APS Releases Boston 2026 Survey

Survey Link

https://stamps.org/Portals/0/Boston...20REPORT.pdf



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75% were 55 or older with largest group 65-74

72% male

93% of attendees at the WORLD Stamp Show were from the US

3.7% visited the APS booth to join or renew APS




The report is very USPS centric with the highest word count relating to the USPS. The USPS received high marks from respondents in all demographics. The APS seems like an afterthought. Perhaps USPS should sponsor and run future World Stamp Shows if there aren't any conflicts to prevent such.

However, 47.1 percent of respondents were younger than 65, which I think is a good sign!

It shows that:

1) Younger people were more willing to participate
2) The results are skewed

This is the most important line.......
3,947 successfully delivered invitations, 936 responses (23.7% response rate).
This is too small a percentage to take any concrete analysis from. It's a very small percentage of the total visitors.

I believe this is right in line for standard response rates to a survey - usually from 10 to 30 percent.

That's why so many are not accurate.

Which mean only 22.1% are under 55. And, it does not give ANY clue as to the age distribution of the remainder.

Without further information, "which I think is a good sign," has no rational basis in fact. Great wishful thinking...and I hope you are correct.

What remains unknown is the response rate stated as it reflects actual age distribution of attendants of the show. 74, 73 and 83 responses were from 18-34, 35-44 and 45-55 respective of the total 936 responses.

Methodology completely leaves out how they chose the 3947.

"Use Boston 2026 as a benchmark for evaluating future World Stamp Expos and tracking
changes in attendee mix, satisfaction, engagement, and purchasing behavior."

Do they understand these things are only held once every 10 years in the US?

1.3% from Canada is tiny.

So they figured out the USPS is the big draw, just like Pacific '97 where it was so popular for the attendees, the dealers complained the USPS success was keeping potential customers away from the dealer tables.

While the USPS can show items from their, or government, archives, the main draw are the current US stamps being sold. The NEW ISSUES, which are considered somewhere between dirt and redheaded step children by too many stamp collectors or philatelists. But I believe those new issues (of the time) drew in the collectors in their entry to the hobby.

That is a huge divide for the APS to bridge between groups, not to mention the most important sub-group, philatelic exhibitors. Scott has the same balancing challenge where new collectors need the current issue information while others, think any pages past 1940 are a waste of ink and paper plus needed detail in the listings is lacking.

A little understanding and mutual cooperation between collector factions seems not just warranted, but necessary as well as an understanding that the hobby is changing focus.

AND LASTLY THE APS REPORT HAS ZERO INFORMATION ABOUT THE SATISFACTION OF THE COMPETITIVE EXHIBITORS ABOUT THAT ASPECT OF THE EXPO.

USPS pays quite a bit for the large space they take at the Internationals (ad at GASS). Without them, dealers' booth fees would be significantly higher.

It would be interesting to know where people spent their money and not just visit counts. I am sure dealers total revenue was good since reports from most dealers has been positive.

Dealer booths were busy all day, but only they know the total spent. But everyone I spoke with was happy.

I have seen a lot about if stamp collecting during. So many have said the hobbie is on its death bed. That just is not true. Yes lot of people collect different thing now. That has took away from the hobbie. Pokemon cards is is a new collectable that seems to have caught the attention of young people. They were not born when the baseball card market crashed from over printing. On the subject of over printing the USPS is doing the same thing today. With this in mind I would like to see less new designs on stamps being issued. I would like to see the BEP take back the production of stamps and back to engraved plates. Not only would this help prevent counterfeiting it would encourage new collectors. The stamps today look awful compared to pre 1930 stamps.

I guess the takeaway is you can over produce any product. The USPS has over produced stamps different designs. By making stamps of quality and beauty rather than quantity and fast production would bring back some interest to the hobbie. To save a few million dollars the USPS out sourced the production of stamps. Now Chinese counterfeits have flooded the market. I remind you the face value of these counterfit stamps is much more than the amount the USPS has saved. Also the quality of the printing is so bad and outdated. Bring back quality printing and true beauty and you will bring back customers to the window to buy stamps.

As far as is the hobbie aging yes it is. Is the hobbie replacing collectors as fast as the decline, not so much. Interest will return value will return as soon as the USPS get it head out of the sand and take action to improve the hobbie themselves. They can run ad campaigns and improve the designs. Cut out Chinese counterfeits and improve their bottom line. We as collectors have to stop saying the hobbie is dieing. We have to do our part to advance the hobbie as well with younger people. More so as it looks like the USPS is not going to do it. Speaking positive about the hobbie as fun, educational and as a investment for the future. All is true and now is the time to buy better stamps the prices are depressed with a lot of upside to profit in the future. Just my thoughts.

Statistics are stubborn things.