Inherited a collection. What now?

#1 · October 3, 2021, 6:30 pm

Hi all,

My dad recently passed away and left behind a large stamp collection that I am not quite sure what to do with.

The hobby is not something that interests myself or any of my siblibgs.

Since this world is so unkown to us I thought a society like yours might provide me with some guidance on what to do.

Looking forward to any feedback you may have.

Regards

Elize

#2 · October 3, 2021, 8:30 pm

Elize, Without seeing your collection it is difficult to advise. Many collections are what we term 'School Boy' collections and to quote a well known dealer 'Of no commercial value.' Having said that one stamp can improve your life forever! If you could scan a few pages so we can advise correctly that would help immensely. If you are unable to scan, a few photographs would also be helpful.

Also if you are reluctant to let others see what you have, you can send scans to our editor.

I would add here that collections that are of no commercial value are worth a fortune as family treasures and our youth can learn so much from them as a philatelist has to have a knowledge about everything that there is to know something about!

Jamie.

#3 · October 4, 2021, 10:30 am

Quote from Steve on October 4, 2021, 10:30 am
Sorry to hear about the death of your father. You have in an inadvertent way shown the problem with our stamp collecting hobby - collectors getting old and passing away and their families having no interest in furthering the hobby. This impacts to some large extent on the value of what you have inherited.

The collectors who remain, largely old men, will only want your father's best stamps. There is little demand for the great bulk of ordinary stamps. This means that you can at least get something for the best items but nothing for the bulk. The question is how do you as a non-collector go about selling your inheritance at the best price possible?

Start by speaking to a few collectors, then later a few dealers. Be aware that dealers will want to get your inheritance for as little as possible as this will maximise their profit. They will take adavantage of your ignorance. IMO the best person to start a conversation with about selling your father's collection is one of his stamping buddies, if he had such. Most collectors enjoy socialising around stamps. Was your father a member of a society or club? Start there and try to find someone who knew your father and who will try to help you by doing right by him and his family. Such a collector may not collect what your father did but they will nevertheless be able to give you a rough idea of the collection's current commercial value and who to talk to. But be warned, IMO most collectors over-value their collections. They know what they have paid for it over the years. It all adds up and their hope is to sell it for more than they paid .... but in a declining market with less and less buyers there is less and less chance of making a profit on what was spent getting pleasure from the hobby! In other words, collectors will be lucky to get more than what they paid for their collection. It happens but usually only in specialised fields.

Next, speak to at least two, preferably three dealers. Remember, they will want to buy it for as little as possible as they have expenses related to selling stamps at fairs or on-line. They may not be as honest with you about the 'value' of your father's collection as a collector with no desire to buy it or to profit from it. As pointed out by Jamie, all collections whether 'Schoolboy' or 'Grown-up', (I suspect your father's was the latter), will have some stamps in their collections that others will want. Try to find out which stamps or countries the dealer's are interested in. You can then try selling these 'better' items on-line. Look to see what other similar examples have sold for and price accordingly. On-line stamp sales have grown in popularity with collectors during the pandemic lockdown. Some pay remarkably high prices while others find good material at remarkably low prices. Having posted a topic here, you have the skills to sell the best bits on-line. But remember, every time you take a good stamp out of the collection to sell, you reduce the overall value of the lot.

Your best best is a probably a dealer who gives you a fair price for the lot. You won't make as much as if you sold it individually but you will get rid of it all in one go and be able to get back to doing what you enjoy. Good luck.

In defence of dealers: I am a South African postal history collector based in East Anglia, England. I am sceptical of where the stamp market is going and my prospects of recovering my investment in my hobby. I am comforted by the fact that it provides me with pleasure, intellectual stimulation and social interaction with like-minded collectors. I sell my accumulated stamps that I no longer need or want at East Anglian fairs. Generally, I sell stamps for 20p each. At that blanket price I am an anathema to most dealers who sell individually priced stamps. 'South African Steve', as I am known, has a growing number of repeat customers who come back again and again because they see me as a source of affordable stamps in a over-priced market. At a recent stamp fair a customer whom I had not seen during the pandemic when stamp fairs were closed beamed when he saw me and said "I have been dreaming of your 20p books through-out lock-down". For me 20p (R4) a stamp is a fair price but to show a profit at a stamp fair that costs me almost £42 (R840) for a table means that I have to buy stamps for a lot less - and sell a lot of them! It's difficult in a declining market with no newcomers, one where most collectors already have everything but the best top value stamps. These are usually sold by 'proper' dealers at between 20% - 50% of the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue price.

Sorry to hear about the death of your father. You have in an inadvertent way shown the problem with our stamp collecting hobby - collectors getting old and passing away and their families having no interest in furthering the hobby. This impacts to some large extent on the value of what you have inherited.

The collectors who remain, largely old men, will only want your father's best stamps. There is little demand for the great bulk of ordinary stamps. This means that you can at least get something for the best items but nothing for the bulk. The question is how do you as a non-collector go about selling your inheritance at the best price possible?

Start by speaking to a few collectors, then later a few dealers. Be aware that dealers will want to get your inheritance for as little as possible as this will maximise their profit. They will take adavantage of your ignorance. IMO the best person to start a conversation with about selling your father's collection is one of his stamping buddies, if he had such. Most collectors enjoy socialising around stamps. Was your father a member of a society or club? Start there and try to find someone who knew your father and who will try to help you by doing right by him and his family. Such a collector may not collect what your father did but they will nevertheless be able to give you a rough idea of the collection's current commercial value and who to talk to. But be warned, IMO most collectors over-value their collections. They know what they have paid for it over the years. It all adds up and their hope is to sell it for more than they paid .... but in a declining market with less and less buyers there is less and less chance of making a profit on what was spent getting pleasure from the hobby! In other words, collectors will be lucky to get more than what they paid for their collection. It happens but usually only in specialised fields.

Next, speak to at least two, preferably three dealers. Remember, they will want to buy it for as little as possible as they have expenses related to selling stamps at fairs or on-line. They may not be as honest with you about the 'value' of your father's collection as a collector with no desire to buy it or to profit from it. As pointed out by Jamie, all collections whether 'Schoolboy' or 'Grown-up', (I suspect your father's was the latter), will have some stamps in their collections that others will want. Try to find out which stamps or countries the dealer's are interested in. You can then try selling these 'better' items on-line. Look to see what other similar examples have sold for and price accordingly. On-line stamp sales have grown in popularity with collectors during the pandemic lockdown. Some pay remarkably high prices while others find good material at remarkably low prices. Having posted a topic here, you have the skills to sell the best bits on-line. But remember, every time you take a good stamp out of the collection to sell, you reduce the overall value of the lot.

Your best best is a probably a dealer who gives you a fair price for the lot. You won't make as much as if you sold it individually but you will get rid of it all in one go and be able to get back to doing what you enjoy. Good luck.

In defence of dealers: I am a South African postal history collector based in East Anglia, England. I am sceptical of where the stamp market is going and my prospects of recovering my investment in my hobby. I am comforted by the fact that it provides me with pleasure, intellectual stimulation and social interaction with like-minded collectors. I sell my accumulated stamps that I no longer need or want at East Anglian fairs. Generally, I sell stamps for 20p each. At that blanket price I am an anathema to most dealers who sell individually priced stamps. 'South African Steve', as I am known, has a growing number of repeat customers who come back again and again because they see me as a source of affordable stamps in a over-priced market. At a recent stamp fair a customer whom I had not seen during the pandemic when stamp fairs were closed beamed when he saw me and said "I have been dreaming of your 20p books through-out lock-down". For me 20p (R4) a stamp is a fair price but to show a profit at a stamp fair that costs me almost £42 (R840) for a table means that I have to buy stamps for a lot less - and sell a lot of them! It's difficult in a declining market with no newcomers, one where most collectors already have everything but the best top value stamps. These are usually sold by 'proper' dealers at between 20% - 50% of the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue price.

#4 · October 4, 2021, 12:58 pm

Dear Elise,

Very sorry to hear of your father's death.

Steve's advice makes good sense, and if your father had stamp-collecting friends with similar interests, that's very much the first port of call. If not, and if the bulk of the collection is South African, it may be possible to find a member of the South Africa Collectors Club who lives near you and could at least give you a first opinion. I'd be very willing to help if I live near you - I'm in central Devon. As Steve says, be wary of dealers, and don't take any first offer without checking it out ....

Sadly, many collections are full of stamps produced in the last 50 years and mass-produced first-day covers, and are of little value; but if your father's collection isn't like that, and especially if it has any quantity of older stamps and covers, it could be worth more, and possibly a lot more. Good luck!

Bas

#5 · October 6, 2021, 11:27 pm

Hi guys, thanks for the responses.

My dad was a collecter of many things and most collections found a home within the family. We knew there would be little commercial value if any but wanted to get the collection to somebody that would find the same joy in it my dad always found but was not aware of anybody in the family.

In the time it took for me to get some scans / photos I came accross some correspondence between my dad and on of his nieces on the topic of stamps and I reached out. I am happy to say she will be taking over where he left off. Keeping a family treasure in the family.

Regards

Elize

#6 · October 6, 2021, 11:43 pm

Elize, Thanks for update - Wonderful news!

Jamie.