To Renew Or Not To Renew Membership? That Is The Question.

I reinstated my membership a couple of months ago after a hiatus of several years. I look forward to the many benefits of APS membership. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since I left but I will try to focus on the positives.

I chose not to renew opting to renew my Linn's subscription only.

Jack Kelley

I also let some society memberships with their journals lapse from time to time whenI I simply don't read them. But be a little hesitant to drop subscriptions of stamp publications too quickly. Most are not like regular magazines at all, though they look like magazines. What your annual payment does is help support that organization. It's really a contribution to the hobby for which you get sent a magazine in return that you can read.

If we all decide to cancel our membership subscriptions, this hobby will continue to decline as its main publications disappear. I know many publications are on the internet, but I still prefer to read on paper. That's one concern I have.

Once upon a time, there were more than half a dozen really good stamp magazines and stamp newspapers. Even as a kid, I managed to scrape together enough money to subscribe to "Stamps" magazine, "McKeels," "Linn's" and others. Today, besides the journal mailed from specialty societies like the APS or the Int'l Society for Japanese Philately (two of my journals), there's really one one general interest stamp publication available -- and it's also in decline. That's "Linn's," of course.

Kill these publications and the hobby has less communication, less connection, beyond the internet, of course. And if you abandon stamp societies and their journals, you may kill them off, too. We may be the cause of the decline of our own hobby -- and all over a small amount of money to subscribe to maybe one stamp newspaper plus a couple or three society journals. The APS used to have more than 50K members. Today it's maybe 60% as large and continues to slowly decline. You can't get them back once they're gone.

I ended my subscription to US Stamp News and Meekel's. They both use the concept of reprinting a significant amount of older material from prior issues. It is a good idea but not well executed.

Morning all,

"Kill these publications and the hobby has less communication"; no, the mode of communication is just changing. Prior to the invention of the printing press scribes hand made scrolls. Their viewership was limited compared to printed documents. Today, we have the digital medium which dwarfs the distribution of the printed word. Growing societies have web sites and digital publications. Our hobby marches on into the future.

It dawned on me recently I've renewed nothing. I purchased a home, started a program to lead to a principal's license, and a few other things. I've spent plenty of times with my collection, but not on memberships and/or subscriptions.

The ... unfortunate thing? I've not really missed 'em. But then again I've not needed an ATA checklist or something from the APRL library lately, so who knows?

I have renewed my APs and ATA memberships because I find value there. I also subscribe to Linn's and the American Stamp Dealer and Collector because I find those (mostly) interesting reads. I have opted not to renew my USPCS membership because, after a trial period, I am not afraid to admit that their journal is a bit too advanced and their articles too specialized to this-back-to-the-hobby-recently-guy. I may sign up again in the future if I get to the point of appreciating more what they have to offer. I also belong to the USSS which is more my speed than the USPCS, but given how non-proactive they've been about notifying members of and providing complete information about the loss of 49k, I'll probably not renew just for the principle.