How to Start and Profit From Stamp Collecting as a Hobby

If you are thinking about starting stamp collecting/philately as a hobby, you may be wondering if the hobby is not expensive. You may even ask whether you can enjoy it with limited financial resources. What if you have no money at all for the hobby?. It is not expensive but rather very educative and rewarding to make stamp collecting/philately your hobby.What you start as a hobby may eventualy turn up to be a veritable source of income for you.

One of the biggest questions any stamp collector faces is where to find inexpensive stamps. If you intend to collect the postage stamps of Nigeria and the World and wish to collect both USED and MINT/UNUSED, the opportunities are really great. Not all collections consist mainly of unused stamps that you buy in the Post Office.

Used stamps are worth collecting, They have value and may cost you nothing. Many stamp collectors collect only used stamps. Others collect both Used and Unused ones. Others collect postage stamps from One Country or one part of the World. Some collect stamps by Topics like Sports, Olympics, Flora and Fauna etc. There are many different types of collecting interests available to the genuine collectors.

All postally used stamps started out being received on someone's letters/parcels, at no cost to the person receiving them. The first place to look for stamps, then, is your own letters/parcels. Don't be discouraged when you notice that some of your letters may have on them postage meters or the imprint "Bulk Rate Postage Paid" on their envelopes or parcels in order to enjoy a better postal rate or keep away from affixing postage stamps.

Also, when some people affix real stamps, they often use the

same common ones. You may try ask people who write to you to use topical/thematic/commemorative stamps on their mails. These are normally the stamps issued to honour famous people, places, or events. These special stamps are printed in lesser quantities than the common stamps(definitive) and usually are of much more interest to collectors.

Many people will remember to ask for commemorative/topical/thematic stamps at the post office

when mailing letters to you or your family members if you let them know you are a stamp collector. Also, if you write for offers that require postage or a self addressed, stamped envelope, you can put topical/thematic/commemoratives on your return envelope, knowing that they will come back to you later.

Neighbors, friends, and relatives are another good Sources of stamps. The majority of people just throw away stamps when they receive them on will be nore than too happy to save them for someone who appreciates them. You may even know someone who gets letters from other countries who can give these stamps o you too.

Always be on the lookout for potentially good stamp contacts, and don't be afraid to ask them to go through their mails for you before they throw away all the envelopes. Office mail may be even better. You may know someone who works in an office that gets a lot of mail. Out of 100 or more letters a day, there may be a lot of good stamps that are being thrown away.

Many businesses get a lot of foreign mail and regularly throw

away stamps that have interest and/or value to a collector.

You may even have penpals worldwide with whom you can exchange stamps. Also ask your parents/relations/friends if they have any old letters, which may have stamps on the envelopes. With these sources for stamps.you have started a very rewarding and lucrative hobby.

... to be continued

Moses Zaccheaus

http://moseszee.blogspot.com//http://www.freewebs.com/moseszee2/myblogtm