Any Stamp Collectors Out There In A.b.land?

[wolf63]

I have just arrived at my 'job' in Oxfam and found two carrier bags of used stamps that we plan to sell in 1kg bags.

Is there an easy (idiot proof) way of getting the stamps off of the envelopes and the postcards? Somebody used to do this for the shop but we no longer have that person available to help or contact.

I know that I could Google this but I trust you lot more than some of the morons that are out there on the web.

[dannyk13]

Steam them off.

[jno]

I just used to soak them off (assuming you don't want to keep the letters). Fill up a bowl of water and let them lie in it. Well, several bowls

[dannyk13]

Or sell them 'as is' and let the buyer get them off.

[wolf63]

I will try and see if steaming or soaking works, first I have to get the accounts for last week to balance!

Danny - it might come to the stage where I will give the buy the stamps still stuck on the envelope/postcard. That can be plan C.

:-)

[jno]

tbh, if I was offered a 1kg bag of stamps still attached to postcards, they'd have to be penny blacks to make it worth the time.

[TheWinner]

This is from Stanley Gibbons
https://www.stanleygibbons.com/collecting-stamps/dispatches/how-remove-used-stamps

[douglas9401]

I'm trying to imagine a kilogram of stamps and by extension the size of the carrier bags.

[wolf63]

Duggie
I have spent hours steeping stamps and trying to dry them out and I have amassed about 100g of stamps towards the total of one kilogram.

I think that I will just go back to sorting out the 'vintage' (not old, vintage!) postcards. We sold one postcard for £15 last week.

Meanwhil, I am watching video after video about serial killers on YouTube.

☺

[vulcan42]

Watch out for first day cover envelopes, this is a special envelope with the postage frank the same date as the stamp/s on the envelope were first issued. It will be more valuable if the stamps are left on.

[wolf63]

Vulcan, I know about the First Day Covers and have managed to sell a couple of 1966 Football ones for £30.

I have no in-depth knowledge about them though. I have a few that are not postmarked and other weird ones - I will, eventually, get around to finishing the pile of them that I have.

I make a rookie mistake of assuming that a photo of the Queen on a stamp meant that it was British. Doh!!