Philatelic Supplies-Tongs

Can't find another pair of Showgard #907 tongs anywhere. Everybody is "temporarily unavailable ". Any thoughts?

I am a 908 fan and they seem to have disappeared as well. A few years ago I had to bite the bullet and buy a gold plated pair of 908s from a dealer that had several pairs.

Haven't seen a single one for sale since...

Don't Lighthouse and others sell similar products?

Yup. And Amazon is full of all kinds, as well.

I was once told by a well-experienced collector is that once you decide the type of tongs you like best, you need to get three of them immediately! My preference is for the 907s as well and a pair surfaced miraculously from my desk after having gone missing months previously.

"Out of Stock"

Back in 2022, a response to a similar question stated that their tongs were plated in the Ukraine, and the factory was destroyed. Take that with a grain of salt. No idea how hard Showgard is looking for another source, if this is true.

I bought interim "generic" tongs on Amazon, but not the same. At all.

Not sure if showgard will tell you what's really going on, but you could call or e-mail.

I have 4 pr.; a showgard #903, a showgard #905, a Davo( I think it's a Davo because the the AV are joined together), Davo stamp supply/album maker, right?, and really old pair with nothing to tell who made it or where it was made. I mostly use the 2 showgards.

For years, I used the "little" 4" tongs until I tried the 6" ones which I now use exclusively. MIne are the Showgard 909. You might give them a try. I've found some on Amazon (or was it ebay?) or from the usual dealers. Try IHobb, Subway Stamp Shop, Amos Advantage (Scott), Mystic, etc. etc.

I have it on good authority that somewhere there's a secret warehouse of stamp tongs someone is hoarding just to drive the price up. That's my contribution to conspiracy theories, anyway.

Does anybody know if Subway's website typically accurately reflects current stock on hand? I am pretty skeptical. But they do let me add one hundred 907's to my cart.

Profiteer.

Stop trying to corner the market on stamp tongs!

I've phoned Subway and gotten an actual human to talk to a few times in order to find out what's actually in stock.

Are these from the same manufacturer as those sold by Showgard?

https://www.safepub.com/stamp-colle...stamp-tongs/

I'm having a hell of a time finding Showgard 902 tongs anywhere. I broke a tip on one, so I'm down to my last pair. They're OOS/backordered everywhere.

Given how long this has dragged on, I'm surprised that no enterprising Asian manufacturer has jumped in to fill the void, unless there simply isn't enough demand to justify it.

Any alternatives to the 902 that are actually in stock anywhere for less than $14?

Requirements:

1. Must be pointed tip, not spade, rounded, blunted, etc.

2. Must be 6" in length, not 4.75".

EDIT: Subway does NOT have any 902 in stock, despite what their website says. I placed an order a few weeks back only to get an email saying that they were backordered, but they had another variant they could substitute... at 2.5x the price. No thanks.

Subway used to be a good supply company; I bought a lot from them over the years. However, they have deteriorated greatly in the last decade. My last 4 attempted orders were ALL items that turned out to be not in stock, despite the website claiming otherwise... so I've pretty much stopped even considering them when shopping.

As a follow up on this subject, I found Showgard 907 tongs at Allensinc.com. Don't know how many they might have in stock.

Lighthouse Publications also sells made in Solingen, Germany stamp tongs.