*** eBay Users Stamp Club *** Meeting 20-22 July: "Philatelic cluttering"

[sheryll*net]

Please join us on this thread for our monthly meeting which runs from Friday 20th July until midnight Sunday 22nd in whatever part of the world you are in.

The topic will be “Philatelic cluttering.”

• How do you keep your collections in a manageable way?
• Does your new "shop" contain a lathe or a UV lamp?
• Does the set of bookcases you bought for the family room continue on into the bedroom?
• If so, has your non-philatelic spouse/significant other complained about it?
• Have you ever sold a collection? Or an item?
• If you collect postal stationery, where do you draw the line, or it is easier to be a bachelor/spinster.
• How does your non-philatelic spouse/significant other deal with an influx of material from an auction? Or new-issue paraphernalia.

Confessions, testimonials, hints, dinner table stories welcome, as well as scans or photos, as we air (but not necessarily solve) the problem of Philatelic Cluttering.

- - - - - -- -

Anne will be displaying some of the many world-wide stamps she has liked and thus accumulated over the years.

I will be showing my collection of emails worded so that my spouse would not suspect  what I am buying for my exhibit… What exhibit?!

There will be an over-indulgence of food in the balcony, but no one to serve it.

The workshop area will have items which aren’t stamps or covers – First Day ceremonies, promotional postcards and posters, pins, pens, miniature mailboxes, in fact any philatelic merchandise in hope to tempt you to take some home.

See you there!

eUSC co-presidents (Anne in NJ, Sheryll in OR)

[msgtdavid]

Good morning all Stamp Collectors, here's my take:

• How do you keep your collections in a manageable way?

I keep all my stamp collection in a large bedroom in my house.

• Does your new "shop" contain a lathe or a UV lamp?

Yes I do have a lathe, but it out in my wood workshop.  Yes I have a UV Lamp in my stamp room.

• Does the set of bookcases you bought for the family room continue on into the bedroom?

No, the family room bookcases are only in the family room.  In the Stamp Room the book cases were designed and built with stamps in mind.  I do have a ceiling to floor stamp reference book in a store bought book case.

• If so, has your non-philatelic spouse/significant other complained about it?

No, my wife is dead, when she was alive we collected together, in fact she designed the stamp room.

• Have you ever sold a collection? Or an item?

No, never sold any item, have traded items, but never sold anything.  My collection is a family collection started back sometime in the 1890's.  Over the years different family members have actively involved in the collection.  I've been working on it for over 60 years now.  

• If you collect postal stationery, where do you draw the line, or it is easier to be a bachelor/spinster.

I do not collect postal stationery, my grandfather when he was in control of the collection collected postal stationery, but I'm only slightly interested.

• How does your non-philatelic spouse/significant other deal with an influx of material from an auction? Or new-issue paraphernalia.

N/A, my wife was interested in the family stamp collection, until she died she worked on the design and arrangement of my stamp room.  We bought two computer, with two scanners and printers, Vickie was interested in the foreign stamps and I interest in fiscal issued.

DAVID THOMPSON

MSGT/USAF/RETIRED

[billsey]

• How do you keep your collections in a manageable way?

Almost everything is in one house. This greatly decreases the search time before giving up.

• Does your new "shop" contain a lathe or a UV lamp?

Both actually, though I'm not done building the lathe... Oh I see, you said 'shop' not 'dining room'.

• Does the set of bookcases you bought for the family room continue on into the bedroom?

My bookcases almost always stay where I put them, or at least they return before I wake up.

• If so, has your non-philatelic spouse/significant other complained about it?

"How can such little pieces of paper take up so much room?"

• Have you ever sold a collection? Or an item?

Yes, I sold several of my BC items when I first retired. I found it to be a pain, so haven't sold anything since. It's much more enjoyable to buy.

• If you collect postal stationery, where do you draw the line, or it is easier to be a bachelor/spinster.

I don't collect PS, at least until I find the right deal.

• How does your non-philatelic spouse/significant other deal with an influx of material from an auction? Or new-issue paraphernalia.

Luckily there's enough stuff that a new box or two doesn't really show.

[jaywild]

billsey...

hahaha!

Apropos of today's topic, I built a collection of scare and rare U.S. Classic stamps by finding them mis-identified on eBay.  The important issues are—

1. The 1 cent Franklin of 1855-61 (TYPES I through Va)
2. The 5 cent Jefferson of the same period (rare color varieties)
3. The 10 cent Washington of the same period (TYPES I through IV)
4. The 10 cent Washington of 1862-6 (the rare Scott 62B)
5. The 24 cent Washington of the same period (color varieties)
6. All scarce/rare grilled stamps

I quit when too many other eagle-eyes made it impossible to snag rarities at low enough prices. 

I have since disposed of the collection at a more than tidy profit.  Since I have kept many more collections than I have sold, the cubic yardage of my collection continues to grow.

[dkru]

A harried philatelist’s spouse

On finding no room in the house

“It’s way out of hand!

You expect me to stand?

Or just share a small hole with a mouse?”

[msgtdavid]

Still possible to cherry pick Ebay fiscal issues.  In the last year found and won some nice double transfers and foreign design transfers on the U.S.A. second and third series fiscals.  Also have the only known on instrument 2 cents miss Liberty blue dated 1875.  All found on Ebay, unrecognized what they were, very cheap.

DAVID THOMPSON

MSGT/USAF/RETIRED

[rfaux]

• How do you keep your collections in a manageable way?

I keep my collection manageable by paying no attention to it during the growing season.  In fact, I find it doesn't expand nearly so much now that I only have a few months that I pay any real attention to it.

Actually, there are several ways I keep the inflow down.  First, I stopped being a regional stamp dealer - which means I no longer had to maintain an inventory.  As a result, I took myself out of the market for purchasing collections unless they were very specific to something I was working on.  Interesting enough, I haven't found a collection that meets that definition since I made that change.

Second, I have been much more focused on the quality and 'qualities' of the postal history items I am looking at.  If it isn't a particularly exceptional use, I've stopped being willing to pick up things where I can't figure out the markings without a great deal of guess work.

Third, I have been forcing myself to not get new items if I have a backlog of recent purchases that have not been written up. 

This may sound like I've really got it under control.  But, that assumes it started under control.  You all know what they say about assuming...

• Does your new "shop" contain a lathe or a UV lamp?

No.

• Does the set of bookcases you bought for the family room continue on into the bedroom?

The bookcases with the philatelic material were something the two of us built some time ago, when we first brought home Tammy's grandfather's accumulation.  See, I have an excuse (ya, right)!  It started with someone ELSE'S disorganization!  That, and five or six moves from one location to the next with all of that material.

• If so, has your non-philatelic spouse/significant other complained about it?

Tammy is supportive most of the time.  We've learned how to balance it all out in one way or the other.  There are still times that it is hard for her to understand why I think it is okay to spend $X on something.  But, I do try to balance it out with some sort of sale of another item or three.  The stamp material reside in the office with all of the farm paperwork, so it's a nice combined mess. 

• Have you ever sold a collection? Or an item?

The inherited accumulation was a wonderful way to learn a great deal about philately, as was the foray into dealing stamps/postal history.  I was not particularly successful with it because I could never give it enough attention and there weren't enough opportunities in the area.  I was, however, able to liquidate the stock.  The price was much lower than I wanted, but that's what happens when you sell a large volume in one shot.  I do not regret that decision, though I might have approached it slightly differently if I knew a little of what I know now.... then again, maybe not.  I still would not have had the time to change how it went.

I also sold on ebay during the period that I was doing the stamp dealer thing.  That was fine until certain entities began flooding the listings (so to speak).  I was probably one of the earlier people to be doing some selling on ebay.  Even then, the time needed to do that was almost too much to make it feasible.  Since then, I've solve things when the opportunity allows.  Sometimes to a dealer, sometimes to a collector.  In fact, I am hopeful to be able to move a bunch of things this Winter that no longer interest me.  Again, the idea is that if I am not motivated to write it up, maybe I should move it on to someone else who will want to give it the time.

• If you collect postal stationery, where do you draw the line, or it is easier to be a bachelor/spinster.

No thank you.  Never say never, I guess.  But, highly unlikely I'll go there.

• How does your non-philatelic spouse/significant other deal with an influx of material from an auction? Or new-issue paraphernalia.

While Tammy is certainly aware of purchases, I don't tend to show them off every time one comes in.  I do wish that I felt that I could do that.  However, she has a limited amount of desire to see these things AND I suspect she might feel that I am over-extending my budget.  After all, she doesn't see what goes out.  And, yes, there are times when I run a deficit and I would rather not call attention to that.  🙂  

I have gotten much better at self-regulating than I used to be. 

All of that said, I still feel like there is so much that needs to be done with my collection and it can be overwhelming if I let it be.  The hardest part is that I am often loathe to be rid of something because it MIGHT be of interest "some day."  I guess I operate on the assumption that it will never be easier to acquire than when it is in the office waiting for me.  EXCEPT, as has been noted, when I can't find the darned things....

[sheryll*net]

Thank you, guys, for a nice start to the meeting. Remember that my questions barely cover the topic  and if you think of anything else you can add about philatelic cluttering, please post away.

Ok. tip #1 when using emails as part of the buying process.

Don't have your emails come in to your spouse's computer.

That plus being female is dicey to say the least. If the email gets addressed to the male of the house, due to some generalizations being made about one's gender, then of course he is going to see it!

[jaywild]

Hi Sheryll,

What would a philatelist use a lathe for?  I presume that is a jest.

[sheryll*net]

Hi Jim,

Seriously, my postal history group met at a member's house, and those who took the tour of his new "shop" mentioned the lathe. Some did mention that it was inappropriate, that he had "ruined" his shop by putting such a thing in there.

While  I'm here,  #2 of email techniques so  you don't get in trouble with your spouse. What one dealer does:

"...  They will go off by Global Priority mail tomorrow, or Monday, so you should have them by the end of the week.  I will make sure all prices are removed, and
the usual thank you for letting me see and record these note will accompany..."

[msgtdavid]

My cast iron old lathe come in handy when drying stamps after soaking.  I have a ton of stamps to soak, and over the years the lathe does a good job.  wink wink

DAVID THOMPSON

MSGT/USAF/RETIRED

[oggilby]

Good evening campers !
As I wait for the re-run of today's Tour De France lef (part 15, southern France), I shall describe my clutter.
I use a spare closet, of which my wife would love to share, which collects my albums, stock books, etc.
The floor of the closet store ,boxes of material, sorted out by international and US.
I have become overwhelmed with duplicates of which I don't know what to do with. Even being retired, it's
hard to find the time to spend with my beloved collections, thus, the material accomulates. I try to go through a stock book every season (jocularity ensues).
Gotta go, a tremendous t-storm is approaching, adding to the 6+ inches of rain that we have had in Central MD since yesterday morning...head for the hills, the water is rising!

[sheryll*net]

Oggilby, sounds like perfect weather for soaking stamps!

You need more than a closet. Where do you store your lathe?

I am going to leave the meeting open for another day whilst I think of a topic, unless one of you can come up with something you'd like to discuss in August.

 - - - - - - -

Each of my prompts came from a situation I have encountered. Australian postal stationery includes large satchels of pre-paid postage, and the only person I know who collects that is a bachelor.

Here medium flat rate priority mail boxes are ideal for holding covers. Banker boxes turned on their side can make  a book case. The many  salad or other plastic food containers with lids make good boxes for sorted stamps or accessories, especially if clear. Others are good for sorting, or soaking.

The trap is using plastic tubs to store items too high to put a lid on, as you can't stack something on top of them.

Philatelic clutter also extends to gadgets. A UV lamp, a decent bright lamp, guillotines, paper trimmers, stamp mount cutters, stamp mounts, hinges, pages to print album or exhibit pages on, printers to do that (possibly printing 17 x 11 sheets), CDs and DVDs of your friends' budding collections, cover databases or exhibits, software to catalog stamps, scan them, manipulate them digitally, etc.

Say you had one week (168 hours) all to yourself and you worked on rearranging your collection to be stored functionally. What would it be like after the week is up?

[sheryll*net]

Thanks to all who were courageous enough to contribute on such a delicate topic. I hope no separations (or perforations) come of it.

The next meeting will be held on August  17-19 and the topic will be "Allegories on stamps."

(Borrowing from the Allegories on Stamps Facebook group description...)

The appeal of the Allegories to represent a country has always given rise to some beautiful imagery of god-like, virginal, serene images.

In the postal world these have been done by some of the best engravers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Their detail is a thing of beauty to those that 'look' at stamps.

Here is your opportunity to post stamps with an allegory, and if you can't explain it someone else will help you out. Those in the balcony will enjoy your images, even if they don't understand the meaning of some of the allegories.