Why I No Longer Buy New Issues

Well, I think most of us, myself included, collect what appeals to us, regardless of when it was issued or how valuable it might become. The enjoyment I get out of my collection is worth the purchase price, and any residual monetary value later is just the icing on the cake. I have pages with empty spaces on them that cry out to be filled. When the time comes to fill that space the future price of that stamp doesn't concern me, just what it's going to cost to fill it today. I'm 45 today and I hope to collect another 30 or 40 years before I sell. Trying to guess at what's going to be in demand then is a fools game.

Yep, it is only for fun and enjoyment.

You would probably do better at a casino if you want a chance to make money.

xyyz - the casinos are rigged to make money - not 50/50 - which represents having as much chance as winning as losing. Managing your stamp collection is entirely different. Applying intelligence, common sense and market awareness you can configure your hobby to at least be worth something at the end - even if it doesn't bring as much as you paid into it.

Damn. you just ruined it for me. I hope there really is a santa.

Just like when I invest in Florida swamp land...I get a sinking feeling. Don't know why.

I don't have any problem with this. But I do wonder, is this considered "philatelic" or "non-philatelic." I collect FDC's, and I know that for some FDC's lack the cachet of "non-philatelic" covers. What differentiates this from a "philatelic" FDC?

I started sincerely in 1974 becoming subscriber program. before 1969 just used to get by pen pal in USA. Since 1975 I collected or say horded singles, Pairs, Blocks, MI Blocks and Sheets, SVS, Booklet, Coil with line. etc.

Sadly after 1998 I cut down a lot. now only singles, MI or Plate Block. Recently I came to know that now USPS no longer send single stamps subscription. With these Forever self adhesive stamps, have to by full sheet. I do not know how I can collect single for whole year to keep Yearly Issued. Talking for only USA issues. So looks like am reached to my limitation.

tikithindi

I have noticed that Modern stamps on paper (or off) sell REALLY well on ebay. Anything post 2000ish used sells really well. And, its actually not easy to come by, let alone try to complete all the used stamps for 2000-2015. Its kind of a difficult endeavor really.

Stamps of the 50's through 80's are everywhere, and easy to buy in bulk

EricBismarck is right.. There is certainly a lively group of collectors collecting postally used modern US and worldwide stamps. The supply is going down faster than the demand. Think of where the supply comes from. There are people out there whose main occupation is snipping stamps off cover sitting in front of the TV at night. These people are fortunate to have connections with utilities and contests where people mail in stamped covers. As payments shift away from sending in checks and perhaps heightened security, the envelope snippers are slowly getting cut off. There were probably 800 million Christmas cards sent in the US alone in 2014 so the supply of Christmas stamps will be there, but looking for every stamp from a pane of 20 different from a given issue is a real challenge.

I'd think that - no pun intended - stamp dealers would be a good source of modern used US. I'm not trying to be a smart aleck here, what I mean is that most of the mail that dealers get is likely to be from collectors, and collectors are much more likely to use current commems, imperfs and the like than the rest of the public. What I wonder is how many dealers bother to save the stamps, figuring its not worth their time. Many dealers probably pay little to no attention to the market for current used US issues and might not be aware that they could get up to half face value for them. A busy dealer (particularly one selling on approval) could probably accumulate enough in a short enough time to make a nice little bonus income, probably amounting to several hundred dollars a year or more. At any rate, I save mine and sell them a couple times a year so I can, of course, buy more stamps.

jogil- You are now, exactly where I felt, in 1988.


-IBFS

Q/ But why would you care? <=== that is not meant to be as personally hostile as it may read

There are too many things in this world that will remain collectible for me to care if new stamp issues become collectible.

The inkjet cancellations are ugly even when they are legible. I would feel foolish saving, and dusting, and moving, and protecting, and preserving these covers; I know this, of course, because I do just that :)

I have perversely become grateful that nobody uses stamps anymore, as it greatly reduces the number of new-issue-bearing covers I am not collecting, there, in that pile, in the corner, behind the door.

Most every one of us can 'make' more money by not spending their money in the first place. Skip a couple of passes thru the drive-thru, and you can set aside more cash than you will ever make by saving GPU (Genuinely Postally Used) new issues.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Cheers ikeyPricky. Thanks for the financial advice.

BTW, I just bought two Hellcats (cash). Will they be collectible in a few years?

You found two Grumman F6Fs for sale? Are they airworthy? Are they OG (Original Guns)?

PS: you misspelled 'prickly'.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

The biggest factor to value is supply and demand. Because most collectors ignore new issues entirely, there is little demand and therefore, regardless of supply, the value isn't going to go up significantly. The majority of new issues, nobody wants, why would collectors pay for them?