Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Over the several years I was involved as exhibits chair and chairman of VANPEX (VANcouver Philatelic Exhibition), I noticed that fewer and fewer dealers were offering stamps and more and more were selling covers and postcards. At the last VANPEX I attended (a couple years ago), there were only two or three stamp dealers, although I got some cool items from one of them. The other nine or ten were postal history and ephemera dealers.
I think that the days of stamp exhibitions, at least smaller local or regional ones, are numbered. VANPEX went in one year from a national-level exhibition with about 200 16-sheet frames and 20-25 dealers to a regional exhibition with fewer than 50 frames and a dozen or so dealers. The cause: a huge increase in hotel ballroom rental fees and burnout. Too few members of the BC Philatelic Society worked too hard for too many years to make VANPEX a success. When we burned out, only two or three people tried to continue, understandably without notable success.
Bob
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Interesting trend
At NOVAPEX this year the highest ribbons presented were to those who exhibited Postal History . When questioning the judges , a comment was made * Postal History tells a story where as a collection is simply a collection* What do you think? Is that true or just the judging preferences?
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Yes, we had the venerable Phil & Jopie at ORAPEX 2017. It's just not ORAPEX unless they are at the show.
A great show. According to Peter McCann, ORAPEX (a national-level show) is one of the few when most of the exhibits are postal history. That said, Ottawa is a hub for postal history.
A dealer from Blenheim, Ontario got me some really good Costa Rica for my collection. Ian Kimmerly sold me two nice early US duck stamps for my US collection.
Our booth did well, and all the other dealers I spoke with said they had a good show.
David
Ottawa, Ont. Canada
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"At NOVAPEX this year the highest ribbons presented were to those who exhibited Postal History . When questioning the judges , a comment was made * Postal History tells a story where as a collection is simply a collection* What do you think? Is that true or just the judging preferences?"
Shouldn't a major show be judged according to APS standards? Effectively the exhibits are being judged against a standard criteria on judging sheets. Judges preferences for one type of material shouldn't come into play at all.
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"Shouldn't a major show be judged according to APS standards?"
Novapex is in Canada, NOT the United States.
David
Ottawa, Ont.
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David
Are there not rules and standards here in Canada ?
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Yes, and all national-level shows are subject to the judging rules sanctioned by the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada.
David
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"Shouldn't a major show be judged according to APS standards? Effectively the exhibits are being judged against a standard criteria on judging sheets. Judges preferences for one type of material shouldn't come into play at all."
So wouldn't the same type of criteria come into play? Or do the judges just get to pick their biased favorite?
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It's Canada bro...cut 'em some slack.
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Below are the judges for ORAPEX 2017:
Peter McCann (Chief Judge and Chair of Jury, University Park FL)
Stéphane Cloutier (Ottawa ON)
Ed Kroft (Vancouver BC)
David Piercey (Edmonton AB)
John Wilson (Toronto ON)
Robert Pinet (apprentice, Toronto ON).
This was taken from the ORAPEX 2017 web-site www.orapex.ca
ORAPEX is Canada's largest national-level show in Canada. It is an annual event.
David
Ottawa, Ont.
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As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I served as exhibits chair and chairman VANPEX on several occasions, under the auspices of the RPSC, which adheres to APS exhibiting rules. At least it did then, and I doubt anything has changed in that regard. In theory, national-level exhibits in the U.S. and Canada would be judged in the same way. Having said that…
Philatelic judging is as subject to human foibles as any other human activity, and is always subjective to some degree. An exhibit which wins gold in one show can earn bronze in the next and silver in a third. I've seen it happen. I've seen excellent exhibits fail to win gold because a "key" item was missing, and it didn't matter to the judges that the key item was so rare as to be unobtainable. By the same token, I've seen postal history exhibits, in particular, win gold medals simply because the material exhibited was rare and costly; it didn't matter that the exhibitor didn't bother to tell a story or even work to create a visually pleasing exhibit.
My biggest grip is that some exhibitors with money pay other philatelists to built their exhibits for them. As my wife is fond of saying, in trying to understand the ills of the world, "Follow the money." It works in philately: gold medals can greatly increase the market value of exhibits.
I've exhibited several times. Once I won a gold medal. Usually I didn't. But every exhibit taught me so much about my collections and about philately and about history that I really didn't care what medal I earned. One of my exhibits once earned me a hug from a visitor even though it won "just" a silver medal. Hugs are worth more than gold medals.
Bob
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Yea, exhibiting is yet another racket. The question is who are the exhibitors trying to impress or satisfy? When there is judging expect to be disappointed and definitely would not go to any over priced dinner dressed up to watch awards being given. People in suits, name tags, and ribbons. It is not my style.
If they really wanted to high tech and save space just scan them add maybe 20 monitors and let people browse through. This would reduce shipping, frame setups, security, etc. This would be sufficient if telling a story was the most important.
I know it would take the fun out for some.
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Awesome feed back Thankyou
I have only exhibited a few times but have learned so much not only from the exhibits of others but from the friendships that continued afterwards Having someone else arrange your exhibit is like a parent doing the child`s homework...Guidance is important and we do learn so much from what others share. Interesting comment about cutting Canadians some slack....hmmm I`m PROUD to be a Canadian but do enjoy learning and collecting postal material from other countries
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Stamp exhibitors are a tiny minority among stamp collectors. They will spend more on one exhibit than I will ever spend in a lifetime. But as a stamp collector I can appreciate the exhibits and what the exhibitor has put into the research. I was admiring one exhibit on "The semi-official airmail stamps and covers of commercial airways ltd. 1928-1931" when a Gentleman even senior in age to myself asked me if I would like to know more about his exhibit ? We had a nice conversation...and he did mention expense..saying one block of stamps had cost two thousand dollars. I enjoyed meeting the "author", many times they are too busy to chat.
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Conversation overheard at Orapex....What do you call a worldwide collector ? reply...Crazy !
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I resemble that remark. I know it's not a lot but would like to get to 200,000 before I turn in my tongs. I think that as I sit here in my jammies, drooling and waiting for my supper.
Jack
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"Stamp exhibitors are a tiny minority among stamp collectors. "
This is true in the general sense but they likely makeup a significant part of organized philately and likely stronger support for APS/APRL. It is just about balance and realize anything judged is never going to be perfect like the current flap with FIP.
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I think we have been up to Orapex eleven out of 12 years since we met David Giles and others from up North. We see our friends once a year but it seems we just pick up where we left off...we are happy to see them and vice versa. It takes me a day and a half to get used to the places we drive...I can forget a lot in a year. As to the show itself..as David says its primarily a "postal history" show...the exhibits are almost all postal history. The show is getting more "upscale" ...gone are the guys with the tubs of dollar covers. I was disappointed at what I found the first day..but before the second day ended I was able to find some things to keep me busy for quite a while. Some folks come to the show for an hour or so and are gone...we are there for two full days(rain or shine) so we must enjoy it.
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re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Over the several years I was involved as exhibits chair and chairman of VANPEX (VANcouver Philatelic Exhibition), I noticed that fewer and fewer dealers were offering stamps and more and more were selling covers and postcards. At the last VANPEX I attended (a couple years ago), there were only two or three stamp dealers, although I got some cool items from one of them. The other nine or ten were postal history and ephemera dealers.
I think that the days of stamp exhibitions, at least smaller local or regional ones, are numbered. VANPEX went in one year from a national-level exhibition with about 200 16-sheet frames and 20-25 dealers to a regional exhibition with fewer than 50 frames and a dozen or so dealers. The cause: a huge increase in hotel ballroom rental fees and burnout. Too few members of the BC Philatelic Society worked too hard for too many years to make VANPEX a success. When we burned out, only two or three people tried to continue, understandably without notable success.
Bob
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06:37:59am
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Interesting trend
At NOVAPEX this year the highest ribbons presented were to those who exhibited Postal History . When questioning the judges , a comment was made * Postal History tells a story where as a collection is simply a collection* What do you think? Is that true or just the judging preferences?
Login to Like
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re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Yes, we had the venerable Phil & Jopie at ORAPEX 2017. It's just not ORAPEX unless they are at the show.
A great show. According to Peter McCann, ORAPEX (a national-level show) is one of the few when most of the exhibits are postal history. That said, Ottawa is a hub for postal history.
A dealer from Blenheim, Ontario got me some really good Costa Rica for my collection. Ian Kimmerly sold me two nice early US duck stamps for my US collection.
Our booth did well, and all the other dealers I spoke with said they had a good show.
David
Ottawa, Ont. Canada
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this post
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
"At NOVAPEX this year the highest ribbons presented were to those who exhibited Postal History . When questioning the judges , a comment was made * Postal History tells a story where as a collection is simply a collection* What do you think? Is that true or just the judging preferences?"
Shouldn't a major show be judged according to APS standards? Effectively the exhibits are being judged against a standard criteria on judging sheets. Judges preferences for one type of material shouldn't come into play at all.
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re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
"Shouldn't a major show be judged according to APS standards?"
Novapex is in Canada, NOT the United States.
David
Ottawa, Ont.
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04:16:46pm
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
David
Are there not rules and standards here in Canada ?
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re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Yes, and all national-level shows are subject to the judging rules sanctioned by the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada.
David
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this post
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
"Shouldn't a major show be judged according to APS standards? Effectively the exhibits are being judged against a standard criteria on judging sheets. Judges preferences for one type of material shouldn't come into play at all."
So wouldn't the same type of criteria come into play? Or do the judges just get to pick their biased favorite?
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06:22:03pm
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
It's Canada bro...cut 'em some slack.
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re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Below are the judges for ORAPEX 2017:
Peter McCann (Chief Judge and Chair of Jury, University Park FL)
Stéphane Cloutier (Ottawa ON)
Ed Kroft (Vancouver BC)
David Piercey (Edmonton AB)
John Wilson (Toronto ON)
Robert Pinet (apprentice, Toronto ON).
This was taken from the ORAPEX 2017 web-site www.orapex.ca
ORAPEX is Canada's largest national-level show in Canada. It is an annual event.
David
Ottawa, Ont.
1 Member
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re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I served as exhibits chair and chairman VANPEX on several occasions, under the auspices of the RPSC, which adheres to APS exhibiting rules. At least it did then, and I doubt anything has changed in that regard. In theory, national-level exhibits in the U.S. and Canada would be judged in the same way. Having said that…
Philatelic judging is as subject to human foibles as any other human activity, and is always subjective to some degree. An exhibit which wins gold in one show can earn bronze in the next and silver in a third. I've seen it happen. I've seen excellent exhibits fail to win gold because a "key" item was missing, and it didn't matter to the judges that the key item was so rare as to be unobtainable. By the same token, I've seen postal history exhibits, in particular, win gold medals simply because the material exhibited was rare and costly; it didn't matter that the exhibitor didn't bother to tell a story or even work to create a visually pleasing exhibit.
My biggest grip is that some exhibitors with money pay other philatelists to built their exhibits for them. As my wife is fond of saying, in trying to understand the ills of the world, "Follow the money." It works in philately: gold medals can greatly increase the market value of exhibits.
I've exhibited several times. Once I won a gold medal. Usually I didn't. But every exhibit taught me so much about my collections and about philately and about history that I really didn't care what medal I earned. One of my exhibits once earned me a hug from a visitor even though it won "just" a silver medal. Hugs are worth more than gold medals.
Bob
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re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Yea, exhibiting is yet another racket. The question is who are the exhibitors trying to impress or satisfy? When there is judging expect to be disappointed and definitely would not go to any over priced dinner dressed up to watch awards being given. People in suits, name tags, and ribbons. It is not my style.
If they really wanted to high tech and save space just scan them add maybe 20 monitors and let people browse through. This would reduce shipping, frame setups, security, etc. This would be sufficient if telling a story was the most important.
I know it would take the fun out for some.
Login to Like
this post
06:52:36am
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Awesome feed back Thankyou
I have only exhibited a few times but have learned so much not only from the exhibits of others but from the friendships that continued afterwards Having someone else arrange your exhibit is like a parent doing the child`s homework...Guidance is important and we do learn so much from what others share. Interesting comment about cutting Canadians some slack....hmmm I`m PROUD to be a Canadian but do enjoy learning and collecting postal material from other countries
Login to Like
this post
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Stamp exhibitors are a tiny minority among stamp collectors. They will spend more on one exhibit than I will ever spend in a lifetime. But as a stamp collector I can appreciate the exhibits and what the exhibitor has put into the research. I was admiring one exhibit on "The semi-official airmail stamps and covers of commercial airways ltd. 1928-1931" when a Gentleman even senior in age to myself asked me if I would like to know more about his exhibit ? We had a nice conversation...and he did mention expense..saying one block of stamps had cost two thousand dollars. I enjoyed meeting the "author", many times they are too busy to chat.
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re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
Conversation overheard at Orapex....What do you call a worldwide collector ? reply...Crazy !
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10:26:24pm
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
I resemble that remark. I know it's not a lot but would like to get to 200,000 before I turn in my tongs. I think that as I sit here in my jammies, drooling and waiting for my supper.
Jack
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this post
re: Orapex 2017 ..from my viewpoint
"Stamp exhibitors are a tiny minority among stamp collectors. "
This is true in the general sense but they likely makeup a significant part of organized philately and likely stronger support for APS/APRL. It is just about balance and realize anything judged is never going to be perfect like the current flap with FIP.
Login to Like
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