Kiloware
(Bulk Stamps for Charity)
Many charities collect stamps as a method of raising funds. This
article
is intended to give guidance to charities, whether new to stamps as a
fund-raiser,
or “old hands”.
The principle of collecting stamps as a method of raising money is
simply bulk. Generally speaking, unless you can get big quantities, it
is not worth bothering. Also, if a charity has to pay for paid staff
time
(rather than voluntary), this would probably negate any financial
benefit.
We buy kiloware in quantities from numerous different charities – we
store
some for later sale, we mix material from different sources, and we
sell
in retail and wholesale quantities at home and overseas. Our profitable
business depends on the maximum throughput of kiloware with the minimum
effort !
PRESENTATION; presentation can make quite a big difference to
the price obtained for the same material. Following these guidelines
will
help you to maximise your income.
1. Stamps should normally be left on their backing paper, with a border
of about 4mm to 8mm left around the stamp.
2. Stamps should not have excess paper left on them. Excess paper means
anything more than the 4-8mm, or “double weight” (which is where the
front
and back of the envelope are present).
3. A very little excess paper will possibly not be noticed by us or
our customers, and shouldn’t change our views. An odd bit of excess
paper
is usually acceptable, but will slightly reduce the price per kilo that
we would
pay. Too much excess paper will mean that we may refuse to purchase the
entire lot. (A test for “too much” would be to turn over handfuls of
stamps.
If you see some excess in every handful, then you probably have too
much.)
4. Kiloware should be presented in decent quantities. Generally
speaking,
most charities find that a bin-sack of UK, or a carrier bag of foreign,
is a worthwhile minimum quantity to sell.
5. Taking stamps out of lots of little packets and envelopes takes
us extra time, which will reduce your price. Kiloware should therefore
be presented in as big a mass as possible (for example a bin-sack
should
be filled with stamps, not with the stamps inside tied up in carrier
bags).
SORTING; different charities take different approaches to this,
largely dependant on the availability of willing and/or interested
helpers.
Level 1 is to leave everything unsorted, in which case the only
preparation
required is for somebody to skim over the stamps to remove them from
packets/bags,
and to remove any excess paper.
Level 2 has a significant financial benefit over the last, which is
to sort into just two categories. {A} United Kingdom stamps (of all
types
and ages), and {B} foreign (all foreign countries including Guernsey,
Isle
of Man, and Jersey).
Level 3 can usually squeeze out the maximum value, but also involves
the
most work. The categories for sorting to this level would be as
follows;
{A} U.K. definitive stamps (all denominations including high
values, and including Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish) [DEFINITION
a “definitive” is any stamp on long-term general sale. This includes
all
of the small-size stamps either with the Queen’s head or with the
various
national emblems.] [BEWARE of the Castles high denomination stamps
which
started to go off-sale in 1999 – these are definitives, even though
they
are large size]
{B} U.K. special issues (commemoratives, special issues, and
greetings stamps, but excluding Christmas issues) [BEWARE of the
Christmas
issues which were part of the Millennium series – they look like most
of
the other Millennium stamps, but have religious subjects]
{C} U.K. Christmas issues.
{D} U.K. pre-decimal issues, being anything with denomination
in shillings and old pence. [BEWARE of stamps which have been used on
receipts.
These will normally have rubber stamps over them, or signatures. A very
small number in the mix is ok, but larger percentages should be
separated.]
{E} Foreign (any stamps issued by post offices other than the
UK). Guernsey, Alderney, Jersey, and the Isle of Man are counted as
being
foreign. Note that if you happen to have a good source for one
particular
country, it can often be worthwhile to present that country separately
(but only if you can present, say, 50g to 100g minimum each time you
sell).
{F} U.K. off-paper stamps (which have already been removed from
their backing paper. Note that soaking stamps off their paper will not
normally increase the price you will get).
{G} Foreign off-paper stamps (if already off-paper)
{H} Funnies. Things like stamps off receipts, Scout Post labels,
advertising stamps, etc.
Note that there is no need to sort stamps by issue or value within
the listed categories – doing so will in fact reduce the price, as we
have
to remix them. Note also that very small quantities of any one category
are best kept until you have a worthwhile quantity.
PICKING; some charities have helpers who are under the illusion
that if they pick out any stamps that they think are better, and that
they
can sell separately, they will surely benefit the charity. Yes, it is
true
that such pickings may bring some alternative income, but it will do so
to the detriment of the remainder of the mix. We see tons of stamps
every
year, and we have a very good idea of what a “normal mix” looks like.
If
the mix is less interesting and less useful to collectors, we will pay
a lower price per kilo. If we are offered a mix which we can identify
as
being picked (and there are certain markers we can identify) we may
well
refuse outright to buy the whole lot.
PRICES; it is not possible to quote normal prices, as the
quality
and presentation of mixes vary greatly. However, we can give you some
indication
of average prices for some of the main categories, but remember that
any
average is made up of higher and lower prices.
Foreign is usually the best earner, often getting £12 to
£15 per kilo. Poorer mixes can sometimes be as low as £4 to
£6 per kilo (where, for example, there are larger numbers of
countries
like USA, Spain, France, Italy, Australia, South Africa, Germany,
Canada,
etc., or many stamps on postcard backings). On the other hand, higher
grade
mixes can easily get £20+ per kilo (where there are high numbers
of stamps from smaller or less often seen countries, or when they are
on
neatly cut thin airmail paper).
United Kingdom general (all types together) gets an average of
about £3 per kilo, sometimes a bit more.
U.K. special issues tend to be about £10 to £15 per
kilo, with prices going higher if numbers of higher denominations are
seen,
lower if they are not, or if any Christmas are included in error.
U.K. definitives and Christmas are very cheap, seldom getting
more than £1.50 per kilo, and usually about £1. These are
hardly
worth the effort of collecting and checking, but if you get them anyway
while collecting the better categories you are better to sell them than
to bin them ! The lowest prices are for the standard 1st/2nd
class
Queen’s head types, and the National small pictorial definitives.
“BETTER ITEMS”; if you ever get anything donated which is, or
may be, better than the average, we are happy to look for you, advise,
and if suitable buy. At worst, things can just get put into the general
mix if they turn out to be nothing special.
UNFRANKED STAMPS; some people pick out those stamps which have
not been postmarked, with the intention of re-using them. We should
remind
charities that the use of such stamps is a criminal offence, and in
recent
years the Post Office has pursued successful prosecutions against a
number
of people. Also be aware that the absence of unfranked stamps alerts us
to the fact that the mixture has been picked over !
OTHER WAYS OF MAKING MONEY; we also buy the following
regularly
from charity sources;
Postcards; postcards of all ages, UK or foreign, used or unused.
If you get any older postcards (up to about the 1950s, certainly before
the 1920s), these can be sorted separately.
Coins; we buy coins of all types. It is not necessary to sort
them in any way beforehand (in fact we would rather be faced by a mound
of loose unsorted coins than by a box of coins all neatly wrapped and
labelled,
which just takes lots of time to look at). There is much nonsense said
about the old Eurozone legacy currencies being invalidated. We are
still
happy to purchase them -some are redeemable, others are simply scrap.
More information at www.stamp-shop.com/coins-for-charity.html
IDEAS; {A} Encourage your charity’s supporters to use special
issue stamps whenever possible (ask for them specially at your post
office).
It may not help your own charity directly, but if everybody did it, all
charities would benefit. {B} Encourage any sources of foreign stamps.
Have
a think about any local organisations or businesses which would be
likely
to be recipients of quantities of foreign mail. {C} If any of your
supporters
regularly visit friends or businesses abroad, ask the foreign contact
to
save for you (they probably wouldn’t be worth posting, but are a great
source if they can be collected). {D} Keep pressure on your post office
to use actual stamps on packages rather than those sticky white
print-out labels.
© Robert Murray, 2001 to 2007.
Robert Murray Stamp Shop
5 & 6 Inverleith Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 5PU
Tel 0131 552 1220 or 0131 478 7021 or UK local rate 0845
0500 886
Email murray@stamp-shop.com
Website www.stamp-shop.com