Knowing what to do with a collection of stamps you have inherited can be intimidating, especially if you are not a collector of anything, as you will not be accustomed to dealing with the sheer volume in most cases. Your mind is likely oscillating between keeping the collection and selling it.
I see a very large number of family members who go down the sales route as a knee jerk reaction, thinking that they don't have any interest in continuing the collection. Often, they have collections that are not valuable and would be best continued by them or a loved one.
So, before deciding whether to keep the collection, or sell it, I believe it is important to first have some idea as to whether the collection is likely to have a significant commercial value or not. If you read my page titled "How to Value a Stamp Collection" You should get a pretty good idea of whether or not the collection is likely to have a significant commercial value, just armed with what I tell you and 1-2 hours of relaxed viewing. Before you do that though, I would also recommend that you visit my page titled "Why Stamps are Cool". This page offers my perspective as to why I believe that nearly anyone can become interested in stamps, and if you view the collection after reading this article, you may be surprised to find that you actually want to keep the collection. If not, then no harm, no foul. But at least, you will eliminate the possibility of selling a collection that could have sentimental value for very little money.
If the collection looks like it might be valuable and you are definitely not interested in continuing it, then the decision to sell is the logical one, unless there is a member of the family who might be interested in buying it from the estate and continuing it. In reviewing it, you will have some idea of whether to go see a dealer or an auctioneer. If you are of the decision to sell, then you should read my page titled "Selling Your Stamps - What Are Your Options?".