Hello!
I recently moved to another country and returned to postcrossing. I checked local stamps and some of them are really nice. So, in a blink of an eye I ended up buying a €100+ worth of stamps. I swear I needed them all Obviously, they won’t be wasted, but I wonder how many stamps do you have? Do you keep many different ones or do you buy new ones after you finish the previous pack?
The new designs are issued pretty often nowadays, do you tend to buy them all?
Also, do you keep the last stamp of a particular design for yourself? I bought a yearpack as well thinking that I will have many different stamps to use, but it has one stamp of each design and now I can’t part with them. How do you let the last one go? :))
I just buy as and when needed or when I see a good deal for “discounted” stamps on eBay, I think I’ve gone a tad overboard lately, but they will be used up
I always buy way too many stamps. I buy all newly issued ones if I like them and the value is suitable for Postcrossing (I only buy higher value stamps when I run out of them… as I rarely need it). There aren’t too many new designs per month in Germany though (mostly ~3-6 per month).
I have lots of different designs on hand, and to let go the last copy of one is sometimes hard. I often only do it, when it is the perfect match for the profile and card
edit: what I described above is for my stamp stash at home. I often mix + match and use multiple stamps per item. I have another small “stash”, always sitting in my bag to get carried around… I mostly buy self-adhesive stamps for that purpose, 1 set at a time)
i buy most of my stamps from a webshop that doesn’t always have the same ones in stock, sometimes for a long time. so if i’m scrolling through that site and i see the stamps i really want i just buy them, or else i might have to wait months for the next opportunity.
and i always buy new stamps that i really want straight away.
i could probably go eh, quite a while without buying stamps but i mean. i like to have a choice when i’m sending a card. and i could still use my stamps in 50 years (unless we change currency i guess), so i don’t really think about it.
I visit stamp shop regulary. Once every 3 or 4 months. When I visit it, I always buy many special beautiful stamps for 20€ - 35€. I keep special ones for people who are interested in stamp topic or for direct swaps.
I visit the GPO whenever there is a new issue (usually monthly) and get the new stamps. Depending on what the design is, I may get quite a bit or just a few
I always buy extra for collection and set them aside. Thus there won’t be an issue of using up the last stamp because I’ve already kept the stamps I want
I won’t finish my stamps anytime soon I don’t send as much as I buy!
I love going to stamp shows a few times a year so I tend to spend a lot of money there because it’s usually a great deal. Then I buy newly issued stamps twice a year before price hikes- in spring and in autumn (also to get new winter holiday stamps in the fall)
I’m using through my old stash of stamps and have prohibited myself from buying any more since a few months ago. I think I can last a year with my existing stamp inventory. I don’t save the last stamp of a series for myself.
I buy mine from the United States post office website and have them mailed to me. I never had luck getting stamps other than the standard us flag ones from a physical post office
Our stamp prices increased the beginning of July, so I stocked up right before and also told my mom that I’d like stamps for Christmas and if she’d like to buy me some, it would be good to buy them before the price increase
Btw, I keep them in a plastic container and boy do they smell when I open it
I try to get them as often as they are issued. I always save four of them for my personal collection. Before I just used them all up and never saved any for my self. There are stamps I purchased in the past that I wish I had but never thought to keep some back for myself. I love the assorted designs available. Thank you for sharing and cool topic.
OMG! I think Postcrossing is in cahoots with the post office! I’m 65 and I think I can participate in the formal Postcrossing for the rest of my life without ever buying another postcard or stamp!! (But, of course, I’ll still buy more!)
PS: I hope “cahoots” translates! If not, it’s a funny way to say “conspiracy.”
Don’t buy stamps on eBay or other third party sites if you are not a collector or otherwise have some expertise. A lot of that discounted postage is FAKE especially if they are “Forever” or new issue. USPS will throw your mail away—new law—if you use them. Just pay the extra couple bucks at the post office and be safe.
I’ve never had one refused. When I say below face value I mean a few cents, so that they’d need thousands of these for much of a profit. Selling ones currently available at USPS seems more suspicious to me.
Yes! In particular I feel a kind of sorrow when it is a Canada Post commemorative stamp for a deceased person and I know there won’t be more after the supply is used up. For example, I have the last of my stamps featuring Christopher Plummer (actor) and Leonard Cohen (musician), and because I liked them both, it is hard to part with the very last ones. The same with my last “permanent” stamp of a smiling younger Queen Elizabeth II. I should just use them up, but it’s hard…
Every time a stamp is released, I buy at least a sheet, and if it’s a miniature I buy about 50 miniatures. So yes, I’m obsessed buying stamps. And India post releases At least one or two stamps every month.
I am have been a philatelist since I was 12.
I live in Australia, and most weeks I have access to 4 Post Offices and many postal agencies (some open part-time), but there is no guarantee that they will have in stock what I want. This is complicated by domestic vs international stamps, and the changing prices of postage, and that I could ask 3 people in the same post office and have many different answers.
I bought from Aust Post’s online store. 50 international stamps, to post my 50 Halloween cards for postcrossing. I’ll buy more for my Christmas cards (another 50), but from 1st Nov, postage is lowered for Cards Only.
I also bought 3 issues of domestic stamps, I like their themes and art. 10 stamps of each design, 3 themes. Thats probably about 150 stamps. AND then I found older stamps domestic and international, that are valued too low to be used, so I bought the stamps needed to give them the proper value.
In short International stamps as I need them. Domestic stamps, because they look awesome. And using up older stamps.
Obviously, they won’t be wasted, but I wonder how many stamps do you have? Do you keep many different ones or do you buy new ones after you finish the previous pack?
