Will Stamp Collecting Endure As Snail Mail Dwindles?

An interesting article posted today (04/12/2015):

http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/ind...lecting.html

Thanks for the link; I'll check out the article.
I'm very interested in learning where stamping is at as a marketplace.
Retiring soon from my corporate marketing career and toying with the prospect of
becoming a stamp dealer. So far the few dealers I've met are all older than I am.
These folks don't seem to be focused online. Any younger blood coming into stamp dealing?

Here's a thread I've been active in discussing the future prospects of our passion:
https://goscf.com/t/42254

Good article, well written.

Referencing Amick from Linn's is interesting to me. I do not receive Linn's now.

Anyone know if it is all American or topical also or worldwide sometimes?

I think stamp collecting will survive the death of stamped mail, but I really don't know if said death of new stamps will cause collecting to diminish or thrive. I said in a different thread that stamp collecting has been a constant from horse-and-buggy, pre-electric days, across cultures and various upheavals and into today's age of the internet and smart phone. However, the one thing that all those situations had in common was the use of stamps to carry the mail. It's hard to say what will happen to the hobby when new stamps are no longer issued at all.

If I had to guess, I'd guess that postal administrations will continue to issue stamps for postal purposes for another 20 years or so and a bit longer than that for collectors. It would be kind of fitting if the UK issued the final stamp 25 years from now in 2040, the 200th anniversary of the Penny Black. It's certainly conceivable, anyway.

Stamp collecting is alive as long as stamp collectors are alive.

Whether or not Post Offices produce stamps or trading card companies produce stamps for games or world events.

People want to collect and cherish memories of things and people and events that have made a difference to them and in their lives.

Hey Dan - there are some younger collectors out there, I'm 50 years young but I would love to move more into dealing. My thought is you need to establish your niche, then pursue a dedicated clientele, offer quality material via a useful and informative website. The bar is REALLY low regarding dealer websites. I've seen few really nice ones. revenuecollector has an excellent site.

The Post Office will remain as long as there's a need to send something physical between two points.
But they have lost a lot of that business to courier companies, like FedEx, who pick off the easier routes.
Now, if FedEx ever came up with a stamp program of its own...

It would be interesting to know the demographics of SCF and the various philatelic societies in order to gauge the interest in the hobby of the younger folks in the population.

I've mentioned before in other posts that I've returned to collecting after being away for 30 years. Thinking back on the environment then I remember there were bourses at least monthly in St. Louis and you always saw younger people there. Not so anymore.

IMHO, the only hope for the survival of the hobby is in the hands of the youngsters out there.

Terry

I go back and forth on this a lot in my own head. Though stamp collecting may change and/or diminish somewhat, I do think it'll always be around in some form or another. Stamps are simply the easiest, cheapest and most portable way of owning tangible parts of other times and places. I know there are a lot of reasons people collect, but that's a big one. There are a lot of people in this world who really like to learn about things like history, geography and culture and stamp collecting is always going to appeal to those types of people.

I just revisited this topic because a lot has happened over the past months while my interest in my own stamp collecting has continued to deepen -- and broaden.

I for one have very little interest in collecting the newest stamps. I'm concentrating on my US collection, and while Forever self-adhesive booklet stamps may be in vogue, I have very little interest in collecting a mint never-hinged copy of every issue published by the USPS.

I love the beautiful engravings of the older classics. And now I'm getting hooked on US revenues.
Of course, I understand that there are many various types of stamp collecting interests: Topics, BOB, Cut squares, stationary, post cards, sheets, FDCs, Essays, Ducks, fancy cancels, etc.

At this moment, I think stamp collecting will continue to appeal to a narrow specialty interest group. Despite the potential demise of future postal mail -- and the end to new stamp issues -- some folks will continue to discover stamp collecting. Our hobby interests those who find deep interest in history, cultures, geography, graphics, art, and commerce. People will be drawn to the intimate and quiet act of collecting and admiring stamps just as some collect dolls, ceramics, or African masks.

What is more likely to change is not the act of collecting and appreciating stamps, but rather how the market is structured so that stamp buyers and sellers interact. The Internet is changing our hobby. I have purchased most of my collection via ebay. I also offer to sell my duplicate stamps on ebay. But I plan to return to a local live stamp auction in October because my first live auction was so enjoyable.

I agree with 'dcaraz1949' that many collectors, I for one, have "very little interest in collecting the newest stamps." I collect mostly classic era stamps (pre-1940 or so) and so whether or not the USPS makes any more new stamps has little bearing on my collection. If no more new stamps were being made, wouldn't that actually make stamps more unique as collectibles?

This is as far as I've gotten so far:

What will most certainly survive are the established collections that are well maintained and easy to transport ... and the collections that are of greater monetary value. People will protect family heirlooms ... and things of monetary value.

What won't survive is all the knowledge that we don't put into books. In twenty years, for instance, all our posts here will be gone, accessible to no one as we'll be on Windows 19 and no one thought to upgrade all the electronic 0s and 1s that make up this forum.

Mail (pre-stamps) started with messengers or couriers running written communications to other parties. When stamps were first used to control payments it was a significant paradigm shift. Mail services then saw another significant paradigm shift with the advent of trains as mail became faster and more reliable. And now we are seeing the next significant paradigm shift as communications are handled by the internet. My opinion is that the demise of hard copy mail is simply a part of the evolution. Will younger people eventually desire to learn these 'roots'? I think it is up to us to make the connections (pun intended) for them.
Don

KGB: for stamps "monetary value" is a relative term. Stamps are only worth what someone (a collector) is willing to pay for them.

chris, you're right, of course, but there are certain collections and even individual stamps that have such a value at present. As we will always have the wealthy among us, it is these folks who will continue an interest in stamps, essentially selling to one another and ... purchasing the prized stamps that smaller family collection will give up out of need or a lack of interest. I suspect that the most valuable stamps are already in the possession of a relatively small number of collectors.