"Watching how this message of stamp collecting is getting out to the general public ."
My observations on this thread are:
* Full sets & pages of material less frequently seen is of interest and the posts are motivational in wanting to collect similar vs samples per page often found when buying
ebay collections
* The best process to obtain similar pages and budget needed to participate is of interest. I have found that buying 5 country specific collections on
ebay rarely fill pages as the same stamps tend to repeat w/o filling the toughest holes. Shopping for the missing high values often leaves me thinking I would have been better off just paying the higher price to get the full sets from the start
* Not solving for the ways to get better issues starts to diminish collecting interest.
* The thought of buying into a hobby that has rising supply and declining value creates a value shopper mentality. It puts the better items more in reach and belief a collection of interest could be built where in past that would be too hard.
* Finding "golden tickets" in lots is a motivator. Learning where and how to buy so that surprises can be found is a motivator...not that I'm looking to make money but there needs to be a surprise or it becomes like a kid's sticker book...blank pages with all the stickers known to be on the last few pages ready for relocation.
Perhaps the availability of page printing and even making plus the growing supply of collections coming to market will create new opportunities, ways to collect and motivation for new collectors.