Essential Equipment to Sell Stamps - Scanner

To sell stamps on eBay you'll need a scanner (sometimes called a flatbed scanner). These have become much cheaper in recent years, and you don’t need a complicated model full of bells and whistles, which just makes the job harder.

We use a Visioneer scanner, which costs around $80 or so. It’s been fine for what we need, but a scanner at similar cost would be just as good. A great book for those not familiar with scanners is:

"How to do Everything with Your Scanner"

by Jill Gilbert.

Follow the instructions to install the scanner, and practice scanning a few items. Don’t be dismayed if the scans are too big, or fuzzy - we’ll show you how to put all that right later on.

If you've never used a scanner before, they are simplicity itself to use. Just place your stamp in a transparent mount or on a Hagner style page, put this face down on the bed of the scanner, make some easy settings, click, and you're done.

Not every philatelic item can have it's picture taken using a scanner. This complete sheet of USA "Inverted Jenny" errors wouldn't fit! (It doesn't really exist , the picture shows a reproduction). Collections, large sheets, uncut press sheets are among these 'unscannable' items. For these you'll need a digital camera, and that's our next discussion.

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