I've Been Away 40 Years - What's Been Happening???

Hi,
As a kid in the '50s I collected world stamps, and as a young man collected US stamps in the '60s. I could barely afford used stamps, and eventually sold the collection. Last year, I jumped back in with both feet, collecting US stamps (most all mint) and I'm really enjoying it.

The thing that got me back in was the really low prices (to me) of US mint stamps on ebay.

Has the overall value of stamps declined since the '50s? Has it been on a roller coaster? Had the number of enthusiasts dropped or gone up? Have the "war babies" and "baby boomers" gotten back into the hobby, or have they sold off their collections?

In short, what has been the state of the Hobby over the last 40-50 years?

Thank you!
Mobilman44

2 words, downward spiral.

Although I've noticed from personal experience that it does seem that "baby boomers" are beginning to rejoin our stamp club, so perhaps a spike upwards?

It has nowhere to go but up.

Yes Jkjblue, I think that some parents will hope that the first words out of their baby's mouth will be "Baby wants a pair of tweezers".

Well, we can hope anyway.

Chimo

Bujutsu

I believe it was in the 1980s that stamp collecting took a nosedive (in terms of values, anyway). Talk to different collectors and you'll get different stories about it. For me (primarily a US collector) I fault the following:

1. The economy in general. Most all collectibles took a hit during this period.

2. The USPS ruined the hobby for plate block collectors in creating all of those hard to store plate number strips of up to 20 stamps each.

3. In the 1990s the USPS withdrew stamp printing contracts from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and left it to private companies to print stamps. When the BEP stopped printing US Stamps, often the quality of the designs was lost in the transition as revealed by today's stamps that are little more than computer generated labels and not the engraved stamps we were taught to enjoy from decades ago.

4. Then, in the 2000s stamps were starting to come out in self adhesive (rather than gummed) formats. Although the USPS is catering to the public-at-large with the self adhesive issues, many stamp collectors reject them as nothing more than labels.

5. In the 2010s, the number of face different stamps being offered by the USPS has gotten out of control (for example, nearly 200 face different US stamps are already announced for 2013). Instead of a coil stamp, there are now four or five designs in each coil strip that must be collected; instead of blocks of stamps, there are now five or more designs in one pane of stamps, requiring you to collect the entire pane; and the USPS has designated certain stamp issues (such as Lunar New Year Stamps) as being "souvenir sheets" prohibiting collectors from acquiring only one stamp, but requiring collectors to purchase a whole pane of stamps for each of those issues.

6. As it relates to self adhesive stamps, the "jury is still out" on the longevity of retaining mint self adhesive stamps in albums for future generations. There have been reports that the stamp adhesive is said to last about 20 or 25 years, but beyond that it is very possible that the adhesive will either dry up or discolor over time, making mint self adhesive stamps nearly impossible to collect for future decades.

7. The current trend by the USPS is to offer a lot of "collectibles" as a means to increase their revenue source from collectors, but has often been viewed negatively by the stamp collecting community. For example, stamps produced by multiple printers, makes for varieties of many definitive issues that has noticeably increased in the past few years. The creation of uncut press sheets is yet another new area of collecting...and within the last year or two, uncut press sheets (without die cuts) have offered collectors the opportunity to acquire imperforate varieties of both commemorative and select definitive stamps in formats that has broken the budget of many collectors wallets. And now in recent months, the USPS has started to heavily market framed wall hangings, giclee prints, posters, and related "limited edition" merchandise that feature stamp themed images, but are hardly philatelic collectibles.

As a result of all of these changes, the stamp collecting public is now forced to choose what stamps they want and what stamps they do not want to collect, as the idea to collect all of the new issues, especially with the recent increase in high value stamps and the dubious "value" of modern stamps on the secondary market, makes many collectors wary of collecting all new issues.

If you read trade publications or investment magazines, you will learn that the stamps that sustain or increase their values are the early classics that are expensive to purchase to begin with. Although stamps are hardly ever considered a good investment, those that are, must be of the scarce or rare varieties that cost much more than the average collector can afford. On the other hand, the average stamp collector often states that they are not in the hobby to make money but just enjoy the hobby.

The beauty of stamp collecting is that it can conform to virtually any budget, even though many low value modern stamps may never appreciate in value, some collectors still cherish them for what they are ... a relaxing hobby, a history lesson or a sense of satisfaction in being able to acquire all of the many different designs that are offered.

Mobilman..the stamps I purchased 30 years ago...Netherlands semi postals and German semi postals from the 1950s are half the price I paid for them back then...thats happened ! I guess the demand back then kept the prices high and now the collectors pass away and their "stuff" comes on the market...i have to qualify that the really good material has held its price.

Thank you folks for the insight. You pretty much confirmed what I thought (I'm a retired business analyst - can't help myself). Its pretty much the same story as my collection of post war (WWII) Lionel trains. In the 80s and early 90s they were at a premium - which is when I bought most of mine. Now, they are worth about 1/3 of that. Why? Well the "old guys" sold them off (or their heirs did), and then Lionel decided to remanufacture "classics" from the '40s and '50s.

I got back into the hobby for the peace and satisfaction and education it provides. I fully realized that todays "low prices" enabled me to get in at a pretty nice level, but by no means does it mean I will enjoy a profit someday. Frankly, I'll leave the collection to one of my kids, and hopefully they will continue with it - or not.

Oh, I did do some comparisons ( ebay vs. Mystic) and found that there are still high prices out there...............

It seems to me that over the years, there are upward tends to the point where stamp prices get so high that nobody buys them anymore. Then prices take a dive. Then the process repeats. But the overall trend is slightly upwards. But not near enough to collect stamps for investment purposes, Unless one will live to be as old as Methuselah.


-IBFS

- - - and have pockets as deep as Bill Gates

Chimo

Bujutsu

It would seem that whether the market has gone up or down would depend on one's available expendable cash. If you've got a lot, the market has gone down cuz you can now afford to buy. If you struggle from pay day to pay day, the market has sky rocketed. Then too, it seems if you're selling the market is down, and up, if you're buying.

I'm brand-spankin' new to collecting (and, I would guess, relatively young as compared to many on SCF) and this thread reinforces what I've already figured out: that I need to set a pretty low budget for myself until I learn more about what I want my collection to be. I'd love to just hop on ebay and start buying up random-ish lots to see what I get and what I like, but it's obviously impractical for me to do so.

Upon reentering the hobby lately, I discovered ebay. With the three main interests that I have: US, UN, Germany/Berlin, I find that some of the low prices have caused me to go willy-nilly on by purchasing. I have to pick a subject and point or I will run out of cash in a buying frenzy.

Pardon me here, as a newbie, but I tend to blame the USPS! Obviously, not for the older collections, but for the new stamps. Ihey are facing economic hardship, cutting costs, and now have decided to cut Saturday delivery, all in the name of saving money! Hey...I have an idea...how about going back to the days when postage was primarily sold to get a piece of mail to point B from point A? I know we are all collectors, but to cater to us by flooding the market with untold numbers of different designs, be they definitive or commemorative, is ridiculous! This costs them money in production, sales, design, etc., to the point that many collectors have stopped collecting the newer stamps, as it isn't worth the trouble! I can't even keep up with them any more! I'll probably have my pre-1940's album more populated before I even get done with 2012 and 2013. Add to that, they are often unwilling to break up a sheet to sell one stamp to anyone is also stupid. Over 50 years ago, during my "pre-teen" years, I could go into any Post Office and ask for any current stamp I wanted, and they would gladly provide it. In my opinion, they are attempting to sell full sheets, knowing they will make the money off of them, and save labor costs knowing the stamps will never be used for mailing. Pretty soon, the newer "used" stamps will have more value than the MNH's, as they will be rarer! Apparently, with the new cost cutting measures, that strategy isn't working. Maybe I'm way off base here, but I don't think it's doing them any good at all! They need to decide if they are going to be in the business of delivering the mail or pandering to occasional collectors who like a stamp, simply because Elvis, or muscle cars, or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (I'm being facetious here) have their picture on the stamps! I am not denigrating "topical collectors". I'm talking about the average "Joe" who buys one sheet and doesn't even have an album, and has no intention of buying one. Sorry, guys and gals, but I think they need to get their priorities straight! When one looks at UPS and Fed-Ex, one wonders why they can be successful and profitable, with their employees having stock options, while the USPS is failing. Granted, UPS and Fed-Ex do not have pretty and collectible stamps, but that is minimal cost, compared to labor, pensions, etc. I have no problem with the USPS raising their rates in line with the private companies, but they need to recognize who their competition is...and their competition is NOT churning out millions of pretty stamps which will be worth 20 cents 50 years from now to make up for any shortfalls! OK...rant is over! Don't shoot me! ;)

Moms everywhere threw out childhood toys and the baseball cards, but not the stamps! Luckily for us, there are zillions of stamps around to collect. Prices held up well over the years in geeneral for the classics.

Excellent point. That has been my contention, too. The decline in first class mail, the ability to print postage on demand from computers, and the meters primarily used in business offices, render many used stamps a rare commodity, so I agree that they will be harder to find in the years to come.

The "problems" with collecting new issues in used condition, is the notorious spray-on cancels that are often illegible and leave nothing more than an ink blob on the stamp and whether to attempt to remove the stamps off-paper or leave them trimmed on-paper. I vote for the latter. Although collecting modern self adhesive stamps on paper may be a bit of hassle, one can always choose to remove the stamp later on; if you do so now and harm the stamp in the process, the damage is done and cannot be reversed.