Stamp Show Blues (Small Whinge)

i used to attend those "exchange days" every weekend, and there was a few dealers who drifted to the same places as me, I often helped them with indexing, also in their favor. In return I got some reductions in prices on the stuff I wanted.

the common impression is that they have a broad, but very limited knowledge, but fair. There are of course some cranky old men as well, but I tend to leave them alone.

i've made great finds and deals on these days, but at the level I am now, I can't really find anything worth my time anymore.

I see a lot of stamp dealers with "assistants," a wife or older child or some such person. I'd imagine that some of the cataloguing and labeling might also be done by these same people just to help out, even though they are very much not stamp experts. Of course, it's the dealer's responsibility, but some dealers seem overwhelmed while others may not know much. A few may identify a stamp intentionally wrong. In busy stamp shows where you might never see many customers again, it may be tempting. It's a good idea to take a dealer's business card in case you need to contact them. I buy mostly from dealers who are "regulars" at a show which gives me some confidence.

If you can, keep stamps separate from other dealers' stamps. Maybe bring a few manila envelopes. Or ask the dealer for a large envelope. Dealers used to put their names on their glassine envelopes or their binder pages. If you put stamps on stock cards or in one envelope, write the dealer's name on it.

I imagine some stamps misplaced in albums, which is pretty common, originated as dealer misidentifications where the buyer never did check the stamp.