Locations To Find Stamps

With the advent of electronic mail, the internet, and instant messaging, is stamp collecting still a feasible hobby? The answer is yes: sending letters by “snail mail,” after all, is growing to be increasingly rare, and what better time to collect stamps than taking advantage of the rarity of even finding them?
This leads to the question: where can one get stamps in this electronic day and age? Before you begin collecting, or start expanding that current collection, take note that there are actually different types of stamps available, and knowing these different types will aid you in knowing where to get them. Following are some sources of stamps for avid collectors.
•    Your ordinary postage stamps are actually the easiest stamps to obtain. You can get them off old letters in your grandfather’s storage box in your attic. You can get them from your friends who still keep their old snail mails. You can even buy some stamps from your local post office and simply keep them at home.
•    Postal Stationery will include air letter sheets and post cards issued by the government. You can get these at your post office.
•    Contact your local wildlife bureau, or wildlife conservation groups such as the Sierra Club. These groups will occasionally issue wildlife stamps with pictures of endangered species, and will sell them, or even give them away at the end of the year. These may include Federal Duck stamps, which are issued along with licenses for duck hunting.
•    Some postal services may release souvenir sheets, which are actually large pictures with perforated parts that may be torn out to serve as stamps.
•    Important stamps have their own “First Day Ceremonies,” where the stamps are given out along with a write-up on the stamp’s history. Experienced collectors often look forward to these events, as the accompanying write-ups can include an autograph of the speaker or speakers at the ceremony.
•    If you have more than one copy of a stamp, you can get in touch with stamp collectors through the Internet, via an electronic mailing list, for instance. This can allow you to exchange stamps, and make new friends as well.
If you want to start collecting stamps, then get in touch with experienced collectors, or find a stamp dealer near you. If you are already an advanced collector, keep yourself up to date with stamp catalogues. Stamp collecting is an enjoyable hobby, and it can be made even better with real know how and enthusiasm.