We're Proud to Announce Our New Stamp and Postcard Shop!

We've been hard at work launching a new online shop where collectors can buy a wide assortment of stamps and vintage postcards to add to their collections.

We hope to become one of your main sources for wholesale stamp mixtures, individual stamps and stamp sets, ranging from classic stamps to much more recent.  We also offer a wide assortment of fine vintage postcards.  It will take us some time to get everything listed, because we have tens of thousands of stamps and postcards for sale.

From time to time we'll also be selling collectible vinyl records, cassette tapes, music memorabilia, books and audio books, magazines, paper ephemera and other collectible items.

Please check out The Old Collector whenever you're looking for these types of items!

Buying Stamps at Wholesale Prices - Stamp Kiloware and Stamp Mixtures


When I first began collecting stamps I bought all of my stamps in low-priced mixtures. Either on-paper kiloware or off-paper stamp mixes, I didn't care which. Most of the time, those stamp mixtures I bought as a kid didn't have much in them that had any significant value, but I always hoped that there might be a nice find or two. And even when all the stamps in a particular mixture were pretty common (which didn't always happen, sometimes I did find some nice stamps worth a few bucks each), they sure did fill in a lot of holes in my stamp collection.

Filling in the "missing links" in a stamp collection is one of the main purposes of buying wholesale-priced kiloware and stamp mixtures. Sometimes those pesky holes are very common stamps that should be very easy to find, but just aren't. And sometimes you'll find nicer stamps even in a low-priced mixture: one or two of these can more than pay for the whole bunch.

If you collect used US or used foreign stamps, there's no cheaper alternative than buying stamp mixtures. Generally you'll get better mixtures when you pay more per ounce, but even high-priced mixtures are far cheaper than buying stamps individually.

Compare the mixtures you receive from different dealers - good stamp dealers will provide good quality and a lot of variety at a reasonable price. There are stamp mixtures being offered today that have good stamps in them, so shop around. When you find a stamp dealer that sells mixtures that you like, buy more from that dealer.

Stamp Mystery Boxes - Days of Fun


Sometimes called stamp mystery lots, stamp box lots or stamp boxes, stamp mystery boxes delight stamp collectors throughout the world. Usually fairly inexpensive (sometimes very inexpensive), they provide a great deal of entertainment to collectors because their exact composition is unknown when they're purchased.

You never know what you'll get in a stamp mystery box, but that's their attraction. Often the stamp dealer who sells a mystery box to you won't know what's in it either - stamps and stamp-related material such as covers and souvenir sheets are tossed into a box until it's judged by the dealer to be the right size for what is paid for it, without regard for the value of its contents. This means that a stamp mystery box may contain material that's all pretty common, or it may contain some material that has a fairly high value. You never know.

Stamp forums are full of tales about collectors finding a very valuable stamp in a mystery box. I have no doubt that this does happen sometimes, because I began my stamp collection (many years ago) by buying mystery boxes and wholesale stamp lots. And I always found at least a few really nice stamps in them, as well as plenty of more common stamps to fill holes in my collection.

Generally available in a variety of prices, stamp mystery boxes provide hours of fun, and sometimes some great finds, for stamp collectors around the world. Visit The Stamp People to order a stamp mystery box in a size of your choice, and get days of delightful enjoyment in return.

New Wholesale-Priced Stamps at The Stamp People

The Stamp People, an online stamp shop that sells wholesale-priced bulk stamps as well as vintage and recent stamp sets and singles, received several new shipments of US kiloware and US bulk off paper stamps within the last few days. These stamp mixtures are now available at great prices on their website at www.thestamppeople.com

The new stamps, which came from several different suppliers, are from a wide time period and include stamps from the 1800s all the way through 2009.

The Stamp People are known for providing stamp collectors with bulk stamp mixes that have far fewer duplicates than the mixtures that can be bought from other stamp dealers. Stop by their website today. You'll be sure to find something you'll want.

Stamp Finds


Some people say that stamp box lots and mixtures never contain any good finds. We guess everything is relative, but considering the low cost of most box lots, it's our opinion that the potential for finding quality stamps and uncommon stamp varieties in stamp mixtures, for a very low price, is surprisingly high.

The Stamp People sell low-priced stamp kiloware and stamp mixtures and assortments along with classic stamps, vintage stamps and recent stamps and sets from the US and around the world. One of their customers recently wrote to inform us of a nice find that was in a box lot purchased from The Stamp People.

The stamp was Scott # E1, the first Special Delivery stamp issued by the US, from 1885. It's not extraordinarily valuable - it's catalog value is about $60 - but the buyer only paid about $10 for the US stamp assortment it was found in.

We'd say that was a pretty good return on the buyer's investment.

Stamp Collecting Can Yield High Gains As A Long-Term Investment

Stamp collecting, especially vintage stamps, can be an investment that steadily grows in value over the years. Stanley Gibbons, the large London stamp dealer, reported that postage stamp prices roughly doubled between 2000 and 2006. Not bad when you consider that's only 7 years. And Stanley Gibbons believes that over the last 50 years the average gain in value of postage stamps has been about 9.5% per year.

It's crucial to do business with reputable stamp dealers, especially when investment gains are one of the goals of a stamp collector. The Stamp People, an established online stamp dealer, take great pride in their integrity and provide superior customer service, thorough descriptions and accurate pictures. Visit The Stamp People today and see what they have to offer - you'll find everything from classic vintage stamps worth hundreds of dollars to inexpensive stamps priced below 20 cents each, to bulk stamp lots and wholesale priced stamp mixtures.

How to Find Vintage Stamps Online

Vintage stamps provide much enjoyment to many stamp collectors. Many online stamp shops, such as The Stamp People, sell vintage stamps from many different countries. It's easier than you might think to find vintage stamps online, and in some ways finding old stamps is easier than finding modern stamps - older stamps tend to have more value than modern stamps, so online stamp dealers are more likely to post vintage stamps for sale than modern stamps.

Any collector of vintage or old stamps knows that while some are quite scarce and valuable, others are very common and inexpensive. But stamp collecting isn't just for investment purposes: many people like to collect even the cheaper vintage stamps, covers and postcards because of their historic interest.

In addition to finding an online stamp shop that is willing to work with you to build your collection, one of the best ways to find vintage stamps online is to join a stamp forum or online community where you can discuss your needs and wants with other stamp collectors. They may be able to help you identify old stamps that you just can't figure out, and they may be willing to trade stamps with you. Online stamp auctions can be another good way to find vintage stamps, but make sure you read all the details so you don't get hit with any surprise fees or condition problems.

You can also buy assortments of stamps - either single country (such as US stamp mixtures) or worldwide stamp mixes. Generally available for wholesale prices (often only a penny or two per stamp) at an online stamp shop like The Stamp People, they can be an extremely inexpensive way to add vintage stamps to your stamp collection.

Stamp shows also provide opportunities to purchase vintage stamps and are held frequently in different locations. Drop into a stamp show if there's one convenient to you. Just be aware that you'll likely pay more than you would online.

Collecting Definitive Stamps




Definitive stamps are frequently used to pay everyday postage charges that apply to letters rather than parcels. Often featuring the portrait of an important person in the issuing country's history, they are usually smaller and somewhat less attractive than other types of stamps such as commemorative stamps. And many times the design of a particular definitive stamp is used for many years, with several different printings of the same design being required.




But in spite of this relative lack of creativity in their designs, definitive stamps are usually far more appealing to philatelists than other types of stamps. In fact, a common saying is "definitives are where the money is at." This is because the re-printing of a definitive stamp's design - sometimes by a different printing company -over the years tends to give rise to different collectible varieties of that stamp. Some stamp collectors specialize in these varieties and some varieties are quite rare and expensive.



An easy and inexpensive way to obtain varieties of definitive stamps is through buying stamp mixes. You get a lot of stamps for very little money when you buy stamp assortments, and they will entertain you for a long time if you're looking for varieties. A good source of definitive stamp mixes is The Stamp People. You can buy US definitive stamp mixtures (which include sheet stamps, booklet stamps and coil stamps) and or you can buy US all-coil stamp mixtures (no sheet stamps or booklet stamps) at their website, for a very low cost. They also sell definitive stamp mixtures from selected other countries.



So go where the money is - collect definitive stamps.

Stamp Collecting in a Troubled Economy

Most stamp collectors - like most people nowadays - probably have less money available to spend on their stamp collections than they would like. After all, collecting stamps is a hobby, and not essential.

But many (if not most) stamp collectors are absorbed, if not addicted to, their hobby. So what's a stamp collector to do now that the world economy is troubled and less money is available to spend?

Try buying a bulk wholesale stamp assortment or mixture. Something along the lines of a mystery box. They're inexpensive and fun to sort through - you never know what you'll find. And they'll let you start a new country collection for very little cash.

If you've reached the point in your stamp collection where every stamp you still need is very expensive, but you don't have the money, this can be a perfect solution to your dilemma. You'll be able to purchase a large number of stamps for very little money, and kick-start your collecting hobby by adding a new country or countries.

Perfect, even in today's economy.

Give it a shot, buy a mystery lot of stamps.

Purchase Wholesale Stamps and Get Lots of Stamps, and Lots of Fun!

Every stamp collector needs to find various stamps in order to fill gaps in their stamp collection. Some of these gaps are rare stamps and will be very difficult, if not impossible, to either find or afford. But one of the cheapest ways to find stamps that are missing from your stamp collection is to buy an appropriate wholesale-priced, bulk mixture of stamps.

By "appropriate," we mean the wholesale stamps should be an assortment of stamps from the country or countries that you collect - or from the entire world if your collection is worldwide stamps.

Buying wholesale stamp assortments is also the least expensive way of beginning a new stamp collection. They are wonderful for new stamp collectors that are just beginning, but they're also great for a seasoned collector to begin a new collection of stamps from a country that he or she didn't collect before.

Many times the stamps you receive when you buy wholesale stamps will end up costing less than a penny each. And wholesale stamps can be purchased already soaked and off paper, or you can opt to buy kiloware stamps that are still on paper.

Buy your wholesale stamp mixtures from a reputable stamp dealer and you'll be pleased with the price you pay and the assortment of stamps that you receive.

The Thrill of Victory

Much of the fun in stamp collecting is in finally locating that elusive, hard to find "hole" in your stamp collection. It may be a common stamp that you just can't seem to find, or it may be a more expensive vintage stamp. For whatever reasons, it's missing from your stamp collection.

All stamp collectors have at least a few "missing links" that they would love to put into their collections, if only they could find them. There are a couple of different ways to try to find them. Most of these ways can be expensive, but there is one method that is very economical.

The least expensive way to fill many of the gaps in your collection - especially if you are a relatively new stamp collector or are just beginning a stamp collection - is to purchase a bulk stamp mixture. Wholesale-priced stamp assortments provide the opportunity to buy stamps at an extremely low price, many times for not even a penny a stamp. These kinds of stamp mixes can be already soaked and off their paper, or they be still be on paper. The choice is yours. And you can buy single-country stamp mixtures or assortments from a specific continent, group of countries, or the entire world. Again, the choice is yours.

Buy your stamp mixtures from a reputable stamp dealer and you'll be pleased with the price you pay and the assortment of stamps that you receive.

Postally Used Stamp Collections - Popular or Not?

We've recently read that nowadays, stamp collectors are not as interested in postally used stamps as they are in mint never hinged stamps (unused and unmounted).

We disagree. And we disagree quite strongly. Here's why:

1. The number of stamps now being issued throughout the world makes it an almost impossible task to collect worldwide mint never hinged new issues.

For the vast majority of stamp collectors, the expense of collecting worldwide mint never hinged new issues would simply be too large, because of the now-huge number of stamps that would be involved. And in a time like now, when several countries issue more than 100 stamps per year all by themselves, the amount of time involved to assemble the thousands of new stamps coming out each year would also be prohibitive.

It's easier to collect mint never hinged new issue stamps when you only collect stamps from one or two countries. But take a country like the United States just as an example. The first class, one ounce letter rate stamp is now 42 cents. Multiply that by one hundred or so (an estimate for the number of new stamps that will be issued) and that's $42.00 if all those new stamps are purchased at face value at the post office - the cheapest way to buy them. But wait - there's a new Express Mail stamp and a new Priority Mail stamp. Between just those 2 stamps, there's another almost $20. So now we're at about $62.00, and we haven't even included the postcard rate stamps, the 2 ounce stamps, the international letterpost stamps, etc. The total could easily be $80 or $90 or more. And that's just one year and one country, purchased at the post office. If a stamp collector is buying older mint never hinged stamps he or she would need to buy them from a stamp dealer, at a much greater cost.


2. While it's true in many cases that mint never hinged stamps have a higher catalog value than their used counterparts, there are many exceptions where the postally used stamp is worth much, much more than the same stamp in mint condition (even when never hinged).

3. Finding specific postally used stamps for a collection is generally a much greater challenge - and usually much more fun and rewarding - for the stamp collector. You can't just go to the post office and buy them. And most stamp dealers don't stock inexpensive used stamps - they just don't want to spend the time that would be required in order to catalog and stock inexpensive used stamps (for an exception to this general rule, visit www.thestamppeople.com - they sell expensive, classic stamps, but they also sell wholesale bulk lot stamps and individual inexpensive stamps).

4. How many people enjoy buying a "mystery box" of stamps, or bags of stamps, or bulk lots of stamps? You might be surprised by the answer. For a very long time, this has been one of the all-time most popular ways of buying stamps. And as popular as they've always been, sales of postally used, wholesale priced bulk stamp mixtures are going up even more, not down. This is true for kiloware (on paper stamp mixtures) and also off-paper stamp mixtures.

So bottom line, we think collecting postally used stamps is alive and healthy.

Recent United States Kiloware on Sale

20 pounds of mostly recent US kiloware stamps on paper are now available at The Stamp People

The Stamp People at www.thestamppeople.com just received these US stamps, and they are being sold as received, not picked over, not checked, but as-received from a favorite source.

They won't last long. Visit The Stamp People and buy a pound or two of these US postage stamps on paper.