We Continue To Serve Families: Free Starter-Kits

After a few months of log entries on the blog you begin to forget that the important introductory articles are not so visible anymore. I continue to get emails from parents believe the starter-kits were only a summer phenomena. They are not. They are forever. KNS continue to serve families seeking to introduce their children to the exciting world of stamp collecting.

The starter-kits contain 10 US stamps and 10 foreign stamps (each from a different country)
I have also began to include a credit card magnifer with each request (while supplies last.)

The parent also receives 5 information attachments that specify how to identify foreign stamps and how to understand various stamp definitions and terminology.

You can purchase inexpensively various Vario stock book pages and place them in a looseleaf and create your own stamp book. (There's a brief explanation in the welcome letter I send out.)

Or parents can download one or both of the following album pages presented free to collectors:

16 page kid album (from Stamps.net)
http://www.stamps.net/acrobat/album1.pdf

{please kind in mind you need to have Adobe on your computer to open this up}
{warning: kid album is cute and useful but also uses a lot of black ink}

black album pages (from International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors)
http://www.iswsc.org/iswsc_page.shtml

{blank means blank --you have to title everything} (But these folks have a link to download
Adobe Acrobat for free)

Keep those email inquiries coming. Love to hear from everyone. Thanks again to Stamp Collecting Round-Up for directing parents to our site.
http://www.stampcollectingroundup.blogspot.com/

Thoughts For Parents Of First-Time Stamp Collectors

Stamp collecting is a wonderful and creatively inspiring past time. It can also be a solitary. KNS (Kids Need Stamps) strives to bring parents together with children to make stamp collecting a shared joy; not another activity to shove them in the corner.

Consider the following thoughts:

1. Go the traditional route; buy some stamps (or get some here for free), buy a stockbook or buy a dedicated stamp album (US, World or a Single Country)

2. Collect Topicals: trains, planes, shells, animals, etc. and buy a stockbook

3. Buy some used stamps and create collages with other artwork, photos, letters, etc. (now this will ruin the stamps value but you will create something unique with its own value.

4. Buy some stamps (ones that mean something to you), mount them on a cardboard and place in small frames for hanging on the wall.

5. Dream up some other ideas but stay in the picture. There are times when we are the best parents when we are not on the sidelines. This is one of those times.

6. Seek advice if you are running out the ideas or don't have any to start. I will be happy to help and I am sure other folks on other sites will do the same.

The Next Step: Stockbooks and Tongs

The next step once you have received your starter-kit of stamps is to obtain a stockbook, which is basically a black stamp album. Depending on the maker, the pre-made types are manufactured through KA-BE, Lighthouse, PARAT, Stanley Gibbons, Supersafe, Prinz Scott, G & K, each might have a white backing on the pages or black blackground. Each page will have slots, 8, 7, 6, 5, accomodating a vast number of sizes of the stamps. Obtaining of the these stockbooks is easy through the websites of various dealers or through Ebay. The average cost is about $20.

The second type of stockbook is the one you can create with vario pages. These pages set up with various sizes of stamps, blocks, sheets, etc. can be purchased for as little as $6 and have multiple holes for 3 or 4 ring binders that can be purchased in the office section of any large store. For less than half the cost of a pre-made you can put together your own stockbook. Vario pages are best purchased at Ebay. The page quality is all the same just the shipping price will be different and that is what you should factor when ordering. The Vario chart is too big to be pictured here but there is only a few the starting collector can actually use anyhow. The Vario page 6S, 7S & 8S are best for the starting collector. The number is how many horizonal rungs each page contains, the more rungs the smaller the space between. For larger stamps 8S is good and for much smaller thumbnail stamps, 6S is sufficient. The full Chart is available as an informational segment attachment upon request. Ebay stores and dealers usually have the chart available on their sites as well.

The next item necessary is called "tongs." A picture above shows what they look like--almost like a flat headed tweezer. The purpose is to keep the oil from your hands and fingers from tranferring upon the stamp; thus reducing its lifespan. The nickle-plated ones work perfectly fine. Shouldn't cost you any more than $4 for a pair. They now sell gold-plated ones but honestly you don't need them. I am still using the same tongs my father gave me 35 years ago.

The new collector must keep in mind that everything he/she needs for their collecting purposes are not available in any regular stores out there. If you are lucky to have a stamp store nearby, you might find their prices are far higher than the combine price and shipping of most anything on Ebay.

The most important lesson here is to get what you basically need to protect, store and enjoy the stamps. Folks out there easily get carried away with expensive and unnecessary supplies that in my opinion are not only a waste of money but also reduces a person's budget which should be spent on getting more stamps.

Your Starter Kit ---The Journey Begins

The Journey towards Collecting Stamps begins after your starter kit comprises of 20 stamps both US and Foreign arrives in the mail.

My recommendation is you purchase a stockbook. A stockbook is a similar to a photo album but its pages are slotted for various sizes of stamps. The book is neutral (not dedicated to a certain country or theme) and will permit you to store the stamps safely until you decide what type or topic of stamp you may want to pursue with your child.

The following are but a few examples---(upon receipt of your starter kit you might decide to stick with)

United States

Certain Countries (i.e, France, Germany, Poland)

All Countries (i.e. the whole world of 150 plus countries)

Certain Themes (called Topicals, i.e, Shells, Fish, Butterflies, Soccer, Planes, Space, etc.)

If you decide to select the United States, then a US Stamp Album is a excellent choice to forever bound your stamps in a permanent collection. You will need a few low-cost supplies to start:

hinges: tiny adhesives that stick to back of stamp and album page

tongs: a type of blunted tweezer to safely handle stamps

magnifying glass: to increase your insight into various designs on stamps

mounts: a type of page protector but sized for stamps (best utilized on unused stamps)


You might not want to go this route so suddenly and just simply use a stockbook to fill with
US and various Foreign Stamps. If you do, you wont need any supplies other than the tongs
for handling stamps safely and possibly the magnifying glass.