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Hi, Welcome to Ken's Korner.  I created this page to tell you a little bit about me and what is new with Nieser Stamps. 

August 23, 2026--It is somewhat late on Sunday, but I am trying to be more consistent with my blog.  Another busy week, but I am now caught up on orders and trying to clean up my desk a little, putting loose stamps away and trying to finish small projects on stocksheets, in glassines, etc.

The complete Costa Rica collection is available (no Guanacaste).  All unused, everything through the early 2020s, cat is well over $8000.  I am asking half Scott $4100.  I have never been able to offer anything like this before.  If interested, let me know.

I got to watch the Bills 2nd preseason game yesterday.  I was pretty impressed.  The second and third stringers vying for positions on the team looked good.  It was also wonderful to see Damar Hamlin come up with an interception.  I am impressed with how resillient he has proven to be, after the near death experience he had two years ago.

No new issues have arrived yet, but I do expect some in this week.  I may also have coming in a near complete used collection of Surinam and Netherlands Antilles.  If they do arrive, I will let you know. 

Until next week...Go Bills!

August 16, 2026-- I've been meaning to sit down and write something in Ken's Korner for sometime, but the past two months have been extremely busy.  At the University, two major projects hit at the same time, having me working two weekends and several evenings, very much limiting stamp time.  I thought I was done with one project, but I got an email on Friday that our state education agency (TEA) wants us to do a deeper evaluation of the project we were working on...hopefully with a little more time this go round.  The second project is an epidemiological study into late talking and developmental language delay in toddlers.  This is new ground for me and I am learning so much as we try and get this major project off the ground.  We will be reaching out to over 15,000 families over the next year to participate in the study and we hope to recruit 2500 to 3000 of them to participate.  It is fascinating and challenging but that is one of the things I love the most about my job--I am always learning new things.

I often talk about my wife, Ana Maria, who is from Colombia.  Thank you to those who reached out to ask how her family was doing after the earthquake earlier this month...they are fine.  They live in Bogota.  The felt the quake--apparently everything shook for about 4 minutes, but there was no damage or injuries for any of them. Please keep the people of Chocó, Ibague and Cali in your prayers, places where there was a lot more severe damage and injuries/death.

My annual get together with my University at Buffalo friends is coming up next month.  This year they are all coming down to Houston.  As it turns out, the first weekend of the NFL season, the Bills are playing here in Houston, so one of my college friends who also lives in Houston and I invited everyone else to come down.  Our plans are to show them Space Center Houston and Kemah (a recreational complex with amusement rides, an arcade and restaurants right on the water).  We will also head out to either the Fine Arts Museum or our local science museum, which is quite impressive.  On Sunday, we will watch the Bills play. Originally we talked about getting tickets to the game, but one of the guys needs to get to the airport early, so we decided to go down to the local Bills bar (near downtown) and watch the game there.  Most of the regulars will probably be at the game, so there should be plenty of room for our group of 10-12.

Stampwise, last month I picked up a very complete collection of Honduras, which is still nearly 100% intact.  By the time you read this, I should have purchased a complete Costa Rica collection (lacking some Guanacaste).  New issues are on the way from Argentina, Chile, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and El Salvador.  Paraguay has been purchased but there is no mail service...still trying to figure that one out.  Mexico should be on the way in the next few weeks.  There have been no issues from Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras, Peru, or Nicaragua so far this year.  I will work on any Panama at the end of the year (I think only two issues are programmed) and with regards to Costa Rica, there currently is no postal service for packages to the US, so my new issues are on hold there.  Ecuador and Venezuela are still problemmatic. I am also looking at a major dealer stock, but if I buy it, it won't be until later this year.

Finally, one customer pointed out to me that I need to be better at updating Ken's Korner and my monthly offers.  He said, "You built it; you own it.  You need to keep it up."  He is 100% correct and I will endeavor to make at least monthly udpates. Thanks Pete.

June 8, 2026--Much as I've tried to make a few moments to do a Ken's Korner update, something always seems to get in the way.  I still haven't gotten around to doing much with the massive collection I mentioned in my last update below (May 3), but I have been pulling material as needed to fill want lists.  The new issue world has been somewhat quiet...I do have some Paraguay new issues on the way to Colombia (to my wife's family) as there is still no way to ship directly to the US from there.  My supplier in Uruguay has also ordered the issues of the first half of 2026 and I expect those to ship to me (directly to Houston) soon.  I have added some nice early covers to my Guatemala covers page, check them out.  I also just updated the special monthly offer page for the first time since January.  I have FDCs on sale in June--40% off.

Sportswise, the Buffalo Sabres had an excellent season and made the NHL playoffs for the first time in 15 years.  As a kid, I used to follow the Sabres quite closely, watching nearly every game (and even going to a few) but after moving to Texas, broadcasts of hockey were few and far between for many years and I lost interest.  However, quite a number of playoff games were televised this year and I renewed my interest in hockey.  I am looking forward to game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals.  Game 3 was quite exciting with a 4 goal comeback and the game being settled in double overtime. 

NY state high school lacrosse playoffs have reached the semi-finals and my high school, West Genesee, is competing for the title once again.  We are 15 time NY state champions in lacrosse...the winning tradition goes back nearly 50 years.

That's all for tonight.  Hopefully I can get back to regular updates.

May 3, 2026--Just a quick update for you...the past several months have been very, very busy.  For example, usually in a month, I fill about 40 orders, but in April, I filled 70 orders.  I had been so busy working on orders and organizing stock that I neglected to put any updates on the website.  I aplogize for that and I apprecate the several people who reached out, either by phone or email to ask what was up with my silence.

All is well here, my wife, Ana Maria, returned from Colombia at the beginning of March, and it has been great to have her here in Houston with me and my stepson after a 14 month absence.  She does have to return to Colombia next month for a final medical treatment, but we are hoping this is the final chapter with her very trying health issues that have plagued her the past several years.

Ana Maria and I flew out to California last weekend so that I could evaluate a highly complete, intact Latin American collection.  I bought it and it arrived today.  Now is the time to send me those want lists of things that are always out of stock, as this collection is about 98% complete in the 20th century (through 1972) and quite strong in 19th century as well. 

While we were in LA, we did take some time out to do the walk of fame on Hollywood Blvd, to walk down Rodeo Dr, have dinner on the Pacific in Santa Monica beach and to visit two museums (La Brea Tar Pits and LA County Museum of Art).  The weather was perfect, even a little cool.  I was wearing my Buffalo Bills sweatshirt and was actually surprised by the number of "Go Bills!" greetings I got and positive comments about the Bills in the upcoming season.

Have a great week.

January 26, 2026--A lot of the country has been affected by the major winter storm and I hope wherever you are that you are safe.  We were very fortunate here in Houston, the rains came before the freeze and for the most part, the roads dried before the temperatures dropped below freezing.  It has been could for Houston, our low Sunday morning was 22 degrees--not bad by Northern standards, but here where winters tend to be mild and insulation tends to be lacking, that is enough for some homes to become uncomfortable and some pipes to freeze. 

In football, another year of disappointment and frustration for the Bills Mafia.  It was especially disappointing to outplay Denver last weekend but to lose because we turned the ball over 5 times.  Oh well, next year...

Stampwise, new issues have started to come in despite the tariffs.  I now have all the issues of Argentina and the Dominican Republic for 2025. Chile should be here this week; I am expecting Panama any day and Uruguay and Peru should soon be on the way.  I will be going on a brief trip to Colombia in February and I will pick up the remaining issues for 2025.  My suppliers in Mexico and Paraguay have shipped new issues to Colombia (as it is currently not possible for them to send packages to the US.  Hopefully, they will have arrived at my wife's family's home in Bogota and I can bring them back as well.  Costa Rica has been a problem.  I wired money to my supplier but the bank says it was never received.  My bank confirms that the money was sent.  Account and routing numbers were double checked and everything was correct.  My bank is trying to recall the wire and I am trying to find a different way to make payment to Costa Rica. 

Here is the status for the rest of Latin America:  Bolivia--I have the 2025 issue already--a sheet for the bicentennial.  Brazil--I am not sure, there haven't been a lot of regular issues this year, but there have been a good number of "Institutional Stamps" stamps that an organization paid for to be issued.  If interested in these, you can find a listing here--Scott does not list them.  Cuba--as far as I know, they have not issued any new stamps.  Ecuador--I am not aware of any 2025 issues, but I do not have a way yet to obtain these.  Several people I know in Ecuador have reached out to the post office without success to try to purchase the issues from the past several years.  I'm not sure what the problem is.  Guatemala--will probably require me making a trip to pick up the new issues--hopefully in the spring.  Honduras--I have all of the 2025 issues.  Nicaragua--unknown--I do know nothing was issues in the first half of 2025.  El Salvador--there are a number of issues, but the country is not currently handling international mail, so there is no way to get the stamps here without a visit to the country. Venezuela--despite the change in leadership, there have been no changes to the economic sanctions, so no new issues yet.

I've added lots of collections to the listings for most countries and have also added a lot of "Odds and Ends" (varieties) to many country listings--especially Dominican Republic, Peru, and Costa Rica.  I should be adding some Panama this coming week. I also had a nice Chile collection come in loaded with lots of the scarce official stamps--several have already sold, but most are still available.  They are all one of a kind, so once they're gone, I won't have them again until another collection comes in.

Have a great week.

January 4, 2026--I hope that you had a very pleasant holiday season.  My week and a half break from my university job is just about over.  I head back into the office tomorrow.  I did enjoy my time off.  I got to spend some quality time with my father--normally we see each other on Sundays, but we got together quite often during the holidays, sometimes to share a meal, to watch a football or basketball game or just to hang out.  I am very grateful for that time. 

First, let's talk sports.  We now know the Bills wildcard round opponent--Jacksonville.  Here's hoping the Bills can make a deep run this year...and hopefully, finally get back to the Superbowl.  In college sports, the University at Buffalo basketball team has been quite a pleasant surprise.  They were picked preseason to finish almost at the bottom of the MAC, but currently, the boast a record of 13-2 (3-0 in conference play).  Next up is Miami of Ohio on Saturday.

Stampwise, I have been working out how to get new issues from Latin America.  The challenge has been that several countries are not sending anything heavier than a letter to the US due to the tariff situation.  Some countries are still shipping and I am expecting new issues to arrive from Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Panama, Peru and Uruguay to arrive directly.  I don't know how much I will have to pay for the stamps in customs duties--we will just wait and see.  For several other countries, Paraguay, Mexico and Costa Rica, they are sending the stamps to my wife in Colombia and she will bring them back with her when she returns home, hopefully next month. She will also bring Colombian new issues with her.  The remaining countries are still pending or there are no new issues in 2025.

That's all for this week.  Happy New Year!  Feliz año nuevo!  Feliz ano novo!