Rene, I liked this question of yours but it appears folks treat this area like their favorite fishing spot secretively hehe. I’ve been collecting a long time now and have had the best luck and most fun at yard sales/flea markets/antique stores/estate sales/auctions /stamp shows but it’s important to be early and bring plenty of cash.
Mainly auctions and local shows. I have found that there is a lot of nice material not described in detail in auction lots. Not overlooked per se, but still good material. Local shows give me the opportunity to work with with local dealers in one place in one day. Some specialize in certain things and acquire ancillary material that isn't in their "wheelhouse" that they would like to move and good stuff can be found that way. As far as fishing goes, I spent many years doing that....very little actual catching, but a lot of fishing. This dude Gibby is a doozie though eh?
Greg I’ve had many fishing trips where I have come up empty but you enjoy the experience. It also makes it much more meaningful when you catch a big fish. My best score was at a doctors yard sale I purchased several albums which filled in my own like none before they were loaded with good stamps. The hard part is finding the truly unpicked lots which do exist but they are rare.
I agree with Andrew along with all the sites that sell stamps some are big accumulations if the price is right! Gotten some boxes at antique malls filled with 10,000+ stamps a huge mixture and plenty of albums and FDC and post cards with stamps at these places!
That is the trick now isn't it... Image, me as a dealer of US based in Japan. I have 0 access to almost all the things mentioned here. So ask yourself, how DOES a guy outside the US get stock like this?
I'd assume the same way just called something else but not sure how other places are if they sell antiques but local post offices all ways have good supply!
Gotcha so what kinda Japanese stamps can you get ahold of since I don't mind any origin stamp since you said Japan I do have a good collection of those going maybe you could assist me adding more to that? But you did say you deal in US virtually so maybe there is room in there lol
:-) Carol - so true. Show fees are high and require city licenses and state resale licenses and even motel rooms transportation food and at least 3 days of your time. or you can sell on line in your pajamas for next to nothing (in comparison) - these guys are certainly under stress to sell or take offers - in some cases just to break even.
Personally I have a 10 year supply of totally unlisted yet by me material but I still buy online, no logical reason! :-) it does keep a seller's inventory exciting if they buy a lot. i find the best buys are when a dealer does not like to work up certain inventory. it can be priced low if he despises the stuff...LOL (like cinderellas and WW revenues) :-)
of course when they list at 50x the going value.. that just makes the correctly priced material sell better.
The only problem with doing that is often times many of the lots that you may be looking for are long gone.
I have a couple of sellers because I've dealt with them so long they will put lots aside for me so I go to the shows early so I can get them out of their way. They know what I am looking for. At the moment I have 1 seller when he picks up as he's passing will drop stuff off at my house, we've known each other for 40 years and we often did a number of the local shows and many times out table were right next to each other. That is something that depends on trust and knowing each other for a long time.
My recommendation was based more on experience of watching the dealers I bought from operate at the end of shows (I seldom had that kind of cash). They would buy out the entire stock of dealers who tired from the show circuit (if you haven't done 4 shows a month you have no idea what a hassle it is). Setting is the late 80's when prices started to fall for general red box stock and fewer dealers understood postal history (you could still find #25's on cover and covers came with enclosures (lots of civil war letters etc).
To be honest I got a huge accumulation not even sure where to start perhaps I offload half of it to a big accumulation buyer?¿ would be well over 10,000+ stamps,FDC,S/S,Sheets,etc from used, precancel, Mint NH! Dont even have the time or full knowledge yet for stamping like the pros perhaps with the right guidance! With what I have now if I sorted threw it all it take me many months and then catalog! All I did was sort them out in country!
Comments
unpicked lots which do exist but they are rare.
Gotten some boxes at antique malls filled with 10,000+ stamps a huge mixture and plenty of albums and FDC and post cards with stamps at these places!
Image, me as a dealer of US based in Japan. I have 0 access to almost all the things mentioned here.
So ask yourself, how DOES a guy outside the US get stock like this?
of course when they list at 50x the going value.. that just makes the correctly priced material sell better.
I have a couple of sellers because I've dealt with them so long they will put lots aside for me so I go to the shows early so I can get them out of their way. They know what I am looking for. At the moment I have 1 seller when he picks up as he's passing will drop stuff off at my house, we've known each other for 40 years and we often did a number of the local shows and many times out table were right next to each other. That is something that depends on trust and knowing each other for a long time.