Selling
How to Sell Stamps Online
To sell stamps online, list them on a marketplace that buyers use, with clear photographs of the front and back, an accurate description including any faults, and a sensible price. You then handle questions, packing and postage yourself, and pay the marketplace's fees. Selling online can reach many collectors and realise good prices, especially for individual and moderate stamps, but it takes time and care to do well.
At a glance
Where to sell online
Several online marketplaces exist for stamps, from large general auction sites to specialist philatelic platforms, and each reaches a somewhat different audience of collectors. The right choice depends on what you are selling and where the buyers for it are.
Listing the same stamps across more than one platform can widen your audience, though it adds work. Our guide to where to sell sets online selling alongside the other routes, so you can judge whether it suits your material.
How to sell stamps online, step by step
Photograph the stamps clearly
Good, sharp images, of the front and the back, in honest light, are the single most important thing. Buyers cannot hold the stamp, so the photographs must show them everything, including the reverse and any faults. This is why we photograph every stamp front and back, as our quality and grading standards explain.
Describe them accurately
State the country, issue, catalogue number, condition and grade, and disclose every fault honestly. Accurate, honest descriptions build the trust that brings repeat buyers and good feedback.
Price sensibly
Set prices by condition and current demand, not by catalogue value, which is well above selling prices, as our guide to catalogue value versus market value explains. Research what similar stamps actually sell for.
List with care
Choose the right category, a clear title, and the marketplace's options for auction or fixed price, on a sensible duration.
Pack and post properly
Pack stamps so they arrive undamaged, in stamp-safe protection and stiffened packaging, and post promptly. Good packing protects the stamp and your reputation.
Handle buyers well
Answer questions promptly and courteously, resolve any problems fairly, and build the positive feedback that future buyers rely on.
The costs and effort
It is worth being clear-eyed about what online selling involves. Marketplaces charge fees, typically a listing or final-value fee and payment-processing charges, which you weigh against the prices you reach. And the effort is real: photographing, describing, listing, pricing, answering questions, packing, posting and managing feedback, for every item. For collectors with the time and knowledge, this can be rewarding, especially for individual and moderate stamps. For others, the simplicity of a dealer sale, or the reach of an auction for valuable material, may be the better trade.
Is online selling right for you?
It suits the right seller and the right stamps
Selling online suits the seller who has the time, enjoys the work, and has the kind of material, individual and moderate stamps, that does well there. It is less suited to those who want a quick, simple sale, for whom a dealer is easier, or to genuinely rare and valuable stamps, which usually do best at a specialist auction where collectors compete. As ever, the right route depends on what you have, and our free valuation will tell you, honestly, what you hold and the market most likely to serve you, at no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
List them on a marketplace buyers use, with clear photographs of the front and back, an accurate description including faults, and a sensible price. You then handle questions, packing, postage and fees yourself.
On a marketplace where the buyers for your material are, from large general auction sites to specialist philatelic platforms. The right choice depends on what you are selling; listing across more than one widens your reach.
Clear photographs front and back, honest and accurate descriptions, sensible pricing by condition and demand, careful packing, and prompt, courteous handling of buyers to build good feedback.
It can be, for individual and moderate stamps, if you have the time and enjoy the work. For a quick sale a dealer is simpler, and for rare and valuable stamps an auction usually realises more.
Photograph, describe, price, pack, post
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Founder and stamp dealerLast updated June 2026