Selling Current Stamps at "discounted" prices

SpideressUK

When I was self-employed I bought LOTS of stamps - mostly 1st and 2nd class though some which had the acutal price printed on eg 10p.  I bought the bulk of them about 20 years ago.  I started counting them for the "swap out" scheme to get them swapped like for like with the barcoded but then realised I have *way* too much money tied up in stamps that I'll never use in my lifetime.  On the internet I found things like "www.discountedstamps.co.uk" who seem to offer to buy "current" stamps but at a heavily discounted price (maybe just 50% of the current stamp value).  Are such companies legitimate?

TOP_CAT

Trade them in with royal mail for barcoded stamps then you buy time to do whatever you want with them .ie, sell them for more than 50% and/or use some .

SpideressUK

TOP_CAT said:

Trade them in with royal mail for barcoded stamps then you buy time to do whatever you want with them .ie, sell them for more than 50% and/or use some .

I will do if it comes to that and am already going to keep 100 First Class (swapped for the bar code ones) for future use but it seemed pointless (and risky as there is always the "lost in the post" chance) to send them off to one place just to get them swapped then have to send them off to another in order to sell them at a discounted price IF the discounted price places are legitimate as I could just take the one "risk" of the "lost in the post" and send them directly to the company (then just have the far lower value amount on the "swap out" ie the 100 first class I am keeping.

NBLondon

Yes - these are legitimate companies (Philatelink is another), they are collectors/stamp dealers who buy up collections and split out the mint stamps to be resold.  They will buy from you at 50% discount, sort and then sell on at a smaller discount.   Going down that route means you are giving up some value for the convenience of getting rid.   You could also try and sell on eBay as job lots or in batches, which might get you a better price but is unpredictable and takes effort.

I'm inclined to agree with TOP_CAT; swap them out and then sell on the excess barcoded stamps - either to a dealer or on eBay.  Take at look at the actual values you have.  If they are values that have a barcoded equivalent (1p 2p 5p 10p 20p 50p £1 £2 £3 £5) then that's what you'll get back.  If those are no use to you, then you'll end up selling them again at a discount.  If they are obsolete values like 19p, 34p  you will get the value of those back in 2nd class barcoded stamps which may be more useful (or easier to sell on).

I get your point about the risk of them going missing.  Remember if you are swapping £200 or more it goes Special Delivery.  There have been problems - but if you keep scans/images and proof of posting you can chase.

If you're swapping less than £200 - I'd suggest you get RM to send you the form and an envelope https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps/swap-out-request  since that envelope has a proper postcode and you can ask for a proof of posting.

martindow

NBLondon said:

If you're swapping less than £200 - I'd suggest you get RM to send you the form and an envelope https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps/swap-out-request  since that envelope has a proper postcode and you can ask for a proof of posting.

I posted on another thread in the ebay forum about failing to get proof of posting from the PO.  They said that the postcode for the swap out scheme was not recognised on their computer.  I sent it off anyway as the total was fairly low. 

I'm not sure if this is just my PO or a general problem.

Savvy_Sue

There have been problems: I think if I wasn't in a desperate rush to do this, I'd hang onto the originals for now ... 

SpideressUK

NBLondon said:

Yes - these are legitimate companies (Philatelink is another), they are collectors/stamp dealers who buy up collections and split out the mint stamps to be resold.  They will buy from you at 50% discount, sort and then sell on at a smaller discount.   Going down that route means you are giving up some value for the convenience of getting rid.   You could also try and sell on eBay as job lots or in batches, which might get you a better price but is unpredictable and takes effort.

I'm inclined to agree with TOP_CAT; swap them out and then sell on the excess barcoded stamps - either to a dealer or on eBay.  Take at look at the actual values you have.  If they are values that have a barcoded equivalent (1p 2p 5p 10p 20p 50p £1 £2 £3 £5) then that's what you'll get back.  If those are no use to you, then you'll end up selling them again at a discount.  If they are obsolete values like 19p, 34p  you will get the value of those back in 2nd class barcoded stamps which may be more useful (or easier to sell on).

I get your point about the risk of them going missing.  Remember if you are swapping £200 or more it goes Special Delivery.  There have been problems - but if you keep scans/images and proof of posting you can chase.

If you're swapping less than £200 - I'd suggest you get RM to send you the form and an envelope https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps/swap-out-request  since that envelope has a proper postcode and you can ask for a proof of posting.

Thanks.  I looked at Philatelink and contacted them (they have not responded yet) but it seems (from their website) they only trade with Stamp Dealers etc rather than individuals.  I also contacted by phone www.webuyanystamps.co.uk (UK Stamp Company LTD) and tried as much "due diligence" as possible - looked on TrustPilot, looked on "companies house" to see they are an active registered company, looked on Google Maps to see if their address checks out, looked on Yellow Pages and can see they have a history though their last Yellow Pages was a previous address (listed as an address change in the companies house thing) and have sent them details and photos of the stamps.  Awaiting to hear from them.  Philatelink is evidently a reputible company but mentioned on their Facebook Page "Beware of fake website for 'discounted stamps.net' who are using our good name to sell counterfeit stamps to their unaware customers. Everything about this website is fake other than the money you send to their bank account.." and that was one of the websites I was wondering to use to sell the stamps to so it seems it is easy to be "caught out".

I bought the bulk of the stamps in 2003 so was likely paying 28p for the first class (of which I have over 1,200) and 20p for the second class (of which I have over 350) so even at 50% of current FV price there is still no "loss" as such.  I have a few hundred odds of stamps 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 42p which only amount to a relatively small amount (£134 ish) which would be the biggest loss in "trade-in".  Even at 50% trade in on the 1st and 2nd Class there is still about £700 tied up there in stamps and the "webuyanystamps" seem to be offering 60-80% of FV so it might be more like £740-£1,111 which is a lot of money to have tied up in stamps that I am never going to use. 

I have kept 100 1st Class Stamps for personal use which I will swap for the bar-coded and have done as you suggested and am getting a form from RM though they did not mention about sending an envelope and it seems the adress is just "Freepost SWAP OUT" with no other address or post code so I will just try to get proof of posting for that one and keep photo evidence here.

SpideressUK

martindow said:

NBLondon said:

If you're swapping less than £200 - I'd suggest you get RM to send you the form and an envelope https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps/swap-out-request  since that envelope has a proper postcode and you can ask for a proof of posting.

I posted on another thread in the ebay forum about failing to get proof of posting from the PO.  They said that the postcode for the swap out scheme was not recognised on their computer.  I sent it off anyway as the total was fairly low. 

I'm not sure if this is just my PO or a general problem.

All I can see from the site says "Freepost SWAP OUT. No other address details or postcode are needed" so which post code did you use?

LessImpecunious

SpideressUK said:

martindow said:

NBLondon said:

If you're swapping less than £200 - I'd suggest you get RM to send you the form and an envelope https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps/swap-out-request  since that envelope has a proper postcode and you can ask for a proof of posting.

I posted on another thread in the ebay forum about failing to get proof of posting from the PO.  They said that the postcode for the swap out scheme was not recognised on their computer.  I sent it off anyway as the total was fairly low. 

I'm not sure if this is just my PO or a general problem.

All I can see from the site says "Freepost SWAP OUT. No other address details or postcode are needed" so which post code did you use?

You might like to read the thread at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6348180/advice-re-royal-mail-stamp-swapout before going down that route...

SpideressUK

LessImpecunious said:

SpideressUK said:

martindow said:

NBLondon said:

If you're swapping less than £200 - I'd suggest you get RM to send you the form and an envelope https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps/swap-out-request  since that envelope has a proper postcode and you can ask for a proof of posting.

I posted on another thread in the ebay forum about failing to get proof of posting from the PO.  They said that the postcode for the swap out scheme was not recognised on their computer.  I sent it off anyway as the total was fairly low. 

I'm not sure if this is just my PO or a general problem.

All I can see from the site says "Freepost SWAP OUT. No other address details or postcode are needed" so which post code did you use?

You might like to read the thread at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6348180/advice-re-royal-mail-stamp-swapout before going down that route...

Very interesting and yes it seems its pretty chaotic.

NBLondon

SpideressUK said:

martindow said:

NBLondon said:

If you're swapping less than £200 - I'd suggest you get RM to send you the form and an envelope https://www.royalmail.com/sending/barcoded-stamps/swap-out-request  since that envelope has a proper postcode and you can ask for a proof of posting.

I posted on another thread in the ebay forum about failing to get proof of posting from the PO.  They said that the postcode for the swap out scheme was not recognised on their computer.  I sent it off anyway as the total was fairly low. 

I'm not sure if this is just my PO or a general problem.

All I can see from the site says "Freepost SWAP OUT. No other address details or postcode are needed" so which post code did you use?

I requested a form and it came with a Freepost envelope.  The full address is Tallents House 21 South Gyle Cres, Edinburgh EH12 9PB  which is the home of various RM operations including the Philatelic Bureau.  Why that didn't work at martindow's PO I don't know.  Maybe an out of date lookup on their terminal.