Things You Probably Won't Find At Dealer Tables

I've been going to stamp shows for years. Our local shows are OK but usually the same old cast of dealers. I've gone to bigger shows, like the one in Denver and the Minnesota Stamp Expo.

I usually try to plan ahead and find what dealers will be at a show and try to map out purchases ahead of time. I've come to realize there are some things that just wont likely be in stock to a great degree at dealer's tables. For example:

Any stamps/ sets issued in the past ten years or so. That would not apply to US specialist or maybe topical dealers but for the most part newer issues are nowhere to be seen. Probably most of their stock comes from purchased collections of folks who died or gave up collecting over ten years ago.

First Day Covers. Time was, there was a time when major shows would have dealers with large boxes of these to sort through. Now it's perhaps not a paying proposition to haul them to shows.

'Hot' collecting areas. A few years back it became impossible to find decent Russian material at shows. The bubble burst on this area since and now the material is available. China material has been and still is hard to find with many show dealers. What they have is priced even higher than the market.

I am not complaining, there are other limitations and all or most are tied to supply and demand and a free market. It's just something to be aware of.

Really, the past 30 years are going to be thin when you get outside the more popular countries. You get that stuff by buying collections formed by collectors who actively collected modern material (A+), or by buying new issues lots at auction (these often go for well below original face.) Kiloware used to be a semi-reliable source as well, but recent kiloware is near non-existent.

A few problems that I experienced with show dealers and bourse dealers .
1}They carry the same old stock from show to show and it has been sitting on their tables for years .
2}Their prices don't reflect current prices ,most of the time it is higher than what's online .
3}They view all worldwide collectors as beginners and sell collection lots that you would be hard press to find a stamp that catalogs over $10.00, others words they already clean it out .
4} I love the B.S. they serve up to me "I am selling this because I haven't a chance to look it over ,just got it yesterday " and "I can't lower the price because I am selling it for someone else " and my favorite "your going to need a specialized catalog to figure the true value of this material"
5}more B.S. ---"you got to buy it now because I got a good customer coming in later and this is the stuff he graps right away "

SOME dealers, certainly not all, I assume.




Again, some dealers, and most likely those (1) who are NOT specialist dealers, (2) have average/common material priced too high, or (3) make it difficult to actually buy from them. There's one dealer I see every year at CHICAGOPEX that I just walk on by without even checking, as the last N times I tried to buy from him, his revenue material was rife with trimmed fakes and misidentified stamps (which I pointed out to him, but he just shrugged and ignored me), but more frustratingly, he keeps his inventory in aged brown glassines instead of 102 cards or sales binders, meaning you have to take every stamp out of each glassine to view it... it would take FOREVER to wade through the garbage. Not worth my time.




Of course it's more expensive than what you can buy online. It's a completely different business model and expense load. Also, in many respects they cateer to a completely different clientele. I fully expect show dealers to price higher than what I can buy online. Why wouldn't I?




Not solely the domain of stamp dealers. I've been hearing these lines for 30+ years regardless of what area of collectibles I was focusing on at that time in my life: coins, stamps, baseball cards, comic books. It's part of selling. That flea market/horsetrading/carney approach to selling.

It's all par for the course.

That said, there are some general soup-to-nuts dealers that sell anything and everything down to 5-cent stamps, and move a LOT of it, catering to the beginner just as much as high-end clientele. Jerry Koepp of Stamps N Stuff out of Iowa is a prime example. He has double- to quad tables at regional and national shows and the majority of his sales are lower-end, higher-quantity. He seems to do just fine.

The bad points of buying at shows as discussed here are all valid, I believe.

One big advantage of buying at shows is that you can examine the material "up close and personal." That is very important for a specialist collector.

"examine the material up close and personal..........." That, to me, is the big advantage that buying from a dealer at a show has over the online sellers. And one does not have to be a specialist, as I fancy myself to be. One just needs to have a shopping list, as suggested earlier in the thread.

And I don't "dealer shop" or go browsing through a lot of dealer booths and tables, meaning that I already know who I intend to buy from. At WESTPEX, I got very nice unused copies of Angola C19 and C20; "budget busters" if you will; from D & P Stamps. Try getting those from a "flea market" dealer.

There is a strong likelihood that stamp show attendance is transforming to more advanced collectors and less casual collectors. The internet is fulfilling the needs of casual collectors and limiting the need to travel to shows at specific times; they can buy their supplies and stamps when and where the urge hits them. I would imagine that advanced collectors will continue to desire to see the material in person.

And I would also add that a well known collectors like Dan, who have built relationships with dealers who are willing to set back material with them in mind, also makes going to shows more worthwhile than a casual collector.
Don

Yep. Also, it doesn't hurt to proactively get your name out there and build awareness amongst dealers about the type of material you are looking for. Roughly a month out from COMPEX, CHICAGOPEX, and my local show, I mail out a full want list and my card to all dealers attending the show, whether they carry my collecting focus or not. This accomplishes several things:

1. It lets them know I'm a serious collector/buyer.

2. It gives them a checklist to pin to the wall/computer/whatever so as they're prepping what to bring to the show, they may bring things they might not otherwise (especially good for dealers who DON'T specialize in my area).

3. I put my card in a badge holder and wear it at every show. When dealers recognize the logo (in my signature image below) from the letter and business card, over time they connect it to my face and recognize me and me collecting interest on sight.

4. Throughout the rest of the year, if they happen to get material in my area, they may either put material aside for me, or contact me immediately.

For the cost of an envelope, a stamp, and some time, it is easily the most productive thing I've done as a general show-attending practice. It doesn't always bear fruit, but occasionally it does. Even when it doesn't garner material, it registers in the minds of dealers. I cannot count the number of times I've stopped by a dealer's booth at a show (and I always hit every dealer at a bourse, not just the specalist dealers I know), and they've said "I got your letter. Great idea; I wish more collectors did that."

It's a small thing, but it makes a difference and occasionally pays dividends.

"I always hit every dealer at a bourse........" I'm impressed, but it's not something I would do. At Rocky Mountain Stamp Show a month ago, I visited just 5 of 37 dealers. But I bought from two of them at WESTPEX a month earlier; and never made it to a 3rd's table there. It all depends on what is on one's want list and what one's budget is. It's all good regardless.

Sometimes you can spend much at a show and not feel satisfied and other times you can spend little and feel satisfied.

I too have my favorites. Jerry Koepp was mentioned and I usually try to visit his table, although at the Minesota show I may pass- he is always at the shows near where I live and I like to sample the wares of dealers I don't always see. A to Z stamps of Arizona is a favorite as is Stamp Center of Texas. Iowa Stamps (Terry Holdridge) is a good guy- he deals in Us only.

There aren't many I deliberately avoid and I won't mention names of course. I have noted that dealers in Postal History or British Colonies specialists can be a bit unwelcoming unless you flash a wad of cash.

Yeah, Michael at A to Z is a good egg. Great sense of humor as well. We constantly trade barbs and puns while I browse. Even when I don't buy anything from him, it's a welcome respite during the show.

I agree with the comments made above. What I do like about going to the shows is:

Seeing the item(s) in person.
- Haggling a bit and bundling, which is not as easy to do via mail order or online.
- I admit it, I'm also a sucker for the junk boxes at the end or under the tables... I've been collecting since 1972 and I have always loved the treasure hunt and bulk purchases.
- It's also nice to talk to a real person and over a period of time get to know them, some you'll find that you like dealing with and other, you won't. When the show is slow, and that seems more frequent as time goes, I've found some good information about a variety of subjects.
- Another benefit to a show is immediate gratification. You can walk out with it right there. No need to wait for the mail or wonder if it's going to be as good as the photos were.
- If I'm interested in something I know I can call a favorite dealer and see if he can bring it with and I can see it at the show.

What I don't see much of anymore, at least in my area, are:
- New people and dealers showing up.
- Dealers that handle larger items, I can't remember the last time I was a large tub full of mint sheets let alone someone with uncut press sheets.
- Many of the older dealers have retired or otherwise gone out of business and with them a lot of the back of the book items too.

The comparison to online prices is typical and that's true of pretty much any sale. It's always hard to compete with online sales, especially if they are still trying to maintain a brick and mortar store. Not that is always makes the difference but calculate in that there's no shipping cost.

Jeff

The First Day Cover craze is over. Nobody wants them so Nobody sells them.
The interesting thing with FDCs is the difference between catalogue price and the real price at stamp club bourses.
Essentially FDCs are philatelic souvenirs rather than real "stamps".
all Dealers have a place on the ladder but I am amused that so many think they are one step further up the ladder than they actually are and have delusions that they are an auction house in New York, Paris and London rather than collectors who are making some pin money at a local event. Whatever the step on the ladder, there is not enough Reality.

I attended Minnesota Stamp Expo last month. From what I heard from table holders, attendance was down. Slightly fewer dealers as well. One of my high points was sitting at the table of a leading German specialist- and just listening to him discuss his specialty with people. You can learn a lot from these guys.

I was hoping to find some China material, very little was there.

Shows are also not the best place to find bargains, or so I have found. I was looking for a German DDR set #82-4, one of the last ones needed to complete my collection.You can find a decent hinged set on ebay for $50 or a bit more. The lowest price I ran across was twice that.

The China material has gone back to China. That is where my collection was sold through Kelleher auctions.