shantige

24 May 2014
09:00:23pm

Hi everyone,

I've been collecting mainly used Canada stamps for a while now. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I have found that the part I seem to enjoy most is soaking the stamps off and sorting them into groups before I actually look for their spot in the album.

I went ahead and made a big purchase of a 5 pound mixture to "play" with. I will undoubtedly come across many duplicates while sorting through this mixture. I guess I'm wondering the best way to deal with the many duplicates I'm soon going to have.

Should I group them together and put them into a stock book to take to a dealer or stamp club? Should I just load them all into envelopes? Is there another method to deal with them? I'm not really interested in keeping them so I guess if you had a suggestion for how best to organize them to get rid of them, that would be great. I doubt really have any ideas.

Thanks,
Shannon

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philatelia

25 May 2014
05:45:35am

re: Best way to deal with duplicates?

Duplicates can be a fun path to making new stamp friends. I used to do lots of trading overseas - my collection grew and I met some super nice folks. Bags of the excess duplicates from kiloware got donated to either the boy scouts or other youth groups or to the Lion's Club Stamps for the Wounded project. You can also find a few young collectors to mentor.

Have fun with the kiloware and happy stampin'!

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Bobstamp

25 May 2014
11:24:57am

re: Best way to deal with duplicates?

One of the best trading arrangements I had was a one-time deal, and probably unusual. I got to know a stamp dealer in California through email. When he learned I was a photographer, he asked me if I could photograph a stamp for him. (This was in the days before scanners.) In exchange, he said he would send me the stamp, along with a selection of stamps that I could pick and choose from in exchange. I was not to consider catalogue value.

The stamp was a mint, never-hinged copy Great Britain's 1929 UPU issue:



He sent the package, I photographed the stamp, and picked out a small selection of stamps and covers, including this cover:



The stamp is a gorgeous "hairline" copy of U.S. #11. The plate that printed it cracked in use; ink seeped into the crack, which produced an irregular, dark line, clearly visible on this image:




The dealer got his image, which he wanted to use as a logo, and I got some nice additions to my collection. Happiness all around!

The key to successful trading is communication. A few email exchanges can soon give you an idea of just who you are dealing with, and whether you can both benefit from a trading relationship. I've had other trades which involve exchanging stamps of similar value. I've had trades where the only criteria was that I wanted stamps he had and he/she wanted stamps I had. And I've had trades which, really, were nothing more than my purchase of stamps that I catalogued, at a pre-arranged percentage of the Scott catalogue.

Bob

P.S. The image of the UPU issue shown here is not my image. Mine was about six times sharper. I may have a print around. If I find it, I'll post it.

 
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TuskenRaider

04 Jun 2014
06:30:51am

re: Best way to deal with duplicates?

Hi shantige;

If they are on paper, then soaking and pressing them flat is a lot of extra work, especially if you know right away that they are duplicates. Selling in the approval books doesn't make sense if still on paper. Almost never see them offered on paper in there.

Sell them as kiloware, by the ounce on paper, either here or on eBid, WebStore, eCrater, or Delcampe, or better yet if you have 5 pounds, list some in here and several other sites. The above mentioned sites are all free to join and list on. Only eBid (2%) and Delcampe (5%) charge a final value commission.

The price you set them at will depend on if they are large commemoratives or mostly small definitives. If you have that many, you probably will have some nice town cancels, or fancy cancels. Those can be sold as singles, off paper in our approvals or elsewhere.

You mentioned bringing them to a stamp club. If you have a club near you, that is an excellent idea, for making new stamp friends. Nothing makes a better friendship bond, than face-to-face trading partners.

Personally I think you should list on here if you want to save on fees. Also the more material on here the more people will come to buy, and we will grow even bigger and better.






(Modified by Moderator on 2014-06-04 12:08:10)

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cdj1122

re: Best way to deal with duplicates?

Shannon,

Before you start sending the extras off consider that some of the apparently common as dirt
Canadian definitives exist in several minor but very collectable varieties. That is because
Canada post often contracts with several different printers over time to produce certain stamps.
If you have a Canadian Catalog you will see the differences described such as different
perforations. So, I'd sort them into face differences, choose a nice example for my collection
and then as you learn about the variations you can look back to see if the variety is sitting
there waiting to be discovered and put into your album.
That advice will apply to almost any nation's stamps, especially definitives issued over a long
period of time.
For storing them on paper, I use long legal size envelopes that I get by carefully slitting mail
along the top edge as bills and other junk mail arrives each day and cost nothing to use. Then
when I soak the stamps off paper, as needed, they can be put into medium sized glassines for
a closer sort. Also occasionally there will be news of a previously unknown variation discover
-ed and once you know what you are looking for, you may discover you have an example in
the bulk envelopes or the glassines.
While any major catalog should be good for Canada stamps the UNITRADE CANADA specialized
is probably the best and has really good images and diagrams.
Charlie

 
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csheer

10 Oct 2014
08:11:05pm

re: Best way to deal with duplicates?

And if you exhaust all other avenues through which to find new homes for your duplicates, they are welcome at the (Foxborough Regional Charter School, Foxboro, MA) Holocaust Stamps Project, which had collected 4,210,491 stamps as of 9/24/14, with a goal of attaining 11 MILLION, one for each of the Holocaust victims.

You may visit the website (or email me privately)for much more info.

Mostly, have fun!

 
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TinMan

14 Oct 2014
08:23:38pm

re: Best way to deal with duplicates?

shantige
I don't know if you collect U.S. or not but I offered to trade 1 for one U.S. for Canadian and or it provinces. I am new to Canadian stamps. I only have about 100 at the moment. This would be a way to put used Dupes to good use or help a newbie like me get started. You can P.M. me with any thoughts.
Chuck

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