Home  >  We Buy Stamps
Go directly to the Hot Buy List

Go directly to Shipping a Stamp Collection to Jay Smith & Associates
I Buy Scandinavian Collections, Accumulations, and Single Items
The old adage that a dealer must buy to sell could not be more true. The majority of the stamps and covers that I sell are purchased from my clients. As a matter of fact, I do not sell any material that I would not be willing to buy!

If you are considering selling part or all of your Scandinavian collection, call, write, or email to tell me about the material you wish to sell. (Please contact me to discuss your collection before sending anything. Thank you.)

I am often asked: "What type of Scandinavian material do you buy?" The answer is simple: everything. Because I sell all types of Scandinavian philatelic material, I buy it all. Whether you have tax/revenue documents from the 1600s, postmarks from the 1920s, or collection of recent stamp issues, I buy it all. It is true that my stock levels and needs do vary from time to time; if I don't think that I would be the best buyer for your material, I will tell you so.
I Buy Non-Scandinavian Material Too!
Most collectors of Scandinavia collect other material too. When a client or estate asks me to purchase their Scandinavian collection, I am often also asked to purchase non-Scandinavian material as well. Though I specialize in Scandinavia, I have many clients interested in buying U.S. and worldwide individual stamps, covers, and even whole collections.

It seems like "everybody" wants to buy stamp collections. There are advertisements that say "one million dollars available" or "we will come to your home". That is all true. However, what sets me apart from many such buyers is that I don't sell collections wholesale to other dealers or send them to auctions. 99% of what I buy I sell to my own clientele. That cuts out middlemen and can mean much more money in the hands of the seller, whether a collector or an estate. (By the way, it is true that nothing in life is free: when a buyer travels to your home, that costs time and money which, logic says, can only come from the amount of money the buyer offers for the collection.)

This creates an outstanding opportunity for both buyer and seller: When selling to me, the seller gets a high price because the material is passed on to other collectors with a minimum of middlemen and for the same reason, the buyer, my customer, gets great stamps at reasonable prices. This results in a fair deal for all!
Shipping Stamps to Me
I do not normally travel to buy stamps. As noted above, that just costs the seller money and also I am sent so much material that I stay very busy without much traveling. However, for very large collections, travel can be arranged.

For collections of a size that can be shipped, it just makes more sense to ship the collection. When a buyer is "in the field" examining a collection, the buyer does may not have all the literature resources and catalogs available. Also, there is always time pressure. To correctly evaluate most collections certainly takes several hours and for some collections it can take days, but that is often not practical "in the field". When you ship a collection to me, I will have all the necessary references at hand and I can schedule the work in such a way that it can be done properly and not be "rushed". Remember, it just makes sense that a faster offer is probably more likely to be a lower offer. If you want somebody to do the evaluation properly and to be sure to count everything I believe you really need to ship the collection to the buyer (or have the buyer transport the collection back to the buyer's office).

Because many stamp collections are bulky and most people are not experienced in preparing stamps for shipment, I have prepared a web page that describes how best to ship a stamp collection to me.

Please read over that page. If you have further questions I will be happy to answer them -- and that will help me improve that web page. (Please contact me to discuss your collection before sending anything. Thank you.)
HOT BUY LIST
At this moment, I am most eagerly seeking the following types of material to meet the immediate needs of my clients:
All Scandinavia
   Key values (mint or used) of all the Scandinavian countries: Examples such as Danish West Indies (Scott numbers) #12, 23; Denmark #1, 10, 21, 22, O4; Finland #1, 2, 3, 16, 36, 37, 69, 82; Iceland #1-7, 30, 31-33A, the rare I Gildi overprints, C12-14, #O1, etc.; Norway #41, 68, 218; Sweden #1, 3, 5, 15, 90, 92, 189, 189A, C4.
   Early Mint (pre-1920), Hinged or NH, stamps of all the Scandinavian countries, but especially Denmark, Finland, and Norway.
   WWII-era postal history and censored mail. German occupation of Scandinavia. Covers from Scandinavians working in Germany or fighting for the Germans. Also any type of labels and seals related to Scandinavia during WWII.
   Scandinavian Olympic covers, cancellations, and labels.
   Revenue stamps (singles and documents) from all the Scandinavian countries.
   Slania-engraved material. Unusual individual items, such as proofs, or entire collections.
Åland
   Åland covers and postmarks of all time periods.
Denmark
   Danish railway cancellations on covers, cards, and postal stationery; all time periods.
   Danish numeral cancellations (scarcer numbers only) on loose stamps.
   Danish advertising pairs and panes, both mint and used.
Faroe
   Pre-1950 Faroe covers, especially WWII and 1918-1920 covers.
Greenland
 
   Greenland Pakke-Porto stamps, cancels, covers, etc., especially Mint stamps. Also, Scott #19-27 including the a-numbers, inverted overprints, etc.
Iceland
   Scarce Iceland Stamps such as Scott #1-7, 30, 31-33A, the scarce I GILDI overprints, the "Hopflug Itala" overprints (Scott #C12-14), and all key values. Used, Mint Hinged, and Mint Never Hinged are all needed.
Norway
   Pre-1920 Mint Norway stamps (Hinged or NH).
   Norwegian postal stationery mint and used, all time periods.
   Spitzbergen Local Post Stamps and any postal history (local or otherwise) related to Spitzbergen.
Sweden
   Swedish ship mail cancellations on covers, cards, postal stationery, etc., including Swedish-flag cruise ship cancellations and tours. Also picture post cards of Swedish ships.

© 2001-2011, 2012 Jay Smith & Associates   webmaster@JaySmith.com
I respect your privacy: Email, Privacy, and Data Security Policy.
Jay Smith & Associates   P.O. Box 650   Snow Camp, NC 27349-0650   USA
Toll-Free Phone (US & Canada): 1-800-447-8267   Phone: 336-376-9991   Fax: 336-376-6750   Email: js@JaySmith.com

Valid XHTML 1.0!