Official Stephen Colbert Postage Powered by Zazzle! « Zazzle Blog See this satirical videoclip! :)

Official Stephen Colbert Postage Powered by Zazzle! « Zazzle Blog

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I wrote this customer review (see below) for amazon.com, about those Colbert zazzle stamps.
In case that the review will not appear, for whatever reason, I am posting it here. :)

"If you want to use any of the normal stamps mass-printed by the millions by USPS, then you pay them face value. Or slightly below, at Costco, if you buy  at least 100 stamps.

If you want the PRIVILEGE of choosing a cool CUSTOM DESIGN for such a stamp (YOUR  design or somebody else's - but not from USPS), then you can choose from the few officially-licensed vendors of USPS.

THAT'S WHY it costs you more: because you CAN CHOOSE or CREATE the stamp DESIGN. :) Also, the worldwide print run can be as low as 20 stamps - not in the millions!

Also, you may get "customized postage" images of LIVING PEOPLE (including you), PETS, etc. which USPS would NEVER feature!

My favorite such vendor, by far, is the one shown in Stephen Colbert videoclip: zazzle.com, which offers you the option to not only buy your "personalized stamps", but also  sell them in the Public Gallery at Zazzle.

No competitor matches zazzle in that, and in creative possibilities for you, for stamps and  hundreds of other products.

Zazzle is not flawless, and I addressed that, too, in my blog Dorincard.

At zazzle, ANYBODY in the world can DESIGN AT NO COST ("FOR FREE"="FOR FOR NOTHING"), and if anybody buys something, a royalty will be paid to the creator.

I know from experience, because I designed, bought and sold numerous "personalized stamp" designs.

See my blog for images, comments, tips and tricks about that. :)"

Please visit the Message Board (on Delphi Forums) of The Virtual Stamp Club. For example, this thread: Philately - General - Maximum card images.

 For example, this thread:  Philately - General -  Maximum card images.(scroll the left column to find Philately-General, then find in that the Maximum card images thread).
The Virtual Stamp Club #31386.249
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There are many other interesting philatelic topics there.
Ask, and there are many experts wiling and able to answer your question.

Help! I Inherited A Stamp Collection!

Help! I Inherited A Stamp Collection!

"The very first question you have to ask yourself - and you may already have answered - is do you want to keep it or get rid of it? If the latter, are you seeking money or gratitude?

If the latter - gratitude - you can skip most of the rest of this article and click here, and just pick a charitable organization. We recommend the American Philatelic Society, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation.

[MY NOTE: I also recommend a chapter of APS called American Topical Association - http://www.americantopicalassn.org/ . ATA is the largest affiliate of the American Philatelic Society.

"What is Topical Collecting?

Topical or thematic stamp collectors develop themes or story lines based on images or subjects of the collected stamps. They assemble their collections according to themes or topics instead of by country."

http://www.americantopicalassn.org/whatistopicalcollecting.html ]

If any of the other choices, including taking a tax deduction for your donation, then the first step is to get an idea of what's in the collection. The more work you do, the more you'll get from the collection.

You can just take all the books and boxes to a local stamp dealer, dump them on the counter, and say, 

"What will you give me for this?" but how will you know if you're getting a fair deal?

First, then, visit our Introduction to Stamp Collecting article just so you know a little bit about what you have. If you need more information, visit our Message Board and don't be afraid to ask. No one will jump down your throat."