Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Welcome aboard Wes. There aren't any rules to stamp collecting, just collect what you want and how you want. Meanwhile there are a whole lot of great folks here on SOR that are able to assist you with just about any question about stamps that you may have.
Mike
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Dear Hayesherb,
You write:"In the psychology of stamp collecting, is there a progression of stages?"
Sorry my friend, but you are doomed.Welcome though. Lots of company.
Best,
Dan C.
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Thanks so much. I guess I should have mentioned my interests. I like big boxes of stamps at this point. No particular specialty yet.
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You don't have to specialize in order to collect stamps. Just collect what you want, and specialize in the fun of the hobby.
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Welcome, Wes!
Glad to have you doomed with the rest of us!
(Thanks for that one, Dan!)
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Welcome to Stamporama! When you have any questions we have lots of knowledgeable collectors willing to share.
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Welcome back to collecting! It's always great to hear that someone is coming back after years of dormancy. Wish you the best of luck in getting your collection back and running and getting all the stamps you use to only dream of having.
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Wes, welcome back to stamp collecting! Frankly, it's the only thing that keeps me sane nowadays. 
(No comments, please! 
)
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"In the psychology of stamp collecting, is there a progression of stages?"
I'd have thought that most people start off with used stamps, because they are the ones you come by as a child in the home via incoming mail. I certainly began like that, and even on my middle-aged return it was a couple of years before I concluded that I did not want used stamps at all, and so now collect only mint.
The rationales for both are persuasive. Used-stamp collectors argue that the purpose of a stamp is properly fulfilled with a cancel and therefore more worthy of collection; they also find much interest in the cancels themselves and therefore often progress to collecting covers. Mint-stamp collectors are often more interested in the design or printing of a stamp, which they do not want defaced by a cancel. A very few (i.e. this writer!) are interested in why certain stamps are issued when they are issued: whether and how they are used for postage is secondary.
I think it's fair to say that many of the people you'll meet on this forum have a primary interest in trading and selling stamps (in whatever condition); there seems also to be a definite slant towards nineteenth century (and therefore usually used) stamps. But you will doubtless find all sorts.
Welcome to the group!
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Welcome Wes! My story is quite similar, except that I knew where my collection was all those years--in a footlocker! I lugged carried that collection with me for three decades while I raised a family and toured the world courtesy of the US Army. Had I been smart, I would have picked up stamps all along the way.
"I'd have thought that most people start off with used stamps..."
Ian, I'm just the opposite... As a kid I was after mint (US). I only "settled" for used as a spacefiller when the mint was going to be out of my price range for the foreseeable future.
Today I prefer used, even for all of those common stamps from the 1930s through today. I have one caveat: they must have clear and interesting cancels. No wavy lines go into my album! I do have a few mint spacefillers, but not many. Keeping it used makes the hunt more interesting, and keeps the costs down.
-Steve
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08:58:44am
Thanks to all for the communication. I am restarting after a few decades. Collected in my teens and thought I had lost all of my collection. I found it a few months ago and have gotten fully addicted again. I am at the stage where I have collected most US stamps from 200 to 2800 and have started to go back through and replace with light cancels and uncancelled. In the psychologyof stamp collecting, is there a progression of stages?
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re: New member.
Welcome aboard Wes. There aren't any rules to stamp collecting, just collect what you want and how you want. Meanwhile there are a whole lot of great folks here on SOR that are able to assist you with just about any question about stamps that you may have.
Mike
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re: New member.
Dear Hayesherb,
You write:"In the psychology of stamp collecting, is there a progression of stages?"
Sorry my friend, but you are doomed.Welcome though. Lots of company.
Best,
Dan C.
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10:31:48am
re: New member.
Thanks so much. I guess I should have mentioned my interests. I like big boxes of stamps at this point. No particular specialty yet.
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re: New member.
You don't have to specialize in order to collect stamps. Just collect what you want, and specialize in the fun of the hobby.
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Auctions - Approvals
re: New member.
Welcome Wes. Good to have you with us.
Tim.
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re: New member.
Welcome, Wes!
Glad to have you doomed with the rest of us!
(Thanks for that one, Dan!)
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re: New member.
Welcome to Stamporama! When you have any questions we have lots of knowledgeable collectors willing to share.
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re: New member.
Welcome back to collecting! It's always great to hear that someone is coming back after years of dormancy. Wish you the best of luck in getting your collection back and running and getting all the stamps you use to only dream of having.
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re: New member.
Wes, welcome back to stamp collecting! Frankly, it's the only thing that keeps me sane nowadays.
(No comments, please! )
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re: New member.
"In the psychology of stamp collecting, is there a progression of stages?"
I'd have thought that most people start off with used stamps, because they are the ones you come by as a child in the home via incoming mail. I certainly began like that, and even on my middle-aged return it was a couple of years before I concluded that I did not want used stamps at all, and so now collect only mint.
The rationales for both are persuasive. Used-stamp collectors argue that the purpose of a stamp is properly fulfilled with a cancel and therefore more worthy of collection; they also find much interest in the cancels themselves and therefore often progress to collecting covers. Mint-stamp collectors are often more interested in the design or printing of a stamp, which they do not want defaced by a cancel. A very few (i.e. this writer!) are interested in why certain stamps are issued when they are issued: whether and how they are used for postage is secondary.
I think it's fair to say that many of the people you'll meet on this forum have a primary interest in trading and selling stamps (in whatever condition); there seems also to be a definite slant towards nineteenth century (and therefore usually used) stamps. But you will doubtless find all sorts.
Welcome to the group!
Login to Like
this post
re: New member.
Welcome Wes! My story is quite similar, except that I knew where my collection was all those years--in a footlocker! I lugged carried that collection with me for three decades while I raised a family and toured the world courtesy of the US Army. Had I been smart, I would have picked up stamps all along the way.
"I'd have thought that most people start off with used stamps..."
Ian, I'm just the opposite... As a kid I was after mint (US). I only "settled" for used as a spacefiller when the mint was going to be out of my price range for the foreseeable future.
Today I prefer used, even for all of those common stamps from the 1930s through today. I have one caveat: they must have clear and interesting cancels. No wavy lines go into my album! I do have a few mint spacefillers, but not many. Keeping it used makes the hunt more interesting, and keeps the costs down.
-Steve
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