They just sent a survey, which I took, about a lot of issues facing the American Philatelic Society and how I use it. I’m happy to help so I went through and dutifully answered all of their questions, but in so doing, I realized a couple of things.

Mostly, I realized just how little the APS actually does that I care about. Let’s talk about it.

Now I’ve been a member for a long time but I don’t really use any of their services. I get their magazine every month and while I page through it, I don’t know that it’s all that useful. The ads sometimes point me in a certain direction, but I can’t say that any of their articles has entranced me, perhaps ever.

Plus the fact that The American Philatelist only really appeals to people collecting U.S. stamps. I do, of course, but my purchases there are very few and far between and I’ve largely moved on to collecting other countries, so the articles are only minimally interesting regardless.

Granted, I gave up on pretty much all magazines a long time ago. I can get any information that I need online immediately, I don’t need to wait for something in the mail once a month. That also goes for other stamp magazines that I receive as part of my membership so this isn’t all about the APS. That’s not really worth my $45 a year.

So I started to think about it. I don’t use their stamp circuits, for the very simple reason that I collect 99% mint, never-hinged. That’s not really something you’re going to get out of a circuit book and more often than not, I’m looking for specific things, not just whatever shows up at the door. I also don’t buy through Stampstore.org, simply because the stamps there are almost always more expensive than if I ran over to Hipstamp or eBay and bought them there. You also have a very, very limited selection and you’re paying postage on every single stamp, unlike elsewhere where you can find multiple stamps from a single person and only pay once. For the money I’m paying them, I’m not getting anything back.

The survey talked about the APS making things safer for collectors, but I don’t think so. This is a point that I’ve even made to Scott English, the Executive Director. Just about anywhere online that I’m buying stamps, they already have a safety guarantee. If you get scammed, you get your money back. Likewise, any form of payment I’m using, either Paypal or a credit card, they have consumer protection attached. What is the APS doing that’s better than that?

But what about expensive stamps? Those things won’t cover that! Sure, but I’m not going to be buying expensive stamps from Joe Blow from Kokomo online. If I’m putting out real money, I’m going to do it in person or from a recognized company where if they screw me, my lawyers and the police are getting involved. As nice as it is to talk about a code of conduct, that code only applies to members of the APS and most dealers out there in eBay-land aren’t. They’re just some shmoe doing it out of their basement for a buck.

Of course, they’ll say “only buy from people with the APS logo!” What if they’re not the ones with the stamps I want? How are you protecting me then? Now don’t get me wrong, I know they can’t and I don’t expect it, I’m just showing how their big talk has very little real world application. I don’t buy stuff from anyone that I don’t trust or that I have no legal recourse against.

I’m left wondering what it is, exactly, that they do for me for my money? I went over to their website and looked at their services. I’ve already talked about the magazine so we’ll set that aside. Buy and sell options. I don’t sell and they’re not worth buying from. Next! The research library. I’ve used it a couple of times but frankly, there isn’t much there I care about. I don’t really do any research. Expertizing. Who cares? Again, if I’m going to be buying expensive stamps, I’m going to insist that they come with a recent certificate. Their educational arm. Not interested. I have no interest in sitting in a classroom, real or virtual. I get a weekly e-mail newsletter but mostly, it’s just giving me the same information I could get online anytime I wanted, or it’s self-serving, trying to sell me things. No. Stamp insurance. Covered. Next! Leaving a legacy. Yeah, hard pass. They just want you to hand over your stamps to their care after you die. I don’t need their translation service, hell, my oldest daughter is a professional translator and I can’t remember the last time I needed anything like that. Locate dealers? I talked about that a lot already, but I asked them for dealers that handle modern stamps from a couple of countries and they just looked at each other. Not new issue services, things from the last 20-30 years. Those are really hard to come by. Chapters and affiliates? There aren’t any local stamp clubs in my neck of the woods, I’m about 80 miles from the closest and the last time I was there, only a handful of people showed up. It was kind of pathetic.

Therefore, what am I getting?

Now I’m not trying to be negative, only realistic. I’ve had conversations with other long-time APS members and I’m finding the same reaction from more of them than not. It really feels like the APS is geared toward a certain type of collector and I’m not it. I’m not competitive, I’m not trying to amass an expensive collection, I’m not trying to research postal history, I’m just an average collector, trying to have a good time. Do I need them for that? No. Is it nice to know that they’re there in the off-chance that I ever found a reason for them? I suppose. I just worry that as time goes on, more people might realize just how little they get from the APS and then, what happens? Their membership numbers aren’t impressive now. I really think they need to start figuring out how to appeal to a larger collecting audience, especially a younger one and that’s something I don’t think anyone knows how to do.