Winds Of Change In The Philatelic World

Same people who saw stamps as a hedge against inflation also thought stamps were an investment. Neither were true nor reflective of true collecting.

I don't know. Most stamps are not investment grade but some are. And should the currency collapse people will flock to hard assets. Stamps is in the art and antique and coin category. They can be investments just speculative ones. ie any thing that does not produce income is not really a great investment. However, rare stamps and maybe some in demand better stamps will still hold value regardless.

My first post on this thread and while reading everybody's posts a few thoughts occurred to me...

The winds of change in the philatelic world are always blowing just as they do in every other hobby. Technology advances (AI), new discoveries (another sheet of the inverted 1610, J92 with dull gum), markets being topsy-turvy due to a variety of factors (new pandemic-era collectors, the economy), speculators and investors, etc. Stamp collecting can be a simple endeavor of casually placing stamps from letters into a stock book or a complicated elusive exercise in trying to fill every space in an album of choice. We should celebrate each and every person who counts themselves a "collector" or "philatelist" as it is those solitary individuals that keep our hobby alive.

Recently, while on vacation in Jamaica for a couple weeks, I randomly met a young lady (early 30s) who shared that she was such a nerd because she collected stamps. She purchased a collection at a garage sale for $100 and was so excited about the stamps she had that she couldn't stop showing me cell phone photos of her treasure trove. It was obvious that she didn't know what she had in her collection or even which countries the stamps were from (she showed me page after page of stamps from "Polska"), but I did nothing to dampen her enthusiasm. Instead, I encouraged her to keep building her collection and share it with her friends. We can tear people down with a dose of reality or we can build them up and fuel their fire. Iron sharpens iron.

As an "old-timer" who has been collecting for nearly 50 years, I can appreciate many of the sentiments posted here about change in philately. In fact, the only constant in life is change. At the same time, there are some constants that I think will never change. Going to stamp shows and auctions and being younger than most other attendees. Mentioning to my friends that I collect stamps and being met with blank stares. My wife, who is my biggest philatelic supporter, not having a clue about what I have in my collection. These things don't affect how I feel about the hobby in the slightest, in fact they only serve to encourage me to keep doing it. We should not let the little things get in the way of our quest.

While I don't personally collect for "investment", I also don't look down on those who do. If a person thinks they can make money in this hobby, I encourage them to follow their dreams. I won't be the one buying their material and will alert other collectors to scams when I'm can. I understand that this happens in most hobbies where there are highly valuable items available for sale. Sometimes, collectors can fall prey to these traps and pitfalls. Each of us probably has at least one story where we were taken advantage of. As stamp collectors and philatelists, even when bad things happen, we just keep on keeping on by learning from the lesson. To some, the bad taste left by these lessons can dissuade them from continuing to collect. I know I felt that way the first time it happened to me (and the second and the third), but as we accumulate knowledge of how to avoid the rocks and shoals of collecting we gain wisdom to not make the same mistakes again.

In the meantime, I'll keep collecting the same way I always have by working to find and acquire the best stamps that I can afford to fill my collection. We each have different goals, wants, collecting styles, and reasons for being here. I appreciate each and every one of you for being here in the Community, for sharing your knowledge and stories, your thoughts and beliefs, and I know that we are all better for having known each other even if it is just in the digital realm.

Thank you and happy collecting!


Scott

Winds of change - stamps from European home countries are going for a song compared to rest of world.

It was touched upon glancingly but let me put a fine point on it, topical collecting (AKA personalized interest collecting) has been growing strongly over the years. It is a great form of collecting but destroys the collecting a country mindset.

Also as to money being spent in philately, anybody notice the stamp that was just sold for a record $2,006,000 without shipping and sales taxes?

It should be remembered that that stamp is the best possible example of perhaps the most famous (and certainly the most written about) stamp in the world. So it is really both condition unique and super popular, even if few can actually afford to own it or any other example.

Lots of interesting comments here , for me there is a lot of truth being said .

Philately has two directions to go and both directions is a possibility .

The first being the older generation is dying off and the huge collections are not being created and those who were the experts and researchers are less each year . The downward slide in prices will close down the stamp shows and bourses , with the stamp auction houses start to close because aggressive bidding is becoming less and less ,or as I like to say ----selling auction lots at opening bid means the auction houses are breaking even , so 2024 should see a few bite the dust . That is the next downward news for the hobby .

The second turn of events ,is what we seen with the U.S. 3a airmail , with the printing presses running 24/7 printing money around the world . Money is getting cheap and a lot of people need a place to put it .Remember the U.S. Govt is going to pay out 691 Billion dollars in interest this coming year . {that means Floortrade will have a few more thousand to spend on stamp auctions } . This higher payout on interest payments which is going to mean 57 Billion dollars is going into the economy each month .So we can see a change in the curve of stamp prices turning upward .
This whole inventory of better W.W. stamps is only about 300 million dollars so it is a drop in the bucket in the financial markets when you look at hard assets like Gold,Silver, art,coins ,precious stones and semi-precious stones and all the other collectibles .

Unlike the focus on the financial aspects of the hobby found in this thread, I think that there may be some hobbyists who collect for reasons beyond dollars and cents.

Secondly, I wonder if the hobby would totally collapse if all the commercials segment of philately were to disappear tomorrow? If every single philatelic dealer, auction house, catalog publishers, mount makers, and 'investor' collectors were to vanish tomorrow it would the hobby die?

Or could the hobby move on with collectors making the hobby work without that commercial support? Make their own hinges/mounts? Print their own album pages? Survive using free online resources like this community? Buy/sell/trade just among themselves? Is it possible that the hobby might even be able to thrive after such a paradigm shift?
Don

Blasphemy! Persecute the heretic!




To quote Jeff Goldblum in the original Jurassic Park: Life finds a way.

We've seen participatation in *organized* philately, organizations, and events diminish over the last two decades, but in my opinion the hobby has simply become more decentralized rather than actually diminishing. Collectors are buying from one another rather than being forced to go through dealers and auction houses.

The same too would occur should the major philatelic institutions go by the wayside. With international platforms like ebay, millions of collectors will continue to find ways to buys and sell collectibles to one another. Sure, the lack of authoritative catalogs could reintroduce a "wild west" aspect to pricing and valuation, but hasn't that always been the case? Some enterprising individual(s) would step in and fill the void, recognizing that there is money to be made.

I would argue that the hobby is LESS reliant upon traditional catalogs, auction houses, album publishers, etc. now than at any point in history...

There have always been doomsayers in this hobby; that's nothing new.

Furthering revenuecollector's point - I have noticed a significant up-tick in craft-shows and just shows in general where individuals are selling their wares. If stamps by themselves become unable to carry a show, they will get absorbed under other umbrellas such as antiques, crafts, etc ...

Of course people would still buy and sell on sites like ebay. The 'wild west' term would be quite appropriate.

Anyone who thinks the hobby is dying should go to Siegel and check out the prices of the Indian material of the Magnolia sale.

I am not of the opinion that the hobby is dying but I don't think Siegel sales are representative of the majority of hobbyists. Most collectors don't purchase at that level.

Heh, there are clearly at least 2 people who really really want to build a great India collection.

Part 1 had really strong realizations as well.

And how many people do you think work at that level? Just because an inverted Jenny recently sold for $2 million, that doesn't make the overall hobby healthy, only a small number of people at the very top end.

The hobby needs raw numbers and those numbers are drying up.

There are loads of "non-traditional" collectors out there buying and selling stamps online - we sell to some of them. My wife has that side of our stamp business and does quite well selling mint sets (mostly 1950s-90s) from a range of countries to a variety of people - mostly through Etsy. Some are topical collectors, but many use the stamps as keepsakes, some use them in scrapbooking/art projects, some to frame on the wall, some as gifts, others just like the designs, colours or themes to browse through and admire. For the vast majority of her buyers, catalogue value is meaningless, they're not trying to complete an album, and they aren't in stamp clubs/associations.

It's really nice that all these people are enjoying these little pieces of art & history, in whichever way works best for them. If some of them become stamp "collectors" as we term it at some point, great - if not, also great.