INFO about the VALUATION or OPINIONS of single stamps or a STAMP COLLECTION
(Latest version of January 2023)
Dear stamp collector, dear client,
Thank you for contacting me about a possible valuation of your stamp collection.
First of all I have to inform that I am a philatelist and dealer of stamps, but not a member of the Expert Committee of the Philatelic Federation of South Africa, who is exclusively entitled to issue official certificates about the value of rare stamps. If this is what you are looking for, you need to contact the Philatelic Federation of South Africa: www.stamps.org.za
There are two types of valuations that I do offer, due to the nature of your stamps, or your stamp collection:
1. "OPINION"
In case you have a small collection of one or two books with stamps, like an old "beginner's collection" in pre-printed albums with countries of the world from A to Z, loose stamps in boxes or bags, First Day covers of the 1960s to the early 1990s, or any other modern stamps from this period of Southern Africa (RSA, SWA, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and the four Homelands etc), it is probably not worth to do a proper expert valuation, as this kind of material is very common and of low value. It was very propular those days for subscribers and has been produced in millions. Now there is almost no demand anymore. If you have such material, you are still free to email me, describe what you have and send me a list and some scans as email attachments. I will reply in brief and give you a rough idea about the possible value.
If you are no stamp collector and not sure of what your material that you have, you can also come to visit me in my office by appointment and I will have a quick look of max 5 minutes to give you an overview of what you have and what the approx. value might be. This opinion is a free service.
2. VALUATION
If you have a larger stamp collection in clean albums or stock books, assorted by country, with stamps from classic to modern and in good condition, it can be worth to do a proper valuation, which I offer. You have to bring your collection to my office, or if you are lot living in the area, you can also send it by PostNet Courier to my branch in Fish Hoek, well packed in a safe box. I will confirm on receipt and give you an idea how much the valuation will cost, depending how long the examination will probably take. If you agree, I will do the valuation with a detailed and signed report in writing about the market value of your collection, which is based on the current catalogue and market/auction prices, as well as on the condition of your stamps. As soon my invoice will be settled, I will return your collection by courier the same way.
For my professional work and the necessary time needed to do an expert research I am charging 1% of the catalogue value for single and valuable stamps, or R600 per hour for a larger collection.
In case you want to sell your collection and I might be interested to buy, I will give you my best offer. If this will be acceptable for you, there will be no charges for the valuation.
Sincerely
Volker Janssen, Philatelist
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