Save the albatross

How you can help

Save your stamps

Our stamp appeal is one of the largest stamp appeals. It runs throughout the year, and in 2008 you helped raise over £10,000.

So, how does it work?

Well, the humble stamp has a resale value – small, but still valuable in large enough quantities. When you send in your stamps you are helping give these birds a brighter future. For example, £50’s worth of stamp sales will buy a tori-line (bird scaring device) for a longline fishing vessel.

The stamp scheme works in 2 ways:

For loose stamps, the RSPB works with a stamp dealer who operates with various charities, receiving stamps, selling them on and paying charities a proportion of the proceeds. We raise up to £3.50 per kg for UK stamps and £12.50 per kg for foreign stamps. For loose stamps, we ask that these are sent directly the dealer, and pre-sorted into UK and foreign please.

Please do note though, if you send in small quantities, the cost of postage will most likely outweigh the value of the stamps themselves. We suggest you save up your stamps into quantities of 2 kgs or more before sending in.

If this does represent a real problem, then rather than send the stamps in at all please consider sending in a donation directly in lieu of the postage – and we can put that directly to the campaign - thank you if you’d consider this.

We ask that stamp albums, first day covers, and rare stamps only are sent to us in the Community Fundraising Department at the Lodge. We will look through these, batch up and send to an auction houses to achieve the best price we can.

Do I need to take the stamp off the envelope?

Yes please - just tear off the corner with the stamp, ideally with no more than ¼ of an inch border.

How can I send my stamps in?

There are a number of ways that you can send in stamps:

  • Send loose stamps to: RSPB Stamps, PO Box 6198, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 9XT……and preferably in 2 kilo quantities or above (as above) – thank you.  Please note, this is the address of our dealer, not an RSPB office, so please do not send any correspondence  - or donations! - to this address, thank you.
  • If you have first day covers, or stamp albums, please send them to: Save the Albatross Stamp Appeal (Special Stamps and Albums), RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Beds, SG19 2DL. Please do not send loose stamps here.
  • If you have a large number of stamps, you might like to consider combining delivering them with a visit to one of our nature reserves. Combine fabulous wildlife, a visit to the countryside and help albatrosses all in one go. You are also welcome to drop them off at one of our offices.

 Unfortunately, due to lack of resources, we are unable to collect stamps from you.

Last modified: 10 August 2009

Not many people will be fortunate enough to see an albatross, but everyone can take a role in trying to help them. If everyone could be encouraged to send in their stamps to the appeal, these birds would have a brighter future. The RSPB sells stamps to dealers and an auction house. For example, £50 will buy a tori-line (bird scaring device) for a longline fishing vessel.

Sarah Kennedy, BBC Radio 2 presenter