Asda Spring New York City Stamp Bourse

Hilton Hotel
1335 Ave of the Americas (6th Ave)
6 blocks from Central Park

10am to 6pm (to 5pm last day)

Free Admission. Free Appraisals.

Wish I could go. Haven't seen one of my favorite stamp dealers in almost 10 years - Toga Associates. He will likely have his stock there.

I'm interested in learning how the dealers are doing in this time of transition to online auctions.
Some more experienced collectors say they miss stamp shows and mention the demise of many stamp clubs.
But I'm new to face-to-face interaction with dealers. The few that I have met are elderly pros who have been in business for decades. I wonder what the business prospects are like for new dealers coming into the business?

I will be there, and bought from Toga at the ASDA New York fall show. Look forward to seeing his stock again.

I'm surprised there aren't more SCF members from the East Coast indicating their plans to attend.
This will be my first big stamp show. I've built my US collection entirely with ebay auctions and most of the albums I've purchased have been through New York dealers. Looking forward to meeting with dealers from other states. I need to get to know some dealers located outside New York state. Every time I purchase from NY Stamp or other NYS dealer I pay additional 8.25% NYS sales tax. Really adds up!

8.25% will be a discount for me. My combined city and county rate (this is in CA) is 9%, and there are cities nearby that hit 10% as of April 1. "It's only temporary," they say, "to pay for this special project ..." Yeah, right.

These shows continue to demonstrate how popular, thriving and dynamic our hobby is. Last summer there was all kinds of hand-wringing on SCF about the alleged decline of the hobby. Then I went to the NY ASDA fall show, and it was packed.

I am looking forward to this and plan to spend much of Thursday there searching like a pig for truffles.

Q/ Anybody else think it odd that there were no exhibits this year?

Not really. Midtown space is costly, there is no entrance fee and exhibits generate zero revenue. They just act as an indirect draw to some, probably a minority, of attendees. I am concerned about this show. At the close of the fall show, when I was at a dealer table he told me that he had already been informed that the spring show was canceled. Yet here it is, in reduced form. I wouldn't be surprised to see it turn into a one-day Saturday affair if no one is buying. For working people in the higher disposable income brackets it's simply difficult to attend on a Thursday or Friday. But, the best way to preserve these shows is to show up and buy.

I'll be at Westpex at San Francisco Airport next weekend and it will make an interesting comparison.

As I recall, there were definitely exhibits at the Fall show. I heard at the time that there were recriminations within the ASDA leadership that resulted from the show being moved to the Hilton. Previously, it was at the New Yorker Hotel, which is very close to Penn Station/Madison Square Garden. The cost differential between the two venues was substantial. I think this fact was what led to the rumor that the Spring show would be cancelled. Glad to see it was not.

I have been to the last three ASDA shows but I couldn't attend this week because of scheduling conflicts. I hope to be back in October.

Correct, there were exhibits in October 2014 and they were quite good and also interleaved into the dealer area which was nice as it tended to guide browsers from the exhibits into the dealers. "Recriminations" is unfortunate. The location further uptown is a little less desirable for me as I'm in TriBeCa, but I find it hard to fault leadership for wanting to try something new.

Agreed. The New Yorker is outdated and in need of some sprucing up (to put it mildly). The location is preferable for me because I am coming by train from New Jersey. However, the Hilton was a nice change.

The dealers seem to be doing business Thu & Fri; perhaps there are fewer looky-loo folks on a weekday.




I had thought that these were the sorts of people who had PAs, worked yearly not hourly, etc. Live'n'learn.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I went yesterday after work and today during my lunch hour! I was able to buy many stamps I'm missing in my Philippine collection.

I went to the ASDA Spring show yesterday (Friday). Love the Hilton location. It is much less cramped than the New Yorker Hotel, which is rather decaying and claustrophobic. Kudos to the ASDA! Wish there were more young folks there. Perhaps they will show up on Saturday?
The USPS ran out of the US Japan Gift of Friendship stamps and sent out for more, which arrived around 3pm. Despite lack of exhibits, a good showing of dealers and some governments.

Great to see a nice group of SCF members attending ASDA. I went Thursday; my first large stamp show. Plenty of dealers, and the number of buyers seemed to increase as the day went on. I was very happy with my five purchases, and learned first hand the great value good highly experienced dealers bring to the serious collector. Thought for sure I had a US #124 @ cent pictorial unused OG. Appraisal at the show pointed out tell tale sign that stamp had been pen cancelled and scrubbed, ironed and re-glued. A definite downer, but having bought the stamp in an online auction as part of an album win, my gem turned into a lump of coal.

As to the venue -- I thought the space at the Hilton was well laid out; having been to the New Yorker not long ago for an industry trade show, I found that hotel a depressing location sadly in need of a facelift. I'm sure it is far less costly than is the Hilton, and that cost has to be passed on to the exhibitors. So I hope sales was solid enough to bring them back for the Fall show. Most I spoke with do plan to come back to the Hilton, and the World Stamp show next year will be at the sprawling Jacob Javits Convention Center.