In surveys, people give many different reasons for collecting. Examples include: they love stamps; they like meeting other collectors; it’s very relaxing; as an investment
Whatever… Collectors will tell you that it is completely absorbing. Putting together a great collection will give you many hours of quiet satisfaction
The use of stamps for personal communication has almost collapsed since the invention of social media. As a result, stamps are no longer a natural collectable. So the question is: where can you get stamps?
There are three main sources: stamp fairs, dealers, auctions
Stamp fairs are a good place to meet people, browse through the stocks of local dealers; and talk about collecting in a relaxed environment
There are a number of regular stamp fairs in South Africa. You can find out about them here or by visiting the website of the South African Philatelic Dealers’ Association
Dealers are a great source of both collectables and advice. A good dealer will help you to put together a great collection. Dealers keep an eye open for the things you need; and let you know when important material comes onto the market.
It’s always best to buy stamps from a dealer who belongs to a professional association. This will ensure that you have some recourse if you want to complain about something. There is only one dealer network that’s affiliated to our Federation; and that’s the South African Philatelic Dealers’ Association (SAPDA for short). You can find out about them here or by going to their website: www.sapda.co.za
Auctions are a very good way to find bargains as long as you know what the catalogue value of an item is. You’ll often be able to buy philatelic collectables for prices that are far below their catalogue value. Just make sure that you’re dealing with an auctioneer with a good reputation
There are a number of regular auctions in South Africa. You can find out about there here or by visiting the website of the South African Philatelic Dealers’ Association
There are also many great Auction Houses overseas. Most have excellent facilities for live, online bidding. One of the easiest ways to do this, is to visit the website of the Stamp Auction Network. It will enable you to browse through what’s on offer; and then to participate live when the auction takes place
We shouldn’t conclude this section without mentioning Bid or Buy, eBay and Delcampe. All three can be seen as online bazaars for almost everything to collect and can be a great source to acquire stamps for your collection. However, if you do buy from them, make sure that you are buying from a trusted seller
This is a service that we’re offering to members. If you have an old stamp collection or come across anything unusual, you can scan and upload it to us; and we’ll get one of our expert members to look at it for you.
But you will have to become a member first. Use the form below to contact us to find out what’s involved.
For ‘what is it’
Writing up a collection is one of the most enjoyable things you can do. Doing it well, is a great skill. Looking through a well-written up collection, is like reading a good book
So what’s involved in a good write-up?
Well, there are two keys components: organisation/flow; and writing just enough. People want to know what they’re looking at, but they don’t want to spend all their time reading. So a good write-up uses just enough words (or pictures or diagrams) to tell the story; and then lays the collection out in a way that has a natural flow
Learn by example – copy! You can find many great collections online, for example, Richard Frajola’s archive. We also recommend two very good books: Randy Neil’s The Philatelic Exhibitors Handbook and Steven Zwillinger’s Going for Gold
If you have a stamp that may be valuable, then you can get it expertised. Anyone can do so, but Federation members get a 25% discount. Affiliates get a 10% discount.
We are considering offering an important new service: grading. Stamps in good condition have always been worth more than stamps that are damaged. Now you can officially establish just how good your stampd is by getting it graded on a scale for 0 – 100.
Even stamps that are quite common can be very rare in good condition. Internationally, highly graded stamps often achieve auction prices that are 10 to 20 times higher than their catalogue value.
Use the contact form bellow if you want to ask us about grading your stamps.
