Frequently Asked Questions

1. The Value Of Any Collectible Is Made Up Of Three Factors:

Scarcity, Condition and Popularity… you can have a very rare stamp or coin that is in great condition, but if no one collects it then it isn’t worth anything. On the other hand you can have popular stamp in good condition that is fairly common (like the Graf Zeppelin set from the US) that is readily saleable.

2. What should you do to prepare the collection? 

If you are the collector, then an inventory of the collection, if available, would be useful to see. 

If you aren’t the collector, then I wouldn’t try to create an in depth inventory or “reorganize” the collection in any way. You may wind up spending a lot of time and not add any value, or worse, make the collection worth less than it is in it’s original state. Marketing a collection is a bit of an art form. Some things are best left messy and disorganized as that is what some collectors are looking for… adventure!

If you are taking pictures of the collection, take one of the entire collection as well as early pages of the US collection or other areas that the collector concentrated on. 

3. Some Areas Are Not Very Popular

There are some areas that are of little interest to us which we would not buy if they did not come with a better collection:

Gold Foil Replicas (envelopes with "gold stamps" on them), Bundleware (multiples of common stamps, sometimes counted into bundles of 100 and tied up with thread), United States Modern Mint Postal Stationery, Common First Day Covers, United States Commemorative Panels or Souvenir Pages, Austrian Black Prints, German Erstagblatts, Other Country Philatelic First Day Items, United Nations, Inexpensive Children’s Collections (if you’re not sure, call us!). If it looks “manufactured” (lots of text in a fancy binder) then it probably doesn’t have much value. If you are local I will count everything for what it is worth and take it away… but only if the collection has something else that has value and that I’m interested in. I hope that makes sense! 

4. Other Areas Can Have More Value

We find interest in most areas of the world, including United States, Canada and British North America, Italy and Colonies, Proof and Essays, Worldwide collections (A-Z collections). Right now we have customers for colonial material from Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium. Offices from these areas are needed also!