Selling Unused Stamps?

[Lauren]

Hi!

I feel like I came as close as I possibly will to just finding a wad of cash in my auction lots- I found an envelope full of stamps. Ranging from 0.01 cent to 0.20 cents, general googling and by the age of the rest of the stuff at the auction tell me they are from around 1975-1980’s. I have some that are just singles, and some complete books, and everything in between. Face value is about $25 so at minimum I figure I can sell them at like half that if nothing is worth anything. Is there like a guide to selling stamps that I should be looking at, or any idea how to find names for these? Most are people (presidents, frank lloyd wright, etc) but others are of like amathyst and airmail and random other things.

 

Showing my age here, but I’ve never used any stamp other than a forever stamp, so I have no idea if these are even usable still.

 

Thanks!

[Jay]

If its a US government stamp, its still good. Not sure if it have value other than its face value. You want to share some photos?

[Lauren]

Yep, they are government stamps. I’ll post pics tomorrow. From the couple I googled it looks like they are maybe 50c-$1.00 a piece, but I feel like I’d rather take the quick nickel on this one. I only paid $50 for the whole van load (110 listings) so if I can make half of it back in just stamps, thats cool by me

[thesilentowl]

They are still usable, and I would discourage you from selling them at half price. As far as value, search on ebay for the term “postage stamp” and the person’s name, such as, Frank Lloyd Wright. Most will probably be close to their face value, so selling them individually may not be the best option. Over on Etsy, people tend to bundle them around color (all blue stamps), themes (birds or wildlife), or some other common trait. Also, you can group them by value (all 8-cent stamps) or in groups which will cover first-class postage (4 or 5 stamps that add up to 55 cents) or postcard rate. Unfortunately, most stamps with people on them don’t really command more than face value, at least not from that time period. There are always exceptions. The ones with the stones sound like your best bet. When you check the listings, you will probably run across the name “Scott” followed by numbers. Those refer to a yearly guide which list all the information about stamps. Sometimes you can find used copies in thrift stores, and given your situation, there is no need to worry if the books are 10 or 20 years old as you are just trying to learn the names of the stamps. Your local library will almost definitely have a copy. Our library is currently operating as a drive through only. Order online or over the phone, and they bring it out to you. Hope this helps some.

[Lauren]

Awesome! Thanks @thesilentowl

I’ll have to look and see what all is there. I was remembering most of the people, so I don’t know how much I have of other stuff. I’ll reserve a copy of the Scott guide from the library this week.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Lauren]

Another question- I’m seeing a lot of listings use the term “world wide”, does this just mean theres all kinds? That’s kind of the vibe I’m getting? Or would mine be like “american wide”? Is that a thing?

[mnhynes]

I buy and sell stamps on eBay and HipStamp.

Not much after 1930 is rare in the stamp world, but there are a few exceptions.  Too many people saved them.  Generally the catalog value of mint US stamps after 1940 or so is 2x Face, but you will never sell them for that.  That is the Retail Price to buy them from Dealers for their work.

Search for “Discount Postage” under the stamp category.  For anything less than 20c stamps you probably won’t get 50% of face since it takes too many to use on a letter these days.  I usually buy all my postage on eBay at 70% of face and that is for 2-3 stamp combinations of 55c.  I use that to mail stamps inside small envelopes at the 1st Class Rate.

I suggest using them on your own mail, so you will get the full 100% face.

World Wide just means a lot has a mixture of non-US countries.  Generally people collect their country or other countries.  Some collect World Wide but it isn’t as common anymore.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Lauren]

Thanks Mike!

@Jay, here’s a link to them

https://imgur.com/a/sv7wdaW

 

I don’t have much of a use for them because I don’t mail anything outside of Ebay, where I need tracking. I decided that I’m gonna have a little fun with them. I looked up a good amount of them and it looks like the max any single stamp is going for is around $1.00 with free shipping. However, the idea of parting these out and taking pictures, listing, and inventorying individual stamps literally makes my head hurt.

So, I put them up for auction.

I know, we hate auctions. But here’s my thought – They have a face of $25 bucks, so I started the auction at $15 for a week. If I get one bid on them, I’ll be happy, and if someone else wants to part out the like 100+ stamps they can. If no one bids, then I’ll just list them in my shop for the same price and let them sit until they get sold. If a couple people want them, I might get a little bit closer to face, but these have been more fun than anything else. I didn’t set a buy it now on the weird off chance that multiple people go for them. The auction I bought them from got me 110 listings with a lot of higher dollar items (which means $50+ for me)  and I only paid $54 for everything, so I’m already standing to make some good money off the auction in general that I don’t need to put the effort in to parting these out myself.

I think what’s been cooler is it’s the closest thing I’ve been to just finding straight cash in my stuff, so it’s been fun to talk about with friends.

 

Thanks for all the advice. Learned a lot from this thread!

[Lauren]

Update on these-

Had them listed on FB Marketplace for $20 and had someone ask if I’d be willing to ship them, said sure and sent her an invoice via paypal for $25 including shipping. Paid, and will be shipped monday.

 

Not bad for found stamps

[Simon]

In case you get more stamps in the future,  stamps have more value when there are multiple joined together in a block like some you have in that photos.  Also,  on the lower left side there are four stamps with a number in the margin. That’s called a block plate and it shows the plate or cylinder from which the stamps were printed. That’s slightly more valuable than just a regular block of four.

I collected stamps as a kid (but my parents gave away my collection).  When I started selling on ebay I was a bit sad to see that the market for most stamps had mostly disappeared.

[Lauren]

Thanks Simon! I appreciate it!

I know nothing about them, so it’s fun to learn.

[Author]

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