On Saturday I attended the Stockport Postcard Fair at the Town Hall where there were plenty of old postcards for sale. The stockport fair is very accessibly by car or train and the local buses pass the Town Hall every few minutes. The Town Hall is just a few minutes walk from the town centre so many make a day of it and visit the shops, bars and cafes after the postcard fair.
Sadly, a few of the regular postcard dealers could not make it due to a two-day annual Stamp Fair being held in Liverpool and other dealers failed to arrive due to adverse weather conditions in their local area. But there was still plenty of old postcards for sale and I spent at least 5-hours in there browsing the postcards on display and meeting the regular faces.
You just don’t know what you are going to pick up at a postcard fair. I had some areas I wanted to look at and subject postcards for stock. I also made sure I made time for my collection first and this was my first two purchases of the day. Two lovely postcards of ships at Salford Docks on the Manchester Ship Canal. How this area of Manchester has changed over the years. From a thriving dockland to desolate land and then the emergence of Media City with trendy bars, Global Media Companies and Luxury Apartments if you can afford them.
I was a little disappointed I did not find stock for some of the areas that are in demand but that’s the way it goes sometimes. I did see some of these dealers at the Preston Postcard Fair a few weeks earlier so you can’t expect them to change their stock dramatically in such a short time. There are so many postcards for sale at this fair and you cannot look at everything on the day. You always come away with the thought that you may have missed something, but there is always next time.
I bought some postcards that I would call a win-win situation. The location was suburban areas of Manchester and I was not sure If I already had them in my collection? But I know these are collectable areas and if they turned out to be duplicates I can move them on for a small profit, so they are a risk-free purchase.
The Stockport Postcard Fair is a bi-annual event and always worth the visit. With so many old postcards for sale I am sure you will find something here to add to your collection. Although it no longer has the large dealer numbers it once did it’s still worth the visit for me. This is a wonderful way to spend a relaxing Saturday morning. Looking at old postcards to add to your collection and trying to find those gems that others are searching for to add to their postcard collections.
Buying for others is no easy task and there are so many variables that come into consideration. It’s not that straight forward because you have no idea what they already have in their collections? Some of these people have been collecting postcards for 40-50 years so trying to locate something for them is sometimes a thankless task.
Certain rules apply. If it looks like a common postcard then leave it. If it looks like it was produced in very small numbers, the condition is good and the price is right then you take a chance. If it sells quickly great, but not all postcards are going to fly out of the door. Some may take years to sell but you have the satisfaction knowing that good postcards always find a home in the end. This is the fascination with collecting and selling old postcards.
