Do Stamp Collectors EVER "Get Organized?"

Sometimes I find myself wondering if I am ever going to get my stamps "organized."

I haven't been keeping up with this blog recently, in part a reflection of the fact that I have been making a serious attempt to actually organize my stamps, rather than just write about them.

Well... that's not entirely true.

On the whole, my stamp collections are actually fairly well organized. The main source of chaos in my stamp "holdings" is all the stuff that is "not in a collection." I expect that's an issue that faces many collectors-- at least those who build specialized collections the way I always have: By buying accumulations, remaindered collections and box lots and "cherry picking" the stuff I want to keep.

Of course, that leaves "leftovers." For me, the pile of leftovers has grown quite large. I am not the most ambitious person to ever set foot on this planet, so I have had a tendency to set aside the "overs" with the thought of dealing with them later, rather than right away.

These "leftovers" became the reason I ended up selling stamps online, as well as buying them.

The other day, I was considering the way the Internet has changed stamp collecting-- making stamps and other collectors far more "accessible" than they used to be. I suppose that is both good and bad. It's easier to build a collection, but it's also easier to become a "hoarder" or "accumulator."

I sometimes wonder if my pile of "leftovers" would be much smaller, if there were no Internet? Then again, because there is the Internet, I have been able to already pass along many of my leftovers to other collectors through online sales. It's the whole "One man's trash is another man's treasure" principle.

Part of my effort to "get organized" has revolved around making not-needed stamps available for sale to others. The thing is, these stamps are just sitting in boxes, in my closet-- nobody gets to enjoy them there. And that's a shame.

Anyway, it's a HUGE amount of work to sort, identify, scan and list stamps for sale on web marketplaces. I have come to deeply admire those who eek out an actual living by doing so... I can't even imagine the amount of time and effort needed to build an online "inventory" of 50,000 items. For me, even 500 or 1000 items feels like a mountain of work.

For the last couple of months, I have mostly been working with stamps from Denmark. As a 40-year collector, those are the easiest for me to deal with-- especially as far as identification goes.

Sometimes I am amazed by what sellers consider to be a "description." I have seen listings on eBay that read simply "Denmark, very old. Rare!"

OK. So it's up to ME to identify the stamp from a scan? One question, though-- if you don't know the catalogue number of the stamp, how do you know it's "rare?"

A lot of times, the word "rare" is just used as what Internet "gurus" refer to as "click bait." I find it rather annoying-- don't call something "rare" unless it actually has some measure of rarity. And "being 100 years old" does not-- by itself-- make any stamp "rare."

Then again, I tend to be a stickler for describing stamps "properly" and that slows me down considerably, compared to someone who just uploads scans and lets potential buyers pretty much "guess" as to the ID and condition of the stamp. Maybe that works for people-- as a buyer, it has never worked for me. I know a lot of sellers say things like "If you need a better scan, let me know." Personally, I'm too lazy to deal with that... besides, why not just upload the "better scan," in the first place?

Maybe I'm silly, but I tend to favor sellers who actually identify a stamp correctly, and mention things like "has a thin" or "hinge remnant" on their listings.

So anyway, the upshoot of the "organization project" is that I have been listing 100's of my old duplicates for sale since November. Part of the process was not only organizing the stamps, but choosing where to list... something that seems to be on many casual traders' minds.

Which sites "work?" Which sites do not? What is the relationship between fees and sales success?

Since I am not really in it "to make a profit," my criteria are probably a little different from a regular stamp dealer's. For one, since I sell much material at 20-50% of catalogue value (sometimes less), what's most important to me is that the stamps are seen... because I know that as long as there are people looking at the stamps, the prices will drive sales. But if nobody is looking, it doesn't matter if you are giving away free hot bread, so to speak. And that's an issue with many online marketplaces that bill themselves as "alternatives to eBay." It may be cheap-- or even free-- to sell things there, but if there are no buyers, "free" doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

I currently use SIX different venues... and have "rejected" about 15 others as "not worthwhile." Later in the spring, I hope to write about each one I DO use-- and these are only sites where I have actually sold stuff-- and what it's like, and how it works for me. "Site reviews," if you will. I figured it might be useful to other collectors.

In the meantime, I'd like to invite you to visit my eBay Stamp Shop! I have lots of better material from Denmark, as well as some useful Iceland and Sweden. Although I normally deal just with Scandinavian material, I am also offering some better stamps from Switzerland.

I think you'll like what you see there.

Thanks for reading, and "till the next!"

"You Should Write A Book," and other fantasies...

I am not a big fan of so-called "New Year's Resolutions." Never really have been. I think making such "promises" to yourself is more likely to result in failure-- after which you feel bad about yourself-- than success. "I'm going to get in shape and lose 30 pounds" may sound good, but most of the time we make these potentially life-changing "promises" in the heat of the moment and with very little planning... and by the third snowy day of February we feel pretty much "done" with putting on winter gear to go for "a brisk walk" at 6:30 in the morning. Not saying it can't be done, just that more people fail than succeed.

Over the years, I've had a number of people write to me (or tell me) that I "should write a book." The words usually come as a result of someone reading one of my blogs or articles online.

"Writing a book" is far from the same thing as writing articles. Besides, I have no idea what I would write a book about. Typically, the implication is that philately needs "introductory" books about stamp collecting for entice newcomers to join the hobby... written as "light" fare, rather than heavy and dull "how to" volumes put together by 50-year veterans who have long since forgotten the joy of sorting through a packet of random inexpensive stamps.

I am not even convinced that stamp collectors (new or old) buy "books" about stamps. I know we buy lots of "catalogues" and I know we buy "reference books..." but just plain "books?" For now, I think I'll stick to writing articles...

The reason I bring the subject up, however, is that I have felt "tempted"-- for several years-- to turn "writing a book" into a New Year's resolution, based on other people's recommendations. Whereas it may sound like a "reasonable" proposition, it's one of those ideas that's doomed to end up in the Graveyard of Failed Projects.

Anyway, rather than focus on actual New Year's Resolutions, I do tend to make a list of "things I'd like to do" during the year ahead. Whereas it really is just a matter of different wording, it feels more "welcoming," and less restrictive and demanding to have a "things I'd like to do" list.

Near the top of the list, I'd like to finish "cataloguing" my collections. It's something I believe all half-way serious stamp collectors should do. I'm not talking about listing every single stamp I own, just about writing a rough summary of what each collection is, what the "highlight better items" are in that collection, what the collection's approximate market value is, along with a couple of places or three where it could best be sold, in the event of my death. As we grow older, it's only fair to those who'll have to be in charge of "our stuff" after we die... and the stream of stories of "I inherited a stamp collection and have NO idea what to do" seems almost endless. I believe many experienced collectors avoid doing this simply because the task seems "overwhelming." But it's only overwhelming because we fall into believing that we have to include a level of detail that's totally unnecessary.

I'd like to move my Denmark specialized collection from stamp albums to stock books. A few months back, I wrote about reasons for choosing Albums or Stock Books for Collections... and I've just reached a point where keeping this collection in actual albums involves so much "page moving" work that I am actually avoiding keeping it up-to-date. I expect the whole project will take several years... but I need to get started on it. It will also give be a nice opportunity to "catalogue" the collection as I go.

I'd like to dispose of the material the "logical" (rather than "emotionally attached") part of me knows I will never get around to sorting or "doing something with." Even though I probably have 30+ years of life left in me, I know I am never going to "get around to" sifting through 100s of old album pages with older France to create a specialized collection of the classics. I know I am never going to "get around to" forming a Swiss cancel collection. I know I am never going to "get around to" sorting 10,000s of GB "Wildings," for a specialized collection... I can barely keep up with the "Machins," as is. Bottom line: I can barely keep up with the collections I am most interested in and deeply committed to... so I have no business harboring fantasies about new collections to be started at some future time when "I have more time."

Maybe that last one sounds a bit harsh, but my goal is to enjoy stamp collecting... and when I face too many "need to get done's" on my plate, it starts feeling too much like "work" and not enough like "fun."

And that is probably more than enough, for now.

Of course, I would also like to continue writing about stamp-related things, since I really do enjoy writing. However, I am going to leave the "you should write a book" bit somewhere in the background, unless inspiration suddenly strikes me, one day... at which time I will probably remind myself that my time would be better spent working on one of my existing projects.

What would YOU like to do (stamps wise) during 2013?

Stamp Collecting-- is it "Cluttered and Cheap?"

My wife was in the city, giving a workshop-- so I tagged along to go visit some stamp dealers while she was "in session." It is something I enjoy doing, from time to time... sometimes I miss the days when street level stamp shops were more commonplace. These days, stamp stores are few and far between, and many of them are actually general "hobby" shops where you can find everything from sports cards to comics and electric trains... in addition to stamps.

Maybe I'm being overly picky here, but I got to considering whether stamps and stamp collecting are "represented" by dingy, dark, cramped and cluttered stores that make you wonder how many old insects and rat droppings you are going to find, if you buy a box of stamps.

Thinking back to my youth-- when stamp stores were plentiful-- it was a tiny minority that seemed well lit, well organized and clean. Is that what we want, as stamps collectors? Is that a true reflection of "Who We Are," as a group of people.

After we got home, I thought about how this often extends to our modern technological world. Most stamp (dealers') web sites are hardly the model of attractiveness and usability. In fact-- from talking to a few other collectors-- it often seems like a "cheap looking disorganized site" generates more interest than an attractive and well-organized one.

Brings to mind a stamp dealer friend who built himself a new web site, a few years ago. He went from just a bunch of text listings with different colored backgrounds to highlight things... to a very clean looking design that showed off all the stamps really well. He thought he's made a vast improvement in customer service... and was very surprised to learn that a significant number of his customers thought he'd "raised all his prices--" even though all his prices were perfectly unchanged.

Personally, I prefer a nice clean and organized shop or web site. And I especially appreciate a seller who "knows what he/she has" in stock. I don't care for the "I think I may have one of those, let me check my stocks and get back to you in a couple of weeks" school of trading.

How about you?