Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I for one would like to find a dealer who would like to mentor a "wanabe dealer". I've read the how to books. I want to dabble a little, play a little and have fun at my hobby. I don't want to be the Wal Mart or the Hooty Snooty $1000 dealer.
So! for those "Selling Out" dealers I pose these questions:
How do you develop collectors to become dealers in a positive and affirmative way?
How do you promote stamp collecting in a positive and rewarding way to beginners?
What would you do to encourage verses discourage stamp collecting?
How would you profess your Philatelic faith?
Would it be by Hell Fire and Brimstone?
Or would it be by the Gentle Sheppard approach?
Accentuate the Positive Eliminate the Negative
So lets hear from the SOR family on this.
Regards,
Don Blais
Blais N Stamps
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Don:
An interesting question. All of us at some time have had a fantasy of being a dealer or part-time dealer.
I think the Pat Hearst books have some good tips between the lines for those aspiring to be dealers.
I think that eBay and the ability to set up an online store is perhaps a good way to start without too much cost upfront. Certainly with the internet and computers a nice little business could be started without too much trouble.
Perhaps some of our dealer or part-time dealer members such as Roy or Bob or Liz could give you some ideas. I know that there are some books out there about becoming a dealer but not sure how up-to-date they are and what the titles are.
You might want to try a search in the APS Library or Google on Stamp Dealing to see what you can find. Keep us posted.
Steve
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Hi Don:
Even though I sell stamps on Stamporama I am not an official Stamp Dealer. I have also listed lots on eBay in the past with good results.
Perhaps some of the dealers who are members of Stamporama can offer some suggestions to you as how to get started on your way to becoming a Stamp Dealer.
Liz
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Hmmm.... Didn't know I was a stamp dealer! If someone will tell me where my stamp shop is, perhaps I'll go in and find out what's happening! :^)
Actually, I was a stamp dealer for a short period in the early 1980's. My wife and I operated a part-time approval business, selling mint and used Canadian approvals. We certainly didn't make any money with it, although we enjoyed it. Well, I enjoyed it. Susan has no interest in stamps; she was the organizer and bookkeeper, which is a good thing, because I'm a dead loss when it comes to such things.
I certainly learned a lot about Canadian stamps in those few years, and I enjoyed many of the contacts I had with people. And I didn't enjoy other contacts at all, with people who ripped me off to the tune of several hundred dollars, or who were just plain difficult.
Selling stamps has got to be a labour of love, and I suppose there's always the danger that going "pro" will destroy one's love of the hobby itself. That happened with me and photography, and only with retirement have I started taking pictures again just for the pleasure of it.
Bob Ingraham
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Don,
Those are some interesting questions, and I think that they can be partly answered.
Frankly, I do not think that you can develope collectors into becoming dealers. This is a process that just happens. In my own case, I had been collecting stamps prior to WWII for about eight years, and upon my return from the Air Corps, I picked it up again. I wanted to be able to add to my collection, and keep it on a non-cost basis, so I started selling my duplicate stamps, and along the way would buy bargains and sell them off, in each case using the monies to buy stamps for my personal collection. I collected US, both mint and used, and foreign, mainly used from 1840 to 1940. In 1957 I moved from Queens,NY to Long Island, NY, and near to my home there was a monthly stamp bourse. I remember taking a table for $8.00 for the day, and coming in with one small album of stamps, and a box of US plate blocks. I really did not know the market, and sold everything very cheap. I did a land-office business. After a few shows, I learned more, but still sold cheap to build up a customer base. To digress a moment, I even had a prominent stamp dealer who is still in business today, shop me, and I caught him stealing a $1.00 Columbian. I went to his home and reported the incident to his parents, and they said, "Oh, my son would not do such a thing!" I had witnesses, and had to give his name to my insurance company in order to collect on the stamp, as he had crushed it in his hand when I caught him.
Eventually I started to do some of the larger stamp shows, I joined the ASDA, and did some of their shows, started a mail order business, and now I was a dealer on a part time bases as I still had my regular job.
As to your second question, stamp collecting takes a lot of time, and work, but is a way to relax, and let the worries of the business world dissipate. It is a great healer for the ill. It is wonderful for children to learn history, and what the world has to offer. Stamp collecting can be promoted at yout local library by placing an exhibit in the glass display cases. (I have done this many times, and when I lived on Long Island I was on the Library Circuit, where they would call me and ask that I place an exhibit at various libraries.) On Halloween, I would give out packages of stamps, but only to those that were interested in them. You can be a guest speaker at various organizations such as fraternal groups, Boy Scouts, etc. Send in interesting articles to your local newspaper. Presently I have articles appearing in Linn's several times a year, and in my post card magazines almost every month. Have one appearing right now, a story about me with my picture.
Your third question about encouraging as discouraging to stamp collecting, this is very difficult at the present time, as it appears that most of the hobbies are waning. There are so many other things to do, especially for the young. I have tried to get my grand kids interested, but to no avail. Talk positve about the hobby, and follow what I have said in question two. Get a possible new collector to go to a show, with you, or even a stamp club. It might excite them into collecting. I know for a fact in post card collecting it is easy to get someone hooked into collecting. Just show them a picture of their hometown as it looked when they were children, or even before they were born, and if they buy just one, they are bound to buy more.
I have no answer for the rest of the questions, but I would be glad to field any questions put to me if I can.
1:15AM here and time to think about going to bed, so good night all.
Richaard
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Bob:
I certainly was aware that you were not a dealer; however, I knew that you had done some part-time dealing previously and hence had some experience that you might like to share.
So if I confused you and others.
Steve
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Richaard Liz Bob Steve:
Thanks for the comments and insights. As for my asperations I don't plan on being a fulltime dealer persay. My Enthusiastic collecting over the years has brought about the Necessity of trying to dispose of material. The area that I live in is remote enough that I have to resort to the www electronically. I have a web site, a forum site, an auction site, a stampshop site (under construction) a Yahoo group, an MSN group, a Virtual Stamp Club group. All of which are relatively new. I'm also a SOR sponsor. I guess that as avid collectors we inadvertently or unintentionally become dealers. I commend those who do it for a living. I just don't like the "in your face" kind of dealers. So by me trying to dabble as a dealer I would like to find out from our SOR members and dealers what traits a Good dealer should have. The Do's and Dont's of dealing. When working with teenagers I would only tell them allabout the Do's. So if they did all of the Do's they woulden't have to worry about the Dont's.. The same holds true for Stamp Dealing.
Thanks again folks for your thoughts and comments.
Best Regards.
Don Blais
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Don,
You seem to have put a lot of thought into this already. I doubt that I have much to add, but for the record these are some things that would probably help foster a stamp business:
-- You couldn't better than to emulate Roy and Debbie Lingen. I honestly can't think of anything that they have done wrong in developing their on-line business, Lingens.com.
-- Help kids collect (sponsor a club, give stamps and stamp related gifts to kids, etc.)
-- When it comes to your web site(s), make sure they are friendly and cleanly designed. If you haven't already done so, go to "Ten Top Web Design Mistakes of 2003". Be sure to read through Nielson's other links. (This web site receives 17,000 hits a month. It's interesting even if you don't design your own web pages.)
-- Offer a variety of easy payment and contact options.
-- Whenever possible, offer clear scans of material you are selling.
-- Update your web site offerings frequently. Nothing turns a customer off quicker than ordering a unique item, only to discover that it was sold three weeks earlier. (It's happened to me; I know a dealer who still lists covers on his web site that I bought from him almost four years ago! I even mentioned it to him, but they were still there last time I checked....)
-- Develop professional looking logos, stationery, invoices, etc.
-- Package stamps and covers securely and safely. I have had items ruined by having the envelope folded; a German cover was ruined because it got wet somewhere between the dealer and me (there had been no attempt to waterproof it).
-- Clearly state your policies regarding payment, mailing charges, and return policies.
-- Never send stamps on approval to customers who have not earned your trust. Perhaps it's better to never send stamps on approval.
-- Ask your customers how you can help them. Be prepared to follow through with reasonable requests.
-- Send free gifts now and then to show your appreciation for good customers.
-- Join and participate in both general and specialized philatelic societies.
-- Be prepared to hear criticism and to deal with difficult customers who will re-define the word "difficult."
-- Keep your expectations within reason. Your business won't be sending you on many world cruises, or keep his and her Mercedes convertibles in your garage.
Good luck in your endeavor.
Bob
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I just have a few things to suggest, as Bob just about covered everything.
Be honest! If a customers claims something is not so, take it back, providing they return the same item that was shipped.
In your letters to your customers, do not keep it cut and dried, put some humor in your writings, and also you can bring some personal things into your letters, such as health, something unusual that might have happened, thus you are treating your cusomers on a more personal level. I have been doing this for more than fifty years, and I have made some good friends out of my customers. I never send just an invoice; it is always a letter with an invoice attached, or the invoice is part of the actual letter.
Right now I am telling my customers about the fact that I have been without central air conditioning since last Friday. My unit broke, the freon leaked out, and I had a new one installed today, and the cool air is coming in again. Had to have a two foot by two foot hole cut in my ceiling to get the old one out and the new one in. Great fun! Have to sell a lot of stamps & post cards to pay for this one. Big bucks!
Richaard
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Good points, Richaard. If collecting isn't enjoyable and interesting, there's no point in doing it. Honesty, of course, makes the pleasure possible.
I too used to send personal notes with every mailing, and developed a worthwhile correspondence with several collectors.
Another thing I enjoyed was a quiz that I sent with every mailing; correct answers earned a small philatelic prize -- usually some inexpensive mint Canadian stamps. It was especially worthwhile for me, because I often had to do some research to find the answers to my questions!
I do think that it's very important to follow through on everything you promise. I once asked for approvals from a dealer, and got them promptly, along with a contest entry form. He was trying to find a name for his new computer -- imagine a time when computers were so novel that people wanted to name them!* I suggested three names as I recall, mailed them off, and never heard a thing. Some time later I met the dealer in person and asked him who had won the contest. His response, "Oh, I decided it didn't really need a name." I was impressed, of course, just not very favorably!
Bob
*My wife has a name for her computer, but I'm afraid that I can't tell you what it is, as this is a family group! :^)
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I’m totally out of Viagra this evening – so decided I’d get chatty instead. Actually I’ve been thinking back on this thread for the past couple of days.
What would I like in a dealer? Wow, I know!
I’d like a dealer who is the same as dealers I knew when I first started collecting.
I remember having a “Tom Corbett Space Cadet” stamp album when I was really young. It vanished for almost 40 years and then popped up in a most unexpected place. But I‘d like to go back to the time when my dad (feeling sorry for my TCSC album loss) took me to a real stamp dealer.
My home town at that time had lots of collectors – must have because we had two five & dimes that sold stamps, 2 real dealers and an office supply store that also sold stamps –mostly in packets, but there were at least 5 sources.
Anyway, it was my 8th or 9th birthday and dad popped me into the front seat of our DeSoto and drove off to “Bob’s Novelty Shop”. Bob had an incredible set of candy counters – may have been 6 counters. He offered everything from Bun Candy bars to licorice whips, 3 for a penny candy – it was a kid’s heaven. Bob also produced plaster figurines – hundreds of different ones. He also sold small bottles of paint for the figurines. BUT he also was a stamp dealer! Yow!!!
Dad explained what “I wanted” and Bob showed him several albums, the one I finally picked was an “Ambassador World Wide Album” with a blue pebbled cardboard cover and silver printing on the front. Holy Moses, this was a gorgeous album and it contained (according to the printed insert, “Over 150 pages of illustrations for Stamps of the Modern World”). Funny thing is that it looks like pages from a Minks album of today, printed on both sides and each stamp or set outlined with a box.
I swooned when I found it was really going to be mine. Bob of course was a generous sort and then handed me 4 packs of real Dennison hinges, a watermark tray, a perf gauge and a small plastic magnifying glass. I was set to find the next 1 cent British Guiana!
Bob also had a box sitting atop a low table – the box was about 3 feet on a side and about 2 feet deep. It was filled with stamps soaked, mint, on piece. There were lots of King Carlos, German inflation issues, Yugoslavian, Hitler heads, Nyassa Protectorate/Nyassa, British Empire, Italy, France, Colonies – it was full of everything. Bob’s rules were one handful for five cents – but if you slipped your hand straight down then out you could also dredge up some stamps that would stick to your forearm. That was OK by Bob.
Dad paid $7.00 for the album and for a paper grocery sack (lots of handfuls) full of stamps. There had to be zillions of stamps. It also had to be a whole lot of money back then.
I later discovered Garcelon Stamp Company, Mystic, Harris, Scott…aw gees, I can’t remember all the places I was corresponding with. Dad always had a dime for some ‘really important’ purchase. Oh yeah, those were real ‘silver’ dimes too!
I was deep into the stamps – but they kept me out of bars! I was religious about those stamps for a full five years. But then when I was 14 my dad died. The stamps stopped pretty much. Oh, Bob the dealer would let me sweep his store, carry out trash from time to time and I’d get one or two handfuls of stamps for my efforts. He always managed to find a way for me to get some stamps. But I had to put the stamps away for several years. I had school and lots of part-time jobs and a paper route – the money I made from those efforts was better spent on food and fuel oil and a new set of gym shoes for starting back to school each year. The gym shoes from the previous school year became my ‘summer shoes’.
I still have that old Ambassador Album. Some things are too full of precious memories to discard.
Anyway, that's the kind of dealer I'd like to be - or that I'd like to find - - - again!
Dakota
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Dakota:
I just have to tell you that this posting touched me. I felt the same about stamps and it brought back many wonderful feelings. Alas I didn't keep my old album, chucked it during one of my not so sentimental periods and regret it now. It was a Traveler I believe. I too did business with Garcelon and Harris and Jamestown and others. Wow what a time in my life. I shall always treasure it.
I would love to see your posting published as a letter to The American Philatelist of Mekeels or something. Just great stuff!!
Regards and lets all keep those memories alive
Steve
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Thanks Dakota,
I remember some of those things as well.
And Richaard those are truly some great comments and sound advice well taken.
I concur with Steve that Dakota should have his chatterings published. I think that we all would like to see some of that old time feelings back in today's stamp community.
Regards all,
Don Blais
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This was a wonderful post from Dakota. I cried. I guess Dakota is a man since he mentoned Viagra. I got a big laugh out of that. I know dealers like he said. They are all gone. I woud like to ask the webmaster if I can print this post and send it to a lot of other collectors I know. My papa died when I was 17 years old and I know how you have to go to work to make money.
Webmaser, can I print this?
Rick
I do not put messages here, but I read them all the time.
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The Stamporama Discussion Board is a public forum. Anything that is posted can be freely distributed. While the permission of a poster is not required, it would certainly be good form to ask first. In this case, I would say you have done that. I wish Dakota would tell us more about how he came to be reunited with that old stamp album he mentioned.
Bob Ingraham
Stamporama DB Moderator
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Bob,
I think that the name that your wife gave to her computer is the same one that I named my computer.
Dakota,
I think that the dealer you described is me!
At the shows (I never had a store)I always catered to the children. I would discuss with them why they were collecting stamps. Most liked the fact that they could trade with their friends. Also they wanted to see how many spaces they could fill up in their album. Some said they learned about foreign lands, and just a few learned about their own country. After the final purchase was made, I allowed them to pick ten stamps from the penny box (it is now a nickle box)free. Many times children would come with their parents who were the collectors, and they would just be "hanging around". I would select several stamps from the "box", put them in a glassine envelope and hand it to them telling them that they could start a collection like their daddy's. Some of the children would look at their parents and ask if it was ok to take the stamps. This also made an impression on the parent and led to more sales from them, and repeat business. Up until two years ago when I stopped doing shows, I was giving away post cards to the kids. A postcard was much more effective than a stamp because it was much larger, and I picked out a special card, either a holiday card, or one with an animal on it.
I was a girdle manufacturer by trade, and I was in sales, travelling the whole USA. On these trips I would take a box of selected cards with me, leave the box in the car, and place a few in my pocket, and give one or two of them to my buyers. Always went over big, and they would always remember me on my next visit. It even went over big in the local chain stores and department stores.
I still do this to this day, but instead of buyers, they go to the receptionists at the doctors, dentists, wherever offices. I give them out to the barber, trade people, most everyone that I come in contact with, where I may be seeing them again. Just yesterday I gave one to the technician from my home alarm company. I usually give them one that is cancelled with a clear year date from the early 1900's, a birthday, Christmas, Easter, holiday card, and I ask them if they remember that year. Most just say they weren't born yet and we have a good laugh.
Just remember that it does't cost anything to be nice.
Richaard
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oh dakota, what a fantastic story, and it truly inspires the imagination.
great topic im sure i will one day use this knowledge. i have always dreamed of being a part time dealer, even a sales job in a stamp shop would make me throw out me degrees in an instant and live in stamp happiness forever. but sadly the one big thing holding me back is my age. although it is not fair or right, age often adds to credability. i wouldnt do it at this age (28) as i dont think i could handle justifying my knowledge or brain on a regular basis and would just find it disheartening. but maybe one day...
i remember when i was a girl (not that long ago, but a good 20yrs at least) we lived in new zealand and they had the most wonderful stamp shows. mum (the family stamp collector) would let me have a dollar, but of course not to be spent all at once, and i would just go crazy. i remember the winter shows the best, it was so cold outside, and so warm inside, so comfortable and cozy, i never wanted to leave, and i will always look at those shows so fondly, it adds to ones collection to have such memories.
richaard what a fantastic idea, and it is a good felling to brighten someones day, great idea and one i might take on if you dont mind.
have a wonderful day everyone and thank you for sharing
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Mel,
Everyone should buy a bunch of these early postcards; they are cheap, and give them away. It makes people happy, and maybe will even add new postcard collectors to the hobby, maybe even you.
Richaard
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Dakota,
Your posting on Thursday was fabulous. I do not know how anyone could read anything into this other than what it was like in the old days. I am not quite sure when that took place, maybe pre-WWI. or Spanish American War (except for those Hitler stamps) Ha!
Richaard
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For those who never knew Richard Novick (Richaard was his username here), I found this thread from 2004 where another member was asking for information about becoming a stamp dealer. Richard (among others) offered his advice on the subject, and also interjected some of his personality into some of his responses.
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Michael#,
Thank you so much for digging this thread out and letting others "see" Richaard
as he was known on here -
a kind and friendly man.
Not always 'politically correct' (neither am I!), but always a kind word.
Thanks, Michael.
Randy
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By the way, Michael#,
why am I unable to access Richaard's info via clicking on his name in this thread??
Same goes for Bob Ingraham and Don Blais; not able to access those either....
...everyone else's works fine.
???
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Because you all changed your usernames since those were posted.
Richard changed his to "rgnpcs". You can access his profile and also will find many posts by Richard under that username.
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Ah, yes!
I recall that now - thanks!
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I see I supposedly have a posting on this thread. I definitely did not post this. How can someone use my User Name to post something. I tried to delete it without success.
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The original post and the replies were written almost 13 years ago.
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Dakota,
I believe it was a different Dakota.
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Strange that names can be 'reused'. Who wants old posts being attributed to them when they didn't write them?
Don
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It is my picture on the post and I have only been a member for a couple of years. this is not good.
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I looked that up, and saw you weren't here back then, and I saw no other member profile with your name.
I can't edit the old posts. I'll contact Tim, if he doesn't see this beforehand, and see if he can do a name change on the older post.
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we did indeed have another member named Dakota. He was killed in a crash about a decade ago. he was one of those extraordinarily generous people with his time and expertise. He was a world wide collector, but, for all the world, was often like a specialist.
I must be collecting for too long, for there are way too many good people who I miss, far more than in any other endeavor
David 
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and that's a picture of our first Dakota, many of whose posts remain
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Richard (Dakota) I have changed the username on the post causing concern. The reason that this happened is that we used to have a different discussion board on Stamporama, prior to me writing this discussion board. When I implement this new discussion board I copied all the posts from the old discussion board into the new. Unfortunately in the old discussion board there was no tie up with the central security system so you will see some old posts that are attributed to usernames that do not exist in the membership database.
Hope that helps.
Regards ... Tim.
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Thanks for the explanations Tim!
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Selling stamps has got to be a labour of love, and I suppose there's always the danger that going "pro" will destroy one's love of the hobby itself.
About the time I was getting out of the Coast Guard (1992), I dabbled in dealing a little bit and frequently consulted a friend who was making a reasonable living as a stamp dealer.
One of her pieces of advice was do not deal in areas where I collected. If I was a stamp collector, deal in postal history, or vice versa. I dealt heavily in topicals - probably a mistake market-wise.
Other than that, I think a solid understanding of retail, many tips given here, is called for. Too many dealers I encounter don't seem to be very solid retailers.
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"Selling stamps has got to be a labour of love, and I suppose there's always the danger that going "pro" will destroy one's love of the hobby itself."
Back when I was a teen in the 1970s I lived and breathed stamps. When I was 14, my buddy Tommy and I set up "TnT Stamps" a play on the Tom and Tom. He lost interest quickly and I gave stamp dealing a go. First I bought big lots of stamps I sorted and mounted on index cards as approvals. I put an ad or two in Linn's Stamp News but I remember more that people who received my approvals never replied.
Not to be discouraged, I bought a mess of manila stock pages and numbered them to set up a USA dealer stock. I had a very lucrative lawn mowing route back then and plowed much of my money into my stamp stock. I still have this stock, two binders that start around 1940 and go through the late 1970s. The stock is mostly used and I'd set up a card table at my local stamp club meetings. Kind adults would buy stamps from me.
Then I got in with the local stamp shop. They offered me the remains of collections they bought. I was resourceful as a kid and soon knew all the dealers who frequented the ASDA shows. So when the shop took in a collection of French FDCs, I took the bus up to New York City and sold them off to a dealer who specialized in France. I did a lot of transactions both for the shop and myself.
I started low balling in mail order sales and bought a lot of US classic stamps cheaply for resale. I liked US number 1 and the baby zep C18, so I placed wanted ads in Linn's for these. At one point I had a dozen number 1s, all bought cheap. I'd go up to the ASDA shows. I was a 16 year old kid who looked 14. I'd stroll up to a dealer and tell him I had some stamps to sell. He'd give me a shrug and take my little vest pocket stock book... then he'd open it and his eyes would bug out at what classics were in it. Like six number 1s on the first page! I did fairly well with this. I got to the point where I was doing more buying and selling than collecting.
Then in 1976 I got the first day cover bug and started my own cachet line, the ODDITY Cachet. I produced cachets for many stamps for the next few years until I pretty much burnt out on it. Stamps became a chore where I had cachets to design and print, orders that needed to be filled. The final straw was when USPS lost my box of FDCs to be serviced at their central office that contained several of my last cachet issues. The box showed up a year later, unserviced with a note "received too late to service". Even though they had it all that time. I couldn't fill the orders I had for those issues, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back for me!
I walked away from the hobby then and didn't look at a stamp all the way through the 1980s. In the meantime I started a career, got married, had kids and a life. As I developed other hobbies, the one lesson I took forward was that I promised myself I'd never become a dealer in those hobbies!
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01:00:33am
Some of us have aspirations of dealing in the Philatelic World. Some of us are doing that at the SOR auctions. As for the last string of discussions "Selling Out" I like Patches comments the best. Has anyone read "Boom or Bust" or the "Lexus and the Olive Tree". We are now in full swing of a world wide economy. For the old codgers still kicking and squawking your time shall pass. RIP. It's not what you take away in passing, it's what you leave behind.
I for one would like to find a dealer who would like to mentor a "wanabe dealer". I've read the how to books. I want to dabble a little, play a little and have fun at my hobby. I don't want to be the Wal Mart or the Hooty Snooty $1000 dealer.
So! for those "Selling Out" dealers I pose these questions:
How do you develop collectors to become dealers in a positive and affirmative way?
How do you promote stamp collecting in a positive and rewarding way to beginners?
What would you do to encourage verses discourage stamp collecting?
How would you profess your Philatelic faith?
Would it be by Hell Fire and Brimstone?
Or would it be by the Gentle Sheppard approach?
Accentuate the Positive Eliminate the Negative
So lets hear from the SOR family on this.
Regards,
Don Blais
Blais N Stamps
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Don:
An interesting question. All of us at some time have had a fantasy of being a dealer or part-time dealer.
I think the Pat Hearst books have some good tips between the lines for those aspiring to be dealers.
I think that eBay and the ability to set up an online store is perhaps a good way to start without too much cost upfront. Certainly with the internet and computers a nice little business could be started without too much trouble.
Perhaps some of our dealer or part-time dealer members such as Roy or Bob or Liz could give you some ideas. I know that there are some books out there about becoming a dealer but not sure how up-to-date they are and what the titles are.
You might want to try a search in the APS Library or Google on Stamp Dealing to see what you can find. Keep us posted.
Steve
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02:33:56pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Hi Don:
Even though I sell stamps on Stamporama I am not an official Stamp Dealer. I have also listed lots on eBay in the past with good results.
Perhaps some of the dealers who are members of Stamporama can offer some suggestions to you as how to get started on your way to becoming a Stamp Dealer.
Liz
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03:44:59pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Hmmm.... Didn't know I was a stamp dealer! If someone will tell me where my stamp shop is, perhaps I'll go in and find out what's happening! :^)
Actually, I was a stamp dealer for a short period in the early 1980's. My wife and I operated a part-time approval business, selling mint and used Canadian approvals. We certainly didn't make any money with it, although we enjoyed it. Well, I enjoyed it. Susan has no interest in stamps; she was the organizer and bookkeeper, which is a good thing, because I'm a dead loss when it comes to such things.
I certainly learned a lot about Canadian stamps in those few years, and I enjoyed many of the contacts I had with people. And I didn't enjoy other contacts at all, with people who ripped me off to the tune of several hundred dollars, or who were just plain difficult.
Selling stamps has got to be a labour of love, and I suppose there's always the danger that going "pro" will destroy one's love of the hobby itself. That happened with me and photography, and only with retirement have I started taking pictures again just for the pleasure of it.
Bob Ingraham
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01:21:26am
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Don,
Those are some interesting questions, and I think that they can be partly answered.
Frankly, I do not think that you can develope collectors into becoming dealers. This is a process that just happens. In my own case, I had been collecting stamps prior to WWII for about eight years, and upon my return from the Air Corps, I picked it up again. I wanted to be able to add to my collection, and keep it on a non-cost basis, so I started selling my duplicate stamps, and along the way would buy bargains and sell them off, in each case using the monies to buy stamps for my personal collection. I collected US, both mint and used, and foreign, mainly used from 1840 to 1940. In 1957 I moved from Queens,NY to Long Island, NY, and near to my home there was a monthly stamp bourse. I remember taking a table for $8.00 for the day, and coming in with one small album of stamps, and a box of US plate blocks. I really did not know the market, and sold everything very cheap. I did a land-office business. After a few shows, I learned more, but still sold cheap to build up a customer base. To digress a moment, I even had a prominent stamp dealer who is still in business today, shop me, and I caught him stealing a $1.00 Columbian. I went to his home and reported the incident to his parents, and they said, "Oh, my son would not do such a thing!" I had witnesses, and had to give his name to my insurance company in order to collect on the stamp, as he had crushed it in his hand when I caught him.
Eventually I started to do some of the larger stamp shows, I joined the ASDA, and did some of their shows, started a mail order business, and now I was a dealer on a part time bases as I still had my regular job.
As to your second question, stamp collecting takes a lot of time, and work, but is a way to relax, and let the worries of the business world dissipate. It is a great healer for the ill. It is wonderful for children to learn history, and what the world has to offer. Stamp collecting can be promoted at yout local library by placing an exhibit in the glass display cases. (I have done this many times, and when I lived on Long Island I was on the Library Circuit, where they would call me and ask that I place an exhibit at various libraries.) On Halloween, I would give out packages of stamps, but only to those that were interested in them. You can be a guest speaker at various organizations such as fraternal groups, Boy Scouts, etc. Send in interesting articles to your local newspaper. Presently I have articles appearing in Linn's several times a year, and in my post card magazines almost every month. Have one appearing right now, a story about me with my picture.
Your third question about encouraging as discouraging to stamp collecting, this is very difficult at the present time, as it appears that most of the hobbies are waning. There are so many other things to do, especially for the young. I have tried to get my grand kids interested, but to no avail. Talk positve about the hobby, and follow what I have said in question two. Get a possible new collector to go to a show, with you, or even a stamp club. It might excite them into collecting. I know for a fact in post card collecting it is easy to get someone hooked into collecting. Just show them a picture of their hometown as it looked when they were children, or even before they were born, and if they buy just one, they are bound to buy more.
I have no answer for the rest of the questions, but I would be glad to field any questions put to me if I can.
1:15AM here and time to think about going to bed, so good night all.
Richaard
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Bob:
I certainly was aware that you were not a dealer; however, I knew that you had done some part-time dealing previously and hence had some experience that you might like to share.
So if I confused you and others.
Steve
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03:04:04pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Richaard Liz Bob Steve:
Thanks for the comments and insights. As for my asperations I don't plan on being a fulltime dealer persay. My Enthusiastic collecting over the years has brought about the Necessity of trying to dispose of material. The area that I live in is remote enough that I have to resort to the www electronically. I have a web site, a forum site, an auction site, a stampshop site (under construction) a Yahoo group, an MSN group, a Virtual Stamp Club group. All of which are relatively new. I'm also a SOR sponsor. I guess that as avid collectors we inadvertently or unintentionally become dealers. I commend those who do it for a living. I just don't like the "in your face" kind of dealers. So by me trying to dabble as a dealer I would like to find out from our SOR members and dealers what traits a Good dealer should have. The Do's and Dont's of dealing. When working with teenagers I would only tell them allabout the Do's. So if they did all of the Do's they woulden't have to worry about the Dont's.. The same holds true for Stamp Dealing.
Thanks again folks for your thoughts and comments.
Best Regards.
Don Blais
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04:09:01pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Don,
You seem to have put a lot of thought into this already. I doubt that I have much to add, but for the record these are some things that would probably help foster a stamp business:
-- You couldn't better than to emulate Roy and Debbie Lingen. I honestly can't think of anything that they have done wrong in developing their on-line business, Lingens.com.
-- Help kids collect (sponsor a club, give stamps and stamp related gifts to kids, etc.)
-- When it comes to your web site(s), make sure they are friendly and cleanly designed. If you haven't already done so, go to "Ten Top Web Design Mistakes of 2003". Be sure to read through Nielson's other links. (This web site receives 17,000 hits a month. It's interesting even if you don't design your own web pages.)
-- Offer a variety of easy payment and contact options.
-- Whenever possible, offer clear scans of material you are selling.
-- Update your web site offerings frequently. Nothing turns a customer off quicker than ordering a unique item, only to discover that it was sold three weeks earlier. (It's happened to me; I know a dealer who still lists covers on his web site that I bought from him almost four years ago! I even mentioned it to him, but they were still there last time I checked....)
-- Develop professional looking logos, stationery, invoices, etc.
-- Package stamps and covers securely and safely. I have had items ruined by having the envelope folded; a German cover was ruined because it got wet somewhere between the dealer and me (there had been no attempt to waterproof it).
-- Clearly state your policies regarding payment, mailing charges, and return policies.
-- Never send stamps on approval to customers who have not earned your trust. Perhaps it's better to never send stamps on approval.
-- Ask your customers how you can help them. Be prepared to follow through with reasonable requests.
-- Send free gifts now and then to show your appreciation for good customers.
-- Join and participate in both general and specialized philatelic societies.
-- Be prepared to hear criticism and to deal with difficult customers who will re-define the word "difficult."
-- Keep your expectations within reason. Your business won't be sending you on many world cruises, or keep his and her Mercedes convertibles in your garage.
Good luck in your endeavor.
Bob
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06:44:11pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
I just have a few things to suggest, as Bob just about covered everything.
Be honest! If a customers claims something is not so, take it back, providing they return the same item that was shipped.
In your letters to your customers, do not keep it cut and dried, put some humor in your writings, and also you can bring some personal things into your letters, such as health, something unusual that might have happened, thus you are treating your cusomers on a more personal level. I have been doing this for more than fifty years, and I have made some good friends out of my customers. I never send just an invoice; it is always a letter with an invoice attached, or the invoice is part of the actual letter.
Right now I am telling my customers about the fact that I have been without central air conditioning since last Friday. My unit broke, the freon leaked out, and I had a new one installed today, and the cool air is coming in again. Had to have a two foot by two foot hole cut in my ceiling to get the old one out and the new one in. Great fun! Have to sell a lot of stamps & post cards to pay for this one. Big bucks!
Richaard
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07:43:30pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Good points, Richaard. If collecting isn't enjoyable and interesting, there's no point in doing it. Honesty, of course, makes the pleasure possible.
I too used to send personal notes with every mailing, and developed a worthwhile correspondence with several collectors.
Another thing I enjoyed was a quiz that I sent with every mailing; correct answers earned a small philatelic prize -- usually some inexpensive mint Canadian stamps. It was especially worthwhile for me, because I often had to do some research to find the answers to my questions!
I do think that it's very important to follow through on everything you promise. I once asked for approvals from a dealer, and got them promptly, along with a contest entry form. He was trying to find a name for his new computer -- imagine a time when computers were so novel that people wanted to name them!* I suggested three names as I recall, mailed them off, and never heard a thing. Some time later I met the dealer in person and asked him who had won the contest. His response, "Oh, I decided it didn't really need a name." I was impressed, of course, just not very favorably!
Bob
*My wife has a name for her computer, but I'm afraid that I can't tell you what it is, as this is a family group! :^)
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11:44:39pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
I’m totally out of Viagra this evening – so decided I’d get chatty instead. Actually I’ve been thinking back on this thread for the past couple of days.
What would I like in a dealer? Wow, I know!
I’d like a dealer who is the same as dealers I knew when I first started collecting.
I remember having a “Tom Corbett Space Cadet” stamp album when I was really young. It vanished for almost 40 years and then popped up in a most unexpected place. But I‘d like to go back to the time when my dad (feeling sorry for my TCSC album loss) took me to a real stamp dealer.
My home town at that time had lots of collectors – must have because we had two five & dimes that sold stamps, 2 real dealers and an office supply store that also sold stamps –mostly in packets, but there were at least 5 sources.
Anyway, it was my 8th or 9th birthday and dad popped me into the front seat of our DeSoto and drove off to “Bob’s Novelty Shop”. Bob had an incredible set of candy counters – may have been 6 counters. He offered everything from Bun Candy bars to licorice whips, 3 for a penny candy – it was a kid’s heaven. Bob also produced plaster figurines – hundreds of different ones. He also sold small bottles of paint for the figurines. BUT he also was a stamp dealer! Yow!!!
Dad explained what “I wanted” and Bob showed him several albums, the one I finally picked was an “Ambassador World Wide Album” with a blue pebbled cardboard cover and silver printing on the front. Holy Moses, this was a gorgeous album and it contained (according to the printed insert, “Over 150 pages of illustrations for Stamps of the Modern World”). Funny thing is that it looks like pages from a Minks album of today, printed on both sides and each stamp or set outlined with a box.
I swooned when I found it was really going to be mine. Bob of course was a generous sort and then handed me 4 packs of real Dennison hinges, a watermark tray, a perf gauge and a small plastic magnifying glass. I was set to find the next 1 cent British Guiana!
Bob also had a box sitting atop a low table – the box was about 3 feet on a side and about 2 feet deep. It was filled with stamps soaked, mint, on piece. There were lots of King Carlos, German inflation issues, Yugoslavian, Hitler heads, Nyassa Protectorate/Nyassa, British Empire, Italy, France, Colonies – it was full of everything. Bob’s rules were one handful for five cents – but if you slipped your hand straight down then out you could also dredge up some stamps that would stick to your forearm. That was OK by Bob.
Dad paid $7.00 for the album and for a paper grocery sack (lots of handfuls) full of stamps. There had to be zillions of stamps. It also had to be a whole lot of money back then.
I later discovered Garcelon Stamp Company, Mystic, Harris, Scott…aw gees, I can’t remember all the places I was corresponding with. Dad always had a dime for some ‘really important’ purchase. Oh yeah, those were real ‘silver’ dimes too!
I was deep into the stamps – but they kept me out of bars! I was religious about those stamps for a full five years. But then when I was 14 my dad died. The stamps stopped pretty much. Oh, Bob the dealer would let me sweep his store, carry out trash from time to time and I’d get one or two handfuls of stamps for my efforts. He always managed to find a way for me to get some stamps. But I had to put the stamps away for several years. I had school and lots of part-time jobs and a paper route – the money I made from those efforts was better spent on food and fuel oil and a new set of gym shoes for starting back to school each year. The gym shoes from the previous school year became my ‘summer shoes’.
I still have that old Ambassador Album. Some things are too full of precious memories to discard.
Anyway, that's the kind of dealer I'd like to be - or that I'd like to find - - - again!
Dakota
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Dakota:
I just have to tell you that this posting touched me. I felt the same about stamps and it brought back many wonderful feelings. Alas I didn't keep my old album, chucked it during one of my not so sentimental periods and regret it now. It was a Traveler I believe. I too did business with Garcelon and Harris and Jamestown and others. Wow what a time in my life. I shall always treasure it.
I would love to see your posting published as a letter to The American Philatelist of Mekeels or something. Just great stuff!!
Regards and lets all keep those memories alive
Steve
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01:43:47am
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Thanks Dakota,
I remember some of those things as well.
And Richaard those are truly some great comments and sound advice well taken.
I concur with Steve that Dakota should have his chatterings published. I think that we all would like to see some of that old time feelings back in today's stamp community.
Regards all,
Don Blais
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10:08:25pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
This was a wonderful post from Dakota. I cried. I guess Dakota is a man since he mentoned Viagra. I got a big laugh out of that. I know dealers like he said. They are all gone. I woud like to ask the webmaster if I can print this post and send it to a lot of other collectors I know. My papa died when I was 17 years old and I know how you have to go to work to make money.
Webmaser, can I print this?
Rick
I do not put messages here, but I read them all the time.
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10:24:46pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
The Stamporama Discussion Board is a public forum. Anything that is posted can be freely distributed. While the permission of a poster is not required, it would certainly be good form to ask first. In this case, I would say you have done that. I wish Dakota would tell us more about how he came to be reunited with that old stamp album he mentioned.
Bob Ingraham
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10:37:42pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Bob,
I think that the name that your wife gave to her computer is the same one that I named my computer.
Dakota,
I think that the dealer you described is me!
At the shows (I never had a store)I always catered to the children. I would discuss with them why they were collecting stamps. Most liked the fact that they could trade with their friends. Also they wanted to see how many spaces they could fill up in their album. Some said they learned about foreign lands, and just a few learned about their own country. After the final purchase was made, I allowed them to pick ten stamps from the penny box (it is now a nickle box)free. Many times children would come with their parents who were the collectors, and they would just be "hanging around". I would select several stamps from the "box", put them in a glassine envelope and hand it to them telling them that they could start a collection like their daddy's. Some of the children would look at their parents and ask if it was ok to take the stamps. This also made an impression on the parent and led to more sales from them, and repeat business. Up until two years ago when I stopped doing shows, I was giving away post cards to the kids. A postcard was much more effective than a stamp because it was much larger, and I picked out a special card, either a holiday card, or one with an animal on it.
I was a girdle manufacturer by trade, and I was in sales, travelling the whole USA. On these trips I would take a box of selected cards with me, leave the box in the car, and place a few in my pocket, and give one or two of them to my buyers. Always went over big, and they would always remember me on my next visit. It even went over big in the local chain stores and department stores.
I still do this to this day, but instead of buyers, they go to the receptionists at the doctors, dentists, wherever offices. I give them out to the barber, trade people, most everyone that I come in contact with, where I may be seeing them again. Just yesterday I gave one to the technician from my home alarm company. I usually give them one that is cancelled with a clear year date from the early 1900's, a birthday, Christmas, Easter, holiday card, and I ask them if they remember that year. Most just say they weren't born yet and we have a good laugh.
Just remember that it does't cost anything to be nice.
Richaard
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02:09:53am
re: Stamp Dealing 101
oh dakota, what a fantastic story, and it truly inspires the imagination.
great topic im sure i will one day use this knowledge. i have always dreamed of being a part time dealer, even a sales job in a stamp shop would make me throw out me degrees in an instant and live in stamp happiness forever. but sadly the one big thing holding me back is my age. although it is not fair or right, age often adds to credability. i wouldnt do it at this age (28) as i dont think i could handle justifying my knowledge or brain on a regular basis and would just find it disheartening. but maybe one day...
i remember when i was a girl (not that long ago, but a good 20yrs at least) we lived in new zealand and they had the most wonderful stamp shows. mum (the family stamp collector) would let me have a dollar, but of course not to be spent all at once, and i would just go crazy. i remember the winter shows the best, it was so cold outside, and so warm inside, so comfortable and cozy, i never wanted to leave, and i will always look at those shows so fondly, it adds to ones collection to have such memories.
richaard what a fantastic idea, and it is a good felling to brighten someones day, great idea and one i might take on if you dont mind.
have a wonderful day everyone and thank you for sharing
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01:45:13pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Mel,
Everyone should buy a bunch of these early postcards; they are cheap, and give them away. It makes people happy, and maybe will even add new postcard collectors to the hobby, maybe even you.
Richaard
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06:24:47pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Dakota,
Your posting on Thursday was fabulous. I do not know how anyone could read anything into this other than what it was like in the old days. I am not quite sure when that took place, maybe pre-WWI. or Spanish American War (except for those Hitler stamps) Ha!
Richaard
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09:42:27pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
For those who never knew Richard Novick (Richaard was his username here), I found this thread from 2004 where another member was asking for information about becoming a stamp dealer. Richard (among others) offered his advice on the subject, and also interjected some of his personality into some of his responses.
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Michael#,
Thank you so much for digging this thread out and letting others "see" Richaard
as he was known on here -
a kind and friendly man.
Not always 'politically correct' (neither am I!), but always a kind word.
Thanks, Michael.
Randy
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
By the way, Michael#,
why am I unable to access Richaard's info via clicking on his name in this thread??
Same goes for Bob Ingraham and Don Blais; not able to access those either....
...everyone else's works fine.
???
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01:49:24pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
Because you all changed your usernames since those were posted.
Richard changed his to "rgnpcs". You can access his profile and also will find many posts by Richard under that username.
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Ah, yes!
I recall that now - thanks!
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
I see I supposedly have a posting on this thread. I definitely did not post this. How can someone use my User Name to post something. I tried to delete it without success.
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04:54:51pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
The original post and the replies were written almost 13 years ago.
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Dakota,
I believe it was a different Dakota.
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Strange that names can be 'reused'. Who wants old posts being attributed to them when they didn't write them?
Don
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It is my picture on the post and I have only been a member for a couple of years. this is not good.
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10:03:41pm
re: Stamp Dealing 101
I looked that up, and saw you weren't here back then, and I saw no other member profile with your name.
I can't edit the old posts. I'll contact Tim, if he doesn't see this beforehand, and see if he can do a name change on the older post.
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
we did indeed have another member named Dakota. He was killed in a crash about a decade ago. he was one of those extraordinarily generous people with his time and expertise. He was a world wide collector, but, for all the world, was often like a specialist.
I must be collecting for too long, for there are way too many good people who I miss, far more than in any other endeavor
David
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
and that's a picture of our first Dakota, many of whose posts remain
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Richard (Dakota) I have changed the username on the post causing concern. The reason that this happened is that we used to have a different discussion board on Stamporama, prior to me writing this discussion board. When I implement this new discussion board I copied all the posts from the old discussion board into the new. Unfortunately in the old discussion board there was no tie up with the central security system so you will see some old posts that are attributed to usernames that do not exist in the membership database.
Hope that helps.
Regards ... Tim.
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Thanks for the explanations Tim!
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
Selling stamps has got to be a labour of love, and I suppose there's always the danger that going "pro" will destroy one's love of the hobby itself.
About the time I was getting out of the Coast Guard (1992), I dabbled in dealing a little bit and frequently consulted a friend who was making a reasonable living as a stamp dealer.
One of her pieces of advice was do not deal in areas where I collected. If I was a stamp collector, deal in postal history, or vice versa. I dealt heavily in topicals - probably a mistake market-wise.
Other than that, I think a solid understanding of retail, many tips given here, is called for. Too many dealers I encounter don't seem to be very solid retailers.
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re: Stamp Dealing 101
"Selling stamps has got to be a labour of love, and I suppose there's always the danger that going "pro" will destroy one's love of the hobby itself."
Back when I was a teen in the 1970s I lived and breathed stamps. When I was 14, my buddy Tommy and I set up "TnT Stamps" a play on the Tom and Tom. He lost interest quickly and I gave stamp dealing a go. First I bought big lots of stamps I sorted and mounted on index cards as approvals. I put an ad or two in Linn's Stamp News but I remember more that people who received my approvals never replied.
Not to be discouraged, I bought a mess of manila stock pages and numbered them to set up a USA dealer stock. I had a very lucrative lawn mowing route back then and plowed much of my money into my stamp stock. I still have this stock, two binders that start around 1940 and go through the late 1970s. The stock is mostly used and I'd set up a card table at my local stamp club meetings. Kind adults would buy stamps from me.
Then I got in with the local stamp shop. They offered me the remains of collections they bought. I was resourceful as a kid and soon knew all the dealers who frequented the ASDA shows. So when the shop took in a collection of French FDCs, I took the bus up to New York City and sold them off to a dealer who specialized in France. I did a lot of transactions both for the shop and myself.
I started low balling in mail order sales and bought a lot of US classic stamps cheaply for resale. I liked US number 1 and the baby zep C18, so I placed wanted ads in Linn's for these. At one point I had a dozen number 1s, all bought cheap. I'd go up to the ASDA shows. I was a 16 year old kid who looked 14. I'd stroll up to a dealer and tell him I had some stamps to sell. He'd give me a shrug and take my little vest pocket stock book... then he'd open it and his eyes would bug out at what classics were in it. Like six number 1s on the first page! I did fairly well with this. I got to the point where I was doing more buying and selling than collecting.
Then in 1976 I got the first day cover bug and started my own cachet line, the ODDITY Cachet. I produced cachets for many stamps for the next few years until I pretty much burnt out on it. Stamps became a chore where I had cachets to design and print, orders that needed to be filled. The final straw was when USPS lost my box of FDCs to be serviced at their central office that contained several of my last cachet issues. The box showed up a year later, unserviced with a note "received too late to service". Even though they had it all that time. I couldn't fill the orders I had for those issues, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back for me!
I walked away from the hobby then and didn't look at a stamp all the way through the 1980s. In the meantime I started a career, got married, had kids and a life. As I developed other hobbies, the one lesson I took forward was that I promised myself I'd never become a dealer in those hobbies!
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