How to Find Out the Prices on Unstamped Postage Stamps

Look up values of mint stamps in a price guide. Books like the "Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps," the worldwide "Scott Stamp Catalog" and "Stanley Gibbons Catalogue" or Domfil topical price guides contain valuations for stamps in mint and used categories; prices are retail (not what you would get from a dealer if you were selling) and are for fine copies (good centering, no tears or other flaws). If you collect specific countries, a publisher from that country might have specialized price guides with more detailed information than a price guide published from outside that country. Depending on the country of publication, the currency in which the stamps are valued may not be U.S. dollars.

Look up information in dealer catalogs and price lists. If you are valuing your collection for insurance purposes and need to list replacement value, look to dealer catalogs such as Mystic's annual U.S. stamp catalog. If you deal with specialties and rarities, get a price list from your favorite dealer in that specialty--for example, Eric Jackson in revenue stamps.

Find an appraisal service. If you own stamps that are so rare that they are hardly ever on the market, have them appraised by professional stamp dealers and/or auction houses, such as Heritage, and use sale information from recent auctions to value your copies. The American Philatelic Society also offers appraisal services.

Update your stamp inventory database software every year for current market pricing. Keeping your stamp inventory in a stamp pricing database is so much more convenient than keeping it by hand or even in a spreadsheet, where each price would have to be updated each year by hand. With stamp inventory software, you can print out a record of your entire collection each year after every pricing update and file it with your insurance agency. The only updates you have to make are adding or subtracting stamps that you purchase or sell.