The Rude Stamp Dealer

There was this very rude stamp dealer in the city that I grew up in who was very successful. Everyone that I ever spoke to commented on how rude he was to them but that never stopped them from buying anything from him. It would appear that his great stock of philatelic material and the convenient location of his shop were key to his success as a stamp dealer. I guess that people like a challenging character.

Well, that explains you

Reminds me of the Soup Nazi.

When they say the 3 L (LLL) location, location, location

jogil, was this a dealer in Toronto?

Store was in the subway?

Was is that supposed to mean?

Its a Senfield show reference

As a kid, I had three convenient places to buy stamps.

Woolworth's was within an easy walk and had a small stamp and coin section in the hobby aisle. Packets and supplies were plentiful and cheap, but of course, no knowledgeable staff.

There was a place called Stamp Hut about two miles away. From a kid's perspective he was rude but one day he tossed a Scott catalog at me telling me to find the easy answers myself and only ask him intelligent questions from then on. He was always grouchy and brusque and ill-mannered but I learned a lot. He let me keep that catalog and I still have it.

The third place was a big shop in a huge hobby store - Models Hobby. I was only able to go there on Saturday afternoons. It was just down the street from where I worked in my grandfather's magic shop. The dealer there was polite, helpful and steered me away from the pretty wallpaper and garbage and introduced me to better US material.

My wife, having attended several local shows and the 2015 APS show in Grand Rapids, recently noted...
"You're all just grumpy old curmudgeons who don't like being wrong, aren't you?"

To kurt's wife: Spot on!

Somewhat different experience many years ago. I was 8 years old or so and ordered some stamps from the well-known stamp dealer of the time, H.E. Harris. Without adult supervision, I was naive enough to enclose cash in the envelope, including some coins, along with the order form. Not surprisingly, I never received a response to my order. When I contacted the company, they replied that they had never received the order. Apparently from the nature of my inquiry, they deduced that I was a kid and, after expressing their sympathy for my order having been lost, they graciously offered to forward the material that I had ordered at half price. It wasn't a lot - just a few bucks - but that gesture encouraged me greatly to continue with my stamp collecting and also served as a catalyst for my purchasing enough stuff from Harris over the next ten years to more than make up for their discount.

After a lapse of many decades, I returned to collecting a short time ago and, fondly remembering that experience of excellent customer service, looked to see if Harris was still in business. Unfortunately that search was in vain, other than seeing some of their name brand supplies being offered by other retailers.

http://www.apfelbauminc.com/blog/wh...-h-e-harris/ ... What happened to H E Harris

H.E. Harris had a polite way of telling people they were not interested in buying their stamps.

There were 2 stamps stores in my town. Both were sort of uppity. Neither had time for the kids, novice or entry class collector. Both were also stamp and coin. Coin collectors, regardless of age, seemed welcome. Junior stamp collects not so much. One store died of old age, the other is still around, but still tough to deal with.

As a kid, I shopped at the stamp area in Woodward and Lothrop Department store in Washington, D.C. The clerks always had time for me and answered my questions with thoughtfulness and respect.

I grew up in Brighton Beach Brooklyn. I began collecting around 7+ and remember going to Jack Harris of Brighton Stamps. A long counter with stools which allowed me to see the very large binders he would place in front of me along with a stock page, tweezers and a pad. Although he was somewhat hyper with many customers, he always seemed pleasant and always welcomed me every Saturday afternoon with "I knew you would be here soon". I once asked him why he seemed annoyed with a customer and he said the man didn't care about his stamps like I did.

Long gone and long ago, it's still a fond memory of the start to my Philatelic youth and I still have every stamp he ever sold or gave to me decades ago!

I used to see a cover dealer at large stamp fairs.

If you wanted to buy one of his items he used to examine it slowly and carefully. He gave the impression that if you wanted it he must have missed something that made it worth more than what he was asking for it.

I once saw him refuse to sell an item because he apparently noticed something that he had missed the first time round.

AQ