What should I do with these stamps? Episode 109

[@adamhuffman3354]

Great video! Those sheets have made it this far! I just couldn’t break them up. They are fine just the way they are!

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks for your input and for watching!

[@GreatStampAdventure]

Hi Smokey, I would also have had a problem to make a decision about the stamps sheets. It somehow feels wrong to break them up. When they are broken up, they cannot be put together again. I think the first decision is to honestly decide whether you want to develop your collection to include full/partial sheets. Do you really have a passion for them? Otherwise I think I would have kept a block of each stamp for my own collection and use the remainder as postage and/or to swap with. But, I am not sure. Good luck with your decision! 🙂

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thank you! It is a hard decision and I appreciate your opinion. Have a great day.

[@mailartlover]

If it were me, I would keep the ones I don't have, in blocks of 4, the rest I would use to send mail, especially between friends who appreciate stamps. But that's if it were me... above all, I would advise you to do what brings you the most happiness :) Great video and stamps as always!

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thank you for the lovely comment and for the advice. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

[@jameslove1092]

Hi smokey. Use the stamps that are still valid for postage. And trade the rest for stamps you need or would like. Best regards from James in Scotland.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Hi James, thank you for watching and for your advice. have a great day!

[@peteowe]

Great video, keep up the great work. I would use them for postage. If you end up finding a buyer for the sheets, most likely, the buyer will only pay a fraction of face value. No use in paying for new material to re-house the collection, when a fraction of face value is all you'll end up with. Using the sheets for postage seems like the most financially sound option, plus, the option will allow you to invest your efforts on more productive endeavours.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks Peter, great perspective, I appreciate your advice.

[@lilyhax]

I would use them for postage. I might break a few into plate blocks (usually with numbers in salvage) to keep/exchange.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thank you, Lilah for the suggestion, I like the idea of breaking a few up into plate blocks.

[@thatdadguy1974]

Whatever you choose to do it will be right for you and your hobbies. Thanks for sharing

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks so much, Rob!

[@kozzackkelt]

Howdy Smokey ! About two years ago, won an ebay auction for a HE Harris Block of Four album. The album was won at about 65% of face value and contained a bit more than just blocks of four. I weeded through it and put aside the stamps that were of interest to me and my collection. The rest have been used for postage and to give away. I understand you are a church pastor - could your church use some of these stamps for its postal needs? If so, maybe donate or sell-at-a-discount to the church. Not sure if there is enough space on post cards for the number of stamps you'd need to pay current postage.... Thanks for sharing these stamps with us! Take Care and stay safe !

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Hello, What a great album that you won on eBay. Thanks for your suggestions. Our church doesn't do a great volume of mailing but that is an option. Thanks for watching!

[@stephenogier7499]

Hi Smokey, interesting video. Regarding the sheets of stamps, if it were up to me, I would break them up and use some to swap with other collectors and the rest I would use for postage. It's always fun to get some older stamps on envelopes and postcards. It also helps to defray the costs a little. I know that you, and many others, appreciate stamps that have fulfilled their purpose by being used on mail and cancelled and I see your point of view and accept that it is a totally valid point. I, on the other hand only collect mint stamps because then I can be sure that all of the details of the stamp are clear. (Besides, I'm a bit OCD and untidy postmarks make my skin crawl.) To me, it's a bit like buying a delicate Ming dynasty bowl. Do you use it and then put it in the dishwasher where it can get damaged, or do you display it and admire its beauty. It's all about perspective (and mine's probably a bit wonky). Anyway, now you know what I would do.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Hello Stephen, Thank you for your very thoughtful perspective. I understand OCD so it's not wonky to me at all. I guess one of the great things about this hobby is that there are so many unique was to collect. Thanks for all of your input and for supporting the channel! Have a great weekend.

[@DavidPhilatelist]

Hey Smokey! I would suggest you keep blocks of 4 for stamps you want to keep for your collection. I would suggest that you use the rest for mail, I know others would enjoy. Have a great day! =)

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks for watching and for the suggestions.

[@billsweeney4785]

love it, very nice work pal, thanx.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thank you, Bill!

[@dougchiu525]

I personally would use them for postage. Perhaps keep some of the plate blocks and use them for trade if you're into that.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks Doug! There are definitely lots of choices. Thanks for watching!

[@basilsylvesterpinto10]

Interesting video. Given your enthusiasm towards snail mail, and factoring your areas of collection interests, I would suggest to keep blocks of four, and ideally with traffic lights. you will also enable lot of us to enjoy the stamps too.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

A very good point about being able to share these stamps with you and other collectors. Thanks so much!

[@chrislovesstamps]

Hi Smokey. I would go for option 3. I like that you can use any stamp issued by the U.S. i sent mail regularly so it would be nice to use a variety of stamps. Unfortunately not all stamps of my country (The Netherlands) are eligible to use. Since you are a postcrosser, I think it would be nice to use them. I don’t think it is controversial. Thanks for the video, am curious what you decide.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thank you so much for your input, It is nice that here in the US we can use postage from any year as long as it adds up to our current rate. Thanks for your suggestion and I will let you know what I decide.

[@MarkSutton-x9p]

Keep strip of them the rest use as postage or make a collection of single a setenant and block of 4 rest use

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Excellent suggestion Mark! Thanks for watching!

[@postcardnstamps]

Great video Smokey. I personally collect full sheets but the selvage part needs to be in tact and not folded and stored in the appropiate envelope/folder/binder/album. So I would suggest breaking the sheets and keep a plate block of 4 for your own collection and the rest for postage or stamp swapping. For me, I put my excess ones in a lot of 25 and swap them or send them to new collectors.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thank you for watching and for your suggestions!

[@schuey089]

Hi Smokie, nice video again, really nice sheets of stamps, if it was me i would keep them, but you should exchange them with other collectors for the stamps you do need in your collection, would really be a shame to break them up as you dont know how many sheets are still out there! Take care

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Great insight on reasons to keep the sheets whole. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!

[@אבימשיח-ס7ג]

I advice you to keep tne Collection any way thanks for sharing

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks so much for the advice and for watching!

[@willardtaylor6249]

Not long ago, I went to a well known, reputable stamp dealer, whom I have dealt with for many years, with some later 20th century sheets. I was told that the going rate for such sheets is 30% of face value. Therefore, if I don’t want to save such a sheet for my collection, I will use it for postage.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks for the information and for watching!

[@ziutekbrydzu7677]

I also collect stamps for fun not for their value. In My ppinion you can keep these stamps to have a base for exchanging with other collectors Greetings from Poland. Kamil

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

I agree that collecting is fun, that is why we do it. Thanks so much for watching and for your suggestion. I hope all is well in Poland.

[@rogerturner1881]

I would keep the full sheets for other interested collectors.The part sheets i would break them up and keep a set of them for my collection. the rest i would put in sets and sell or give them away.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks, Roger, for your help, I Definity have a lot options.

[@tinymouse.travel]

You could do a mixture of all three. If there are rarer ones keep them or pass them on. I wonder if there are many kept like that in full sheets?

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

@@tinymouse.travel thanks for the suggestion, I suspect that there are quite a few full sheets of these still around.

[@tinymouse.travel]

@@SnailmailwithSmokey each one that gets used the rarer they become. So in a way if you use some, that means those who collect them then have something even more collectable. My guess is with collectors passing away the market with get an influx but then in a few years (maybe decades) they will get rarer as only a percentage will be kept in collections. I equally get torn on decisions like this

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

@@tinymouse.travel I totally agree with you. It is a hard decision to make.

[@keithbloss2915]

It looked like some of the selvage was folded or removed, If that is the case, they won't be of much interest to a sheet collector. Might as well just get the plate and zip blocks. Otherwise they would sell at 'discount postage ' value, So if you have use for that much postage, get em stuck on something to start their journey!

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Great idea, thanks for the advice!

[@JanDoggen]

Full sheets: keep them that way; there are collectors for these. Sheets with missing stamps: tear them up into a) corner stamps with two edges, b) edge stamps with the edge attached, c) blocks of 4, and d) single stamps. Again, there are collectors for a) b) and c). Not that they are worth anything, just give them away. *Maybe* a larger collection of unique a, b or c stamps will net you a few dollars, as well as each full sheet. The d) stamps will rot away in your album, alas (unless you can still use them for postage in the US). One addition: if you have incomplete sheets containing stamps with plate errors, there are collectors for those as well - either the single plate error stamp, or two together of which one has the plate error.

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks so much for the advice. Yes, here in the US we can still use them for postage so that is always an option.

[@radeknovak1243]

Well, If you do not want to collect the complete sheets, just use it for postage or sell it as it is to another collector, who wants to have them. In my opininon, there is no need to keep anything you do not really want to collect 🙂

[@SnailmailwithSmokey]

Thanks so much for your input and have a great day!