Boston 2026 World Stamp Show

Yes, that's how taxes work. It's a tax. On foreign goods (in this case, stamps and covers).



So, a tacit admission that philatelic tariffs have no benefit apart from giving the government an additional source of revenue. Thank you for indirectly answering my question.

(Stamps aren't lawn furniture or car tires; it's not like we're trying to bring production of Penny Blacks back to the US, right?)



How do fewer dealers result in cheaper stamps? Last I checked, competition tends to keep prices in check...?

Sorry, stop your political spin, legally tariffs are a fee and not a tax. Anyone in philately should understand that as stamps have been issued for fees, services and taxes for well over 125 years with each category well defined.



Stamps are less useful then lawn furniture or car tires, all of which are tariffed if brought into this country for sale, be they new or used. But bring back production is about keeping money circulating within the USA and have such money spent on a penny black already in the USA is preferred over sending the money abroad for the same item.



No so, keeping collectors money circulating within the USA along with tariff income to the USA keeps capitol on shore. Every dollar created here and sent overseas by an individual reduces the strength of or economy and grows other economies. Off shore workers sending money back to home countries is often one of the top three sources of GNP for some countries.



No dealers are eliminated because they choose not to attend Boston 2026, they all remain accessible and part of the global market via the internet and good old mail order. But if the tariffed dealers are here they will still price at the current rate of value of the stamp and eat the tariff on their end or not sell the merchandise which could be 10, 20, 25, 50% or more cheaper with a non-tariff affected dealer. We are talking about the Boston 2026 show where dealers are bringing far more than $800 worth of material. Yes the real hit was the temporary elimination of the de minimus tariff exemption on all goods, stamps included. That is equity and equality why should one hobby group get special treatment?. And again, this is temporary and can be avoided by not buying or selling from foreign locations during the temporary effective period.

While we enjoyed the special de minimus treatment, such was being seen as exploiting the de minimus loop whole to the detriment of the USA. Which it my view is a positive contribution of and for philately, stepping up to share the burden while keeping USA philatelic money stateside to strengthen our USA dealers..

Legally, yes. But functionally, they're the same thing. They're a tax to disincentivize certain purchasing behaviors and to incentivize others. When I pay to get my passport renewed next month, I'll pay a fee, not a tax, because the government is rendering a service. If I buy a sofa from Vietnam and I pay a 25% tariff on it, that's functionally a tax.

That's not political spin. You presume that my picking this subject apart is motivated by anti-Trump animus. I'm not revealing my political preferences or saying whether tariffs are a good or a bad thing in the long run/big picture, other than the subject is indeed nuanced and the simplistic "tariffs good" or "tariffs bad" takes overlook quite a bit. Not every point of view is politically motivated. Others here might lead with that stuff, but I don't.



I think quite a few of us here collect non-US material, the bulk of which is still located - surprise - outside of the US. So what should we do if a US dealer doesn't have what we want, but a foreign one does? Time put down the Scott International and pick up the National?

* * * Topic locked by Moderator since the most recent posts are veering heavily towards political arguments about tariffs rather than the main idea which is the Boston 2026 show, who is attending, what we may learn and see, and other Stamp related topics. This was actually locked by complaints from 2 individuals posting in this thread * * *

Please folks. Users come to this forum to discuss and learn about stamps and postal related topics. A few of us may enjoy this back and forth banter, but this is better suited for an opt-in section. Let's try to make this forum one for all of us to enjoy.

https://goscf.com/t/90399