I had a source for unpicked, recent U.S. kiloware - truly unpicked as even priority and occasional express mail stamps were present. Unfortunately, that source dried up.
What I would do - pick out what I needed, put most of the common definitives, love and Christmas stamps in the recycling bin, and then sold the remainder (which was then mostly recent commemmoratives) on eBay. I usually made a small profit on top of filling spaces in my album, and the buyers were always happy too.
I don't regret removing the "dross" from circulation. There's plenty available elsewhere and I leave enough in the batch for the next picker to get them if needed.
One man's trash is another's treasure. Flyspeck collectors would love to sort through what many will toss out as trash. New collectors would be willing to send an SASE for an ounce of your duplicate kiloware, which would further the hobby and reduce your inventory of unwanted common stamps.
My wife was a teacher, and I gave her my unwanted stamps which she passed out as rewards for kids in her class. The kids were very excited to receive the stamps, and it might have promoted some into being collectors as it was the only exposure to this activity many of them had ever had.
I have to agree with those who have said that it's good to put leftover kiloware back "out there". We are looking at them through philatelist's eyes here, but kiloware labelled as something to the tune of "bulk stamps, low value; already been sorted through" or "bulk stamps suitable for arts & crafts" can be a relief for an artist who wants to incorporate stamps in a piece (or many) but is held back by a fear of accidentally ruining something priceless.
Here is a link to a Youtube philately show, Exploring Stamps; in this episode, the host travels to Stampex London, and focuses on art made with stamps:
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*** Edited by Staff to add YouTube tags. Please use them in the future. We prefer embedded video. ***
FYI, I believe American Philatelic Soc. no longer accepts 'kiloware' for donations. A huge amount of material is already stored there, with a commensurate drain on resources. IMHO probably a good move.
A few days ago I bought a 10kg box of kiloware from eBay, from a genuine charity. Overall the box was good value, as it was very cheap.
But approx. half of the weight was made up of what I call 're-cycled kiloware' -- stuff that has been heavily picked over and then re-donated to charity. This stuff really is the bane of my life -- and the reason I burn such stamps after I'm through with them. Just a mix of ordinary rate definitives.
Including this stuff actually lowers the value of the lot -- witness the low price I paid for it.
I bought some world kiloware eight weeks ago and so far added 1,420 stamps to my albums. Difficult to guess what the total will be...1,700 would be ok. I have not begun to sort Ireland kiloware ...the main interest being the codes showing where a SOAR stamp was issued. Kiloware leftovers...well I have sent 500 stamps to a collector as "paying it forward". I have not sent my address. The rest of the leftovers will be burned. Three reasons... 1 there is no point in donating them back to the charit as I could end up buying the same stamps. 2 the experiences of trade/exchange have been bad. 3 there was a time when I thought that a mutua interes in stamps was enough to have a bond with collectors but social media I have a minimalist approach.
Quote: I don't see why we do not give to each other here, this seems the most beneficial to the forum.
I'd like to see a thread such as those willing to spend certain amounts on Postage.
John Doe posts "Willing to spend $15 US on Postage" wants worldwide.
John then can have all my worldwide free, that I can fit into a $15 parcel.
I think that's an excellent idea. My excess kiloware just ends up in a box knowing full well that I wont be bothered to try to sell it. So I think that your idea of 'recycling' to other members here would be a perfect solution.
If anyone is not interested in leftover kiloware then they can give it to stamp clubs , a lot of young collectors leave the hobby because either stamps are not available or they are very expensive
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