Your Local Stamp Store

Great follow-up, AGST! If you ever get the itch, make a trip down to Portland on the 2nd Saturday of any month, and visit the Oregon Stamp Society's "Rose City Stamp Show". The place is packed floor to ceiling with stock from local dealers from Medford to Seattle. It's also a great place to meet other collectors.

Cheers!

Brian

Rileyson... I pass through Portland four or five times each year on my various motorcycle tours. One of which is the Rose City MC Grand Tour, of which I'm a member. I will definitely take a time out and pay the stamp show a visit.

"Just reminiscing on the good old days.... dollars and cents is not the bottom line for me. I like the idea of meeting like minded folk in these places and sitting down for a hour or so poking through all the bargain stuff."

Yeah, but the owners can't pay the bills like that. That is what stamp clubs (on line and real) are for. Hence the shift to the internet and ebay

"In my town, San Angelo, TX, with an approx. population of 90,000, there is just one store that sells stamps, but his major market is coins. Only four collectors in our area including me"

I find it hard to believe that in an area of 90,000, there are only four collectors. That works out to one for every 22,500 people. By that proportion, in the entire USA there would be only 13,886 collectors. The collecting situation hasn't gotten THAT bad yet. You probably mean four collectors that you know of!

Joe... I'm doing my little bit to help them stay open, spending a few dollars here and there. Getting back into collecting after a long break, since way before there was an internet. Have yet to check out my local stamp club show, but will doing that soon.

Au contraire. That may be true of singles and/or specialty items, but when it comes to bulk lots, collections, remainders, etc., there is nothling like having a local source.

Stuff I've picked up from my local shop:

https://goscf.com/t/20951

https://goscf.com/t/18016

https://goscf.com/t/17349

https://goscf.com/t/14306

https://goscf.com/t/17663

https://goscf.com/t/15121

Not only is it harder to buy these kinds of lots online, as you are dependent upon the seller's pictures, and cannot go through the lot before commiting, but the prices are lower locally as well.

I luck out I think. I have a stamp store that's within walking distance. He does stamps, coins and collectible cards. Works out good for me because I go in to buy stamp stuff, and my kids go play in the yu-gi-oh tournament.

I think the biggest problem the poor guy has is people coming in all the time trying to sell coins. With the economy the way it is, that doesn't surprise me.

There are 3 stamps stores in Montreal but they are all more than one hour trip by bus and metro from were I live. They all sell coins also and one other things too. Like Joe I think it's cheaper to buy on the internet except for mounts. Still I did visit one of them on a regular basis before looking at stamps and buying some sets. The stamp store downtown is in the La Baie departement store. It consist of a large counter. I bought sometime there because they sell at 50% of cat. for mnh stamps. That is for the stamps in the vario flip pages presentoirs.

LondonBus.

The Jerusalem shop is located on KLAL shopping centre - 2 doors away from the information desk on the second floor. It's opened Thursday and Tuesday afternoons as well as on Friday morning.

When you come to Jerusalem we can visit it together. Just around the corner there is a nice PUB which just waits for your inspection.It did pass mine

Avi

Joe1225us




I operated a retail store for about ten years in the Heady days (1970-5)
dealing primarily in stamps.
and again in (1994-9) primarily Sports cards 50%, Coins 45%, and stamps 5%.
As a stamp collector since I was a Boy in England this was my area of special interest.
Sunday was the day I had intended to clean the Store and sort out new purchases,but it turned out the be my favourite day .
I would put the coffee and tea on and we would spend the whole day working and chatting about the various collectibles.
You cannot get the same kind of interaction from a diverse group from the "Net" .
I sure miss the store!
DJD

I live in a pretty big town, Barcelona, with still some good stamp stores downtown, just a short underground trip from home; there are also two or three auctioners. But I tend to buy on internet or on our weekly open air stamp market at Barcelona's old town, as I find that at stores they only have high price items and mint stamps, which I don't collect.

There were three stores in downtown Toronto when I worked there. One in the Bay & Adelaide center called "Arcade Stamp and Coins" or something like that, one which was the street opposite my office and on in the PATH somewhere. By the time I had left the job, two of the three had shut down. I do not know the fate of the on in the PATH.

Here in my hometown of Mississauga, there is a store called House of Stamps in square one which I frequent most often, it has a good collection and good owners, though it is more of a coin store than a stamp store.

I live about 30 miles away from Edinburgh, (Scotland) and am pleased to say that there are 3 stamp shops still operating. Two of them not only have retail premises but also run public auctions and the other has a desk and stock in probably the smallest space possible in a larger collectable shop, (you have to open the door and step inside and when anyone else wants to get in the door opening forces you into the corner)....2 can stand in front of the counter at one time but no more
Nothing, (well, actually almost nothing) beats visiting a good shop with a diverse mix of stamps, box lots, accumulations etc.
Best wishes,
Brian.....Machins.

Avi,

I'll be sure to choose the right day for that pub visit !
Nice one.

In Tel Aviv there are still at least 8 Stamp Shops, and all seem to be open when I am in the City.
There is also a Stamp Shop in my nearest town, Netanya but nwadays it is mostly a Black Market Money change place.
This coming Friday, the Londonbus Stamp Emporium will be taking tables at the Ra'anana Collectables Market ! Who said hobbies were dying ! [I'll take some pics]

In London I believe only three shops remain in the Centre. They will never close as far as I understand !
But every Saturday Morning there is the famous Charing Cross Collectors Market where about half the tables are stamps and half coins/Postcards/other. It is always one of my favourite places to visit when in the UK. [Some say I arrange my holiday around this market...cheek !]
There are also Stamp Tables at other markets in London.
the best places for bargains are the provincial Stamp Fairs which take place all over the UK each weekend, and sometimes midweek.

Londonbus1.....The Internet is good too !

There are none in my town, and I wish there were. Shopping on line is certainly easier and has made more stuff available to me but it's also good to get out of the house (I've worked from home for a long time, and it's really good to talk to real people occasionally) and buy from flesh and blood sellers. Good for the economy and your piece of mind.
There is a store about an hour north of me (same one Bujutsu goes to) and at least 4 I can think of about an hour south in Toronto. They all vary in terms of price, quality of stock and personality. And most will give you some sort of discount off the tag price. I spent a day down there last year just to go to all the stores and at least three others that were listed were gone, so the 'supply' of bricks and mortar shops is certainly dwindling.