Do You Prefer Collecting Used Or Unused Ultra-Modern Stamps In 2022?

This question is raised implicitly or directly ever so often and I would like to pose this again after the period of Covid. Why?

A) Interest in philately has increased quite a bit and seems to continue at a lesser rate now with younger and older generations discovering how well-suited the internet is to sharing and pursuing philatelic interests. Of course it has its downsides (the ease to sell or misrepresent stamps and their value, etc).

B) It is acknowledged by a few online dealers that some ultra-modern stamps being used for non-philatelic use (and less so philatelic use, by that stamp collectors sending correspondence to have recent commems and defins cancelled) are scarcer than unused. This may skew interest towards collecting used ultra-modern stamps.

C) The production runs for many commemoratives seems to run between 18 - 45 million which is 50 - 80% less than a few decades ago when there were more stamp collectors and many more people used postage.

D) Yet, most use postal services for packages rather than letters. Postcrossing is gaining popularity but I doubt it will ever replace the volume of everyday mailing done decades ago. So the quantity of unused ultra-modern stamps may stay higher than used.

E) According to some dealers, some countries are reducing their production of stamps for everyday use (although the production of "collectible" philatelic products geared to collectors still seems to have ample production!). So would there be particular interest in acquiring stamps from these countries despite the large drop in use of postage?

Would like to hear if there are others as myself who came to philately in part due to the pandemic and during it decided to focus more of their acquisitions on ultra-modern stamps (say 2007 to Present) for the reasons I provided above. For me I still prefer getting unused ultra-moderns but I do like to get some used ones such as Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express, coil stamps with plate numbers, a commemorative with a low production run (for example, when have you seen lately the 2022 Forever Nancy Reagan stamp used for correspondence? Note its production run is 18 million - about 80% less than many commemoratives from the 1950's through 1970's).

I always try to get used stamps when I can. Good Point about Nancy Regan, but any commemorative stamps are not easy to come by. Christmas is always a fun time of the year. We still get a decent amount of cards and I ask relatives to save those envelopes! There is also some good kiloware out there, but it can be pricey.

-Hello.

I'm going to give you an example from Lebanon using the last 2 stamps issued.
The printing run was only 10,000 stamps. The stamps were out of stock 2 hours after the post offices opened.
All collectors and dealers are holding on to the mint stamps in the hopes that the value will go up some day.
The stamp has not been used, at all to send any mail. I have 10 of these stamps and I'm thinking of using one of them on a mail item as in time, the used example will be more valuable.

I have an issue with modern stamps and it is not the scarcity or their use. But rather the format: Self adhesive. It feels like I'm buying a pane of stickers like the one I get my daughter for her arts and crafts. And to remove them off paper is a nightmare that most of the times results in a damaged stamp.

This is an interesting topic for discussion.

There will be lots of used Nancy Reagans showing up in modern USA kiloware commemorative mixes for quite some time (at least a year or two). I don't see how any stamp issued in the tens of millions will ever be scarce in the traditional sense. What is a retail value for a used commemorative from the 1950s to 1970s? 2-5 cents for a really nice example?! Most, if not all of that retail cost is just for the handling and the trouble of carrying it in stock. If the Reagan stamp ends up selling in the 10-20 cent range, does that make it scarce?

In the ease of acquisition sense, there is no doubt that some modern issues are tough. Just the processing of modern self-adhesives would take a toll on the (off paper) available total. Almost every available solution to get a clean off paper used stamp involves risk of blurring the postmark, damage to the paper, and etc.

The extremely high cost of MNH year sets is another factor. Along with fitting modern SA issues in a proper mount, these are the things that frustrate the collector.

Because of these issues, I have found it easier to just cut off what I collect to the years before the self-adhesive era. The stamps are generally more attractive, and easier to collect. I also don't have to feel like I am collecting stickers...

John

Good morning all,

Stickers is what my youngest grandson calls my stamp collection.

Seriously, should we consider stamps never intended for wide spread public use issued by countries stamps? The collecting community labeled stamps issued by former Soviet Block nations sold cancelled so they could not be used for postage on a letter as CTOs. Then we have the Arab Sheikdoms pandering supposed postage stamps that were not recognized by Scotts in their catalogue. These open the flood gates to the booming business of printing ridiculously high value stamps of no practical postal use by businesses pandering the revenue these would generate to any country that would hire them to do the printing.

Personally, I collect "postage stamps" not labels and prefer them to be on a cover carried for a non philatelic reason between a sender and recipient.

It's almost impossible to build a collection of used stamps unless you buy a new one and mail it to yourself. My preference is to build a collection of mint stamps.

I certainly prefer used examples. Items produced only to sell to collectors just lacks some genuineness. Numismatics are my primary collection and with coins and currency I prefer XF examples of everything I collect as well.

I honestly can't remember the last time I got a commemorative stamp on any incoming mail. Some stamp companies still use stamps on their mailings, but they tend to be older commems, rather than current issues.

The supply of stamps used in-period seems certain to be lower this century than the prior. That does not necessarily mean they will be in short supply for collectors because the number of people collecting used may not be large.

I'm involved with a non-philatelic web site that saw a huge gain in traffic due to the pandemic. Activity at the site waxed and waned to match the state of the virus. Within the past few months, activity at the site dropped to levels below those before the pandemic. I suspect similar is true in philatelics such that pandemic-induced interest will have at best a small increase in long-term collectors.

As for whether I prefer used, the answer is yes because free incoming mail stamps were how I started collecting as a kid.

Have faith Zman! Used modern Commemoratives are a challenge for sure. I don't soak the US ones, I just put them in Vario pages. There is a decent demand for modern used commemoratives. Most common seems to be Germany. A collector on a budget can get a very good collection of Modern Germany. Just check out Swan Stamps or other mixture sellers. They even show up in the green Harris Bags that one can still get. Some modern used commemoratives are in such demand, there's a waiting list.
Why not get them for free! I tell as many relatives I can to save the stamps on their incoming mail. True, many will be flags and such, but I know collectors that save the used plate numbers. I also give stamps as Christmas gifts for those who still mail cards and bills. I sometimes give stamps for memorials at a funeral. Good luck getting modern Priority or Express mail stamps. The few people that use these put them on Priority and express envelopes and the user tears the stamp in half while opening it... The horror!

johnsim03... Great avatar by the way... My favorite philatelic painting.

The only time that I get modern stamps on piece is sometimes when mail arrives from a seller/dealer/supplier or from a minority of auction houses. Even then the stamps are usually older face.

Siegel, Cherrystone, Harmer and the like all contract out the printing and shipping of their catalogs and none arrive with stamps.

With the proliferation of online postage, it is hard to see a convincing reason for their existence. When I bring a Priority Mail item to the PO counter, they usually print a label because they do not carry PM stamps.

Interesting discussion so far. Here in New York City once in awhile post offices do sell Priority Mail Express stamps, many more Priority Mail. I was told by one postal clerk the reason for this is when people need to send a pre-posted package slip for return priority mail express delivery. The Priority Mail Express stamps are still quite hard to get at post offices but I do notice the chances of acquiring one increase around the holidays. As for getting a used Priority Mail Express stamp - no luck so far.

I do get a current commem every so often - just got one the other day from someone I do not know in California asking me to vote!
As to address Rogdcam's problem, I had trouble at my post office as well. They kept giving me a bunch of B.S. when I was mailing an APS circuit to another member. I live close to a very small post office, and they always have the correct value in stock, so I get one ahead of time every time I mail a package.


Peter

This is a great topic!

I did dive back into collecting more intensively that first winter of the pandemic and so updating my two primary country collections (US and Canada) was my first priority. I sort of trailed off from collecting seriously in the late 70s so there was a lot of ground to make up. In the course of this I discovered a lot of the issues that get discussed on this forum - the pros and cons of bothering with the newer issues, including the adhesives, lack of decent cancellations, etc.

I've always preferred used stamps with nice cancels and as you point out the pickings are becoming ever slimmer.

I have a lot of friends all over the country and I'm pretty diligent about writing to them and they've figured out that I like stamps and so over the course of a year I get a pretty good bunch of the current year's commemoratives from them writing back. A few are even saving stamps for me like my aunts in Canada did when I was a kid.

My focus on the newer stuff has waned a little since I jumped back in as I look more and more to the early 20th century and 19th century issues.

It's a great hobby and I do hope you're right about more people becoming interested.

Some may call modern self adhesive stamps "stickers", but I still like them [yes, there are US designs I feel less than necessary] and so collect them as they are issued. And yes, a few hundred dollars a year may seem expensive, but it's just not that much when a movie costs $15, bowling can cost $35 for an hour, etc., it's just not that expensive.

Maybe nobody asked me, but my interest in contemporary stamps ends at about 2010. To me a stamp is about artistic achievement. You can create or recreate just about anything with todays software. Boring.