Stanley Gibbons

I've been into the Stanley Gibbons shop several times, if only just to wonder in amazement at some of the things you can see in the store. This is a place for serious stamp collectors or amateurs, or even those of us who want a sticky. You can buy a whole range of stamps and stationary, and if you have the money you can make an investment with one of their special purchases.

They have... more

Stamp collecting has been a hobby of kings, and it's suggested in other reviews here that you'd have to be a king to buy at SG. To some extent, this criticism is misplaced. You will, at SG, pay full catalogue price for most items - indeed one could argue that the SG catalogue price exists to maintain the level of margins that are needed to pay for a top-end shop, the level of inventory that it... more

Stanley Gibbons has ridiculously high prices for their items. What justifies these prices is beyond me. Maybe because they are listed on the stock exchange they have to show a profit for their shareholders but honestly no other company rakes in the dough off others than this company.

I would buy from other stamp auction houses that have equal goods but at lower prices.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND! more

When I was a young whippersnapper, I was a bit of a philatelist but although I don't have the time to indulge this hobby any more, I still browse my first day cover collection occasionally.

Stanley Gibbons was born in the year that stamps were first issued and he started his first shop in Plymouth, selling used collector's stamps. Today, his shop in The Strand is apparently the largest stamp... more