The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
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The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
1–10 of 38 posts
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#2A couple of months ago I was cleaning out a closet and I found my old stamp collection from when I was a kid. It was fun to look through and see so many stamps from nations that no longer exist.
I looked on some auction sites, and it seems like you can buy the collections of the recently deceased at pretty cheap prices. I don't know if they're worth the money, but if you're just collecting for fun, and not for profit, it seems like a good way to beef up your collection.
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#3A couple of months ago I was cleaning out a closet and I found my old stamp collection from when I was a kid. It was fun to look through and see so many stamps from nations that no longer exist. I looked on some auction sites, and it seems like you can buy the collections of the recently deceased at pretty cheap prices. I don't know if they're worth the money, but if you're just collecting for fun, and not for profit…
A local coin/stamp person was completely uninterested in my old stamps from like 35 years ago. I think the shrinking number of collectors is outstripping the number of collections getting thrown out, and the whole idea of collecting stamps is just fading away.
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#4Vinyls, film cameras, typewriters, camper vans, and other objects which have been superseded by the ever turning wheels of progress have known notable regains of interest lately.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Urban Outfitters started selling vintage stamp collections.
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#5Same deal with baseball cards (and all sports cards), they had enormous print runs but then the collectors went away so now everybody who wants a Don Mattingly rookie card already has 7.
After finding them completely unsaleable I ended up giving my collection to a family friend who still just enjoys the cards.
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#6This story is 6.5 years old. Wonder how that store is doing now
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#7I've got a decent coin collection going, and a few legitimately noteworthy pieces like ancient coinage and what I call my conflict diamonds (South Vietnam, Japanese occupation currency, Somali coins, etc.), but I think it's ending up a lot like stamps. Except for the very high end museum quality collections, little of most personal collections is worth very much (except in currency its face or bullion value), and I do it purely for the historicity of the artifacts.
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#8Vinyls, film cameras, typewriters, camper vans, and other objects which have been superseded by the ever turning wheels of progress have known notable regains of interest lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if Urban Outfitters started selling vintage stamp collections.
The difference between all those and stamps is that the former offers an experience. UO sells a lifestyle, and objects like stamps don't convey a particularly exciting narrative within that.
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#9Same deal with baseball cards (and all sports cards), they had enormous print runs but then the collectors went away so now everybody who wants a Don Mattingly rookie card already has 7. After finding them completely unsaleable I ended up giving my collection to a family friend who still just enjoys the cards.
hahaha, this is so funny because I was cleaning out my closet and noticed the same thing. Even though the cards were 20-30 years old...they were basically worthless. I live in a high cost of living area so to me there is no point keeping them around taking up space. I must've tossed well over 10,000 cards into the trash.
Moral of the story: teach your kids how to invest in the stock market instead of them "investing" their money into collectibles. Teach your kids the value of investing early and encourage them to do it. They can still buy collectible toys but make sure to remind them that they won't be worth much in the future and to encourage them to buy stocks if they want to invest their money for the future.
Re: The Shrinking World of the Stamp Collector (2012)
#10A couple of months ago I was cleaning out a closet and I found my old stamp collection from when I was a kid. It was fun to look through and see so many stamps from nations that no longer exist. I looked on some auction sites, and it seems like you can buy the collections of the recently deceased at pretty cheap prices. I don't know if they're worth the money, but if you're just collecting for fun, and not for profit…
A local coin/stamp person was completely uninterested in my old stamps from like 35 years ago. I think the shrinking number of collectors is outstripping the number of collections getting thrown out, and the whole idea of collecting stamps is just fading away.
Yup it is exactly that. The big problem, in contrast with precious metals, is that stamps have basically no intrinsic value. They're just pieces of paper. At least with precious metals, the coins can be melted down to create high technology.