HOW REGULAR ARE REGULAR STAMPS?

One of our price lists, "Germany 4A", offers just III Reich period regular stamps (definitives, airs, charities,officials, etc - and all are stamps that are listed in the Gibbons or basic Michel catalogues). It should be a straightforward way to collect, but every client has a slightly different approach.
Beginning with the album, there are three possibilities : printed album, plain album, stockbook. One of the classic German album makes is Schaubek, systematic but not luxurious, around for several generations and originally manufactured in the DDR, so economically priced. Plain (with a rectangular frame line for each stamp, but stamp hinges or Hawids needed), or hingeless (transparent mounts are already in place, costing rather more). Album binders are peg bound or springback, choice of colours and materials, a good home. Some other German makes offer the "dual" system with a hingeless plastic page for mint stamps facing a printed page where used stamps can also be placed, allowing both mint and used in one album. Needed stamps are quickly obvious in a printed album - can be useful - or can be frustrating!
Plain albums are cheaper and allow the freedom to provide individually written descriptions, brief or at length. Unaffordable rarities need not have an embarrassing space.
Stockbooks are handy when a collection is in progress - filling spaces or upgrading poorer stamps when possible.Inevitably some sections may start to bulge, while other sections remain deserted territory. In this case, stock sheets in a springback binder offer a flexible approach.
Mint or used, or both? Unmounted or light hinge? For a collection of earlier German States, mint is only a millionaire's choice, but for III Reich both conditions are available easily and generally affordable. For a few German WWII occupations (especially the Balkans) used can be rare and usually c.t.o. (collector cancels) are the only possibility.
In Germany, stamps from 1920 onwards are normally collected unmounted mint, while in Britain we are catching up. A solid unmounted collection is worth a lot more than a mint hinged one, and sells easily, so the systematic extra investment probably pays off. However, it can take more time. A word of warning : mixed sets of unmounted and mounted are only worth mounted prices. Likewise, runs of mixed unmounted and mounted sets tend to be valued just as mounted at auctions, unless including seriously good sets like the expensive Zeppelins, and their unmounted status marked on the page (light pencil is enough to draw attention).
Used stamps are best with a neat cancel that shows the design. and we try and sell used stamps this way from stock whenever possible. Some collectors like a visible town cancel, and maybe even a full date - this shows correct postal use, but is not always possible in practice. Note that the large format Germania high values are always heavily cancelled - a Post Office law required their cancellation by two postmarks, to fully cover the stamp - the authorities feared re-use by cutting stamps in half and "recycling" two uncancelled halves joined together to make a "new" stamp.
Where does Germany end? In WWII most of Europe was under German occupation or political domination. Even if the stamp issuing authority (e.g. Vichy, Quisling) was nominally independent, German troops still made their presence felt. So, at the end of the list, we offer a number of Axis partners, but the choice is yours.
Collections ....on page 20 you will find a range of 2nd hand collections, from auctions or collectors' estates. If you are starting out with Gemany, this is an economic way to collect - the price of an intact collection may be 10% of the retail price of the individual stamps it contains. However, some may duplicate stamps you already have, and a few may not be in as perfect conditon as you would ideally like - it just depends of the previous owner, and of course the price. The best advice is to buy the largest collection you can of the main field you want to collect. The reason is, they are far cheaper in relation to catalogue price than retail stamps. Then, enjoy just filling the small and elusive gaps by retail purchases, or move on to another section of Germany where you are weak but interested.
It is a mistake to keep buying say £200 collections of the III Reich over and over again - you will eventually end up buying too many duplicates. That would be a time to start filling gaps from the retail list, or move on to another area, say Zones. Only a collection costing more is likely to have many better catalogued extra stamps that you still need.
An exception to this rule woud be if you are trying to match albums by make and colour, making a fine appearance of the bookshelf. Then a duplicate collection can be justified. Also it's a chance to upgrade quality by selecting the best from two albums, and selling on the balance. In general we never value the album itself in the collection price, it's just the stamps contained - so if you get some good stamps, the improved album effectively costs nothing.
Gibbons or Michel? For our clients who collect Germany, most live in this country, and 70% use Gibbons and 30% use Michel. So, we offer both numbering systems on our lists, and you can choose. (Just don't mix, please, it can be confusing when compiling orders!). Gibbons does have its limitations, and if you are specialising, Michel Specialised is the answer. It is ONLY available in German, but is well illustrated and logical. The same technical words occur often and become predictable and meaningful.
Gibbons Germany is one volume, 400 pages, normal type; Michel Specialised is two volumes, 2688 pages, more small type, far,far more detail, and more illustrations for the longer sets where images differ. "Nuff said", as they say. I use Michel Specialised almost all the time. We don't stock these catalogues, but they are usually available through the internet. Being well informed always pays in life, and good catalogues are a must for a serious stamp collector.