Guides

Longer, practical pieces on the decisions that cost money: what to pay, what to avoid, how to sell well, and how to look after what you keep.

Guide · October 31, 2026

The smart collector’s guide: what to consider before buying rare stamps

Buying good stamps — at a fair price, without hidden faults — is a skill. Here is what to check before the money leaves your hand.

Guide · October 31, 2026

For a few collectors the album becomes a business. How that shift actually works — and what it takes to do it well.

Guide · October 31, 2026

Inherited an album, or ready to let yours go? Where collectors most often leave money on the table, and how to avoid it.

Guide · October 31, 2026

Why a catalogue says one thing and buyers pay another, and how to price a stamp before you buy or sell.

Guide · October 31, 2026

Most fakes are easy to catch once you know where to look. The checks to make before paying for anything valuable.

Guide · October 31, 2026

How to get every new stamp, miniature sheet and first day cover at face value, without chasing them at the counter.

Guide · October 31, 2026

Albums, climate, records and insurance — keeping a collection in the condition you bought it, for decades.

Guide · October 31, 2026

From a few album pages to a competitive frame: how philatelic exhibitions work and how to prepare your first entry.

Guide · October 31, 2026

What museums know about planning a display, writing captions people read, and keeping paper safe — applied to stamp exhibit pages.

Guide · October 31, 2026

An online exhibition reaches people who will never visit a stamp show. How to photograph, present and share one, with lessons from artists who do it.