I am quite optimistic about stamp collecting.
Yes, there have been changes, and many forum discussions would indicate to us the hobby is on its last leg. But is it? Or is it just changing?
The stamp-collecting student
I teach middle school English and most of my classes are inclusion, so they’re a mix of students who have Individual Education Plans under the auspices of special education, and general education students.
The boy was a 6th-grade student who had autism. Early in the year, I mentioned my stamp collection and used some stamps in a class assignment. One day, this young man walked up to me and asked if he could bring his stamp collection to class to show me.
The next day he comes walking up with a tablet. I’m confused.
He navigated to a portfolio-style website, loaded with scans of stamps. It was his collection. Later, at an open house, his mother said he would get the stamps, scan them, load them to the website, and throw the stamps away. She’d retrieve them and keep them in an envelope, but his collection consisted of the scans loaded to his online portfolio.
So what
I’ve shared the story with the odd collector here and there, and it is usually met with a “meh.” I’ve likewise shared my experiences with my daughters, who still have an interest in stamp collecting, though they are teens. I still collect with them.
No doubt the hobby is changing, but, anecdotally, if an autistic boy can embrace the hobby in his own unique way and if my teens – with all their worries about boys, fashion, and school – can embrace the hobby, there is hope, right?
There are downsides
It’s not all roses. Stamp magazines have closed (but haven’t they always?). You can look at the size and circulation of Linn’s Stamp News to see how the hobby is shifting.
Yes, some organizations are struggling to recruit members.
And I do recall in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while stationed in Boston serving in the Coast Guard, I could easily attend three stamp bourses a month, sometimes four. Not anymore.
And frankly, the decline in letter writing and receipt of mail, along with the ridiculous number of stamps many countries, including the U.S., issues, probably doesn’t help things.
But
But I ask the question, are these societal changes or are they specific to stamp collecting?
Stamp shows are still around. And it is safe to say the challenges of the philatelic press are being faced by all publications, including many high-profile and traditionally strong magazines.
Yet, eBay tells a story.
There are, right now, more than 500,000 listings for “postal history,” more than two million for United States, and even Haiti, not the world’s most popular countries to collect (but one of my specialties), has more than 5,000 listings. Those aren’t shabby numbers and I’d argue that despite the decline in Linn’s classifieds, stamps are more accessible than ever before.
The American Philatelic Society’s Stamp Store, on Hipstamp, has, as of today, more than 216,000 listings. That’s a lot of stamps.
I do think our beloved hobby is changing and some folks don’t like it. However, there are signs of hope. The Exploring Stamps channel on YouTube, by Graham Beck, has more than 33,000 subscribers. That’s pretty good and it is a modern platform far more likely to reach young people.
And organizations like the APS are steady holding online chats, recording videos, and launching new products designed to reach new audiences.
No, I’m optimistic. Stamp collecting’s got a bright future.
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