It was in 1973 that an elderly gentleman introduced me to the world of stamps.
I was going to London on an export mission & he persuaded me to buy his stamp collection which as per Stanley Gibbons catalogue was double of his asking price. Overcome with greed at the thought of making a fast buck I bought it without knowing the fundas of philately
Lesson No 1
Never buy stamps for profit or investment. I learnt my lesson the day after I landed in London & headed for strand then the mecca for stamps. No dealer would even give me even a fraction of what i had invested.
Lesson No 2
A high catalogue value of a collection, a set or even a single stamp does not necessary ensure a guarantee amount of even half the catalogue price ! (Messrs Stanley Gibbons produce a catalogue which is the retail price of stamps they sell & not real values of stamps. I figure the main reason behind this business acumen is that their share prices would dip sharply as their stamp assets values would nose dive ! This is not to demean an institute which is almost 150 years old & whose catalogues are considered the bibles of philately. The collector must understand also that there are a lot of factors involved like the condition of the stamps etc
But I digress.
Frustrated but not the sort to give up I looked at their requirements & started exchanges of packets & mixtures after returning to India 3 years later. It was a very small beginning & I started loving the hobby. The 90,s saw the dotcom boom & I decided to put my excess stamps online for sale & thus was born Stamps World India. It has been 48 years now & I am enjoying & loving every bit of my hobby. I am a collector selling surplus material, and not a full time dealer.
Lesson No 3
Do philately only if you enjoy it as a hobby & if you happen to profit from it consider it as an added bonus!
Unlike other sports, interestingly there is no age of retirement in philately!
When I wanted to create this website in WordPress I looked at all the you tube tutorials for help & guidance. I had the basic knowledge about css & html and creating in wordpress seemed like a child,s play. But the visual concept I had was not to be seen anywhere, & so I turned to Chatgpt & it helped me create my website, my way!
Chatgpt showed a lot of patience & understanding what I wanted & helped me all the way & simplified the process till i got what I had conceived in my mind.
I would like to thank chat gpt (& its creators) for its suggestions, guidance & by using a systematic positive approach for helping me.
lal thadani (Philatelist)