FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is Ian Kimmerly Stamps?
Ian Kimmerly Stamps is a full-service, retail stamp shop in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. As a store, it began business in 1984 on the Sparks Street Mall in Ottawa, and has continued thriving and serving collectors in the Ottawa region and, increasingly, throughout North America and the world.
Who is Ian Kimmerly?
Ian Kimmerly is a well-regarded Canadian stamp dealer and collector. He has won a national vermeil medal for his Prince Edward Island cancels and collects literature, fakes and forgeries, and Solomon Islands. From 1976 to 1991 he was a weekly stamp columnist for The Ottawa Citizen and later the Toronto Globe & Mail. For more background, see Ian’s philatelic biography. Ian is also the President and auctioneer for Sparks Auctions of Ottawa.
What do you have for sale on-line?
Our site is meant to showcase much of our retail inventory in a conveniently-organized and well-displayed format. See the Search page or follow one of the links on our home page to get started looking around. You can search for a specific country, topic or term, or simply follow the links to countries of interest and browse the entire listing.
Our Dutch Auction is a way to purchase very nice material if you’re willing to be patient. Place your bid at the price you want, when you want it, and you might just get a bargain.
On a weekly basis, we will feature one exciting item from among our recent acquisitions at special prices, and provide a more detailed description in our Weekly Features.
As time goes on, we expect to have the largest part of our 100,000 plus item inventory on-line. We will eventually be expanding our listings of supplies and collecting materials (albums etc.) and are always interested to know what other areas you would like to see here.
What countries do you specialize in?
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British Commonwealth (particularly Great Britain, British Africa, and the Caribbean)
Do you buy stamps? What items are you currently buying?
Most of our purchasing is done from estates or from advanced collectors who are discontinuing their interest in some areas to concentrate on other specialities. As well, we are always ready to buy modern mint Canada and USA stamps beginning at 50% of face value.
Do you sell stamps for postage?
We sell modern Canadian stamps for postage use for the same price as the Post Office. We also sell packages of 10 or 100 to make up the domestic rate using two stamps (for example 100 40 cent and 100 12 cent stamps) on which we provide a small discount. Some customers regularly buy tens of thousands of dollars’ worth annually. We also sell U.S. postage (as well as U.K. and other major countries) for use on self-addressed return mail back to Canada. Our rates are quite competitive.
Do you sell stamp collecting supplies?
We have a full range of stamp collecting supplies at our retail store, including albums, album pages, mounts of all sizes, catalogues, literature, fluids, tongs, hinges, bulkware, etc. As well, we can special order just about anything you might need in the way of philatelic supplies. It is our plan to make more of this material available via our web-site as we expand our on-line boutique, but for the most convenient service please call us at 613-235-9119.
Can I pay for goods with my credit card, and is it secure?
We employ the shopping cart facility of Shopdaddy.com. This is a completely secure, encrypted e-mail based method of sending credit card information (card number, authorization code, and name) via the internet. For more information, see their web site here.
Do you accept payment in US dollars?
Yes. Our web store is configured so that you can also show prices (approximately) in US$, Euros, GB£ and Australian dollars. We will provide invoices in US dollars for American customers who request it, and accept US dollar cheques. In the case of credit card sales, our bank requires us to bill in Canadian dollars which are then converted to US by your credit card company at their prevailing exchange rate. Exchange rates change daily, so check a currency site like XE.COM for latest rates.
Do I have to pay taxes when I buy something from your web site?
We must charge 13% Canadian Harmonized Sales Tax on items sold to the following Canadian provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador. 15% HST applies for Nova Scotia, 12% HST is charged to British Columbia customers, and 5% is charged elsewhere in Canada. Items which are exported to the United States or elsewhere out of Canada are not charged tax.
What services are available on your site?
While our site is intended to provide a comprehensive retail presence, you can also join our mailing list for special e-mail offers, and find links to our current listings on eBay and Zillions of Stamps.
Do you have public stamp auctions?
From 1990 to 2001, Ian Kimmerly Stamps held stamp auctions at our store in Ottawa. We produced a lovely catalogue for each sale, usually featuring several pages of colour reproductions. The auctions were very successful and featured some memorable highlights, including the sale of a several Twelve Penny Blacks. We found the auction business to be exciting, demanding, and time-consuming. Ultimately, though, we decided to turn our energies to new markets and methods of reaching customers. There are no plans at this time to hold future public auctions.
In 2007, a new firm was established under the name of Sparks Auctions, with Ian Kimmerly serving as President and Auctioneer. Sparks has a separate Auction Gallery at our premises at 62 Sparks St., and plans to hold 2-3 auctions a year of exceptional material. Sparks’ auctions are truly international, with a vital internet presence. The live auctions are conducted before floor bidders and, via the on-line services of StampAuctionNetwork.com, on the internet as well.
Can I give you my Want List? Will you find a specific stamp for me?
We do keep want lists for advanced collectors of some areas, in most cases specifying items with catalogue values of $100 and up. We also enjoy locating those elusive but lesser value items that seem to leave a gap in many collections. Contact us for more details.
Will you tell me what my stamp collection is worth?
We do two types of appraisals, Cash Value and Replacement Value. See our Services page for more information.
Do you sell coins or coin collecting supplies?
Coins, no. We do however have a selection of coin collecting supplies. Contact us to find out what we have available.
What is a philatelist?
A “philatelist” is a stamp collector!
I have a question that wasn’t answered here. How can I contact you?
Our contact information is below (and on every page on our web site). We do our best to reply to e-mail at e-sales@iankimmerly.com within a day of receiving it. You can always reach us by telephone or fax during business hours at the numbers below. We would be delighted to hear from you!