Are postal stamps a good investment? Investing in stamps may sound unusual to people who are used to invest in financial products but seasoned investors know for many years now that alternative ways of investing can offer excellent profits despite the fact that they are under the radar. In this article you are going to read some basic information about stamps and why consider investing in them.

In the world of stamp collecting, there has been a dramatic divergence of fates when it comes to investment values. Billionaires are still hunting ultra-rare specimens for trophies, but most stamps have seen their values collapse as demand decreases. Shoe designer Stuart Weitzman paid $9.8 million for a 1856 British Guyana One-Cent Magenta in 2014, nearly four times the previous record for a single stamp, at the rarified end of stamp collection. Collectibles’ prices are essentially a game of supply and demand, and a large number of stamp collectors are selling.

The rarest of rare stamps are still used as reliable and sometimes lucrative places to park money for the wealthy. In the meantime, many stamps have so quickly depreciated that they are worth a tenth of the price listed in so-called contemporary guidebooks. Postal stamps are a good investment, and this may be the case with very old rare stamps. However, prices of some stamps are dropping because of changing generational desires, with smartphones as entertainment value knocking out stamps.

Stamp collectors ought to be on the lookout for fraudulent stamps online, which further contribute to the devaluation of legitimate stamps. Depressed prices should be seen as an opportunity to purchase long-term returns for investors who can build a quality collection at price levels not seen in years. A March 2018 survey of stamps cited by Lehmann found that stamps valued above $1000 returned “a more respectable 1.7% 3-year rate and an average rate of 3.2% per year, giving such high priced stamps an appreciation rate of 41.3% for the period, or more than twice the rate (19.9%) for stamps below $1000.”

Sometimes the wealthy like to see their money represented in hobby form, and because of their rarity, billionaires tend to trophy hunt stamps with all but guaranteed interest. It’s no wonder that the wealthy have some of the most impressive collections. Some of the most successful investors in the world are interested in stamps. In 2000, Bill Gross, who runs the Pimco $280 billion fund, purchased $2.5 million of rare British Stamps. They were selling for $9.1 m in 2007. He now has one of the largest sets of stamps in the world. We attract both the adventurous and the cautious entrepreneurs and pensioners, businessmen and women, the curious, the canny, and ironically. All of them are attracted by one main motivation to maintain the wealth they have worked so hard to create and through it.

If so many wealthy people are investing in stamps, perhaps you should consider following their footsteps. It’s not bad to follow the ideas of successful people but you should have in mind that buying the right stamps may require reading and checking before you purchase them.