News Article: Oldest Stamp Store West Of The Mississippi

SCF members will find this an interesting read:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...GH1M0881.DTL

Thanks!
A great read.
I like articles like this and was quite surprised that only one Stamp outlet remains in SF.
In Tel aviv there must still be a dozen or so shops still doing reasonable business as well as a few others dotted around this tiny nation. No doubt all of them, like Sankey, are using the internet as well.
In London there are only 4 shops left I believe, including Gibbons.
It's sad really.

Londonbus1

" People bring in childhood collections a lot, hoping they'll be able to put their kids through college by selling them. Usually, I can open up to one page and know right away that it's not worth anything. A lot of times it's a collection they might've purchased from an ad on a Wheaties box: "100 stamps for 25 cents." And it's still worth 25 cents"

Thanks for the article wt1.
It seems almost sad that the personal touch and direct interaction between dealers and collectors is disappearing.
I do hesitate when buying a stamp with only a picture on a monitor to go by. Dealers in my area are scarce and online is just so dang easy.
LB1 that's amazing, so few stamp shops in city like London.

"LB1 that's amazing, so few stamp shops in city like London."

Why is that so amazing? I think there are less than five 'sticks and bricks' stamp stores in the entier state of NJ.

Thanks, wt1 ... a great article.

I sure would enjoy spending a day in his shop!

Well joe1225us being rather new to philately I wasn't aware that so few "sticks and bricks' were left.

Sad, but a inevitable consequence of both the declining interest in philately, and the proliferation of first mail order and then internet dealer ships. Few other items compare to stamps in the ease of shipping, hence the smallest advantage to a local presence. The internet just hasted along the process that mail order had already started. And of course, the smaller pool of collectors means it is less worthwhile to open a storefront.

"In 1980 there were an estimated 300 stamp shops in the UK - today there may be just 30. Stamp collecting and stamp dealing went 'underground' long before the internet took hold. "

From a Tip newsletter from Universal Philatelic Auctions of London that I receive. Basically confirming what I wrote in my last post!