pfitzsim

In the off chance anyone on the forum has found themselves in the same position, I'm looking for some guidance on where in the GTA I can obtain a valuation on a stamp collection. It was my grandfather's collection, who from what I hear was a fairly avid collector. I have zero interest in becoming a collector and/or storing a plastic bin full of stamp albums for 40 years in the hope that one of my two sons ever become interested. Just trying to figure out if the collection is worth $5 or $5k :-)

Cheers.

Whiplash_89

A good bet would be to find a forum. Post the stamps there and see what people think.

911 Rod

I'm in the same boat. I've had it for almost 20 years. Scanning or taking pictures of them would be a big job in it's self.

Turbodan

there are shops in downtown Toronto you can take the stamps to and have them look at them. I would do that and then go home and consider their offer.

CamsPorsche

A stamp collecting forum for sure then evaluators...

Adamant1971

I'm in the same boat with movie posters. In the end I gave up and put them back in storage. The effort to get a proper evaluation simply involved way to much of my time.

If you take the lot to a dealer, be prepared for a low ball offer.

I would try ebay first, you will probably get more $$ than any local dealer will give you. But the big decision is do you catalog them for a detailed listing or just do a bulk listing and see what happens?

pfitzsim

Thanks gents. Taking photos and posting would take a considerable amount of time in this instance. 100's of lose stamps and probably 500+ pages of stamps. I'll take a look for a forum and a stamp club of some sort that I can trust. My only fear (perhaps unfounded) is taking the whole collection to a shop and having someone help themselves to a stamp or two that are worth something as given the quantity I would never know. Cheers.

Only1

There is a stamp collection meet at the Markham Village Community centre. Not sure on the frequency but from what I've seen it's a reoccurring thing.

pfitzsim

Thanks Only1 - looks like I've found myself a lunch date as they appear to meet every other Wed. mid day less than 10 mins from my office. Cheers.

TouringTeg

Will be interesting to see what they are worth!

rob p

I have a box full of old stamps as well. Let us know how you make out as I would be more than happy to get rid of mine as well.

GTorTT

I was in the same boat. Did some investigation. Whatever you think it's worth, you are probably way high. Seems not many people care to collect stamps anymore.
You can do research on the internet, or find books that list the value. Funny thing about stamps, unless they are in mint condition, the value is low.

Torontoworker

If they are in binders - photocopy each sheet (faster than scanning) and then look at grouping them by country and age. (if they aren't already.) Then a little Google working asking what is the most valuable stamps for each country should give you some results to look at to compare with what you have. If they are just thrown in bins loose, than its a nightmare. But wait... there's more. Stamps are divided into 'condition' Extremely Fine, Very Fine and Fine. Sub sets of this is Cancelled/uncancelled, and even details like perforations etc result in different valuations. But start with the sort by country and year and then go from there. A good publication to use is the Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Stamps. http://www.unitradeassoc.com/Stampbooks.htm Determine where the majority of your stamps come from and buy the catalogue(s) that applies. At least you'll know the ball park value when you go to a buyer. They may debate you over the condition but this is sometimes a ploy to get you lower in value. Sell the whole collection is sometimes easier. Many people buy the whole collection just to get one or two stamps. I've done that - then I dump the rest as a grab bag on ebay.

pfitzsim

Thanks gents - haven't made it out to stamp club yet (every other Wednesday). The vast majority are already in binders by country, although a number have fallen out. I did some quick googling and it would appear that there are a handful of what I have selling for $20-$30, however that being said I have no idea if that is what someone would actually be willing to pay. Will post the outcome.

theiceman

funny !!!!
what did the stamp collector do with his valuation investigation ?

he posted the outcome ..