Meandering thoughts of a philatelist

Quote by Rainbows
I have a confession to make – yes I am a stamp collector! :shock: (no really – you can stop sniggering in the back there). I own tweezers ‘n all.
So anyway – as a stamp collector I absolutely despise those horrid printed sticky pieces of paper that the post office use these days, and as a result, the counter staff at my (not so local anymore – since Royal Mail closed my local) Post Office usually fight to stay away from me – that horrid person who makes them actually add up the total in STAMPS!!! Eek. This used to happen quite a lot as I am an e-bay seller, and I insist on using stamps – especially commemorative stamps. Now my not so local post office AND my very non local mail post office have both started keeping only very minimal stocks of commemorative stamps.
So off I goes to start purchasing my required postal products from the Royal Mail website.
Well – I am now convinced that there is a Royal Mail conspiracy against Stamp Collectors! If you want to buy crappy little definitives (or as the Royal Mail customer services person insisted on calling them “the ones with the Queens head on”) then you do not have to pay any postage for these to be sent to your door. However, should you wish to purchase any amount of commemorative stamps you have to pay for the privilege! It is pure and blatant discrimination against stamp collectors!!
Anyway – as the title of this thread states – after arguing with the customer services person and then still placing an order for commemorative stamps, I was wondering what the majority of non stamp collecting people do when they receive a parcel or envelope with commemorative stamps on. And where better to ask that question than my favourite hang out . So – what do you do? Do you throw them in the bin, do you collect them in a drawer and then throw them in the bin when you have a drawer full, because you don’t know what else to do with them, or do you donate them to charity stores?
Then I started wondering again (yes – it gets dangerous when I am in a pondering, wondering kinda mood) – I buy a lot of charity kiloware off E-bay (kiloware is a kilogramme of unsorted stamps still on paper, which could contain good or bad stamps. You take your chances). Most of these stamps have been collected by charity stores and then given to organisations who manage the auctions, but some are done by private individuals who just collect stamps up from their friends, colleagues etc and then auction them for charity.
So what do we think of SH charity stamps? Instead of throwing them in the bin, you could collect them and then through munches etc, filter them back to me. When I have enough to do an auction I could do a poll for the charity of choice (yes Vix – I am thinking MS as one of them), and go from there. Keep the philatelists happy and do something worthwhile at the same time?
Right – so those are the earlyish morning thoughts of a philatelist. I will probably watch this slowly die off the bottom of the page – but hey, at least I tried.

Quote by Vix
Aaah.. you never cease to amaze me, 'Bows. 'Fessing up to being a train spotter with hinges, eh?
So tell me, is it just UK, commemorative, stamps you collect? If not, we can bag up any we get when we get mail from the US, and pass them on to you.

Quote by Debbiewebs
:shock: :shock: i cannot read all that this time of the morning :shock: :shock:
what you doing to me Bow!........littel old me struggles enough as it is :doh:
love ya
Debsxxxxxxxxx

Quote by Rainbows
I have a confession to make – yes I am a stamp collector! :shock:
.

Quote by Jas-Tim
I've never bothered to even check what type pf stamp is on, but I'll start cutting them off for you.
Do you want all the work ones as well?
Jas
XXX

Quote by Jags
Perhaps you don't collect FDCs though!!
:

Quote by Rainbows
Perhaps you don't collect FDCs though!!
:

Quote by Rainbows
:shock: :shock: i cannot read all that this time of the morning :shock: :shock:
what you doing to me Bow!........littel old me struggles enough as it is :doh:
love ya
Debsxxxxxxxxx

Quote by redstilletto
stamps
my dad used to collect coins
ill keep an eye out for a penny black
me i just collect shoes and lipservice clothing .............. :twisted:

Quote by Vix
Nah! You're discriminated coz you is a queer. Geeks we can handle.
HTH
You realise it's not me who discriminates against queers? I haye every body equally.
Spose a shag's outta the q, now?