As I See It...
By James E. Lee

WHY DEALERS SHOULD COLLECT, TOO...

Over the years I've heard complaints from dealers and collectors alike about dealers who collect. Dealers complain that they don't have the time to collect. Collectors feel that a dealer who collects is either in competition with them or has an unfair advantage in the market place when it comes to acquiring material. All of these thoughts have some merit but don't outweigh the importance of the benefits of a dealer who collects.

Collecting for a dealer is like practice to a professional golfer. It only serves to make him/her better at what they do for a living. I find that searching for covers at a show for my collection will expose me to five or ten thousand covers at any given show. Therefore, I am bound to turn up additional covers for my clients’ collections.

The fact that you as a dealer collects puts you in a constant pursuit of new knowledge about your collecting area. This helps to keep you focused and exposed to new information that will help you to help your clients with their areas of specialization. As an example, you might come across an article of no interest to you but might benefit someone else—so you pass it along.

Of greater importance, collecting keeps you focused on studying material and improving your overall knowledge of philately. As an example,it improves your ability to spot repairs and fakes.

For years, Stanley Piller, a professional from Oakland, California, collected and exhibited the three cent 1851-57 issue. As a result he has developed incredible knowledge of that period. It's no wonder collectors and students of the 1851-57 issues go to him for advice and material.

I know that at times that I have competed against collectors for material for my one cent 1861-67 postal history collection. There have been times when I have stepped back at auction because I thought an item should go to one of their collections. I have also found a fair amount of material that today graces their collections.

When I started selling printing in 1977 I attended a sales seminar in Rochester, New York. The last speaker, whose name I have since forgotten, was an old pro, who in his final remarks said something that has always stuck with me: "When you are green you're growing..when you are ripe you rot". So continuous education is important for dealers and what better way to get it than to collect?

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