Chapter 6: What Are My Options If I Don’t Want to Sell Immediately?
Perhaps you’ve developed a significant stamp collection over the years, but aren’t quite ready to part with it. Maybe you’ve inherited a stamp collection and are asking yourself what you should do next. If you don’t want to sell immediately, you don’t have to put your collection on a shelf and ignore it. You have options.
Do Something Now With Your Stamp Collection
If you’re not interested in selling, you might:
- Pass your collection on to an interested family member or friend. Give someone else the chance to learn about history, geography and culture while pursuing a hobby.
- Donate your stamps to charity. You won’t have to bother selling the collection yourself, and the proceeds go to a worthy cause. You may also get a tax write-off for your generosity.
- Continue working on your hobby until your collection is more complete or market conditions are better.
- Use the stamps for actual postage, if they’re unused and recently issued. Even though new stamps are attractive, most are only worth their postage. If you try to sell them, you will even get less than face value.For example, many people like collecting celebrity stamps. The most popular is the “young” Elvis Presley stamp, issued at the start of 1993. However, since the Post Office offered so many to meet the demand — 500 million were printed — Elvis stamps have not gone up in value significantly. In fact, the best value you can get for these stamps is to use them on your mail.
- Keep collecting for the fun of it! You can always change your mind about selling in the future.
Wait to Make a Decision With Your Stamp Collection
It’s possible that you’re done collecting but want to hang onto your stamps. Consider:
- Holding onto the collection for the time being, but plan to leave it to an heir — or heirs. Through inheritance, you can pass the fun and fascination of stamp collecting to another generation.
- Using stamps as art. Many stamps are interesting and beautiful to look at. Frame them, hang them on the wall and enjoy them every day. If you get your stamps professionally framed, you’ll be sure they’re well protected.
If you’re on the fence about selling your collection, don’t rush into a decision you might later regret. Keep your options open for the future.
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Table of Contents
- Introduction/Chapter 1: Selling a Stamp Collection: What Should I Do?
- Chapter 2: The State of Stamp Collecting Today
- Chapter 3: How Do I Sell My Stamp Collection? What You Need to Know Before You Sell
- Chapter 4: Finding out What Your Stamps Are Worth
- Chapter 5: Valuable and Rare Stamps: Case Studies
- Chapter 6: What Are My Options If I Don’t Want to Sell Immediately?
- Chapter 7: How Can I Sell My Stamp Collection?
- Conclusion/Chapter 8: Your World of Stamps