Mystic Stamp Company -
This company is kind of who I started with now that I have returned to stamp collecting. I started with them for no particular reason other than I got a good deal on their United States Three Album set. (This is the exact package that I bought from Amazon: Mystic's 3-volume American Heirloom Stamp Album with 200 Free U.S. Stamps and 1,000 Hinges )
I liked the fact that I got three very big albums of all the US stamps right up until 2013. And, the albums are the kind with three ring loops so each page lays flat as you leaf through the pages. That is a big deal. To top it off they gave me a lot of bonus stuff including stamps and hinges. And a whole lot of fun stuff like flyers, catalogs, special offers and more.
Catalog, Profit Shares, prices and more - They have a program called profit sharing where you get coupons based on how much you spend. You get ten shares per dollar you spend. And you can use these shares to purchase items they have in a special catalog.
Their website - As of the writing of this article (April 2015) They have just within the past few days overhauled and relaunched their website. It used to be clunky but now it is pretty good including a small section on topicals which I would imagine they will build larger. .mysticstamp.com They also a blog called "The Discovery Center" which I really like. They post news and interesting stuff there.
Prices - Seem to be competitive. Currently I am not an expert on stamp prices!
One Neat thing - They send me lots of literature, catalogs, offers etc in the mail. Often times these packages have nice stamps on them. I like that idea a lot.
This package I got from them even had the new issue Inverted Jenny on it.
Kenmore Stamp Company -
This is the company that sells stamps on approval. It is an interesting program that they have been doing for decades. They send you a nice little assortment of stamps and you look them over. If you like any of them the prices is clearly marked. You keep what you want and send them the price along with any of the stamps that you don't want. Pretty easy and neat program. You get to actually see the stamps before you buy them. There is no obligation to buy anything.
Their Catalog - I really like their catalog. It is laid out nice, very clear and lots of full color pictures. Prices seem to be about right. They have lots of US stamps. But they also have a whole lot of worldwide stamps. World stamps are not my thing but might be right for you.
Their Album - They have a nice album for US stamps called "The Liberty Album". I have this album and like it a lot in terms of the layout and display of the stamps. It's one of the best. But, the pages aren't on three ring binder which makes a bit unwieldy to keep pages open. ( USA Liberty Stamp Album Vol 3 2007-2012 with Pictures / Illustrations )
They also have a World Album which is pretty spectacular. It has over 600 pages, space for over 10,000 stamps and it has 230 different country pages. And it is three ring binder style so the pages lay flat as you flip through it.
Their website is pretty nice, although I like the mystic website a wee bit better. But, the kenmore website has a big topical section with almost 100 different topics which is a big plus for me Prices - Seem to be competitive. Currently I am not an expert on stamp prices!
Tiny bit disappointed to get their package in the mail without any stamps on it. Just had the usual bulk rate thing printed thing on it!
Stanley Gibbons
Founded in 1856, Stanley Gibbons, Ltd. in London, England is the oldest continuously-operated business devoted to selling postage stamps and supplies. Check out their website here
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