Growing a Stamp Collection, Part 3

This is part 3 of a multi-part article on how stamp collectors can "grow" or "build" their stamp collection. This article discusses the different ways stamp dealers market their material.

The way stamp dealers group their material for sale is only one small aspect of the dealer/collector relationship. Stamp dealers also employ several different ways to sell their stamps (and collectors to buy them!). The following is a brief list of some of these different ways.

• From a store.
• Through the mail, or via the Internet, either from a price list, or "on approval".
• Through a bidboard or auction arrangement.
• At stamp shows and bourses.

From a store.

There are a large number of full- and part-time dealers and companies that sell postage stamps to collectors in the United States. Less than half of them maintain a physical location where collectors can come and buy material, however. The majority of those dealers that DO maintain a physical location where they sell their wares are located in the larger cities. Some cities may have one or two dealers, while others may have several dozen. The size of the city may not be the biggest deciding factor - a city with a larger number of collectors may have more dealers than another city that has a larger population, but fewer collectors. Most cities above 250,000 population will have at least one or two dealers. These can usually be found by looking in the Yellow Pages of the local telephone book.

Most dealers offer a fairly wide variety of material. This may include individual stamps, sets, packets, accumulations and job lots, and/or collections for sale. Frequently the material offered varies, as the dealer may have disposed of some parts of his inventory, and not yet replaced the material. Building a personal relationship with a dealer can be rewarding, as the dealer may inform you of new material that interests you when it arrives, rather than you having to make numerous trips to see if there's anything you may want to purchase. The dealer may also acquire material he otherwise wouldn't, if he knows you are interested and will offer him a reasonable price for his acquisitions. A personal relationship with one or more dealers may also allow you to dispose of duplicate and/or unneeded material at a reasonable price, either directly to the dealer, or through him to other collectors (see "bidboards" below). Occasionally, a dealer will accept a collection or accumulation "on consignment" from a collector, and dispose of it for him, keeping a percentage of the sale price for his actions.

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