Buying & Selling: Enjoyable and Profitable
From John Finch, former About.com Guide
Cutting a Straight Path Through the Stamp Buying Maze
Perhaps every new collector should be urged to go to a major stamp show to see just how large the philatelic world is. But soon enough we all learn that we can't possibly have it all and we decide on a few areas of interest that we pursue with passion. And like anyone, stamp collectors want good deals, so here we will examine the ways to assure getting them. Basic negotiating skills as well as a sense of timing to know when a dealer truly needs to make a sale can help the knowledgeable collector come out ahead of the one who just pays his money and takes his stamp. Because the price in the book isn't the price.
- Finding a Stamp Dealer That's Right for You
- Main Street's Stamp Dealer
- Where to Find a $14,000 Stamp Rarity
- The Many Pleasures of the Stamp Show
- Your 21st Century Stamp Want List
- Stamp Centering: A Buyer's Prime Consideration
- Topical Stamp Collectors Must Use Common Sense
- Pay Your Price for Your Stamps, Not the Dealer's
- Consider More Than the Stamp When Buying US Covers
- Learn the Rules of Condition Before Playing the Stamp Game
- Don't Get Burned on Sand Dunes Stamps
- Buying Gifts for Stamp Collectors
- Buying Stamps in Tough Economic Times
Knowledgeable Stamp Selling
Collectors usually come to a point when their collection no longer holds the great interest it once did. It is then that the dealer becomes a buyer and the collector the seller. But in this reversal there are many variables. A knowledgeable collector must know what the dealer's considerations are and should have an idea of what he should expect to get before he takes the collection to the dealer. There are also times when a collector wants or needs to sell a part of what he has accumulated and then too, he must try to think like a dealer and have common sense expectations of the return on his philatelic investment.