Ian Kimmerly Stamps - FAQs, Help & Guide to Services

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.

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.

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 providing 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?

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. We do have a brief listing of Stamps Wanted, which you can see here. As well, we will buy modern mint Canada and USA stamps beginning at 65% 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 absorb the G.S.T., thus you save six percent. Some customers regularly buy tens of thousands 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.

Do you sell coins or coin collecting supplies?

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. Most of our website prices are given in both Canadian and US 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. For the last year, $1US=$1.15CDN, approximately.

Do I have to pay taxes when I buy something from your web site?

We must charge 5% Canadian Goods & Services Tax on items sold to Canada. Sales to Ontario also attract 8% Ontario Retail Sales Tax, but this tax has exceptions including books, postage, or where the purchaser has a valid exemption number. Items which are exported to the United States or elsewhere 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. Ian's internet journal is the place to learn what's new and interesting in our world.

Do you have public stamp auctions?

From 1990 to 2001, we 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.

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 for 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 below for more information.

What is a philatelist?

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 within a day of receiving it. You can always reach us by telephone or fax during business hours at the number below. We would be delighted to hear from you!

Stamps
Our inventory of mint and used Canada and British North America is comprehensive. We also have at hand extensive British Commonwealth, and European countries are well represented in our stock. Some popular topical collections are also available, as are a good selection of lots and collections.

Our Guarantee
Our standards for grading stamps are as strict and accurate as is humanly possible. We have built an outstanding reputation throughout our years as a retail stamp store and formerly as an auction house. We believe that our on-line relationship with our customers must adhere to the same high business standards we have always applied.

Privacy and Security
Your privacy and security is very important to us. Therefore, you can be sure:

General
Our historic and spacious new store stands one block from Parliament Hill on the bustling Sparks Street pedestrian mall in Ottawa. You can find a map to our store at this link. Our friendly and bilingual staff are always ready to help. We offer a complete line of stamps, supplies and materials for beginning and advanced philatelists.

Literature
We have a wide-ranging library of philatelic literature, and are always happy to provide comfortable space for our customers who would like to spend a few moments expanding their appreciation of our hobby.

Web Site
Ian Kimmerly Stamps has been on-line since 1996. Our site features information about our store, links to our other on-line endeavours (eBay, Zillions of Stamps, mailing list), and a Boutique where you can purchase material from our inventory.

Please address any problems about the web site, its functioning, or things you would like to see here to our Site Administrator. All philatelic or general inquiries should be sent to Ian Kimmerly Stamps, or use the contact information below.

Our Services

eBay stamp auctions is where we list new material, or items that we expect to attract interest from multiple customers. As well, you can often find good stamps or sets that just don't fit into one of our normal retail and Boutique classifications. Have a look at what we're offering right now! In addition to our seven-day auctions, we have many items on offer in our eBay store.

In 7 years as a seller, we have more than 18,000 positive feedback reports, with 7500-plus unique buyers praising our careful and prompt service. Read what our winning bidders have to say about dealing with us!

We have also listed thousands of auction and store items with the stamp specialty auction site StampWants.com. You can see our listing here.

Appraisals

Stamp Collection appraisals are available for several purposes. A written appraisal suitable for various purposes is done by Mr. Kimmerly himself. Appointments are usually necessary, and you should phone ahead. In rare cases, Mr. Kimmerly will travel for appraisals at the customer's expense. A written appraisal includes a general description of the whole collection and a specific description of better single items.

Cash Value Appraisal
Most commonly done for estate purposes or in other situations when the current cash value of a stamp collection is needed. A Cash Value Appraisal is our offer to purchase the material for the total price given.

Price: The greater of $50 or 2% of the determined cash value. This amount is refundable if sold to us at the time of appraisal.

Replacement Value Appraisal
Usually done for insurance purposes, either at the time of taking out a policy or sometimes for a claim. The value determined is the estimated cost of replacing the collection as it exists at the time of the appraisal.

Ownership
Ownership of the material submitted for Appraisal must be established to our satisfaction.

eMailing List
At regular intervals, we keep our internet customers and others up-to-date about changes in our web site and other upcoming announcements. Our Mailing List is 500 members and growing. We will sign you up if you send us your e-mail address, or you can easily do it yourself from the administration page.

Our Guarantee

We have built an outstanding reputation throughout our years as a retail stamp store and auction house. We believe that our on-line relationship with our customers must adhere to the same high business standards we have always applied.

Privacy: Ian Kimmerly Stamps does NOT share, sell, or disclose any of the information you submit on- or off-line, including e-mail addresses or other personal information.

We are pleased to provide the following links to other destinations which we expect will be of interest to our customers.

Philately On-Line

The following philatelic organizations offer a wealth of information for collectors of all levels and interests:

Ottawa—Canada's Capital

We are fortunate that our hometown of Ottawa is also an important tourist destination. Just about every week we welcome out-of-town customers who recognize our store on The Sparks Street Mall, just steps from Parliament Hill.

As Canada's political and cultural capital, Ottawa is the location of several major museums and galleries. Our city is truly a four-season outdoor destination as well: busy in summer, but also popular for the spring Tulip Festival, the gorgeous fall colours of the Gatineau Hills, and for Winterlude. A good basic guide to the many attractions and museums in Ottawa is the website of the National Capital Commission (whose Visitor's Centre is 100 metres away from our front door!).

And of course, for collectors, no visit to Ottawa is complete without spending a few hours at the Canadian Postal Museum.

All About Us

(Including FAQs, Help, Guide to Services & Philatelic Links)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Ian Kimmerly Stamps?