How to Sell Stamps



If you have duplicate stamps and you don't want to give them to a child or donate them to a charity, they'll just continue to accumulate. There are two solutions to this stamp collecting "problem:" if you know other stamp collectors you can trade your duplicates for other stamps that you don't already have; or you can sell them.



You can often sell stamps and covers at the same places you bought them, except for stamps that you bought at the post office (they won't buy them back). Sell them back to stamp dealers, advertise them for sale in the philatelic press, offer them for sale on an internet stamp auction, or sell them to fellow stamp collectors at stamp club meetings. You can also consign them to a stamp dealer, who will sell them for you in exchange for a commission. Be aware that most stamp dealers at stamp shows are there to buy as well as to sell stamps. When they're not busy with customers they'll be happy to take a look at what you want to sell. If the first dealer you try isn't interested, move on to the next.



Maximize the money you receive by grouping the material that's for sale and offering those groups of stamps separately rather than as a general worldwide mixture. You can group your stamps by country or by topic.



Keep in mind that the stamp Values listed in catalogs are estimated retail prices and represent what a stamp collector might have to spend to buy specific stamps in very fine condition. A stamp dealer will almost always pay less than catalog value when buying stamps - after all, dealers need to make a profit on resale. You may make more money by selling to other collectors, but it may be easier (and quicker) to sell to a dealer.



Stamp values depend on condition, the number that's available, and market demand. These factors interact with each other, and it's a matter of common sense. Condition will have less influence on the value of rare stamps because everyone wants them, even flawed copies. The high market demand together with low supply counteracts, at least to a certain degree, any faults in those rare stamps. But for stamps in large supply and/or unpopular stamps, value will be low even if they're in perfect condition.



Any questions? Just contact us, we'll be happy to help.

Duplicate Stamps - What To Do With Them?

Some stamp collectors are literally swimming in a sea of duplicates. It's easy to have happen - you buy some stamps, find out that some of them duplicate what you already have, and off go the duplicates into a box where they accumulate. It can get quite overwhelming after a while, especially if you buy large quantities of stamps (and hence have large quantities of duplicates).

What to do with all these duplicates?

There's nothing wrong with them, so they're too good to just throw away. After all, they'd be in your stamp collection but for the fact that you already own them (that's why they're duplicates). But if you don't find something to do with them they'll take over your stamp room - or even your house! A couple of ideas pop into mind:

1. give them to a child or a veteran to help them get started in this great hobby.

2. donate them to a non-profit charity. Many charities raise money for their good works by selling donated stamps - as well as stamps gathered by their volunteers from incoming mail - to stamp dealers, who then sell them to stamp collectors. For example, the folks at The Stamp People buy stamps from an assortment of different charities all the time.

It's a win-win situation - the charities raise money, and the stamp dealer gets stock.

A variation on this theme is sell the stamps directly to the stamp dealer. You can then take the money you receive from the sale and donate the cash (instead of the stamps) to the charity of your choice.

Above all, don't just throw your duplicates away - they can be put to a very good use!