2008 Was A Bad Year For United Nations Stamps

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Apparently (or so I heard) something happened in 2008 that changed the market for United Nations Stamps for the worse. And they haven't recovered since. Does anyone know what in fact happened?

Claude 3.7 Sonnet thinks:

In 2008, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) made a decision to outsource the production and distribution of its stamp program to a private company called Inter-Governmental Philatelic Corporation (IGPC). This was a significant shift in how UN stamps were handled. This change had several consequences for collectors:

1. There was a perception of reduced quality control and authenticity when stamp production moved to a commercial entity
2. Many collectors felt the stamps became more commercialized, with designs and release schedules aimed at maximizing sales rather than commemorating significant UN events
3. The market became flooded with what some collectors considered excessive new issues

This shift contributed to a decline in both collector interest and market values for UN stamps. Many serious philatelists began viewing post-2008 UN stamps as less prestigious or collectible than the earlier issues.

This is generally viewed as one of the key events that negatively impacted the UN stamp collecting market, and values for many issues have indeed remained depressed since this transition.