Short answer: it depends on what you have. Unused modern postage sells fastest to a postage buyer at a set percentage of face value. Rare or cancelled material belongs with a philatelic dealer. The Post Office buys nothing back at all. Here is the whole landscape, including the options we are not.
The Places That Actually Buy Stamps
A postage buyer
Companies like us buy unused U.S. postage to resell as postage. You ship once, get a firm offer, and get paid. Rates are published in advance so you can work out the number before you send anything. Best for Forever stamps, sheets, books, rolls, and the drawer of leftovers from a business or an estate. Not useful for cancelled or pre-1930 material, which we do not buy.
Online marketplaces
eBay and similar sites can reach a collector who wants exactly what you have. You handle photographs, listings, questions, shipping and fees, and you are paid only when someone buys. Good for a genuinely scarce single stamp. Slow and fiddly for a box of ordinary postage.
Philatelic dealers and auction houses
They price piece by piece on rarity, condition, gum and perforations rather than face value. That is the right treatment for pre-1930 issues, first day covers, errors and foreign material. Expect an appraisal step and a longer timeline. Our sister company West Coast Stamps handles appraisals for exactly this kind of material.
Local antique, coin and pawn shops
Convenient, and they will look at almost anything. They also tend to offer the least, because stamps are a sideline rather than a specialty and they are pricing for a quick resale.
The Post Office
USPS does not buy stamps back from the public and does not refund unused postage. A clerk may exchange damaged or misprinted stamps for replacement postage, but that is postage for postage. You will not leave with money. This surprises most people, and it is the reason postage buyers exist.
Which One Fits What You Have
- Unused Forever stamps, sheets, books or rolls. Sell to a postage buyer. The rate is set, the process takes days rather than months, and there is nothing to list.
- Unused denominated stamps issued after 1930. Same answer. Add up the face value, apply the rate, decide.
- Anything issued before 1930, or used and cancelled. Get it appraised. Face value is the wrong yardstick and you could leave real money behind.
- One stamp you believe is rare. An auction house or a specialist marketplace will serve you better than any bulk buyer.
What We Pay
50% Face Value
All Forever stamps, including First-Class Forever, Global Forever, 2 Ounce and 3 Ounce Forever stamps.
40% Face Value
Non-Forever stamps over the 82 cent First-Class rate, including unused vintage stamps issued after 1930.
30% Face Value
Non-Forever stamps under the 82 cent First-Class rate, including unused vintage stamps issued after 1930.
See the full detail on what we pay. We do not buy Bulk-Rate, Nonprofit-Rate, Presort-Rate, Official, Postage Due or foreign stamps.
Where to Sell Stamps Near Me
Worth saying plainly: for unused postage, local is usually the worse option. Stamps are light, cheap to insure and simple to mail, so geography buys you nothing. A buyer who handles postage all day sees more of it than a nearby shop does and can quote a firmer number. If you would rather hand it to someone in person, a local stamp club or dealer is a reasonable place to start, and a club will often tell you honestly whether what you have is philatelic or just postage.
How Selling to Us Works
Print our packing slip, include it with the stamps, and ship with tracking. We count and grade what arrives and send a Purchase Offer with the exact figure. Accept it and you are paid. Decline it and the stamps come back. We have done this since 2016, paying out over $7.4 million to more than 3,200 customers. You can read their reviews.
Common Questions
Who buys stamps?
Postage buyers, philatelic dealers, auction houses, collectors on marketplaces, and general antique shops. Which of them is right depends entirely on whether your stamps are worth their face value or worth more than it.
Where can I sell old stamps?
Old does not automatically mean valuable. Unused stamps issued after 1930 are still postage and we buy them at the rates above regardless of age. Anything earlier should be appraised first, because a pre-1930 issue can be worth a multiple of its printed value or almost nothing depending on condition.
Can I sell stamps back to the Post Office?
No. USPS does not repurchase stamps from the public. That is the single most common reason people end up here.
Do the stamps have to be in perfect condition?
They have to be unused and usable. Bent or partial sheets are still fine. Used, cancelled, torn, water-damaged or stuck-down stamps are not. We also authenticate everything we receive, because counterfeit Forever stamps are common on websites, eBay and Amazon.
Ready to Sell?
Start your sale, or if the material is older than 1930 or cancelled, get it appraised by West Coast Stamps first. Questions before you ship are covered in help and support.