stamp central

oh dear!

2011-12-22T06:46:00.000-08:00

I'm a stamp dealer. I make my living selling stamps. I assume other dealers do the same!

But take a look at this. It's a stamp auction catalogue but the firm sending it has so little respect both for their business and mine that they can't even be bothered to use stamps! Just a preprinted frank on the envelope. Okay, they may save a few pence, but I would have stamped this with an array of nice commemoratives or scarcer booklet stamps etc that would have been nicely postmarked and would have sold for more than the face value.

Consequently I won't even be opening this package - it'll be going straight in the bin.

This is not the way to do business when times are good let alone when they are bad!

plating penny blacks - the cheap way!!

2011-10-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

In 1990 the Isle of Man issued a commemorative set to mark the 150th anniversary of the Penny Black.

The lowest value was just 1p, and came in 25 types, with the bottom corner letters ranging from A-A to E-E.

I have managed to get hold of two complete sets of these plates which are just going on the website. These are very hard to put together so they are £3.50 each set of 25, vastly cheaper than trying to complete a pane of original Penny Blacks!

jersey kiloware

2011-10-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

Just added to the site are just 2 half kilo lots of Jersey kiloware. Straight from theuisland and very modern, this contains a good range of very recent material plus a few older bits and pieces. Completely unpicked as usual.

crinkle cut!

2011-10-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Just listed is this special mix imported directly from a major charity on the Isle of Man. Totally unpicked it contains an excellent range of mainly modern Manx stamps plus around 5% of foreign (including GB) which are mainly less common items, including from some fellow autonomous islands.

fresh kiloware

2011-10-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

Just listed lots of new kiloware - Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Malaysia and GB Wildings. These always sell really quickly!!

jersey

2011-10-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

I'm currently listing Jersey and hopefully will have listed all my Channel Islands and Isle of Man stock by the end of this month!

300 guernsey

2011-09-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

Just listed is this superb packet of 300 different Guernsey, not an easy packet to put together!

special packet - bargain!

2011-09-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

Just listed is this special GB packet provided by a collector - 80+ GB large with about 10-15 high values, a really good range for just 75p!

hard to find

2011-07-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Modern GB mini sheets (as well as commemorative issues) are VERY hard to find. I get a few that I buy back from customers that have received parcels from me. As you can see that get genuine CDS postmarks from Pensford post office. I only ever have a few if any of these and they sell really fast. I will be listing some over the next few days.

BIOT

2011-06-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

I'm currently loading some nioce modern unmounted mint material from this Sterling territory,

railway letter stamps

2011-04-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've just acquired a small lot of railway letter stamps - this is probably the pick of the bunch! This is from the Cavan and Leitrim Railway which operated until 1959 and included the last steam tramway service in the UK. Always printed in small numbers this is a very rare unmounted mint block of 6. Other lines in this lot included the Southwold Railway, Castlederg and Victoria Bridge, Garstang and Knott End, Shropshire and Montgomeryshire and West Clare Railway.

half kilo kiloware lots

2011-04-03T04:54:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to expand my kiloware stock and range, and I've just put Austria, Malta, Finland and Hong Kong half kilo lots on to the website.

1000 canada

2011-04-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

Just listed is this excellent large Canada packet - 1000 different for just £30.

a real bargain

2011-04-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Just listed is this excellent packet of 150 different Queen Victoria stamps. Considering that the youngest of these is over 100 years old the price of £33 is just over 20p a stamp, a real bargain as much of this material, even 'common' stuff, is increasingly hard to find.

germany year sets

2011-03-30T01:46:00.000-07:00

I've just taken delivery of some excellent Germany Year Sets. The stamps are all selected items - the mint are all fresh unmounted. These are priced VERY competitively, often around 20% of catalogue value. Almost all post war years are available, as are year sets for East Germany, Berlin, Austria, Liechtenstein and Russia. This is a cheap and easy way to further your collection.

unusual

2011-03-27T04:27:00.000-07:00

Just loaded is this unusual packet which contains 20 German Occupation of Belgium stamps. Our packet stock is growing steadily with a really impressive range of countries and themes. Buying the largest packet you can of a country or theme is a very good way to get started!

rare chance ...

2011-02-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

... to buy a whole 'country' in one go! These are the issues for Saarland issued after World War Two, complete and mint and on the website today!

unusual packets

2011-02-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

I've had a big delivery of packets arrive today. Included are some very unusual 'countries', including Marienwerder shown above. This is an easy and cheap way of getting hold of some very unusual material!

modern commems

2011-02-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

Many modern commemorative issues are going to be in very short supply in the future! The reason is quite simple - the lag between postal authorities' perception of collector demand and the actual demand that is being increased daily by the Internet and the growth of collecting in developing countries, particularly India and China. Many modern commemoratives are printed in small quantities.

I've noticed a big pick up in orders for commemorative mint sets (mainly) recently and would always recommend picking them up when you can as restocking is often difficult if not impossible!

Solomon Islands

2011-02-05T06:04:00.000-08:00

Just in is a lovely lot of unmounted mint Solomon Islands issues from 1996-2009. Many modern issues are very hard to find once the new issue period is over, so I'd always recommend grabbing them when they become available!

superb used

2011-02-04T04:18:00.000-08:00

I've always had a preference for very fine used over mint, but that's just me! This is a lovely set just loaded to the website, which now has over 10,000 separate stamp/set listings. As always priced at just half catalogue ie £52.50.

Iceland

2010-12-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

Today I've started listing Iceland on the website.

peru

2010-12-12T04:05:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to fill in the gaps on the website, with lots of new countries getting their first stamps listed at last! It is very difficult trying to cover everything, not because I don't have it but because the physical task of listing does take a long time! mind you, once something is listed, at least at the basic level, it will always be on there.

If you do see something you need it's always a good idea to snap it up right away because items often sell within hours of going on line - and often I'll only have the one in stock!

I'm currently listing Peru.

Afghanistan packet

2010-11-10T04:04:00.000-08:00

Just listed is our first Afghanistan packet. Afghanistan is of course a country very much in the news and the primitive early issues are always fascinating.

To order just click on the title link!

new range of packets

2010-11-10T03:43:00.000-08:00

I've been busy putting on a whole range of non-Commonwealth packets over recent weeks. These are particularly good as they contain a far better range of stamps than most packets and are consequently very good value for money.

The best advice when starting a new collection is to buy the largest packet you can of the new country. Hopefully by the time the listings are finished we'll cover about 90% of all countries!

website filling!

2010-09-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

We are not far short of 10,000 listings of individual stamps on the website now. Recently added are many Middle Eastern stamps, also GB fiscals and Scout Post stamps.

sweden

2010-07-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

I've found a very nice supply of Swedish stamps, both mint and used, so the Sweden section of the website is beginning to fill out nicely!

getting cooler

2010-06-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is what we should be doing to increase interest in stamps. The ethnicitee company (click on link above for website) produce a range of quality tee shirts using stamps as inspiration and covering serious social/economic issues of our times, particularly those affecting the developing world.

If stamp collecting was in decline a decade or so ago it certainly isn't now, and this is about 99% due to the Internet. Stamps are the ideal subject for webpages and e-commerce, light but valuable they always were the perfect mail order product, now people are realising both the information and artistry that each and every stamp contains. This really is an interest for the 21st century!

Falkland Islands blog launch

2010-05-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

Another country blog is launched today with the Stamps of the Falkland Islands blog. As with all the blogs it is intended to eventually become a one-stop resource for collectors of this area. Bookmark today!

new blog

2010-04-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

We have now started a blog specifically for the stamps of Greece. To view please click on this post title.

cyprus on paper

2010-04-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest mixes to put together is Cyprus and this is the first half kilo lot I've managed to list!

launch of cayman islands blog

2010-04-12T04:18:00.000-07:00

Launched today - the second of our country blogs. This is for the Cayman Islands.

losing the plot

2010-04-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

First an apology. Sorry for using the Album Cover stamps to post your stamps.

Let me explain. A year or so ago a few stamps started appearing with an unsoakable gum. This was being introduced, together with slots, as a way of disrupting the mythical trade in reused GB stamps. Fact is this gum isn't unsoakable and in fact, for the postage trade, it's made no difference, in fact after using Stamplift or WD40 not only do the stamps come off safely but they even have the decency to stay sticky!

When the muck was used on Christmas stamps the PO explained that Xmas stamps are actually definitives, but that this new gum would NEVER be used on commemoratives.

So what have the morons done? Gone and used this muck on the Album Covers stamps! No way can these be described as definitives. So well done, PO. You've just created modern rarities because I can't see any way of safely getting these off paper, and no sensible collector is going to start collecting stamps on paper.

So for all those customers who have had these on their packages once again I apologise. My usual buy back offer won't apply because these stamps are simply unuseable. I won't be using any more, or indeed any more PO self adhesive issues, until this idiotic policy is reversed. You can still get the stamps of course, but from the mini sheets or prestige booklets, which will have a different SG number. Genuinely off paper used self adhesives are going to be far rarer than Penny Blacks!

half kilo kiloware lots

2010-04-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

Just on today - various half kilo kiloware mixes, including for the first time MIDDLE EAST. These are very hard to get hold of and this is the first lot I've been able to make up! I doubt this will stay on long!

Bermuda

2010-04-08T01:22:00.000-07:00

I've just started the first of what will ecome dozens of country blogsites. First up is Bermuda.

The idea of these blogs is to provide a one-stop resource for collectors of a particular country with basic details, bibliography, articles etc etc. They will be more like websites than blogs in as much as the information will be permanent.

As I list more countries more and more of these blogs will appear and each will be announced both here and on the e-commerce site.

miniature sheets

2010-03-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Two issues I'm really looking forward to this year are the miniature sheets being issued for the London 2010 Festival of Stamps. Perhaps the appeal is that they draw mainly on stamp design from King George V's time.

But these issues both heighten some real concerns I have about the PO in the UK. Most of these stamps will simply not be seen by the general public. They'll be available from the Bureau of course, but how many will see actual postal use? I'll use plenty of course, but the average person in the street won't even know they exist. My village PO doesn't even publicise new stamp issues any more, and that's with my influence. The fact they are in mini sheet form makes it even worse.

I'll use the sheets and the stamps from the sheets. The £1 values are particularly attractive.

So my first point is that to really push stamps they need to be widely available, widely publicised and easy to buy, from all POs. My second point is that Stanley Gibbons is complicit in this whole process of pushing certain stamp issues as purely 'collectables'. These stamps will not get a full listing in their catalogues, only the sheets will be listed. So no catalogue number for the individual stamps. This is crazy.

When listing stamps I often get single stamps from miniature sheets that have been used for a proper postal service. This doesn't only apply to British stamps but stamps from many countries - France and Austria spring to mind. Again no SG numbers for these.

People come to collecting from seeing stamps every day in their regular posts. By forcing commemorative issues into the background the PO is basically reducing its future income from collectors. Stanley Gibbons are making this process worse by regarding miniature sheets at least as purely collectables, when in fact they are often very useful when broken up to stamp mail! Stamps should first and foremost exist to stamp mail. Selling mint issues as a sideline is fine, but used stamps should always be the backbone of stamp collecting as it's a cheap and easy way of getting into the hobby.

9kg!

2010-03-12T04:22:00.000-08:00

In the back of the car after collecting from the charity - Tuesday.

9kg lot being weighed up - Wednesday.

Weighed up boxes take over the living room! - Wednesday.

Boxed up and ready for stamping - Wednesday.

Nice stamps ready for the outside - Thursday.

Stamped up and waiting in the hallway - Thursday.

In the back of the car - Friday.

The walk to the Post Office - the reason boxes are 9kg and no heavier! - Friday.

Filling up the post office - why it's done in two runs over two days! - Friday.

The postmarker and sellotape - the final touch ensuring the stamps used for postage are nicely postmarked and protected on their journey to you - Friday.

A lot goes into your 9kg box! There's a 200 mile round trip to pick up from the charity. Normally I pick up 300kg of GB and 50kg of World.

The next day I start weighing up the 9kg boxes. The raw material comes in 10kg sacks and I normally make up the 9kg lots from at least two 10kg sacks and also include the smaller donations from about 25 other charities that come in on a daily basis.

It normally takes two days to make up all the boxes and label and stamp them up.

As they go to the village PO (to get the good cancellations!) it normally takes two trips - on Friday and Saturday - to clear the lot. This is due to space limitations in the car but, more importantly, at the PO.

With luck the boxes should arrive with the customer from Saturday onwards.

Austria on line

2010-03-09T10:46:00.000-08:00

I've almost completed putting all my used Austria on the website. It's mainly recent material with an excellent range of used commemoratives. many of these have shown considerable price increases over the last few years. The site is now pretty complete from 1970 to date, for used at least. I do have a couple of excellent mint Austria collections that should go on at some time over the next few months. Austria here.

more fine used GB

2009-11-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

I'm now listing ALL my GB. Just on is the 2009 Endangered Plants issue in superb postally used se-tenant blocks of 10. These always go VERY quickly and I only have two at the moment. I believe that these fine used se-tenant blocks will become very valuable in time as so few of them were used and even then many do not survive the post or indeed the soaking and drying process!

Whilst no doubt ex-FDC copies will be available in the future this is the real McCoy, bought back from my customers who have had these on their 9kg GB kiloware stamp parcels.

Remember I always buy back fine used GB that are used on my sendings, including singles.

GB frenzy!

2009-10-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

One of the big jobs that I've been dreading is to put ALL my GB stock on to the website. But I've started and am ploughing my way through thousands of stamps. As always this is material of the best quality, the accent is on more recent material. It includes some superb fine used GB, much of which was used to send parcels out to customers (the clue is the Pensford CDS) then bought back by me.

Just on is the 2009 Kew Gardens mini sheet with CDS. I normally put things like this on eBay but as I'm building the website most material like this will now go on there. I expect these to sell very quickly!

new kiloware

2009-10-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

I'm just loading some new kiloware, most offered for the first time.

We are now making up all our country iloware lots in house. Unfortunately the previous supplier could take up to three weeks to deliver and many of the lots were just not of good enough quality.

Everything now listed under kiloware is IN STOCK and ready for immediate delivery!

website news

2009-10-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited the website lately you are going to be surprised by the amount that's on it!

We now list an almost full range of Commonwealth packets, many country kilowares, thousands of single stamps and of course our famous GB kiloware - when we have any!

Thai surprise

2009-08-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

Another kiloware just in is Thailand. It's supposed to be a general charity mix but it is so packed with commems that I had a job finding definitives for the sample photo!

more kiloware

2009-08-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

Our range of kiloware is expanding all the time. We've tracked down some really classy mixes, all at reasonable prices. Just in is a superb Scandinavia commemorative only mix. This is a clean and very modern mix and includes smaller countries like Faroes etc. Price is only £41.25 per half kilo!

eBay hilarity

2009-08-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

I've started looking through eBay for sale items again as I'm looking for classy items for stock.

One little side interest is discovering the daftest listings. This gem was today's.

Why anyone would bother scanning and listing tat like this I don't know - perhaps because it's now free to list on eBay if you're an amateur. But even if it's free to post surely there are better ways of wasting one's time?

The funniest bit with this is the blurb - and this is TOTALLY genuine -

quite truly amazing! exhibit quality. line engraved, PERFS - unperforate. 4c.delicate postmarked. amaranth purple.

Yes, EXHIBITION quality!!!!! That delicate postmark, the sheer rarity of this stamp, the neatly scissor cut right hand margin - what philatelic exhibition could afford NOT to display this classic gem?

(Needless to say it remained unsold at a start price of 99p)

country kilowares

2009-07-24T03:49:00.000-07:00

I've had a huge response to adding individual country kiloware lots with orders coming in every day. Prices are very reasonable and the list includes some very unusual countries. Check out the website here.

yet more on the web!

2009-04-26T02:27:00.000-07:00

We've started listing catalogues on the website, starting with Stanley Gibbons of course. Almost all of their catalogues are now listed. I am offering a discount on all of them, so why not add a catalogue or two next time you order stamps?

catalogues

2009-04-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

I've just started building the catalogues and books section on the website. I'm starting with pretty much the whole range of Gibbons catalogues but hope to add specialist and foreign catalogues (including revenues etc) as well as specialist books as time goes by.

website update

2009-04-23T00:33:00.000-07:00

If you haven't had a look at the website lately have a look now - you'll be pleasantly surprised! We've now listed almost 5000 individual stamps and sets, from all over the world. We stock about twenty countries' new issues in addition. I still have thousands upon thousands of stamps to list, it's a never ending job!

I'm also now gradually listing a vast new range of kiloware and packets. In kiloware almost all countries will be available, in packets there will be a full range of Commonwealth. I have found a source of foreign packets but it may be a year or so yet before they appear.

I'm also now stocking a full range of Gibbons catalogues, though these haven't made it to the website yet!

If you're interested in GB kiloware we now have a pre-booking system as these lots are so incredibly popular. Next supplies will be at the beginning of June.

GB fine used

2009-03-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

I've begun buying back the stamps that I use to send my kiloware out with. 90% of them reach the customer superbly CDS used. It is incredibly difficult to find genuinely used GB material these days - but this is the real thing. My postmaster Pete does an excellent job postmarking really carefully.

I am happy to buy back all the miniature sheets, complete sets and high values that you receive from me, for 50% face for cheque/Paypal payment or 75% face for exchange. They obviously need to be in perfect condition with the Pensford postmark as above. All issues are wanted ...

St Helena new issues

2009-01-31T04:51:00.000-08:00

Also added to our New Issue stock is St Helena, starting with this excellent 2009 sheet.

New Issue

2009-01-31T04:44:00.000-08:00

We've now added a 'New Issues' tab to the website, and the number of countries we stock as new issues is increasing. The new countries include British Antarctic Territory. New issues are only stocked in unmounted mint condition. However we are happy to provide ANY format through our new issue service - please email for details.

More Norfolk Island

2009-01-28T03:56:00.000-08:00

More from the Norfolk Island collection currently being added to the website.

Norfolk Island

2009-01-28T03:14:00.000-08:00

I've been busy breaking down a fairly comprehensive Norfolk Island collection with quite a few better items. Check out the website - these probably won't be around for long!

unintended consequences!!

2009-01-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

There's a bit of angst in stamp dealing circles over the so-called SecUrity Machins. The worry is that the apparent inability to source 'mint no gummed' in the future may damage the whole GB kiloware trade.

This is a difficult one. The existence of 'unfranked' is really a result of over-mechanization. In the past when post was hand postmarked this very rarely happened. Now a lot of larger packages arrive unpostmarked or, worse still, wrecked by biro cancellations. This is particularly annoying when the stamps already have light CDS postmarks!

I do however suspect that a lot of unfranked in kiloware comes from unused stamped addressed envelopes. These stamps have NOT fulfilled a postal purpose so it is still legal to use them.

I suspect the new Machins WILL be soakable. If they use the same gum as the 'unsoakable' recent Xmas NVI commems then they will come off paper with difficulty.

But if they're not what may this mean?

It will take a long time before these appear in large quantities in charity collected GB kiloware.

If collectors find that they are soakable (with difficulty) then the price will fall by around 10%.

If they are unsoakable then kiloware prices may fall by 50%.

This will definitely affect the viability of some charities to continue to deal with stamps.

And what are the unintended consequences?

Well I spend £6000+ a year on postage sending out kiloware. The MARGINAL extra cost of delivering my parcels probably cost the PO less than a pound. The price of a parcel is £12.24 postage. If it's no longer feasible to sell GB kiloware at a profit all this income will be lost to the PO, as will the cost to the charities of sending the stamps to me. Oddly, the vast majority of us in the kiloware trade NEVER use mint no gummed!

By announcing the SecUrity Machins the PO is signalling to the UK public that it is possible to reuse stamps! How many times have you received a letter with a stamp clearly cut from an envelope and sometimes even just stuck on with sellotape? I can see this hapening a lot more in the future!

If the stamps are unsoakable then they'll simply be cut from envelopes and reused.

If this idea takes off will the PO spread its use to more and more stamps, perhaps even commemoratives? This will reduce the number of collectors taking an interest in GB material, eventually materializing as less sales to the Bureau.

What are the extra costs of using these security features? Is it less than the (totally estimated) loss to the PO of reused stamps? Or the loss of the kiloware trade? The loss of goodwill if charities can no longer raise money this way?

Because the real point isn't unfranked material, but franked stamps. If these are no longer collectable in the normal way (ie soaked off paper) will collectors abandon GB stamps in droves, affecting the profits of Tallents House?

It is particularly below the belt for the PO to imply that current GB stamps can be cleaned of their postmarks. This is an urban legend and simply isn't possible. Security features have been used since the Penny Black, most have been dropped eventually as they are not worth the bother. I suspect that that will be the case with these SecUrity features!

So don't worry!

New Zealand show issue

2009-01-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

I do like this new miniature sheet from New Zealand which celebrates the Tarapex exhibition which contains 2 definitives within a stamp-like frame. I have just five available on the website.

thoughtless beyond belief

2008-11-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that there's a credit crunch on when eBay dealers think it's okay to send stamps like they have above. I received this this morning. The contents were fine but what possessed the 'dealer' to use a white label?? If they were taking it to the PO in any case why not ask for commemoratives? The worst thing is this was for £1.08 - exactly the price of the strip of three Poppy stamps just issued - and currently selling for £3-£5 used per strip on eBay.

I of course use these for nearly all my sendings - they also get fine used cancellations.

Needless to say I'll never buy from this 'dealer' again - and will be giving them zero feedback for post and packing on eBay.

post & go

2008-10-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

Many of you may have missed the issue of a new set of GB definitives. They are like a longer format version of the 1st class Machin and they are currently ONLY available in two POs in the whole UK - and NOT available from the Philatelic Bureau or philatelic counters. Luckily for me one of the locations of these stamps is in Bristol so yesterday I went down to get some. Unfortunately I wasn't totally successful - the machine I used was only issuing 4 of the 5 values, the other machine was out of order. An hour later both were! So although I have five 'sets' of 4 values, they'll be little use to me until they fix the post & go machine(s).

Who knows what I'll do with 'em. I'm not keen on listing them on eBay even though they are selling at double face or more. I'll probably use them on kiloware parcels, giving them genuine postal (and possibly very rare) use. With the scarcity of machines and their seeming ease of breaking down, this may become a very scarce issue indeed ...

Yousuf Karsh

2008-09-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

Canada has recently issued a miniature sheet, single stamp plus 2 booklet values to celebrate the centenary of the birth of photographer Yousuf Karsh. All are currently available on the website.

More about Karsh here.

new issues

2008-09-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

I've had my first batch of new issues to add to the site. The intention is to eventually stock all new issues as they come in, but I'm starting small with a few popular countries - Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, China, Macau and Hong Kong. New issues will be stocked in unmounted mint only. Remember that these often sell quickly and can be very difficult to replace once sold!

malta

2008-09-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

Probably the best of the lot from the small Malta collection I'm currently putting on the website - the 1956-58 Definitive set in mounted mint, at my normal 1/3rd catalogue - £120 catalogue for just £40.

COGH revenues

2008-08-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Some more revenue stamps have recently turned up which I've put on the website today.

rare chance

2008-08-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Just listed - the hard to find 1968 definitive set from the Falkland Islands, all values unmounted mint.

swiss blocks

2008-08-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Just loaded today - superb blocks of 6 unmounted mint 1956 Pro patria set, at just a third of catalogue value!

classic commonwealth

2008-07-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

I've just obtained some lovely Commonwealth material, which I'm starting to put on the website this evening.

British Library Philatelic Collections

2008-07-07T03:53:00.000-07:00

The website of the British Library Philatelic Collections has been relaunched. To view some real philatelic gems just click here!

progress

2008-07-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

The website is really beginning to take shape now after several months of serious listing! There's a good range of GB, Switzerland and some Commonwealth single stamps and sets. The packet range is expanding, also the 100 gram kiloware lots.

Plans for the next few months are to continue listing and building depth of stock in most of the above categories. I also plan to list collections - I've loads here which I'd planned to break down but the task is HUGE!

GB and World kiloware lots are still the biggest sellers.

what a relief

2008-06-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

From the ridiculous to the sublime! After the horrible monochrome and un-British Cathedrals stamps we now have the superb, colourful and totally British Carry On and Hammer series. I will really enjoy using these on my Parcelforce lots.

fine used

2008-06-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Fine used GB is getting rarer all the time though we do our bit by using nice stamps on all our sendings, wwith Parcelforce lots getting CDS postmarks.

Just on the website - a fine used block of the 2008 insect stamps.

more kiloware

2008-06-04T07:28:00.000-07:00

Just on today - a 100g lot of USA commemoratives. I tend to add material every day now, a really wide range to suit most tastes!

something different

2008-06-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Just putting these on the website - some Jersey revenues overprinted Specimen, values from £1 to £50, unmounted mint. I've just founds loads of unusual stuff in a desk drawer - all of which should go on over the next few days.

856 not out!

2008-05-23T03:26:00.000-07:00

Amazingly the above is the 854th listing on the website. After a slow start I've been really powering through adding a huge and varied range of stock from the cheap to expensive, the regular stuff to the unusual!

If you haven't taken a look for a while why not do so now and see how we've come on!

100g lots

2008-05-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

It's always been my intention to include a range of my famous 100g lots on the website. Up till now they've only been on eBay. Hopefully I'll put several a week on, though I suspect they'll sell more quickly than I can put them on!

wow!!

2008-05-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today's eBay gem is this lot of 8 stamps, described as 'a collectors piece'. The picture is so blurred that it's impossible to tell where they are even from! A magnificent example of how not to sell on eBay. Oh, and the price - an incredible £15 using buy it now. And, typically, post is ridiculously over the top too. £1.50 for 8 stamps?? Why do they bother?

packets - at last

2008-05-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

I used to be a director of the UK's top supplier of packets, and they were always a very popular line! At last I've started stocking them again, and hope eventually to offer a full range of countries and themes. They are a superb and inexpensive way of starting a country or thematic collection, and the packets I have sourced are particularly good as they include many many better stamps. Check the website for the latest additions!

more stamps

2008-05-10T04:16:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited the shop for some time you'll see a lot of changes. I've added loads more items, ranging from fine used Europe, revenues, Commonwealth and some GB.

today's eBay hopeful!

2008-04-29T12:44:00.000-07:00

It just keeps getting better. Star hopeful today is the character offering this philatelic gem. It's a magnificent average used copy of the exceedingly rare 14p Wedding stamp - sold as seen! The price - a mouthwatering £1.99 buy it now, plus 50p post and packing of course. I can see potential bidders just queueing up to get their hands on it ...

new website items

2008-04-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'm putting some more revenue stock on today including the above nice set of NZ unemployment relief stamps.

wow - eBay bargain!!

2008-04-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

Today's classic 'bargain' on eBay is this gem. It appears to be an ordinary Machin 3 1/2p definitive. The hopeful poster doesn't say whether it's mint or used, and the magnificently blurred picture doesn't really give a clue.

The price of this classic - starting at 99p. Post and packing is an amazing £2.00!! What are they packing it in - 24 carat gold??

australian antarctic territory

2008-04-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'mcurrently putting some nice AAT material on the website, found at the back of a rather bland Australia stockbook! (There are also some very nice OS Australian stamps and postage dues to follow).

2008-04-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

new issue

2008-04-19T03:31:00.000-07:00

The new insect stamps are really good. They've been kept really simple on a plain background.

I'm currently using these to stamp kiloware lots - either in blocks of ten or complete sheets of thirty.

themes on the website

2008-04-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

All stamps now being listed are also, where appropriate, listed under themes. This is the thumbnail for 'planes and helicopters'. All the thumbnails are from my own camera! If you look in the distance you can make out the Isle of Wight - this was on a recent trip to Prague.

more in hope than expectation

2008-04-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

There's a new star in the eBay firmament!

This character advertises 10 stamps with the description 'Mixed lot of 10 stamps uk and worldwide used postage stamps.Will not be ones in the picture.I have a lot of stamps so please bid so I can clear some space in my cuboard.They have been stored in a cuboard so they are in quite good condition'. Starting at 1p - but with post at £1.00.

But wait - you can get 100 stamps (picture again nothing to do with what you'll get!) but postage is a bargain at just £5! £5 for 100 stamps ... oh dear!

No bidders so far of course ...

unusual revenue specimens (click to buy)

2008-04-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

I've just managed to get my hands on several matched pairs of the Southern Rhodesia revenues in proofs, both perf and imperf. All will be listed today on the website.

this week's new issues

2008-03-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

Out this Tuesday (1 April 2008) are the new 15p, 56p and 81p definitives, reissue of the 9p and the new high value country regional definitives. These are to cover the new postal rates valid from 7 April.

regionals ... bargain??

2008-03-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

One of today's LOL offers on eBay is this tatty mounted selection of common regionals (yes, just the 6 3d ones) at a start price of just £5! At least the seller declares 'I no [sic] nothing about stamps'. Well. he said it!

'error' 'bargain'!!

2008-03-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

It's very entertaining going through eBay listings and finding real howlers like these!

This supposed 'error' is obviously the result of the stamp being left in the sun so one side has completely faded. Fit only for the bin, this has the incredibly optimistic starting price of just £75!

Click the title link and you should be able to see the original listing at least for a month or so.

australian states revenues (click to buy)

2008-03-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

Just added. This includes some stamps for King Edward VII, who only appeared on a couple of States postage stamps despite Australia not becoming a united dominion until 1912.

GB kiloware in 1kg lots (click to buy)

2008-03-19T03:51:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand! We're making up 1kg lots of our ever-popular GB kiloware to give everyone a chance of getting their share!

Jamaica revenues (click to buy)

2008-03-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

Just on today - a small lot of Jamaican revenue stamps.

more GB goodies (click to buy)

2008-03-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hard to find at the moment (most dealers are buying!)

more listings (click to buy)

2008-03-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

Just going on today - some of the harder to get recent commemorative sets.

straits settlements (click to buy)

2008-03-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is a lovely and rare set of Straits Settlements revenue stamps, including two colour versions of the 20 cents.

guernsey sales tax stamps (click to buy)

2008-03-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

Continuing on the revenues theme, this is a small selection of Guernsey Sales Tax stamps - all overprinted as they were issued in the same colour!

india revenues (click to buy)

2008-03-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

This is a nice starter lot of Indian revenues from Victoria to George VI.

last south africa lot (click to buy)

2008-03-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

Last on from this batch of revenues is this KGVI set from 6d to £2.

more south africa (click to buy)

2008-03-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

Next on - a really nice set of the QEII revenues from 6d to £5, mostly fine used. Rare chance to get this lot!

south africa revenues (click to buy)

2008-03-10T06:13:00.000-07:00

Just added - a good run of South African KGVI revenues to £5.

Unusual Zululand (click to buy)

2008-03-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

Something a little different! Natal stamp overprinted Zululand in both mint and used.