INFORMATION about a VALUATION of SINGLE STAMPS or a STAMP COLLECTION.

Dear client, dear stamp-collector,

Thank you for contacting me about doing a valuation of your stamps.

First of all I have to inform that I am a philatelist and stamp dealer, but not a member of the Expert Committee of the Philatelic Federation of South Africa, who is entitled to issue official certificates about stamps of value. If this is what you are looking for, you need to contact the Philatelic Federation under: www.stamps.org.za

There are two types of valuations that I can offer, due to the kind of stamps that you like to have evaluated:

1. "OPINION".

In case you have a small collection of one or two books or albums with stamps, like an old "Beginner's Collection" in a pre-printed album with countries from A to Z, or loose stamps in boxes, bags or envelopes, as well as"First Day Covers", modern stamps after 1960 of RSA, SWA, Homelands and other common material, it is probably not worth to do a professional valuation, because these stamps are very common and of low or sometimes no market value.. If you are not sure about your stamps, you can also try to describe them as detailed as possible, or scan some typical samples or pages and send them as email attachments.

If you have material of this category, you are still welcome to make an appointment and bring your stamps to our office in Simon's Town for an "Opinion". This will be a quick overview of max 5 minutes and is for free. I do not offer valuations or outings for such material and usually do not buy those stamps, if the total value is lower than my minimum charge for a valuation. This will be in your own interest. If you do not want your stamps anymore I can also give them as a donation to a well known charity organization that I am supporting.

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 and order, it can be worth to do a professional valuation, which I offer. You will have to bring your collection to my office and leave it here for a few days, until the valuation is ready. You will then get a proper valuation-report in writing, either with the latest catalogue list-price, or the current market value, in case you are planning to sell your collection. This can also be done at your place in case it is a very large collection, or you are not able to travel to Simon's Town. In this case delivery and return by PostNet Courier Service is also possible.

For the expert work and the necessary time to do a proper research I am charging either 1% of the catalogue value for valuable single stamps, or a professional collection. If it is a larger collection of standard value, I am charging for the time that I need for my work. This is currently R450 per hour. (Minimim charge = 1 hour). For outings to your place (in the greater Cape Town area only), I charge a standard fee of R350 for a distance up to 30 km from Simon's Town and an additional fee for longer distances, which will be quoted for you in advance.

If you like to sell your collection and I might be interested to buy, I will give you my best offer and in case this will be accepted, there are no charges for the valuation.

Sincerely

Volker Janssen, Philatelist