How do you start?

[smallguy]

I am thinking about starting a USA stamp collection. how would i start? i have never collected stamps before. i saw my grandfathers collection once and it was kind of beat up and had a lot of brown tape in the book. 

how do you get the tape to not turn brown. i have seen a lot of your guy's pictures and i can not even see the tape. 

[darkormex]

smallguy, there are a lot of posts within the Stamp Collecting Beginners Corner that may be useful to you as a newly minted stamp collector. I would recommend looking through the various threads and asking questions when necessary. You ask a big, wide open question that really necessitates a long answer. Some of these topics may go a long way toward answering some of your initial questions.

Of course, our members are welcome to chime in as necessary to help you out.

[MikeC99]

Smallguy, I echo what Darkormex said. I would add that you should probably start with modern US and ask your friends and relatives to save stamps from the envelopes that they receive. Ask them to leave a paper border around the stamp so that they don't accidently tear part of the stamp. A word to the wise is that stamp collecting and cellophane tape don't mix. I got some stamps from a person who used tape and the stamps were ruined. Use hinges or mounts and keep tape away from your stamps and album pages.
Mike

[FairyFoot]

I started out passively... my mother wrote and received letters from family and I saw the pretty pictures on the stamps.... My mother sent one of them first day covers (only missing one issue in 20+ years.... she tried "everywhere" in London...)... I write and send nice items of post, and receive nice post so I see a wealth of stamps out there.... And when I do send (seeing a pile of 20 postcards needing postage)... I use nice stamps. If you do send birthday/Christmas cards to friends/family, don't forget to use nice stamps (and maybe they'll save them for you).