Another wonderful show. We received our package of stamps for my Grandson. We placed them in his album this weekend 😊 He was overwhelmed with your generosity. Thanks a lot

I’ve been successfully fighting coherent collecting for decades now!

Selling really helps you realize true value of whatever it is your selling. Selling the whole album together will definitely limit your opportunity for profit. Selling individually allows you to get the most out of each individual stamp and also give a chance to add to your topical collection. Some of the common stuff may be unsaleable on it's own.

A very nice collection for sure. As to selling it, always a hard one to advise others on. I would personally think about that old maxim "What's your time worth?". I would also start it off at more than I paid for it then hopefully watch it soar - but - you just don't know where it will go. So many variables involved with the internet. I look forward to hearing of your plans, then the result! Good luck

That's a beautiful album! I love the individuality that's been added by the collector, and I can't understand why you would want to sell it when it is one part of a set of four! That aside, if I was to sell it, I would sell it as a collection. It's exactly the sort of thing I would love to buy. As a disorganised collector, with most of my stamps in envelopes owing to lack of funds for stockbooks, a ready-made album would be a real prize. I would have fun finding mint to replace the used stamps, and that would be my contribution to completing the collector's album. There must be others out there like me, who perhaps would buy the whole album if you listed it. :)

Sell it as is. You’ll have great satisfaction in keeping it together. Generally, selling based on catalogue value, you’d honestly look at 35% MAX…and may have to settle as low as 15-20% at best. It’s not about making money; it’s about satisfaction of making a little and selling as a set to someone who’d cherish it as is. Or, you could pick through to supplement your collection (e.g. trains or boats(, then sell it as is after. That’s my 2 cents. A little money in my hand is worth more than a million potential dollars not in hand! 😂

I also struggle with the question you’re asking. I’d like to think that my collection will be passed on and grow into a great collection that others will enjoy and that my efforts won’t dismantled after I’m gone. But after watching this episode, I suspect that is may be a foolish dream. Just as the things I’ve taught my daughter will flow out into the world after I pass, so too should my stamps. So - I think you shouldn’t feel any guilt about breaking up the collection and releasing any or all of these stamps out in the world for others to enjoy.

It may be a little hard to say what might get you the best offer for these stamps. Sometimes, when you submit stamps for auction, bidders can run up the price realized, which could happen with a collection this complete. Sometimes a dealer’s offer could be better. It would take a lot of time to break up and sell this collection in pieces. Time is money. On the other hand, it might be worthwhile to consider whether or not you should really sell this collection. You really showed that you very much enjoy some the stamps that are in this collection. These stamps tell you a lot about DDR Anytime have a country with this degree of completeness, it is not a hodgepodge. The number one reason to collect is enjoyment and if you enjoy having these stamps, you probably should keep them. Most US stamps after 1930 are very plentiful and you probably will be able to afford them anytime. Collections of any country this complete are a lot harder to find and are probably worth keeping.

This seems more than "100% complete". The duplicates on the left side are extensive and make a pretty nice collection, too.

Hello Silk. VERY NICE! But ever wonder why this album was never picked over? Also, thank you for the stamp packet received them today :) Literally every mint in it will replace my used ones, THANKS!!

I am always buying and selling as it helps generate the flow of new material. I have been lucky enough to have a dedicated public stamp auction house nearby , they are a great bunch and often give me great advice. I would ask them to look at any collections and they make a sales estimate and reserve price. Also it's a good way to meet other collectors. Hopefully you will have a fine outcome Mr Silk. Best luck, Terry from Devon uk 🙂

Sell the whole book. Your stamp book is awesome!!!

I am very jealous of the $80 price tag-- WOW! 🤯 Selling it as a whole would probably be the best option, with year sets a close 2nd. But the trouble there is that many collectors want the souvenir sheets with older year sets. If you go set-by-set, it makes a tremendous time cost and you could have a lot of leftovers that just don't move. In any case, I would think 40-50% SCV. But I've also never sold anything online, stamps or otherwise. I'll send you an email because I'd take a shot here if I could. I'm just not sure I can give you a fair price at the moment. Thanks for sharing this great treasure with us! 👍👍👍

I have no advice or information of worth. 🙂 Just want to comment that I enjoyed the video. First time that I see an entirely completed collection, and I didn't think one could collect stamps in mint condition from the DDR to such complete extend. In my short stamp collecting "career" I am used to seeing mostly CTO stamps from the DDR. There are quite a few CTO stamps in this album as well. Thanks for the video and the story of your adorable dog. I am sure he/she is worth every cent.

Your dog is precious. Great collection. Keep your DDR collection.

I'm doing the same thing that you did except I'm doing plate blocks

One day I hope a deal like this falls into my lap. You have found some really amazing ones over the last year. The French Davo album, the King Edward album, and these. I’m drooling right now lol. Along with U.S. I collect Guatemala, Egypt, Germany, and France. I’ve never sold stamps so I don’t really have any advice. I would say do what would benefit you and the hobby the most. I know those can be mutually exclusive at times.

DDR stamps really don't sell for very much, I have bought and sold many. You spent $80 ... keep it on the shelf with the others. You will get a better return when you finally part with all the other volumes. It will bring you more joy that way ;) My personal relationship to any collection I buy is - keep what I don't have ... sell the rest to others and therefore fund my want lists :)

I'm currently putting together a DDR collection and was salivating over this album. You mention that you are only the custodian of this collection. Therefore, thinking the care and effort a collector had given this album, (if you must sell,) then I suggest keeping it in tacked. Despite the loss of the train and space stamps, in the long run I believe you will gain more satisfaction from the knowledge having passed it on complete. I agree with some other comments about the sale value not being too great. May be auction it at a starting prince about 10% - 15% above what you paid for it, and hope more than one person is salivating over it . Hope it goes well for you and the album, regards Mike from UK.

Having that collection would give someone the perfect place to begin a collection of varieties!

A pretty neat collection of GDR (communist part of Germany) stamps with tons of interesting topics. Here´s the bad news: this collection is not complete. the early expensive m/s like Marx, Engels etc. are completely missing, and other key values like the early definitive sets are used instead of mint. So, over here in Germany a collection like this will generate around 300,-/400,- bucks, in the U.S. probably less. My proposal: sell this lot as it is, or just keep it and enjoy the huge amount of interesting stamps. You also might get in contact with the Germany Philatelic Society which is located in Missouri. Just my 2 cents. Greets from GER, U.

Good evening Mr Silk. I agree with a lots of the comments that you should keep the album but don't break it up. Or another idea is to exchange it for some stamps to finish your American album. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Very nice collection , in my humble opinion sell it as it is , unfortunately many of the used ones are CTO , which decrease the value of the collection. Also as it is state here in no much value I will ask 20 - 30 % of catalog value. I will try a Germany auction house if so. Great video by the way

you need to keep it or sell it all together....but you obviously like it

Keep the album to go along with your other German albums. Other deals will come along. You are living proof of that. Enjoy your dog and your stamps.

Hmmm, interesting questions. I think you should sell it to make room for other items. How, I couldn’t say. I’d expect you’d get around $400. I use 10% cv as a rule. Be aware of the value difference between CTO and postally used. I saw a number of CTOs there. Here’s my question: who wants a complete collection anyway. That means your collecting fun is done. I’d be tempted to sell it and start from blank again. Either way, have fun.

I have a pretty large German collection, including a lot (but not quite complete) DDR collection. It’s a cool album but I doubt you’ll get more than a couple hundred dollars for the entire album. You might have more financial success selling some of the other volumes. But I mainly buy stamps, not sell!

That's a hard question, but if it was me, if i was to be focusing on trying to get 1 of every ish uk, i would try to sell if that was the only album in the set i had, but since you said you have the other albums then to me would be even harder because i would then have to look at the pros and cons 😅, pro would only be the possible income it makes l, the con would be now you would now have 3 albums that would need to try complete 😂. Honestly, at the end of the day, it's your decision to make. If you are ok with selling it to help towards the main focus of your collection, then it's a reasonable thing to do. With how excited you are when looking at it, i would feel you may regret it at some point if you did land up selling it. It's definitely a wonderful collection

What a conundrum! It would seem a shame to break up a completed album. Sorry I can’t give advice on selling on EBay. I haven’t started doing that with my excess stamps yet either. You seem to get a lot of enjoyment out of the album. Maybe consider holding on to it and take a break from buying new stamps until you have recovered from the dog expenses. I always seem to buy new stamps faster than I can get them all soaked and into books. Enjoy your videos!

Hello, I suggest you mention the CTO's that form part of your offering. Also, you look for other DDR collector's of this "Dead" country. The APS website should be of help.

Selling is very personal. Breaking it up into lots will present the problem with disposing of remainders, the unsold lots. Your time has to be worth something. You might get $80 or more for the lot. And there are fees associated with sales.

It's a nice album. I doubt it would be worth your time breaking it up. I collect Germany, but am not interested in post-war after 1950. I have thousands of DDR and Bundespost stamps that I throw in a plastic bin when I find them in lots. You and I grew up in the days of East and West Germany, so there's a little nostalgia in that for me, but not enough to want to collect those more modern areas. I'd be happy to pull out some railway and space stamps and send them your way in appreciation for your channel.

Will we get to see DDR Volume 2? Since #2 is not complete I would be interested in some of the Officials if you are selling.

Please keep them just as they are. Should never break them up. Someone took years to put together. Sell the book as is. Try 50% the full price. I myself have just completed my US air mail stamps. My last 3 stamps were the Graf Zeppelins 2 weeks ago. Now I can go thru my collection and have joy in them. Good job on your stamp collecting. Bill Brown .

I want this album as is - should I email you? I missed out on the giveaway recently, don't want to miss out on this!

I think I’d consign it (to Bill). Selling on eBay by years or by sets is a time consuming hassle from my experience. It takes too much time away from what you really enjoy; the hunt.

80 bucks is a steal for complete collection, esp. In a DAVO album. Granted, DDR is not as popular as Germany. It will take a long time to sell bit by bit, but you will make more money in the long haul. As a German collector myself, I am interested in a trade/purchase for the entire collection. I do have years of US and Netherlands to trade which might entice you!

How much for it. I collect stamp albums too.

Gday Silkie, that is just a beautiful piece of history you have, but for me being old enough to know the East Germany era, I couldn’t live with it. Those communists were mega bad people. I know I know, stamp collecting is a great way to learn etc etc. But.

I would remove the used stamps on the pages overleaf[hinged], and then sell the whole book.

Quite a few of these look like CTO

Not sure that you'd get a whole lot for it as a complete album. Breaking it up makes more sense to me, although that is a lot of work. I don't expect my collection to stay intact once I part with it. Let other collectors get a shot at items that they're looking for, and probably at a very affordable price. Biggest problem is that there seem to be a lot of CTO's in the collection, which are essentially worthless to any serious collector.

The bottom line is it is only worth what someone is willing to pay for the collection. A dealer will give you 10% of what the catalog value is...so $400.

At my age I'd just sell the whole album as-is and be done with it.

I say keep the ones you love and break the rest up into sets.

Hi. Are the first 5 souvenir sheets also in there? (the Debria sheet and the 4 Karl Marx sheets) If then its good. To be honest the most money would be if you break it up in the more expensive sets and souvenir sheets - and then sell the rest at a whole. But as a DDR collector myself, I would really hate that (but thats maybe because I collect plate flaws, and there are a lot in the DDR stamps :) So im biased, you could also collect them yourself - DDR is a gone country (it was the USSR occupied German soil, that in 1949 turned into DDR (Or in english, the very ironically name of German Democratic Republic) But inspite of the status as a country, the DDR still was "occupied" by the USSR, and literally couldnt do anything without the blessing from the Kremlin. A very interesting story, and the stamps are quite fun to collect, due to the many errors and their place in history. Regards from Denmark, Claus

One last suggestion. Would Junior fancy getting a paper round to pay for the vet bills so his dad can keep the album? No? Not even if you try to bribe him with a couple of Pokemon cards? Still no? Never mind, it was worth a try. :)

If you are really going to sell it, and it sounds like you intend to, sell it as a whole collection, and don't break it down. The Germany philatelic market is not what it once was, however, and, so, personally, I would keep it and hold off on your US buying plans until a later date. Keeping all 4 volumes together of this Germany collection your purchased for a song would, to me, be the better way to go.

What do you want for the collection

I think you are the only one who can answer: "what would you do with a 100% stamp album? This is your stamp collection". If you want to keep the "trains" or other, that is your choice...not anyone else's choice. Piece it out the way you want or keep it. Your choice. It's a hard choice, but yours to make.

Hi friends. Excuse my ignorance , but what are CTOs? I see CTOs mentioned in several comments.

Sell the Mao's for DOUBLE your investment and keep the rest for your trains and space collections...

It’s true that selling it off bit by bit yields a greater return, but do you really have the patience ? As you gain funds …. Will you really NOT be tempted to pay a an unforeseen bill ? This may torpedo your US goal. I suggest you sell it as one piece and sink the $$ into a single US gem. Then each time you gaze upon that Flying Jenny… you’ll recall instantly the album that made it possible

As a whole titled vets bill please give generously

If it was mine, and I wanted to delete it from my philatelic hoard, I think I'd want to at least make a "profit" on it; you have the album, worth a few $, then all the stamps. I did not notice too many CTO's, of which there are.... imo, way to many DDR issued CTO's. For me, it would be too much work and effort to break it down into sets or even pages.... it would take way too much time. So, I'd try to sell it intact, with perhaps a minimum of $100. beginning ebay auction price. I wouldn't "cherry pick" it prior to selling ~ I think the completeness is a selling point.

After many years I still like hoarding. DDR stamps like this are not that much in demand in Germany. You paied 80 bucks? That is not that far away from a regular price, I think. When I see albums like this … (there are thousands of it on the market) I look for some things first. (1) are the marx/engels blocks included, are they in perfect condition, mnh, genuine postmark … (that is the moneypot in regular DDR collections) (2) are the expencive sets mnh? Not regummed, no removed hinges (very common!) (3) what kind of postmarks are on the stamps? CTO - not so good. No CTO? Can you read Date and City? Are they genuine? That makes a huge difference with Used DDR stamps! (4) I look at the „back of the book“ sektion. That might be more interesting than the rest, in particular with DDR collections. (5) I look for specialitys … printing notes, blocks, pairs, errors … are they included in the collection? That is what DDR collectors are looking for in Germany. DDR stamps after 1960 … well … they are usually worth less than nothing. You can buy stockbook full of these stamps, and they are cheaper than empty stockbooks, because you have to remove the stamps to be able to use the book … and that takes time, and because of that they are cheaper. A complete genuine luxus mnh collection in Luxus Albums, with all expensive stamps in absolute perfect condition, from well known trustworth dealers, sells for about 500 Dollar … So if you like the book and feel some connection to it, just keep it and try selling other stuff instead.

German stamps are so commonly available...

Sell whole book that is perfect. Rarely seen whole collection set so u sir sell this 100% complete set. Or keep it or donate at postal museum .next generation of ur family seen those collection..sometime money doesn't matter bcoc money come and go but ur collection remain forever if this collection goes in museum and ur name remain forever under those collection. In my old age all my coins stamps notes antique collection I donate in museum which I hope ..

What ever you bought them for you should sell for modest price.

No officials stamps?

In the future, I think you’ll regret selling it. Perhaps you could sell off some of the duplicates instead. Don’t rush the decision.

Find a water proof box. Bury it and make a treasure map. With instructions not to go and search for it until the year 2200. Only an idiot will buy an complete album. That's boring, it's the chase that is fun. If you are filthy rich, you could buy all stamps ever made in a fairly short time, except maybe those that exist in only one or two examples. And when you are done, then what? Buy all coins ever made! By the way I have a stamp from Wurttemberg. 5 pfenning. Perfect cancel, Frankfurt 18.8.89. It's the only one I have left since I stopped collecting 50 years ago. Kept it because it was the oldest I had in my collection. I store it in one of those transparent key chain things.

Keep it because you don't see full collections a lot

Auction it off to your subscribers

Wonderful album. As a collector of German stamps myself I would say don't sell. Start collecting German stamps. So many areas to collect, German States, Empire, East and West, Saar, colonies, occupation, etc. But if you sell as a whole I am afraid you will not get a good percentage of value. I have been able to collect nearly completed East German set over last few years for a song. Purchasing albums like what you have for maybe 5 - 10 percent of value. I am a careful purchaser so you may be able to do better. I would recommend selling it with a buyout not at an auction. You might look at value, many of the ones I saw listed were high for current value.

What’s the point of collecting stamps if you’re just going to sell them? Unless you have another ddr complete book laying around why would you get rid of them? I personally will never sell a stamp I don’t have a duplicate of. There are some exceptions to that like on certain color shades or whatever that I don’t really care about other then the catalog tells me they are worth a bajillion dollars. Those are the stamps I sell because the catalog says they are worth more than the original stamp itself. I’m happy just having the stamp I don’t need some rare variety of it. But selling whole country collections u don’t have a duplicate of? Are u a stamp dealer or something? Are you trying to profit? Or are you a collector? I think more people are dealers then are collectors.

Most US stamps are not worth it. Germany is a great country to collect ,when i collect usa,i collect the the older issues, and i dont use Stamp album s at all. I wouldn't sell it,just to buy U.S.

You truly don't get why that album was so cheap? I lived in Germany for many years and it really is quite simple. I tried to explain it but I think you deleted my comment. DDR stamps are kinda considered a distasteful topic of collecting by many. There is not much market value in any of them. These are DDR stamps, not German or West German. Now, in a historical context most do not consider this problematic, but if the DDR were still in existence, IMO it would be. The DDR was an evil, brutal regime.