World Stamp Show Ny2016 - At The Show

I agree. They may be looking for a way to spin what could be disappointing numbers.

I don't really see how they could be disappointing when most dealers were busy almost the whole length of the show.

I don't want to be negative at this point ,but would really like to see official statements. Dealers could be busy and not selling big ticket items or sell high margin material . Selling discount U.S. postage doesn't pay the bills . I just would like to heard what was in demand and what sold out in the first few days .....just some numbers ? Did APS sign up 100 new members ,did they have people renew memberships after they quit ? Are dealers stuck with a lot of unsold inventory ? .....ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT .

I can't speak for others, but the dealer I worked for did not sell any discount postage except some foreign to other dealers, but did sell a number of fairly big ticket items. And I was told that the ARA added over 3 dozen new or returning members. And hot as discount postage was, those dealers were selling other material. I was working right next door to one and shopping at another, and they were busy across the board. And don't underestimate mass discount postage if you are buying at 50% and selling at 80% (and up for the better, more popular items). A lot of money can be made that way over 8 days with the customers doing all the work looking.

The show was run by a private consortium that has no obligation to release numbers. You could consider sending a Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) request to the USPS to ask for something like "a representative document sufficient to show the total number of transactions that occurred at the USPS booth at World Stamp Show NY2016 between May 28, 2016 and June 4, 2016." (It's important to keep FOIA requests narrow, otherwise the agency can charge you for research time and copying costs.) Any SCF member who is an ASDA member also could ask if ASDA compiled anecdotal figures.

Even if the consortium running the show doesn't have any obligation to release attendance figures, one would think that, if these figures told a good story, they would publicize them. With all the constant public agita in the philatelic community concerning the state and the future of the hobby, I would think that we'd be hearing about what a rousing success the show was if that was the case. Maybe we'll still get some feedback in the coming weeks.

I have no clue about dealer sale numbers.

I do know you could have a count of how many individuals came to the show. Each person had to sign in "once" to get their ID tag. That tag was good for the duration of the show.

But, there weren't turnstiles or head counters, that I know of, so an accurate daily attendance count seems impossible.

Based on past experience, you won't be able to trust any published attendance figures anyway - they are typically inflated.

I've already reported that the dealer I worked for was happy, and I will add I know from talking with one of the foreign dealers that he was happy too. I'm sure someone was unhappy, but I did not hear any complainys (beyond the giant charge the contractor tried to pad on to the move in bills).

eyeonwall - I was at a local New York show this weekend and some of the dealers there were talking about those move in bills the Teamsters tried to charge for the "move in bills". They ranged from $4000 to $20,000. It wasn't part of the contract so none of the dealers paid it.

Wrap up presentation from WSS web site. Lots of pictures if not any hard data:

http://www.ny2016.org/images/wss2016wrapup.pdf

Also received this letter in my email inbox this morning:

For Immediate Release

An Open Letter to the Philatelic Community

by Wade Saadi
President, World Stamp Show-NY 2016
wade.saadi@ny2016.org

Well, the big show is over and many of us who have been planning this extravaganza for more than decade are finally catching our breath. It gives us all a chance to reflect on what we planned and how it all turned out, with the goal of sharing that knowledge and experience with the Boston 2026 team preparing America's next international philatelic exhibition.

We know you have some immediate questions of us, so allow me to let you know what's what.

Did the show make money? The simple answer at this time is that it looks like we will make a modest surplus when all is said and done. Just how much is yet to be determined, as we still await invoices from the Javits Center, Freeman our decorators, and several other major suppliers. Really! Final bills can take several months to receive and confirm, or dispute their charges, as our colleagues running Washington 2006 well know. Nothing different here. But initial estimates definitely have us in the black.

How many people came to the show? While thousands of people took advantage of online pre-registration through our web site (thank you!), many thousands more were walk-ins. That wasn't unexpected. Their hand-written registration slips are being processed now and being added to the attendance database, which will be cleansed of duplication and reported on when ready. Keying these additional registrations into the database on people's arrival would have caused much longer lines and required additional manpower and equipment that would have been cost prohibitive. So doing this afterwards made sense, and kept thousands more dollars to our bottom line. Hiring help or lining up volunteers to get a "click count" of people going onto the show floor would not have given us accurate numbers. How many times do you think people went in and out over their visit to get food or see the Jenny on display in the lobby, go downstairs to attend first day ceremonies or meetings or auctions, visit the NYC sites and then returning? You get the idea. Waiting for a true count will be worth the delay in getting these legitimate numbers out in just a few more weeks.

What are attendees saying? You can probably imagine the hundreds of emails I have been receiving from visitors around the world congratulating the show committee on putting on a spectacular show. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many and truly appreciated by everyone. Several show-goers passed along suggestions for improvements that we are reviewing and will get these to the Boston team. All feedback continues to be much appreciated.

Were dealers pleased? In the song "Home on the Range" there's a line that goes, "Where seldom is heard a discouraging word." That pretty well sums it up. Several dealers reported recouping their booth and show costs after the first two days of the show. I saw patrons three-deep at one dealer's booth continually that first weekend. That wasn't every dealer's experience, but those I've reached out to or contacted me were extremely happy with the turnout and the results. The same can be said for the many postal administrations manning booths.

Our Committee is in the process of preparing an official report that will be presented to the APS Board in August at Stampshow in Portland. I will be giving attendees to Saturday's APS membership meeting a brief review of the show, answering some of the remaining questions above.

The biggest challenge awaits us: How do we capitalize on this great event for the good of philately's future? Every one of us should be working on that now. Can we find an easy way to inform casual collectors of upcoming shows in their area on a regular basis to help bolster attendance? How about inviting them to attend a local stamp club meeting to foster their budding philatelic passion, or join the APS or a specialty society? Can we help them start a new stamp collecting club?

I can't end this message without giving a heart-felt thanks to everyone who assisted making World Stamp Show-NY 2016 such a success. Hundreds of collectors (and some of their family members!) came forth before, during and after the show offering their time and talents in a variety of roles for a few hours or days on end. And remember—everyone was a volunteer! That fact was even more impressive to the professionals at the Javits Center, Freeman Decorating and others who put on shows like this all the time and get paid for doing the many tasks our volunteers took upon their yoke, albeit a happy burden.

Isn't that our ultimate legacy? The people we meet along the way who become our friends and share our philatelic passion eventually eclipse the very pieces of paper we so eagerly seek.


See you in Portland,


Wade Saadi

I received the same email.

I was a reporter for about 20 years, covered business for a lot of that time, so I get very ummm....skeptical I guess is the best word ... of "statements" that contain no hard information. That said, I attended Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday and thought the show went well and was very well attended, but that is just my observation.

Were any attendance figures ever released?

I haven't seen any figures yet. At the APS show Wade Saadi noted in his presentation about WSS that the APS would be compiling some attendance figures for release by the WSS folks in 4-6 weeks or so. That was about 7 weeks ago, so maybe there'll be something coming out in the near future.

World Stamp Show NY-2016 attendance figures according to Linn's stamp news 23,017