The first thing the collector should consider is what the back of the stamp he is thinking of buying looks like. That may sound odd to the neophyte collector, but respected catalogs have two prices for stamps: the low price for hinged and the high price for never hinged. Buying online creates a problem, as it isn't unusual for the seller to mention whether the stamp is hinged or never hinged, though it is less frequently that a picture is provided to show if the stamp is lightly hinged, has hinged remnants, or even if removal of the hinge has left the stamp with a thin. These factors should have an impact on the price you are willing to pay for the stamp. It has become practice that the hinged stamp sells for a fraction of the never hinged.
Standards: Philatelic and Personal
For those who are collectors and want stamps for their albums -- and as someone once said, "If the gum is so important, why don't we all just exhibit the backs of our stamps?" -- a hinged stamp might be fine, while obtainable at a more reasonable price. Leave it to the stamp investors, not collectors, to shell out big bucks to avoid acquiring a stamp with a slight imperfection that no one will ever see.I've written about the centering of a stamp and personally, if a stamp doesn't have good centering it bothers me as much as a framed picture on a wall that is hanging askew. So, yes, I will pay a bit more for a well-centered stamp that is free of other defects, like pulled perfs, tears, heavy or smudged cancel, etc. Your standards might be higher or lower than mine -- the preferences are entirely personal and you needn't fear the stamp police coming to take you away for breaking a philatelic law.
When the collector can settle for less
But there are stamps that make it into albums that are of drastically lesser quality than what fills the rest of the album. These are called space fillers; usually very rare and expensive stamps in better condition, but affordable "as is" and suitable to hold the space in an album until a better copy is obtainable. This is something that the noncollector spouse or friend of the collector may have trouble understanding. It may seem that putting a lesser quality stamp in the album will drag down the quality of the whole collection. But if there is one thing that a stamp collector can't stand more than any other, it is an empty space on his album page.Learn to examine your stamps
In the end, the best advice when looking at the condition of a stamp is "be vigilant." A stamp is a small thing, yet offers a lot of area for tiny defects that the trained eye might notice, while they might escape the average collector. Avoid adding stamps with hidden defects in your album by investing in a loupe or a magnifying glass -- preferably lighted -- so that you can examine the stamps closely before buying. If you are buying online, make sure there is a clear and large picture of both sides of the stamp so you can see what you're getting. But still examine the stamp after you receive it, as there can be tiny faults the scan may not show.While you may not want to -- or have the time to -- go to all that trouble with your fun stamps, i.e., those purchased in mixtures or lots, you should decide what your tipping point is in terms of price on a stamp by stamp basis. Also decide at what price point you want to have your stamp examined by an expertiser. Because whether it's a five, ten, fifty or thousand dollar stamp, giving it the once-over at purchase time will save you from a nasty shock when you try to sell what you thought was defect free, only to have an informed buyer tell you it's faulty.
