I’m coming to the conclusion that stamp collecting will never appeal to most young people. I keep running into this time and time again. They can’t imagine doing anything that isn’t all about money.
That’s not philately. Never has been and never will be. That’s why the young are largely not going to be interested because collecting isn’t about money, it’s about enjoyment.
Recently, someone posted on a stamp collecting group on Facebook that his neighbor had given his children a big stamp collection to enjoy and he was now trying to sell it.
Sorry, but you’re a dick. We need to stop playing around with these assholes. They deserve to be criticized and I’m not going to keep my mouth shut.
Honestly, this shouldn’t have to be explained to ostensible adults, but sadly, it does. Far too many people out there insist that not only are they special, but everyone around them has to pander to them because they are so absolutely wonderful.
Fuck you. You’re not special. Get over yourself.
So let me tell you a story. Way back when I was about 7, this is more than 50 years ago, I started collecting U.S. stamps. It wasn’t really a conscious choice, more one of availability. I lived where there were tons of U.S. stamps, so I collected what was readily available. Most people start that way.
This last weekend, I finally got tired of looking at a lot of holes so I did something about it. Mostly, I am now complete from about 1916 to 1993 where I stopped. It kind of feels good, to be honest.
This has come up before, but recently, a new thread showed up on a stamp forum, I’ll link to it below if you want to read it, wondering why stamp catalog values are so far off what the actual sale prices are. There are a lot of arguments on both sides, including from me, but there just isn’t room in a place like that to really dig into it, so I’m going to do it here.
Enjoy.
The new one arrived, not long after my replacement copy of the last one, since my puppy decided to shred it and the APS was nice enough to send me a replacement for free. Thanks to Scott English for getting it done. Great guy.
However, in the new issue, like in the last, I’ve got some issues, this time with the issue itself. It’s not as bad as that, but they’re really pushing to get stamp collectors to collect coins, and, presumably, vice versa. I’m not opposed to anyone who wants to, but here’s why I’m just not interested.
Just got the new issue and there were two letters that I wanted to comment on, one more than the other. The first, that I’m mostly going to mention in passing, was by Scott Zimmer, who said that “Many collectors view stamp investing as taboo”, which is true and, IMO, should be. It’s not taboo to invest in anything that you want, but you leave the realm of collecting and enter the realm of investing if you do that.
The second is from Robert Dragone, which i want to address in some more detail below the fold. Apparently, he doesn’t believe that people are in the hobby for reasons other than making money. Sorry pal, but most aren’t. That’s the whole point of having a hobby.
There was an article in the latest issue of American Philatelist, called “The Faux Philatelist” which I agree with almost entirely. In it, Barry White says that he is a stamp collector, not a philatelist.
I am also a stamp collector, not a philatelist. It’s nice to see people out there pointing out the differences. Therefore, here’s why I do what I do.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I really try to like some of the stamp-related channels on YouTube, but most of them are just… pointless, at least from my perspective. They aren’t doing what I want to see. Therefore, I figured I’d explain it in a short post and point out the two examples that actually are doing it right, at least in my opinion.
I have no idea why, I just find it very hard to bring myself to collect anything used. I started off that way, after all. I soaked tons of stamps off of envelopes when I was a kid and hinged them into albums. Today, I just can’t do it. I know, I’ve tried. I just don’t understand what the problem is, although I might have some ideas.
So let’s discuss it.
