# HipStamp Scraper - Stamp Marketplace (`lulzasaur/hipstamp-scraper`) Actor

Scrape HipStamp.com stamp marketplace listings. Extract title, country, catalog number, year of issue, condition, centering, certificate, price, auction vs buy-now format, bids, seller, image, and URL. Great for philately price research, arbitrage, and collection tracking.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/hipstamp-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## HipStamp Scraper

Scrape stamp listings from [HipStamp.com](https://www.hipstamp.com), the largest dedicated stamp collecting marketplace. Search any keyword and get structured data on every matching listing: title, country, catalog number, year of issue, condition, centering, certificate info, price, auction/buy-now format, bids, seller, images, and direct listing URL.

### Why use this scraper?

- **Philately price research** — compare asking prices for a stamp across dozens of sellers
- **Arbitrage** — find underpriced listings vs. catalog or market value
- **Collection tracking** — monitor availability of specific issues (e.g., Penny Black, Inverted Jenny, Zeppelins)
- **Market analysis** — track auction activity, bid counts, and buy-now pricing trends
- **Dealer intelligence** — see what sellers list, at what price, and from where

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|-------|------|---------|-------------|
| `searchQueries` | array | `["penny black"]` | Stamp search terms. Each query is scraped separately. |
| `maxListings` | integer | `96` | Max listings per query (48 per page, up to 10 pages). |
| `format` | string | `all` | Filter: `all`, `auction`, or `buynow`. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Residential | HipStamp sits behind Cloudflare; residential proxy recommended. |

#### Example input

```json
{
    "searchQueries": ["penny black", "graf zeppelin"],
    "maxListings": 96,
    "format": "all"
}
```

### Output

Each listing is one dataset record:

```json
{
    "listingId": 32961905,
    "title": "GB 1b \"Penny Black\"",
    "country": "Great Britain",
    "catalogNumber": "1b",
    "year": "1840",
    "stampType": "General Issue",
    "stampFormat": "Single",
    "condition": "Used",
    "centering": "XF",
    "hasCertificate": false,
    "certificateGrade": null,
    "topic": null,
    "format": "buynow",
    "price": 250,
    "currency": "USD",
    "buyoutPrice": 250,
    "startPrice": 250,
    "makeOffer": true,
    "bidCount": 0,
    "endTime": null,
    "sold": false,
    "quantity": 1,
    "seller": "likeke",
    "sellerLocation": "Oregon, United States",
    "image": "https://img.hipstamp.com/p/f8208304b3da1fbfffec273e4e1a0536.jpg",
    "url": "https://www.hipstamp.com/listing/gb-1b-penny-black/32961905",
    "searchQuery": "penny black",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-07-31T19:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Usage tips

- Use specific queries ("scott 88", "inverted jenny") for targeted results; broad queries ("germany 1923") for market sweeps.
- `format: "auction"` narrows results to live auctions — combine with `bidCount` and `endTime` to find ending-soon deals.
- Runs complete in a few minutes; results stream into the dataset as pages are scraped.

### Integrations

Standard Apify dataset output — export as JSON, CSV, Excel, or pipe into Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, or the Apify API.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

List of stamp search terms to scrape (e.g., 'penny black', 'inverted jenny', 'graf zeppelin'). Each query produces a separate set of results.

## `maxListings` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of listings to scrape per search query (48 per page). Set to 0 for the built-in cap.

## `format` (type: `string`):

Filter by listing format. 'all' returns both auctions and buy-now/fixed-price listings.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. HipStamp sits behind Cloudflare; Apify Residential proxy is recommended and enabled by default.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "penny black"
  ],
  "maxListings": 96,
  "format": "all",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "penny black"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/hipstamp-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "searchQueries": ["penny black"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/hipstamp-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "penny black"
  ]
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/hipstamp-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lulzasaur/hipstamp-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/yO87Z8xvvR7lPZmoo/builds/6zkddgCSLQUywXoch/openapi.json