Stamp Collecting Possibly Making A Slight Comeback?

Hi everyone,

In buying and selling on ebay over the last 2 years, I've noticed stamp collections are going for higher prices over the past 6 months (good for my selling, bad for my buying).

Although I know this could be, and most likely is, temporary, I wanted to see if you guys have noticed prices getting steeper? I hope it's not just me as I am hopeful this industry makes a largely unexpected comeback!

Is the material you are selling of late a different country or different area of collecting? Some things are hotter than other.

I sell and buy generalized lots from all over the country so no real specialization.

What material is hot right now besides Asia?

I've noticed some German-area material selling at prices higher than I'd expect, but I don't know that I'd call it "hot". I only pay attention to a very small slice of the stamp market and I don't have any real data, but it seems to be that prices are edging upward a bit on what I do watch. If this is actually true in a broader sense (and I'm not saying it is), it could also be due to other factors, such as an improving economy, etc. I wasn't actively collecting in the 2008/2009 timeframe when the economy tanked, but I'm guessing that the stamp market crashed right along with it and has been gradually recovering since.

That's a good point and makes sense. I guess I'm just optimistic we will make a comeback. I need to be brought back down to earth!

I think things are a mixed bag right now. In the past few months, I've bid on some non-US collections in both the Daniel Kelleher (Connecticut) and Rasdale (Chicago) public auctions. Prices realized for most non-US with Kelleher don't seem overly high; Rasdale's prices realized are higher. I got my Kelleher item; did not get the Rasdale item. Outbid by one interval.

And I bid on several higher value British Commonwealth items in the Dec. 1 mail auction from Bond Enterprises (Arizona) (high values of 1948 royal wedding issue). I got my items all for a dollar or two over minimum bid.

A general observation would also be how much market penetration does a specific auction house or dealer have. In past several years, I've bid on a few items in Regency-Superior's WestPex auctions. Came away empty-handed each time. Note that I don't participate in live-time bidding.

I'm not trying to burst your bubble as it's certainly possible that you're right. Over the near term (next 10 years or so), I'd actually look for the stamp market to improve a little. As the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement (and prime stamp collecting years), I think we might actually see more buyers in the marketplace than in recent years past. Boomers grew up when stamp collecting was hugely popular and many collected as kids. As much as we talk about the (real) need to attract kids to the hobby, I think the sedentary and more cerebral nature of philately is always going to have the greatest appeal to a decidedly older slice of the population.

I concur, just yesterday the US Feds announced the first increase in interest rates in 7-8 years. Things like stamps, coins, artwork will increase in price during periods of inflation. I think we will start seeing slightly better rate of increase in stamp prices over next few years but unfortunately this probably won't be due to an increase in collector demand.
Don

Climber Steve, to my knowledge Regency doesn't hold auctions at WestPex, at least not recently. Schuyler Rumsey does, but I don't recall a Regency auction there.

Rhett: thanks for the correction. I knew it was Schulyer and they occasionally send me an auction catalog. For unknown reason, I stuck in Regency, maybe because they've done some APS stamp shows.

Strategically, inflation is defined as an increase in the general level of prices.

Tactically, when interest rates rise, money moves away from assets that do not provide an income stream (like growth stocks), and towards assets that do (like bonds).

Thus, one of the many reasons the Fed took so many years to raise interests rates was that they did not want to tank the stock market or, G-d Forbid, force companies to start paying dividends.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Ultimately the cause of "generalized" inflation is that people have more money in their pockets and/or are more willing to spend what they have. Too many dollars chasing too few goods, as they say. If existing collectors have more to spend or are more confident in spending on non-essentials, the same number of collectors will drive prices higher. This is still increased collector demand, even if the total number of collectors isn't increasing. I had a really good year this year, for example, and I bought more and better stamps than I would have otherwise. That drove the prices up incrementally on those stamps I bought on an auction. More collectors entering the market would cause prices to rise as well, of course, and would create broader and more sustained demand, so that's still something we should all hope for.

Steve, I think Regency did an auction at an APS Stampshow in California within the last couple of years - that may be what you were thinking of.

Regency (and Harmer-Scau) both do auctions every August at the big APS show. Rumsey always does Westpex (APril) and then something at their office (San Fran) around December.

The only area that I've noticed to be hot is China. Malaya and States seems active but not like it was about 5-7 years ago. I see a lot of better European material priced by Michel and none of it ever seems to sell. Qatar and other Middle East that was very hot a few years ago also seems to be slower now.