State Of The Hobby Today

We already hit that level on ebay . Many people have already pulled back on selling ,this garbage of buying at 1/10 catalog and then paying ebay fees and Paypal fees have turn a lot of sellers off. Then you pile on shipping fees and guarantee returns it makes for a difficult place to sell anything close to your prices which you purchase the material for .

And that is exactly what I am doing.

I am sorry to hear the stories of people collecting when they were younger and getting taken advantage of by dealers. That sounds terrible. There is someone who advertises in our local online classifieds and it appears they are trying to do this. The stamps they sell at almost full catalogue price are pretty common. Not sure he gets many sales. Even as a new collector I could see they are over priced.

It seems with the internet things have come full circle and it seems like those days are over. The great thing about the internet is that there is so much information at our fingers. This is good for the hobby and to level the playing field for new collectors.

I don't see stamp collecting as an investment. It is a leisure activity and I budget it as such. If it so happens my collection ends up being worth anything, that would just be a bonus.

I can totally understand why some people are unwilling to sell at some of the prices I see things going for on ebay. It would be extremely discouraging for those who purchased at the high end of the market.

I do suspect that there must be certain bright spots in the market if one can predict the trends.

Based upon what some are saying the demand is there but not the prices sellers want using ebay.

Long ago I figure to be successful on ebay it's best to have interesting and unique material. It's easier to do that with covers and postal history than stamps. Despite it's warts, ebay has been kind to me and I don't think there's any other venue that can bring in as many buyers and have as many sales as I've experienced.

If one wants to talk about a dealer who takes advantage of collectors - there's always Mystic.

"Best to have interesting and unique material " sure, but my problem is everybody is bidding up the prices at the wholesale level at the major auctions . The auction houses are not stupid they make the lots 20% nice material and 80% yard mulch .
What you are seeing now in the hobby is professional sellers searching new ebay listings for miss price items that they can resell , this is part of the NEW NORMAL of the stamp trade .

floortrader: I can't speak for stamps, but you can find interesting and unique covers at shows and at auction houses with relative ease. It doesn't have to be expensive to be of interest. I haven't seen any bid ups recently for cover lots unless it's certain Asian material.

BATTLESTAMPS ----I don't disagree with you ,yes you can find interesting things that can return a profit . But I live in a different world than you ,I think totally different than most . For example you know I collect worldwide but rarely do I buy a stamp or a set of stamps ,it is more like I purchase 5,000 to 20,000 stamps per year to build my collection .
If I was going to sell like you on ebay ,my thinking would be to buy 500 or 1,000 covers that are interesting and have a chance to sell at a better price . Where do you buy those quanities ? The problem when you say "SELL INTERESTING AND UNIQUE" . I can't believe you can find enough of that material to make it worthwhile.

Well everyone seems down on dealers, they're sales people selling there goods. Some go overboard, but where would our stamp exhibits be without them? There are two I'm vary careful with when I look at their stock, but I buy from them because I know my area of specialty well.

Read your Scotts catalog, if that's what you use and know it well, including how they price. Older, rare items may sell for much more even in poorer condition than shown in catalogs. Don't fall for original gum on older issues, know what that gum should look like on that issue. Carry a pocket black light and use it.

Yes, there are some snakes out there, but most sell a lot of areas and they can't know everything. Those are the dealers I look for, they make good mistakes for a knowledgeable buyer.

The newer trend is people selling to people and the focus here seems to be on the occupation of a dealer. The internet allows this in ways never possible with low entry costs, etc. compared to being a dealer like at a show. My question is: Are collectors getting what they want?

So two questions: State of the hobby for dealers, State of the hobby for collectors. For generalist collectors, I think it is better.

I see this all the time on ebay -- "I am selling my grandfather's collection". (or is that like driven by a little old lady on Sunday). I suspect that most with some work do better than any dealer would pay for their collection.

The better material will likely tend to be sold by dealers but more common material with ebay, etc. there may be better channels.

floortrader: I've been able to find more material than I can handle. I can pick through dealer boxes at shows especially since some of the dealers I know buy collections of covers that number in the hundreds to over 100,000 covers. They pick out what they think is the best and sell the rest for cheap. They let a lot of good material slide. What's happening is that a lot of collectors are dying off and the remaining local dealers are getting swamped with material (at least here in the Northeast). There's also a number of auction houses where one can pick up sizeable cover lots - 1 cover to 20,000 plus covers with a lot of good material. Remember it doesn't have to be expensive to be unique or interesting as there's a lot more variable to a cover than individual stamps (postmarks, labels, handstamps, sender, receiver, contents, etc etc.). Covers also appeal to other people outside of normal collecting circles and that's another reason ebay can work well with cover dealers. ebay can help connect dealers with those interesting in local and family histories, the topical collectors who collect almost any object with a certain theme and the ephemera collectors. Then throw in the fact that ebay is a global market as opposed to most traditional stamp venues and the demand increases for material. Again, I speak from the perspective of the cover collector and dealer.

I'm a bit late to the thread.

Apologies if some of this seems blunt, but it's what I believe.

State of the hobby? IMO thriving, but not in ways that are easily measurable. I think the key word is "decentralized". Organized face-to-face clubs, storefronts, events, are on the wane, but online or "virtual" activity is alive and well, and likely increasing.

We're seeing a major communication, collecting, and philatelic commerce shift with the passing of "the old guard" who tend to embrace traditional or "analog" concepts (shows, storefronts, mail order, in-person club meetings), to a younger demographic for whom online engagement, collaboration, and purchasing is second nature and part of everyday life.

I'm not saying that shows and club meetings will disappear, but going forward they will be a much smaller part of the hobby at large. A show organizer, club president, philatelic organization, or retail dealer that continues to eschew an active online presence is ultimately destined for failure.

Like it or not, online is where it's at... for all types of orgnaizations and collecting types. I think part of the problem with the APS, as I believe Don mentioned is that much of the power resides with an older group with a luddite mindset (reading at Delphi is absolutely painful in that regard... a bunch of cranky old men shouting at clouds and at kids to stay off their lawns). I honestly think the only long-term solution is younger blood. Until much of the old guard fades away, I don't see much changing. That may sound harsh, but as long as there is ACTIVE resistance to mobile/virtual/digital/social media mechanisms and methods because "we don't need that newfangled stuff", I don't see progress happening... at least not beyond a snail's pace.

It's not just age affecting positions of power, but the attitude of the collector base as well. Since stamp collecting by its nature is an "old people's hobby" it will take the people who are now in their 40s and 50s, who are comfortable with all things digital aging into the positions of influence as they retire and have more time for philatelic organizations and services, for more widespread adoption.

I don't know that the APS can afford to wait that long...

They fact that we did not have to go to a show show, local stamp club proves that point, or write letters to an editor proves that.

I am a real estate broker and on-line is a big part of our business today, but the bonding with a client can only be done when you meet them. I will say the same is true for our hobby. If you don't wont to meet your fellow collects then you are missing out on a lot. It's sad to read some of these posts and the unhappy collectors.

There are a lot of unhappy collectors out there . They come in 3 types . First type , many have worked on and developed great collections and now in their later years they are finding that their life long passion will only get a fraction of value to what they put into it .
The second group are those who enjoy the hobby and thought others were friendly and dealers had a interest in helping them develop their collection . What they find out is there are just as many crooks and sly ways most dealers can cheat them and nobody warn them . The third group of unhappy collectors are those who are brushed aside by the established philatelic elite . You can see these people at any philatelic event ,they seem to walk in and walk out and nobody speaks to them .