Does Anyone Really Buy Anything From The Big Stamp Companies

I haven't bought any stamps from the bigs, but may do so in order to get a lot of cheap commons in one fell swoop. I have Mystic's Premium binders and slipcases ("Heritage" with their Heirloom pages) and those are top notch, in my opinion. Most of my stamps are bought from small, local dealers, though I'm looking to perhaps expand to some specialized mail order lists. I've slowly weaned myself off ebay as I resent their constant software and policy attempts to conquer the world via Paypal. John

I agree. Very often the marketing budget gets hit early (I work in PR so this makes me sad), and Mystic continues to be a very active advertiser and buyer. I think they might look at another market too. While I've not noticed lately (I've not paid attention), I have seen them advertise in non-philatelic venues.

A few years ago, I had a lady buy some Princess Diana stamps from me. She wasn't a stamp collector but a Diana collector. Is this type of collector a possible market for Mystic or other companies? I don't know...Just speculating. And that's about all we can do. We can't see their financials but they've been around a long time and just keep going. My speculation is they have several revenue streams, which means more than stamps and supplies - it also means several ways and several communities of customers for those things.

Sort of reminds me of Champion Stamps in NYC. Good stamp shop, but if you look them up on Yelp, the vast majority of their reviews are from brides-to-be who were looking for vintage stamps to mail wedding invitations and/or decorate their receptions/weddings. The store's been featured on some big name media for that very thing. Probably a decent little side revenue stream for them.

Yeah the vintage stamp thing is huge among hipsters. The local trendy craft fair is full of people selling old stamps at insane prices. I am talking a lot of the 50's and 60's commemoratives.

Collectors must be buying from these large companies or else they wouldn't be in business. The same applies to the USPS and their new issues as well. One of the more interesting presentations of common stamps at high prices are those themed framed stamp portraits. I have had some relatives who wanted to give me a gift ask me if I wanted such a framed stamp display portrait for a gift. I would usually tell them not to bother because the stamps were common and that they would be overpaying for stamps that I already have.

It is very hard to not be judgmental about this but I will say that some aren't really collectors in my opinion but enjoy the opportunity to buy at a steal and resell at a nice profit. In reality they are little dealers. I'm not saying this to make anyone out as being bad. Sorry I got off the topic a bit. I use Mystic some and it fills a need in my collecting.
Tom