A Message for HomePC Magazine Readers Who Visit My Web Site

If you got to my web site by way of Home PC magazine, (or a search engine) you have probably figured out that I do not provide prices for stamps. This is the job of the catalog publishers and they guard their pricing systems jealously. I do not now, nor have I ever provided stamp prices on my web site.

If you are looking for information about and prices of stamps, and you live in the U.S., go to your local public library and look at a copy of the Scott Catalogs. Those books have identifiers and dealer prices for most US and foreign stamps.

If you have a stamp of some value and are curious as to how much it might be worth to someone else (its selling price, rather than buying price), I suggest checking the many items for auction at eBay. Check the final sales price and you will get an idea of the worth of your item. As with all collectables condition is very, very important to the market value.

If you have someone else's collection (a parent, grandparent, whatever) and want to know what it is worth, I suggest taking it to two or more stamp dealers. Better yet, take it to a stamp show and get a lot of opinions. Most dealers will pay wholesale (as little as 10 cents on the dollar) for older collections. Modern US stamps (that means issued after 1940) in unused condition are probably worth only their face value, but it never hurts to check with a professional.

Better yet, if you have someone else's collection, and are not interested in stamp collecting, why not give the collection to a young person to get them interested in the hobby? Donate them to a local school that uses postage stamps as a teaching aid (there are more than you think). You can donate the stamps to the Veterans. They need hobbies to keep them active in the VA hospitals. If the collection you are disposing of, has some historical significance, donate it to your local or state Historical Society.

This section of the Swanson web site is devoted to my (Bob's) hobby of collecting postal history with some stamps thrown in, too. It is a great hobby, and I hope you enjoy reading about it and viewing the images.

I have tried repeatedly to get HomePC magazine to remove their link and text that says that I can provide the value of all stamps. It is simply not true, but apparently their editorial policy is to never correct errors. Personally, I do not trust the information I get from any magazine or newspaper that does not correct errors or issue retractions.

If you want to find out more about stamps and collecting, a first place to look is the American Philatelic Society (APS) website. Looking for web coverage of the hobby? Take a look at my postal and stamp links. Enjoy!


More Links

Stamps and Postal History Page

Contact Info

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Updated 10 July 2020