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

No, the blame is clearly on the buyer and the collector. Why are most newish or return people collecting stamps again? Because they are retired and need a nest egg in cases of emergencies. Baby boomers have not only ruined the market in terms of the economy but have ruined the stamp market as well in the 80's and I fear as the more retire the more baby boomers will once again bring trouble.

What the message needs to be told to everyone, taken out in newspapers, on emails or whatever have you that "STAMPS ARE NOT AN INVESTMENT. THEY WILL NOT PAY FOR YOUR RETIREMENT. LEAVE THE MARKET ALONE. YOU HAVE ALREADY RUINED THE ECONOMY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION SO LEAVE YOUR GRUBBY MITTS OUT OF THIS ONE."

It has to be made clear that no amount of money is to be made for stamps. Collectors who come and say "How much is grandma/grandpa's old album?" should be given a valuation of a $1. We need more collectors not more grubby old gits (sorry to say) trying to ruin this market once again.

Yup, when I went into the service my "Tales of the Crypt" comics disappeared..probably into the furnace by Mom, my younger brothers destroyed my army of British made metal soldiers..thats what happens when you can't or won't look after things ! I took my stamp album with me !!

Not me. I still have my rookie cards of all the steroid era Hall of Famers!

But by the by, I can't imagine how anyone can get back into collecting and expect that they can collect stamps for profit. Especially if they look at the change in price their singles have changed during their hiatus. And combining the expense of keeping up every year compared to back when they last collected. And they may have had a hiatus of 25 years, but they might die in fifteen. Where would be the profit? There are many reasons to collect stamps, but as we have said so, so many times, investment is just not one of them.


-IBFS

When I first read this thread title I thought we had
our very own Rip van Winkle.

as others have said. the 80's were the heyday of prices...

1)The collecting of postal stationery has been rehabilitated.

2)The changes in Eastern Europe means that the broad base of collecting (i.e. children and 'ordinary people') has shifted to Asia - particularly India and China.

3) The introduction of the Internet has led to a massive increase in the availability of postal history and covers from just about every country, and at much more competative prices than those asked by the 'old fashioned' face to face dealers - who have so far ignored the fact and continue to ask outmodedly high prices.

4) The mindless obsession with buying stamps in blocks of 4 has nearly disappeared - to be replaced by a mindless obsession with undisturbed gum.

5) Indian Feudatory States, and similar 'uglies', and their collectors, are no longer treated as if they were suffering from leprosy.

6) The issue of stamps has increased to the point where the one volume Stanley Gibbons has been replaced by so many volumes that you would struggle to peer over them when standing on tiptoe.

7) People are slightly more wordy. Where they used to say 'What is this stamp?' they now say 'What is this stamp worth?'

8) I am a little older. But I'm still younger than most of the collectors I bump into.

I can only add that I collect for fun but I know that at least a small portion of my humble little collection does have some value but I at least know that I will never get out of it (my collection) anywhere near what I have into it but I do like to buy low (who don't) and take great pains to protect the stamps integrity so it hold it's re-sale value. My collection isn't huge and it isn't full of gems but I'm a collector that enjoys the history almost more than the actual stamps! I just love to learn about stamps.

A couple of posters here want to blame somebody/something for the overall decline of stamp collecting.
The USPS,the buyers, the collectors , the Baby boomers of the eighties
and again the baby boomers who are now retired.

One guy said


Heh I might be old but I'm not grubbby and I don't know what a git is and I certainly didn't ruin the market.
And don't forget you will be old soon enough.

But even in his naivety there is some truth and it does have to do with an aging society.
Too many old white guys in Europe and North America are dying
off and their heirs are dumping their stuff on the market all at once.
Simple supply and demand.
Too much stuff available which most already have and nobody wants unless they can get it very very cheap.

Also young kids nowadays have way more cool stuff to keep them occupied than some little bits of coloured paper.

When I was a kid I collected Hockey cards, comics and stamps.
By the time I was in my mid teens I had gotten rid of the cards and comics but kept the stamps.
Financially wise I probably should have kept the first two but
I have always got great enjoyment out of stamp collecting and still do.

Really? I believe it would be more appropriate to state that although not all postage stamps should be collected from an investment point of view there are many examples of classical as well modern postage stamps that have recently increased in substantial value. If an astute collector had wisely studied world history, world events, postage stamp market values, as well as world currencies he/she would have bought/collected all of those 1960-1970 People's Republic of China stamps long ago and retired today on the profits. The stamps follow the money. Why not collect "some" that will increase in value? It is an extremely small part of the inventory. I have ruined nothing as the value of my postage stamps will be be gifted to my grand daughter for her education.

Regarding the comment about the baby boomer retirements ruining the stamp market, I'd like to see some statistics on that. About the thought that why are Fed Ex and UPS profitable and the USPS is not, those companies don't have Congress as the ultimate boss. UPS & FedEx have much less restrictive union rules. USPS also has to deliver everywhere. If the USPS lost its monopoly on delivery of first class mail, I suspect that the private companies would become less profitable. Among other things, the USPS loses big money delivering mail to obscure places in Alaska, to name just one state.

And I wouldn't judge the state of the stamp market just by US. There is a whole world of countries out there that have issued collectible stamps. The main caveat remains; treat philately as a hobby. If you make money in the end, great. But it is a hobby.

Hi,
I think what is happening is fairly apparent.......
Elderly stamp collectors that have passed on in the last say 20 years left collections to folks that sold them off and brought in a new supply. But on the other hand, there are old guys like myself who have gotten back into the hobby and bought up some of that "excess".

In the mid 20th century, an awful lot of folks collected stamps. But as they passed on, their heirs typically only saw dollar signs when they got their inheritance and/or had no interest in the hobby. Soooo, they sold them off.

The hobby is not a money making venture, and anyone that gets into it for that reason is going to have a real challenge ahead of them.


Also, we do have to keep in mind that many hobbies tanked over the last ten years for the simple reason that folks needed money and sold them off, and/or didn't have extra money to endulge in hobbies.

There was a big bubble in stamp prices in the late 70's early 80's and of course the bubble burst, causing prices to crash back down. Also, besides a run up in prices, speculators bought extra copies of new issues during the boom time and these extras are still floating around, having trouble finding new homes.

One other big thig - the market has become obsessed with perfection & grading (although that seems to have peaked a few years ago).

If anyone wants to point a finger at what caused the decline I would have to start with Technology. In the 50's, 60's, and 1970's every kid on the block had a Stamp collection or Baseball card collection. Today's youth are too consumed with IPADS, IPODS, Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation, etc. Not to mention that back in the 1970's there were actually ways for a 12 year old to make money such as delivering Newspapers. Today all the jobs that used be be held by Teen aged Children are now taken by the elderly because social security really isn't much security.

Got to agree...........
I have 4 kids, 3 boys and a girl. They are all in their late 40s. None of them had - or has - real interest in any of my hobbies. Yup, my stamp and coin collections, auto mechanics, model trains, and firearms just aren't special to them. I have a number of grandkids now too, and of course they have little interest in these things either. The really sad thing is, that is an all too common story these days.

Bamra, you forgot to add - -

9 - Perfins are now accepted and even have societies devoted to them

10 - Cinderellas are booming and exhibit judges now accept them.

11 - Meters are still slow, but, they are gaining in popularity.

12 - Reference books are now more numerous than ever, but the cost of books is numerous in many $$

My opinions of course

Chimo

Bujutsu