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Volume VI - No. 3 - Whole No. 26
CONTENTS:
Beyond The Scott Catalogue
Our lead story...
Stamp Collecting Alive and Well!
You get two op-ed pieces in this issue for the same low everyday price. Ever since 9-11 the doomsayers have been coming out of the woodwork again. I guess the potential for the collapse of our hobby manifests in their minds and then out when something cataclysmic happens they start to preach doom and gloom about our hobby. Since the same tired stories were raising their ugly heads at the St. Louis show I thought I had better get up on the soapbox and give my perspective on the state of the hobby.
I strongly believe that our hobby is better shape than ever. There might be fewer collectors out there than in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Yes, attendance at stamp shows is down from even three years ago. The number of stamp club memberships is down and so is membership in the American Philatelic Society. Stamp stores are vanishing from the landscape. All this may lead one to think that stamp collecting is a hobby in decline. However, nothing could be further from the truth.
Stamp collecting, as a hobby has not changed. The marketplace for stamp collecting has definitely changed. It is the changes to the marketplace that have doomsayers confounded. Their comfort level has been turned upside down in the past 12 years. The marketplace has gone through a complete evolutionary cycle since I started to peruse this business full time in 1990.
I won’t rehash what was because I have done that in early issues of this newsletter. I want to focus on what is! Today there are more serious collectors and specialists than ever before. One example is the amazing prices that high quality stamps bring at auction. Granted this is just a small segment of the overall marketplace. Collectors who specialize tell me that have a difficult finding new material for their collections.
The growth of thematic and topical collecting has meant more competition for specialized material.
Collectors have an unlimited venue in front of them on the Internet as a source of material. Our own website generates at least five new clients a week from all over the world. Some are one-time buyers looking for a specific book. But all of our new serious collector business is coming through our web site and not traditional print advertising.
I predicted three years ago in my "As I See It" column the demands of work and family were forever changing the face of our hobby. The marketplace has moved from storefronts and shows to the Internet, mail and the phone. These mediums now command a significant market share of the product delivery system.
A few weeks ago I participated in a Siegel auction on the telephone. A few short years ago I would have gone to New York to be on the auction floor. Today, my time precludes the luxury of being on the floor. I can view by FEDEX, bid on the phone and wind up with three extra days of time and a savings of over $1,000.00 in expenses. However, something very interesting took place in that auction. I noticed that lots were being knocked down to "E" numbers. Bingo! Those "E" numbers were online bidders. Not quit real time yet but that is just around the corner.
9-11 changed our world forever. But before 9-11 the computer started to change our hobby forever. I suggest everyone just climb on board and enjoy what will be a long wild journey.
P.S. To show you just how far the information age has come let me share with you this personal aside. My mother, who turned 85 last year, lives in a nursing home, takes computer classes and sends me about two to three, e-mails a week.
33rd Plymouth Stamp Show
This is one of my favorite shows. It is only two days, is held in a middle school gymnasium and has tremendous hospitality provided by the West Suburban Stamp Club. In this day of diminishing stamp show crowds the Plymouth show is a direct opposite. People turn out from all over Michigan and beyond. The show floor is generally packed on Saturday and heats up again on Sunday around noon.
If you choose to come to Plymouth this year you will have the time of your life. The exhibits are always top notch. The club does an excellent job of bringing a wide and diverse range of dealers. They also provide home cooked food in the foyer of the gym. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Downtown Plymouth is just down the street and there is plenty of shopping and a great selection of restaurants. Frankly it is just a wonderful place to spend one of those warm spring weekends.
We hope to see you in Plymouth the last weekend in April.
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