Selling
How to Sell Stamps
There are three main ways to sell stamps: to a dealer, through an auction, or directly to other collectors. The right route depends on what you have. Common and moderate material is usually best sold to a dealer or directly, while genuinely rare and valuable stamps almost always do best at a specialist auction, where collectors compete. An honest dealer will tell you frankly which route serves you best, even when that route is not them.
At a glance
The honest starting point
Before choosing how to sell, it helps to know one truth that not every seller is told: the best way to sell depends entirely on what you have, and no single route suits everything.
A dealer offers speed and certainty; an auction offers the chance of competition between collectors; selling directly offers control. A good adviser starts not by making an offer, but by understanding your stamps and what matters to you.
We would rather send you to auction than make a sale we should not.Daniel Ardley, Blackheath Stamps
The ways to sell
- Selling to a dealer. A dealer buys outright, giving you a quick, certain sale without fees or waiting. This suits much everyday and moderate material, and anyone who values speed and simplicity. Our guide on how much a dealer will pay explains what to expect, honestly.
- Selling at auction. A specialist auction puts your stamps before collectors who compete to buy, which is how the best prices for rare and valuable stamps are reached. It takes longer and involves fees, but for the right material it is usually the right choice. Our guides to auction versus dealer and selling at auction explain how it works.
- Selling directly to collectors. Selling yourself, online or through a society, can realise more for some material, but it takes time, knowledge and effort. Our guide to selling stamps online covers this route.
The selling guides
Everything you need to sell well
How to decide
The decision turns on what you have and what you want from the sale. For genuinely rare or high-value stamps, auction almost always serves you best, because competition between collectors finds the true price, more than any single dealer can offer. For common and moderate material, a dealer or a direct sale is usually quicker and more sensible, since auction fees and effort can outweigh the gain. And if speed and certainty matter most to you, a dealer sale is hard to beat. Our guide to auction versus dealer weighs these in full.
We would rather lose a sale than oversell a stamp.Daniel Ardley, Blackheath Stamps
Start by finding out what you have
The free, no-obligation first step
Whichever route you lean towards, the first step is the same: understand what you have, since you cannot choose well, or sell well, without it. A clear idea of your stamps, their likely value and their best market, lets you sell with confidence rather than hope. That is exactly what our free valuation offers: send clear photographs and we will tell you, honestly, what you have and the route most likely to serve you, whether that is a sale to us or a recommendation to auction. There is no obligation, and the advice is honest either way.
Frequently asked questions
By selling to a dealer, through an auction, or directly to other collectors. The best route depends on what you have: dealers and direct sales suit common material, while auctions suit rare and valuable stamps.
Usually a specialist auction, where collectors compete to buy, which finds the true price for rare and valuable stamps better than any single dealer can offer.
To a dealer, for a quick and certain sale, or directly to other collectors. For common and moderate material, auction fees and effort often outweigh the gain.
Start by finding out what you have. A clear idea of your stamps and their value points to the right route. Our free valuation gives you that, with honest advice on the best market, at no obligation.
Honest advice, even towards auction
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Founder and stamp dealerLast updated June 2026