Welcome to StampSelector

Welcome to StampSelector, your comprehensive online philatelic investment and stamp market resource.

This blog, which will eventually evolve into a website, will offer stamp investment tips, general comments on the stamp market, practical advice for stamp collectors, dealers, and investors, and other useful information and links.

Its intended audience includes those who are devoted to their hobby and who are also interested in the pecuniary aspects of stamp collecting. Everyone who has ever desired to make a profit by buying, selling, or investing in stamps - collectors who use their profits to upgrade their collections, "colinspecs" (collector-investor-speculators), vest-pocket dealers, investors, full-time stamp dealers, auctioneers- any and all are encouraged to enjoy, learn, and profit from the use of this site, and to comment on it as well. In addition, I wish to welcome tangible assets investors from outside the hobby, who may not be familiar with stamp collecting or philatelic investing. I recommend reading the Wikipedia articles on Stamp Collecting and Philatelic Investment as introductions, or reading Michael Baadke's book Stamp Collecting Basics, published by Amos Press, Inc..

The stamp pictured above, an 1898 50c Trans-Mississippi (Scott #291), based upon a drawing of a Western mining prospector by Frederick Remington, shall be the site's symbol. What image could better capture the sense of fun and adventure that a treasure hunt such as philately (or any collectibles hobby, for that matter) represents to so many collectors? Who among us is not energized by the possibility of finding a hidden gem in a dealer's dollar box, or in an overlooked lot at an auction, or in the form of a scarce and undervalued stamp which is certain to skyrocket in value due to increasing collector interest?

As this site evolves, you may begin to think of it as a tool which you may use to better profit from stamp collecting, similar to the tools that the prospector uses to find gold. With any luck, it will also become a community of "stampselectors," like a rowdy, spirited gold-rush town with plenty of good advice and free drinks for all, but without the gunfights. The best is yet to come.

Note: The Scott Numbering System, which is used in this blog, is the property of the Scott Publishing Company, and Scott Numbers are used with their permission.