Selling your Stamps

Information and advice for anyone wishing to dispose of a stamp collection.

We are frequently asked if we can assist with valuing stamps and collections of stamps with a view to sale. In most cases we are unable to offer valuations because to give an accurate estimate of value depends on seeing the collection. The costs of sending the collection to us and the cost of returning it can often exceed the value of the collection.

In the past stamp collecting was a very popular hobby and almost every boy and girl of school age had a collection of stamps. Today there are a large number of these ‘school boy’ collections, all containing the same common stamps stuck firmly to the album page with adhesive tape, glue or mint stamps adhering to the page making the collection of little or no value, it therefore follows that an old stamp is not necessarily a valuable stamp. In many cases the collection is of more sentimental value having been the property of an elderly relative or dear friend who may have died or become infirm and decided to dispose of their collection.

When the owner has some knowledge of the collection and philately we can usually readily establish if this is a collection we will be interested in and in some cases we can give a rough estimate of what we may offer once the collection has been viewed.

In many cases the vendor has little or no knowledge of philately and is dependant on finding a reputable dealer who will give a fair and honest opinion as to the value of the collection. We recommend finding a stamp dealer in your area who can examine the stamps, only when the stamps have been seen by an experienced philatelist or dealer will it be possible to give an accurate estimate of their value. Dealers may be found in the philatelic press, yellow pages or in newspaper adds, most reputable dealers will a be members of one or more of the philatelic trade associations, e.g. ADPS, ASDA, IPDA, PTS, etc.

Why not adopt the collection and build on it, many have found what has become an interesting and absorbing hobby in this way!