Stamp Collecting — as a Profession and a Treasure Hunt!

One of the ways I have been making part of my living since 1988 is as a part time dealer in rare old postage stamps for collectors.

An old stamp from Hong Kong, 1935

I was introduced to stamp collecting when I was quite young, and in time it became a life-long hobby, as well as a way to make a little extra money.

At one point, stamp collecting was actually one of the most popular collecting hobbies in the world! After all, you could get the "raw materials" for a collection in the post, every single day. Well, at least back in the days before email...

Of course, it is somewhat of a leap from being a stamp collector to being a stamp dealer. In my case, it was somewhat born out of necessity... I didn't really have any money to build a stamp collection beyond the very basics, but I soon enough learned that I could buy messy "estate lots," sort them out and remove what I wanted for my own collection, and then sell the leftovers and hopefully recover most of the amount I had originally spent.

It became more of "a thing" for me when I developed some expertise and discovered that I was able to pick out items for my own collection, then reorganize the mess, and then actually make a profit from selling the leftovers!

Following this approach allowed me to have a nice sideline income for many years and build quite a respectable stamp collection in the process. Unfortunately, it has not been a lasting proposition.

The decline in stamp collecting over the past wo decades hasn't so much been due to a lack of interest so much as to the fact that fewer and fewer people are actually exposed to stamps on letters, on a daily basis. What that means is that fewer kids take up the hobby at a young age — as I did — these days, so most new entrants into stamp collecting these days are in their 40s and older, rather than under 12.

But the hobby continues on, just on a somewhat smaller scale than it once did... when an estimated 30 million people in the USA along collected stamps.

What has always appealed to me the most about being a stamp collector/dealer is the "treasure hunt" aspect involved in buying "box lots" that typically represent something that was stored away in a closet or attic when someone moves or dies.

You just never know what you're going to find! And occasionally, you can find a rarity or two. In the almost 25 years I have now been a stamp seller on eBay, the most valuable item I have handled sold for $2,026 in an eBay auction! Not bad for a piece of paper the size of a small sticker!

Mostly, though, I just do it for the fun!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

How about YOU? Have you ever collected stamps? Do you collect something else? Or are collecting hobbies just not interesting to you? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20220228 23:58 PST
x374