eBay

byto253 · ‎01-29-2022

Appreciate any advice on selling a stamp collection that is in books. I have are 2 books with about 1,500 stamps that are mainly from the 1930s. Most are cancelled though some are not. Unknown to me, these were in the bottom of a box I got at an estate sale, along with a very cool autograph book from the 30s where friends had written and drawn things - all in lovely fountain pen script. I called the estate company and offered to return them to the family but sadly there was zero interest.

I do NOT know stamps so am likely going to put these in an auction(s) to get them sold and get something out of it.

Researching and trying to figure out if there are any gems in the books is not something I will do.

We enjoyed looking at the books and even looked up a few stamps for interest, but this is not an exercise I have the time or knowledge to undertake. I am sure a pro could quickly go through the books and know the best one.

So far my ideas to sell them are:

1. List a book at a time, show as many pages of stamps as the 12 pics allow me. I can merge 2 pictures in one. Indicate the number of countries and stamps for each. The plus side of this is it is only 2 listings and least effort.

2. Remove pages and list them one or a few countries at a time, depending on the number of stamps, so that buyers can get a good view of the stamps. This will also pick up searches for specific countries which collectors may be looking for, if the market works that way.

The books themselves are older and pretty neat so that seems to be a shame, but the books may be pretty common.

Any other ideas to sell these, or +s and -s to these options are welcome. Would the effort to do the 2nd option likely result in enough of a gain to offset the ease of doing the first option?

Thanks for any input! Attached are sample pictures from the books.

ricarmic · ‎01-29-2022

Unfortunately age really means nothing with respect to stamps, a modern stamp properly used today is worth more than a stamp used in 1890, sometimes several times more!

I don't mean to offend but here's the coles notes version.

The albums are cool, but the stamps based on the sample pictures are mostly the usual common stuff. Generally when I get these they go into my worldwide bankers box junk box lots. Again a very basic view like this doesn't tell the whole tale but retail wise they're likely in the $50ish range for the 2 books. This also means that the shipping cost will be high against the value of the albums.

My suggestion is to sell them together (so that the shipping isn't as overwhelming), note as you put in your note here that you don't know anything about stamps - this will help generate enthusiasm for a "find" in the album, one never knows what might lurk in these old time albums! This kind of stuff goes in stamps/worldwide/collections,lots

If you comparison shop what pages ripped out of albums sell for, check some sold items for countries you have. You'll see they generally go very low and won't be worth the listing, shipping time and effort.

PS Don't start them at 99c

byto253 · ‎01-29-2022

Awesome, thanks for much. My gut was that these were stamps he likely collected when he was a kid or young adult, and was accumulated from wherever.

So it sounds like I am better off selling as an easter egg hunt vs. all the labour to show the stamps. This is also legit as there could very well be one or two that more than makes up for the purchase of the lot. I do the same with audio gear, as often the bits and bites and accessories in the jumble bin are worth as much or more than the actual gear.

Is it worth listing the countries with stamps in the book? Or even going further and giving an approximation of the stamps per country - which is a bit of work but if not worth it I won't bother.

I will set it up for listing of the books, and I think one at a time so that I can show more.

Interesting about newer stamps, as there is a much smaller book with 50, 60s stamps in it. I wonder if he got more serious about what he was accumulating when he was older - I expect it will be similar to these though. And there is also a bag of loose stamps and stamps in envelopes that have some unhinged new strips. I will deal with the 2 main books first and perhaps come back for advice on the other book later!

reallynicestamps · ‎01-29-2022

We called that sort of thing a "nephew" collection.

Best passed by the estate to a young collector, usually under 10.

You don't really need any more scans than you already have.

Look on the first page of any First World country to see if any of the stamps have a face value greater than a man's daily wage.
For Canada that would be the Bluenose or a Jubilee (two pictures of Queen Victoria).

Ask any buyer if he wants the albums, because slicing off the covers will make the albums cheaper to mail.

ricarmic · ‎01-29-2022

IMO you are better to sell everything together as 1 "egg hunt" lot, it creates a theoretical unsearched lot and will generate more interest that way...and everything together ships for just barely more than splitting it in two. The shipping cost will be the burden on the realizable prices.

PS 50s and 60s is not newer, I meant stamps issued yesterday, the right ones are rarer to find used nicely than stamps from the 1800s.....stamps (as with all collectible fields) is complex......

intimewithmusic · ‎01-29-2022

Thanks for posting. I still have my collection when I was a kid 🙂

Please let us know how you make out with them!

IT

byto253 · ‎02-13-2022

@ricarmic called it with the estimate of the 50ish range. Hammer price on the auction was $53. I'm happy, the box is off the shelves, the audio gear I bought at that estate is being offset. The buyer is a fairly new seller that has a number of listings of stamp lots of 20 to 30 stamps so I would guess this will be stock for him. I hope he has good hunting!