OT: Ping stamp collectors

Hi all,

Dad died a few weeks ago and Mum is slowly going though all his things. He used to buy first day covers for Mum and some close family members but today Mum showed me some whole sheets (100) of (for example) Lady Diana wedding stamps and was talking of taking them and a load of other stamps to some collector fair coming up soon.

Not wanting to see her ripped off I wondered if anyone here knew much about the topic and if so would be able to point us in the right direction for a good (= known / safe / trusted) source of evaluations etc please?

The email works.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m
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It should be possible to check the prices similar stamps and groups of stamps get on eBay. Just enter say "Diana Wedding Stamps" in the general eBay search box.

You'll want to check the completed listings - choose the "Advanced" option to the right of the blue search box rather than asking prices.

Another option would be to sidle into W.H.Smith on a rainy afternoon and have a look through the ads in the back of the stamp mags. I wouldn't mind betting some dealers will be offering full sheets.

A general Google might be a help as well

If she takes them to a Collectors Fair there's no reason why she can't have a good look around first to see what the level of prices is. The only problem is that for more "bread and butter" stamps as opposed to rarities the dealers margin probably be well in excess of 100%, if not more.

The other problem is that with stamps which appealed to collectors at the time - Investiture stamps are another example - prices hardly rose at all, as everyone bought loads at the time.

michael adams

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Reply to
michael adams

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agree with Michael. It is likely that "Diana" stamps where collected by everyone and are virtually worthless.

A complete set of covers could be worth having

tim

Reply to
tim....

They're probably worth most as postage.

Reply to
Paul Herber

Thanks for the thoughts guys and I understand re the 'value' of the more common stamps (Diana etc) being low / face value etc.

I think I'll have to sit down with Mum and maybe take some pictures / scan the stuff she might want to get rid of and check ebay / specialist ads, online evaluators (handy to be able to send them pictures electronically) pre going to the stamp fair with her etc.

A mate gave away a fairly comprehensive collection and was close to burning the lot. ;-(

I wonder if we will be collecting email headers in the future? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

I know nothing about stamp collecting but just down the road is Libritz stamps

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the awful web site, they have been there years, have a very good reputation and were both skilled and very helpful to a friend of mine a year or so back. I'm sure they would give you an honest appraisal.

Reply to
Peter Parry

In message , tim.... wrote

willing to pay in the real world.

The stamps that are worth money are the ones no-one bought at the time. Many of the popular commemorative stamps are hardly worth anything in much the same way as many of the commemorative coins are worth no more than their face value. These items were produced in the millions aimed at the collectors market. Everyone that wants one has already got it.

Some of these were sent out at a warehouse at a time often at a cost of x10 or x20 more than the face value of the stamp on the envelope.

When my father's collection was sold a decade ago some of the stamps worth "money" were the rare ones from the channel islands that had very small print runs. He also had commemorative copy of an issue of stamps in a sterling silver and gold which was sold recently. Although 20+ years old, the collector value was well below the metal value and therefore sold as "scrap".

Reply to
Alan

hospital on Monday! ;-)

Brilliant, thanks very much and there is nothing like having someone look at the things in person etc.

Thanks again, T i m

Reply to
T i m

Thanks for the feedback.

As a 'craftsman' (with a little c) it pains me to see these antiques shows on TV where the 'craftsmanship that went into many of the precious metal pieces you see on there is valueless. That in some cases people have poured weeks of their lives into creating something special / unique and the value of that is considered nill v the weight in scrap.

Don't get me wrong ... that concept could also go as far as the 'craftsmanship that went into the fitted kitchen you are ripping out but at least that sort of thing is for a reason and more often because the old one has 'worn out'.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

It can sometimes be difficult to find a spot to park outside the shop, if so go south east about 100yds and turn left up Durrants Hill Road (the road on the same side of the A4251 as the stamp shop) between the Bull Pub and the community centre (converted church). Just over the traffic light controlled bridge and on the left is a pay and display car park which is always three quarters empty. From there it is about 150yds to Libritz.

Reply to
Peter Parry

Excellent. Thanks again.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

I sold some 1st day covers I bought years ago, they must have been 40 years old, I think I got less than I paid for them so dont get your hopes up. The top end of the stamp market will be good but most collectors fall well short of that.

Reply to
ss

So we sorta found out today but to be fair we should have 'had a word' with Mum before we went or at least checked out what she had grabbed to take with us. ;-(

Bless her, she pulled out some brand new 'lovely leather bound' but empty albums and a few packets of (apparently) worthless stamps.

It was our fault because we should have vetted what she thought might have value but we didn't get her back home till just before midnight last night and we picked her up at 7:30 this morning.

At least we know what isn't valuable and that will help her thin out her stuff easily (down the charity shop).

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

Thanks for that.

So we are finding out.

She had a few crisp new one pound notes and you can get them for 99p on eBay and the old paper fivers and 5 pound coins weren't any different.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

Or just not this year's colour, dahlink. Suits me fine - I've done ok out of trendy rip-outs and have a lovely Bad Taste bathroom suite to show for it. Just missed on a cracking kitchen too, but the local god-botherer nabbed it. Other things, like cabinets, sinks, hobs and ovens, cookers, dishwashers, etc, have saved me a deal of money - some of the stuff is like new, only being discarded because a house was bought and the new occupiers (or rather, the wife) didn't like it inside and wanted to stamp their/her own personality on it.

That's one thing this bloody recession has put paid to - freebies. :(

Reply to
grimly4

;-)

Better guidance from above?

Yup, same here. 13 month old washing machine from Freecycle, replaced by the PO's insurers as 'beyond economical repair'. As if a sealed tub would stop me replacing the bearings and over 6 years later it's still going strong. ;-)

I guess it's the same with lots of things. Most of the phones, motor vehicles and computers we have here are only here because others were 'upgrading' and we were there at the right time.

Yup, or made them less frequent that's for sure.

Cheers, T i m

Reply to
T i m

Annoyingly, it had already been promised to me but as soon as he heard about it, he wanted it. Being the priest, he got priority. Ah well, not worth making a fuss about.

I just made a cracking discovery this week - an 5yr old Hewlett Packard PC that was given to me last year as being 'buggered' and only taken by me as a source of spares (DVD, I/O panel, case, etc) has revealed itself as working perfectly and only needs a new video card. It's an Intel Conroe Dual Core Duo 6300 inside it, so should be perfectly capable of doing HD video and that will be an HTPC in the new back room.

Reply to
grimly4

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