Why Stamps2Go?
Stamps2Go is a concept developed by Paul and
Matthew Herman to help connect philatelic buyers and sellers in a unique way. The original idea
was not inspired primarily by a profit motive. Our desire was to develop a better way to augment
our own stamp collection, by providing a way to sell our duplicates and buy stamps we need.
There are quite a few ways to buy and sell stamps on the internet ... eBay, Amazon Marketplace,
Yahoo auctions to name a few ... plus hundreds, if not thousands, of individual stamp dealer web
sites. So why did we decide to launch yet another venue for buying and selling stamps? Because
nothing out there is really suited to the needs of the individual stamp collector.
We've bought and sold thousands of dollars worth of stamps on eBay, and on other sites. So we know
their limitations. Individual dealer sites may not have the selection you are looking for, and may
be charging more per item than you are willing to pay. Auction sites offer a better selection and
can be less expensive, but having to wait for an auction to end, and the possibility of being outbid
or sniped, can be frustrating for the serious collector. Every dealer site or auction listing must
be carefully scrutinized to make sure the seller isn't going to charge you an outrageous amount for
shipping. And shipping arrangements and E-mail correspondence can add to the time overhead of each
transaction.
If you want to turn some of your duplicate stamps into cash, the situation is even more grim.
Individual dealers aren't interested in selling your stamps for you, or may want you to enter into
some type of consignment agreement where they get a good chunk of the profit. Auction sites like
eBay are more attractive, but the amount of time required to list and follow-up on each item is
considerable. And, of course, we can't forget about the listing fees just to offer your stamps for
sale.
In the final analysis, auction sites are really only practical if the items you are selling are
relatively high-priced. We won't even bother listing a stamp on eBay if it is worth less than $20.00.
Why? ... because the amount of time it takes just to fiddle around with all the auction details
makes it ridiculous for a small value item. What serious collector wants to spend the time to scan
an image, enter the listing information, E-mail the buyer (perhaps several times), arrange for
payment, and ship the package, for a $5.00 stamp? It's just not worth the hassle!
And for buyers, the auction scene is not much better, unless you are looking for at least a medium
value stamp. Evidence of this can be seen by going to an auction site and trying to buy low-value
items. You just can't find individual stamps that are valued less than a few dollars, unless they
are part of a set. As any collector knows, our hobby is one that offers a great deal of price
variation. Sure, there are many valuable stamps. But my guess is that better than 90 percent of the
stamps listed in the Scott Catalog have a value of less than a dollar. These low-valued stamps are
virtually impossible for an average collector to buy or sell individually on the internet, even
though there may be other collectors who would love to buy, sell, or trade these items.
Some of you will remind us that "serious collectors" don't need many low-valued stamps for their
collections. That may be true, but I'll bet that those "serious collectors" have drawers and boxes
full of low-value stamps that they would love to turn into cash to help finance the purchase of a
few valuable stamps they need. And you can be sure that there are lots of people just starting out
with the hobby, or long-time collectors whose interests have changed, who would love an opportunity
to buy common stamps at a fair price.
Hopefully, we've made our point. It's a big internet out there ... but the opportunities for stamp
collectors to pursue their hobby are somewhat limited.
Stamps2Go wants to change the way you buy and
sell stamps. By connecting buyers and sellers in a non-auction marketplace, we hope to make it fun
and rewarding to build your collection, and help others in the process.
To find out how we are accomplishing that goal, read
How Stamps2Go Works.