Why Is Finding A Trading Partner So Difficult?

mostly people already got the stamps or dont want to work for it, packing , sending

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Interesting thread!



Ha ha ha keijo, you nailed it perfectly with regards to my trading partner : my twin brother. And we are more or less interested in exactly the same stuff. Blowing a weekend by trading stamps with him is the best possible way to spend a weekend

I had several trading partners when I was a kid. Of course, that was back in the 1960s when philately was more "lively." As an adult, I'm in the "bowling alone" category of collector and have no interest in trading.

Also, my collecting interests are rather esoteric (Portugal & colonies; Poland; Mexico; British East Africa & subsequent issuers) and the likelihood of finding viable trade partners is small.

Back in the early 1980's up to around 1990, I did a lot of stamp trading through ads I put in Linn's Stamp News. Some trading partners were long term, lasting more than 4 or 5 years. My best traders were from "the greatest generation". As time went on, those guys died out. I stopped placing ads for two reasons: 1.) because the interest just wasn't there, and 2.) because the potential traders usually put unrealistic demands on the trade. In the second case, I would just return their material and respectfully decline their counteroffer.