How Long Have You Been Collecting Stamps?

Unfortunately the data shows that we are an aging group of collectors with few new ones to continue on in the future.

I'd say that is a pretty good spread.

36 votes is too small a sample to make any real conclusions.
Let's see if more respond before any judgements are made. Besides, everyone knows that the collector base and dealer base is getting older.

Art

I didn't know how to vote. I started when I was 13 years old. Let's see that would make it about 1958 and collected until I was 18 years old or 1963. Stopped as life got in the way. Started back on my 64th BD and I am 69 1/2 now . So I voted 1-5 years.

TinMan, I'm fairly similar. I'm 44 and started collecting somewhere around 36-38 years or so ago, I don't really remember for certain my exact age when I started, but it was pretty young. I didn't collect that whole time, however. I'd guess my total collecting years since my first stamp purchase is 10-15 years counting various stops and starts. I've been back actively collecting for about 2 years now, and my collecting now is much more serious in most ways than in the past. So...I could realistically answer 1-5 years as a "serious" collector.

I also agree with TinMan and TheArtfulHinger. My grandmother gave me her small collection when I was about 19 and I bought a few stamps etc for a little while but nothing serious and then tucked it under the bed until just last year when I dug it out and started to get serious. I am now 55, so I could put 1-5 also.

I don't think most of the younger collectors take the time to join forums. That's all this shows. If you did this poll on Facebook, I'm sure the numbers would be completely different.

I attended a stamp show 2 weeks ago. I was there for 6 hours. During that time I saw no collectors under 30 attending that show.

If you had gone to the Hartford APS show you would have seen a few dozen under 16 over the course of the weekend.

The latest Philatelic Magazine (October) has a survey. One of the questions dealt with the respondent's age. Over 50 percent were between 66 to 80!

Jack Kelley

It's no wonder the APS is worried about declining membership. When that 50% is gone there won't be enough members for the APS to operate. At least to keep paying the employees those big salaries and keeping those big Beautiful buildings open.

The APS needs to figure out its value proposition for collectors. It used to be that being an APS member was more or less necessary to buy stamps at auction and obtain certain material, among other things. Being an APS member opened a lot of doors that might have otherwise been closed. With the advent of credit cards and the internet (among other developments), it's simply not as necessary to be an APS member in today's hobby. In terms of opportunities for obtaining stamps, meeting dealers or other collectors, and getting and education in the hobby, etc, being an APS member just doesn't offer as many advantages as it used to. I don't say that to disparage the APS or anything they currently do, just saying that they should be thinking about new ways to add value for collectors' money. The world in which the APS was founded and built no longer exists, and the APS must adapt to it.

i am 33 years old, collecting stamps for about 15-20 years. There are young people who collect stamps. But sometimes we get caught up with college,work,marriage,family, so once we have balanced all the above said acts, we could spend our free time for philately.

I started collecting stamps since 1954. My first purchase was at
Indian Railway centenary Exhibition.
Collect USA, Canada, India and UNO. mint single, sheet, blocks
etc.

tikithidi

I can pin down when I started pretty accurately. The GB European Elections stamps of May 1979 were new. I collected really enthusiastically for a couple of years, then became a teenager and the pattern from there is familiar!

I guess the last five years or so have seen a gradual rediscovery for me, but all in, 1979-2015.