the best stamps that I can find and afford. If it means waiting for the right stamp to come along, I'll patiently wait until I can get what I want. No regrets.

I still have a blast "playing" with stamps. I spend time each and every day doing something stamp-related whether searching for new acquisitions, designing and printing album pages, reading books and articles about stamps, checking out the latest posts here on SCF. I don't have 330k stamps in my collection. In fact I have a little more than 20k, but each of them was selected to meet my own criteria of quality, cost, and value...the troika of philately.

Whenever someone asks me why I collect stamps, I tell them because it's fun. If they ask what my collection is worth, I tell them it's priceless because I can't put a dollar figure on the love that I have for my collection. That's how it all started for me and that's how it will be until I breathe my last breath.

Walkman 82 --- Having read your posting above, I think you and me are ---- fellow travelers in this hobby .

Here is the completed stamps of a country . KIONGA was occupied by Portuguese troops during WWI .

To 'Walkman82' - great post. And to 'floortrader' - ditto from a fellow traveler.

Here is how you collect WW for value. Most collectors lose money in stamps. Here is how it works, so you don't take a bath. Many collectors buy an expensive album and then buy stamps for that album. Over the course of 10 years or more they might spend 1000 dollars on stamps, albums, mounts etc. Then the collector bites the dust or passes and the dealer gives (usually the widow) 50 dollars for their 1000 dollar collection and then the dealer flips the collection for double to someone like the stampdragons for 100 bucks, rinse and repeat. The original collector wins because they spent 1000 dollars having fun. The dealer wins making money. And the careful collector wins by adding some ones lifetime collection to theirs. Thus, the discriminating collector can maybe sell it for more than they paid for it. Repeat and rinse at dealers and auction houses. You can really see this with FDC collections.

Dragon ----Sounds familiar, a story seen a hundred times .

True for all collectibles from vehicles to silverware. Anything no longer made has a finite supply. The variable is always the demand side. And just about everything collectible has a sine wave of demand over time. We have all seen "hot" items and sectors of the hobby come and go. Some things become demand stable such as the US Zeppelins and dollar value Colombians/Trans-Mississippi's and pretty much track with inflation over time. They are solid bets at preserving value save for those fees and commissions that dilute every commercial sale. The financial health of economies also comes into play. China material has been on fire for years but recently has weakened and is projected to continue that way. A time to buy China? Who knows.

Of course, this is all related to seeing these collectibles as financial instruments to be monitored and traded, with the primary goal being preserving or making money. When even Bill Gross is unable to make a profit this way it seems a fools game for the rest of us.

Unless you are Siegel or Mystic etc. it is prudent to engage in your hobby only for the entertainment value and if you don't take a bath along the way it is icing on the cake.