Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/apr/11/post-modern-why-millennials-have-fallen-in-love-with-stamp-collecting?CMP=share_btn_tw
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I'm not sure I believe it. I know a ton of young people and have never seen or heard of one that even a passing interest in stamps.
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My 18-22 yr old kids make (respectful, or they'd "get it!") fun of my stamp collecting in a playful way...
...so hmmmm, I'm not sure...
JR
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my daughters, age 6 and 7 find stamps very intersting, especially those with nice pictures of animals and always ask when they see one with a horse or another beautiful animal: "can i have that one?". I am sure though that this will pass in a few years, when they find out peer pressure requires them to either go underground with their love for stamps or do as all kids of their age: say stamps are boring.
I don't care, I just enjoy the moments they come and watch me play with my stamps.
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This is the official definition of "millennial"
"Millennials (millennial generation, Generation Y) is the phrase used to generally describe a person who reached adulthood in the early 21st century and covers the generation of people born between 1980 and 2000. ... The U.S. Census Bureau defines a millennial as a person born between 1982 and 2000."
So - this means anyone between the ages of 20 and 38.
I as well don't totally agree with the article.
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I was 50 when my son was born, apart from a brief fling as a kid he has never shown any interest, recently I was talking about the future disposal of my stuff 'if and when' and he said he might want to hold onto some of it. I am trying to hide my emotions, don't want to scare him off..
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Snick,
I know how your son feels. My dad was taking me to Pennsylvania antique and coin shops as soon as I could walk. He and my mother divorced when I was very young but i really enjoyed his collections when I would visit. When he passed away his then wife boxed everything up and sent it off to a dealer to be sold. She wouldnt let me know where so I could at least attempt to purchase some of it. Your son will hang on to alot of it even if he doesnt collect. He'll pull them out from time to time and say "these belonged to my dad".
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Very interesting discussion.
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I think the thing we are not realizing here is that they are referring to
the 20-to-38 age bracket - not 'children'.
Many - if not MOST - of us started stamp collecting at a very young age, like Kira.
Later, when we discovered more "adult" things in our world, we tended to put away our collections on the back shelf...many of us to never again take it out.
And those of us that did, often did so much later in life than the aforementioned age bracket.
This article is speaking JUST of that age group.
Which makes me still disagree with its summation.
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01:44:47pm
There are some younger collectors out there, but I think they are collecting in a totally different way than we did. There is a Millennial Collector who has a series that I access on You-Tube that I look at occasionally that should give you an idea what I mean, if you want to check it out. I'll provide a link below to one of the episodes if you want to check it out. Especially read some of the comments, many from younger collectors. LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mZYZJxgDME
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Really nice video with an introduction to the history of stamps and stamp collecting! Thanks for sharing this.
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"... I am writing a curriculum guide for Advanced Placement Art History using world wide postage stamps from Cave Art to XXIst Century art ..."
Excellent !!!
My favorite (and oft-repeated suggestion) is that each of us adopt one local history museum.
Most schools will drag their kids thru these little museums at least once during K-6.
Collecting a dozen items - corners & RPPCs & ephemera - to load into a display case - perhaps supplemented with then-vs-now photographs - won't put that big a dent in any of our budgets, and all we need is one kid per class to get the bug and we're golden.
As I am fond of saying: tangible is the new black.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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ikey-Pikey:
I truly like the idea of Adopting a Local Museum!
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Robert: Let us know how you get on with adopting a local history museum, or two.
Anyone interested in drawing youth into the hobby would do well to be in contact with MaryAnn Bowman who, among other things, writes a Youth in Topics column for the ATA's Topical Times, heads the Youth Division of the Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs, and is a leader in this part of our community.
Her contact details are available by PM.
The Youth Resources page at the Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs
The Youth Resources page at the American Topical Association
The Youth Resources page at the American First Day Cover Society
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who is gonna ass-u-me that y'all know how to find the APS)
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Local, "small" museums: Probably good places to display small numbers of stamps and/or covers with local connections, especially if the items displayed have minimal catalogue value. But museums generally don't seem to understand philately, do not have space to store them efficiently and safely, and cannot afford to hire a philatelic curator. Then there is the question of public access: unless a museum makes public display a priority, few collectors will ever be able to see curated collections, and of course could not buy any items in the collections. Collectors are the best curators of philatelic collections, and are most likely to return their collections to the marketplace before their passing or arrange for other collectors to have access to their collections after they pass.
Millennials, interested in philately? I doubt it! From 1973 through 1990, I taught both generation x and millennial students in elementary and high school. During that time, in three different schools, I sponsored stamp clubs which attracted as many as 20 students. They weren't the school's athletes, or the most popular students, or honor roll students, or chess club members, or the kids who were often in trouble, or the ones with learning disabilities. They were the quiet kids who for the most part earned average grades, enjoyed reading, never caused trouble, didn't join cliques, and were unfailingly polite. Perhaps some of them continued collecting through high school and into adulthood, but they were always a very small group in large schools; the members of the club I sponsored in high school represented only 1% of the school population. I doubt that many of my stamp club members were able to retain their collecting interests through the turbulent years of late childhood and early adulthood.
I live in Vancouver, where for more than a decade I was very active in the British Columbia Philatelic Society, serving as president, VANPEX chair, and VANPEX exhibits chair for several of those years. In all that time, we had just two teenage members, and no younger members at all. At the five or six VANPEX shows I participated in, I recall seeing only three young Canadians who were children of club members or exhibitors. One year, several members from a stamp club in Mumbai were among the exhibitors, but they appeared to have little interest in studying other exhibits and apparently were not allowed to buy stamps from dealers in the bourse.
It apparently takes a village: It's not enough, apparently, for a parent to interest his or her children in collecting, and it may not be the parent's fault. I tried to engage my son in collecting. He seemed to be interested at first, but soon was spending most of his time in front of his computers or playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends. He told me a few years ago that he felt overwhelmed by my enthusiasm for collecting, and believed he would never be able to assemble a collection like mine.
It's all about money, apparently, at least in the eyes of young collectors: Soon after the Millenium, one of the members of the BC Philatelic Society tried to start a stamp club in his high school. An enthusiastic group showed up for the first meeting. He taught them how to use stamp catalogues, and they bought a lot of stamps from the stock books and mixtures he provided. They returned to the next meeting and were disappointed that they couldn't sell their stamps to other students at a profit. Within weeks, the club folded because no one was attending. It's imperative that anyone who tries to interest young people in stamp collecting has to provide them with the hard fact that the hobby isn't about financial profit, but concerns the history and practice of nearly every activity that human beings engage in.
Bob
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05:58:06pm
I am sure I've said in several posts that I was an antique dealer for over 30 years and I've always been a collector myself. That's something that is dying in all generations now. Most people my own age are spending a huge amount of their effort downsizing because their kids don't have any interest in their "stuff", actually they have little interest in their own "stuff". Since the collecting bug seems to be dying out in all generations now the antique business is almost dead! There will always be a small number of die hard collectors but as they die off very few are taking their place. A fair number of people buying on various on line sites are doing it with the idea of making a profit. I retired from teaching six years ago and It didn't even occur to me to start a stamp club. I did run a Math Club for the better students and that went over quite well, especially with the Asian kids. We won many contests and ad a great time, but a stamp club... I don't think so!!
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My 2 nephews aged 18 and 15 have no interest in stamps even when I have showed them some of my collections. One day in the car I told my sister I had sold a $100 stamp on EBAY and my nephew jumped in "I did not know stamps were worth that much !" Since I have no children he later asked me who is going to inherit my collection ?! Steve
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Ouch! Harvey hit a nerve when he said,
"Most people my own age are spending a huge amount of their effort downsizing because their kids don't have any interest in their "stuff", actually they have little interest in their own "stuff"."
This has become a problem in our family. Two or three years ago, I turned over our son and his wife some family heirloom woodworking tools that were used by my great-grandfather — a scribe, a draw knife, a level, and a keyhole saw. I included a WWII U.S. Army canteen that I bought in an Army surplus store when I was a teenager and used on several memorable hikes in New Mexico and on a climb up one of the states highest peaks (see Climbing Cooke's Peak.) Less than a year later, our daughter-in law called and said she wanted to return all of those items to us, because they were, in her words, "just stuff".
Our son hasn't shown any more interest than she in "stuff," unless it's the newest electronic/digital gizmo. I shouldn't complain: three or four years ago, he bought new iMac computers for both my wife and me, as well as AirPods, and he's given us a laptop that he no longer needed, and many other useful things that we probably wouldn't have bought for ourselves. But I was recently disappointed to learn that he had given away a book that I bought for him, a first edition of the The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein, his favourite sci-fi novelist.
Then, adding insult to injury, the last time our daughter-in-law visited us, she spotted some Japanese prints on the wall, and said, "When you're gone, would be OK if I got those prints?" Well, actually, no. I'd rather donate them to Green Peace!
Of course, any middle-class person who complains about rampant consumerism opens himself or herself up to criticism. After all, we live so much better, in terms of "consumer goods," than most people in the world and anyone in the past. But it's difficult to deny that our consumer culture, in which corporations enjoy the same "rights" as people, has to a large extent created the environmental, social, and health problems with which we have to cope on a day-to-day basis. We're hearing reports that the air over urban centres has become much cleaner in recent weeks simply because we aren't, shopping, driving, flying, and vacationing as much as we were. A short term benefit will doubtless be fewer heart and lung problems, as long as we aren't sabotaged by Covid-19. Perhaps we are coming to the point where society finally figures out that if we work harder to protect the natural world from our baser instincts, everyone will benefit. Instead of "Making America Greater," wouldn't it be wonderful if we could "Make the World Nicer" for everyone?
Bob
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Bobstamp: You will notice that I never said anything about donating anything to a local history museum.
I think that the ideal arrangement looks like this:
- Collector buys a large shadow box, which gets mounted on a wall, and
- Collector fills the shadow box and, once each year, rotates stuff in & out.
You will also notice that I never mentioned the word "stamp".
http://goscf.com/t/69330 ... Donations to a museum are lost to philately forever.
https://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=20&id=23313#166242 ... same post, locally
Harvey: Most "collectors" of antique furniture were using most of their "collection" to furnish their house; I've not met many folks who've got storage units full of genuine antiques they look at once each year but, then, you've met more of the actively acquiring folks than I have, so YMMV.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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I created an account to post on this thread specifically because as a 20 year old collector I feel like I have a perspective that has not been discussed yet. I do not have any family members who collect but my Grandpa did collect as a child and gave me some old stamps to get started.(around 8 years ago) I live in the Vancouver area and have been to two meetings of the BC Philatelic Society as well as went to Vanpex 2019 and several other local shows. I am not a member of the BC Phil because of the fact that public transit makes so the trip is not worth it for me. Instead I am a member of the Centennial Stamp in Coquitlam BC as it is much closer for me.
I personally think there are several reasons why stamp clubs have trouble attracting younger members and that club members do not represent collectors as a whole. Today many people have irregular work schedules and less people are interested in community events as a whole. I know very few non retired people who are members of clubs of any kind but my grandparents are in tons of clubs (bridge, investing,social,etc). I would say the average age of stamp collectors on the internet is at least 20-30 years younger than in stamp clubs/stamp shows. I personally have noticed a lot of growth in the last few years for stamp collecting on social media. Graham Beck of Exploring Stamps is now at over 11 thousand subscribers and several new people have decided to start stamp collecting youtube channels as well as podcasts. Stampworld is almost at 400 thousand registered users and there are dozens of Facebook groups with one having over 34 thousand members. On the local level I can say that my stamp club has almost doubled our membership since I joined in Fall 2018 (Now around 30).
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Welcome Newjab and thanks for providing a different perspective. You do offer hope for this hobby and it's good to hear of a stamp club where the membership has increased. Hope you enjoy Stamporama!
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The younger generations use more digital and social media. They can sit in their homes, collect stamps, interact through various groups which is great.
They do not physically have to attend a local philatelic society on a specific day at a specific time. They do not have to "pluck up the courage" to walk into a room full of other collectors who will probably have more knowledge about philately than they do, or face the various cliques that have already formed within the society.
I was in my forties before I plucked up the courage to join a Society and once I moved house, several years later, I never joined another because of what I witnessed at the first society.
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My grandson is 24. He just shakes his head at his mom and me when we are working on stamps.
Also my daughter and I belong to several local clubs in the area. The biggest one is in Hamilton with about 120 members. Down to a club with about 20 members. There are a half dozen or so younger kids from about 6 to 12 years old that come to the Hamilton shows twice a year. They rarely come to the club meetings.
My daughter Shelley and I go to as many club shows that we can get to during the year from Toronto, Hamilton all the way to Windsor Ont. which is about a 4 hour drive. We seldom see anyone at these shows between 12 and 30 years old. I am not saying that there aren't some, but there are not more then a half dozen if that.
When you look around the room at any stamp club or show that we go to, I would say that the average age is 60 plus.
Normally we go to about 30 club meetings a year and about 10 stamp shows.
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Hi all,
I have to really give a shout out to NewJab for his take on things and really give a heartfelt resounding "yes, I fully agree" to his post!
I am not young, but I am not old either, and I literally stumbled on stamp collecting via the internet (about 2 years ago) and remain stamp collecting because of fun groups to be a part of like this one (SOR). For me stamp collecting is 50% social involvement in groups like this and 50% collecting. I know everyone is different and I probably do not represent the larger group very well, but I believe that the "virtual stamp collectors" out there are my age (52) or much younger. You nailed it NewJab when you mentioned Graham Beck of Exploring Stamps, that guy is REALLY bringing stamp collecting some GREAT publicity and in a super fresh new way. He feels like the future to me.
I am a collector because the internet and social media existed. Without them, I'm not sure I would have been exposed to stamp collecting ever.
Just my 2 cents. Seriously. Your mileage may (and probably has) vary/varied! 
JR
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Never heard of Graham before. Just watched his Windmills episode. That was quite interesting. I had seen other collectors on YouTube, but they weren't all that interesting. Graham does a great job at his!
Thanks for opening my eyes to a great channel.
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11:40:32am
I've been watching the series that Graham Beck posts on YouTube since he started, it's a bit basic but fun to watch. Several times I've posted suggestions to his comments and always hear back from him. He's a younger collector himself and his site is a great help to getting younger people interested. You should all check out his site, actually even as a long time collector I've picked up several useful pieces of information from the site. A link is given in another of my recent posts but here it is again: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkeSM6aOWfaUPIGb5rPOGyA
(Modified by Moderator on 2020-04-14 12:10:51)
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Both of my kids are millennials.
My son has taken a fairly generous attitude toward me and my passion for stamp collecting. He travels all over the world and makes it a point to stop at the post office when visiting foreign countries, so that he can send me a postcard franked with a nice commemorative stamp. I sometimes wonder (hope) that he'll take up the hobby if and when he ever settles down. It would be comforting to know that my collection could be left behind to someone who appreciated its value (not just monetary) and would take good care of it.
My daughter, on the other hand, while she is a kind person, once remarked while observing me at the dining room table sorting and displaying my stamps: "So, what's the end goal with all of this?" I admit I was at a loss for words initially. I guess my view of my collection(s) and time spent with them is that there really isn't an end in sight! It seemingly just goes on and on forever.
However, I do agree with other posters' comments about the relaxation effect of the hobby and how its unplugged time/space is *so* needed in our hurried, electronically connected world these days.
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"So, what's the end goal with all of this?"
This question can be asked for any optional activity.
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11:36:03am
I was just listening to a talk radio show in my area and a Millennial phoned in. His attitude was since the "Boomers" have grossly screwed up the world and since Covid19 seems to be mostly affecting Boomers that the virus should be allowed to just take its course so that the economy can restart. Does this really sound like someone who can sit at the kitchen table for hours sorting stamps?
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"I was just listening to a talk radio show in my area and a Millennial phoned in. His attitude was since the "Boomers" have grossly screwed up the world and since Covid19 seems to be mostly affecting Boomers that the virus should be allowed to just take its course so that the economy can restart. Does this really sound like someone who can sit at the kitchen table for hours sorting stamps? "
LOL! So brutally honest! LOVE IT!
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Likewise, I fall into the "in between" category, as I celebrate my last week in my 40s. I've been preaching this for years, but not seeing young people at stamp clubs and stamp shows or your children and grandchildren are not the benchmark for whether young people collect. Milenials engage the hobby for different reasons and in different ways than you did. We have to meet them where they are not expect them to come to us.
Thanks Newjab for the mention of Graham Beck, a proud APS member, and the work he's doing with Exploring Stamps. We've had a two-year partnership with Graham and we promote Exploring Stamps on our website, in the newsletters, and we are also a sponsor of his series (if you watch, you already know). His audience is growing more every day and we're so grateful for the work he's doing to make stamp collecting relatable to a new audience.
If we use APS membership as a benchmark, we have almost 1,200 members under the age of 40. I won't turn this into an advertisement, but we've been profiling millennial collectors in our news section since last year. I would encourage you to visit our website at www.stamps.org and check out the news section. We just posted two more stories about two young ladies who graduated from the YPLF program and how they're active in the hobby today.
Also, we launched a digital-only membership for under 30 collectors for just $25/year. We're getting applications over the past two weeks and I expect it to grow as we continue to market the membership. In case you know someone who fits the bill and doesn't belong to the APS, please share this link: https://stamps.org/news/c/news/cat/member-benefits/post/coming-in-april-25-30-aps-digital-membership
Scott
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I agree with everything you say Scott.I took advantage of the $25 ($35 Canadian) digital membership because I had previously thought of becoming an APS Member. I had decided against it because as a Canadian paying over $75 (Canadian) for a physical magazine or over $60 for a digital membership did not appeal to me so when I saw the announcement for the $25 offer I decided to go for it. I am really enjoying the APS stamp chats and am glad you are putting them on youtube. Keep up the good work.
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Thank you for the kind words and welcome to the APS!
I'm glad you're enjoy the chats. Though we started this in response to the Global Lockdown, we are going to continue the chats into the future.
If we can ever assist, please do not hesitate to contact me at scott@stamps.org.
Look forward to seeing you online soon!
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Just my anecdote.
I'm 50. I have three daughters - 11-year-old twins and a 9-year-old. One of the 11-year-olds is fairly serious about her collection. All three have collections and will "play" with them, but the oldest twin (by five minutes and she'll let you know she's the oldest) is fairly serious about it. Not a millennial of course.
Also NOT millennials, but closer. I teach Digital Arts and Design on the high school level. It's a 3-year, Sophomore through Senior year program.
As part of it, we do several lessons over the three years on postage stamps. We look at all sorts of things like who designed the stamp, how/why was the subject chosen, is the depiction of the subject appropriate or could it have been handled better, size, shape, color(s), paper used, printing process, typography, etc. The students get to redesign existing stamps and design new stamps, etc.
There is a real design challenge for a student when the assignment is to accurately portray topic ABC in a .84 x 1.42 inch design space.
The point is this is a series of lessons that receive HIGH engagement from the students. They seem to enjoy the discussions, videos, reading bits from the APS magazine about design, and of course, their actual design work, very much. I show some of my collection, and they SEEM to enjoy that, to the point I get questions about why I collect this or that.
Do they become collectors? No clue to doubtful, but they show an interest, and I believe the interest is fairly genuine. And that is a start.
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This is a clip from an article about the survival of the postal service in the WSJ.
"For younger generations, buying stamps is as foreign as using a telephone to actually talk to someone.
"
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The challenge is there is no hard useful data of younger collectors to predict anything - mostly hopeful sentimental optimism.
When I was young, there were inexpensive worldwide albums but now due to all the stamps issued in the last 60 years, even a single country album can be large. The path to be a collector (of anything) can be different for everyone.
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I think people are looking at this question from thier own perspective - ie via stamp clubs etc even via forums like this one. Look at what is happening on Instagram. For those who are trying to get their head around Instagram and some social media sites. One way of gauging the level of interest in a particular topic is the check out the number of posts associated with individual hashtags. So for instance #stampcollection has 116,392 posts. #philately has 312,320 posts, #philatelic has 86,245 posts (maybe a term not used so much by millenials? #postagestamps has 141,815 posts. Go to instagram and check out some hash tags yourself and I think you will pleasantly surprised as these numbers indicate that there is interest and activity. Of note too is if you look at some of the photos is that they are writing real letters to each other.
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"... 116,392 posts ... 312,320 posts ... 86,245 posts ... 141,815 posts ..."
I dunno, Sharon, you know way too much about social media to be a stamp collector.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who likes to bury his irony)
PS: Millennial at a payphone.
Helpful friend: "It's simple. You just insert a quarter."
Millennial: "But why? And, what's a quarter?"
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Here is another article about this- The author did what I suggested ie follow the hashtags to get a sense of the numbers - what I found interesting is that these collections are about how these stamps display on instagram ie arranged on a plate like food? Each collector to thier own pleas-sure I guess. I did like all the blue stamps grouped together... I dont care just pleased to see younger people collecting- I hope the link to the article will work - if not just copy and paste
https://www.purewow.com/tech/millennial-trend-stamp-collecting
(Modified by Moderator on 2020-05-07 06:40:42)
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Flashback to 40 years ago, letters with stamps would come through the door on a near daily basis. Children, adults and everyone in between were surrounded by them. Having this constant interaction no doubt pushed a lot of younger kids into collecting.
This week I received one letter with a prepaid envelope…. If you’re coming from a family that doesn’t collect stamps I’d find it near impossible for a child on their own accord to become engaged with stamp collecting.
From a younger perspective (me being 26)… Like the article has said stamps in the younger community are surviving because a vintage revival where it’s trendy to collect vinyls, use film cameras and to send post. I see Etsy/Instagram sellers sell common mint stamps for 2x face value. Obviously these buyers are not concerned about rarity or filling an album but more about the aesthetics of any given stamp.
In the last 6 months I’ve definitely seen an incredible shift in regards to APS and how they are targeting the younger demographic. Although this isn't from their website or news section but thanks to Instagram and content creators like Graham from Exploring Stamps on youtube.
I’ve been watching Graham for about 2 years now and seeing himself and other content creators be recognized and promoted by APS is amazing to see. If you haven’t seen his videos please do, entertaining and informative!
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Auctions - Approvals
An interesting article in The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/apr/11/post-modern-why-millennials-have-fallen-in-love-with-stamp-collecting?CMP=share_btn_tw
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06:07:54pm
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I'm not sure I believe it. I know a ton of young people and have never seen or heard of one that even a passing interest in stamps.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
My 18-22 yr old kids make (respectful, or they'd "get it!") fun of my stamp collecting in a playful way...
...so hmmmm, I'm not sure...
JR
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
my daughters, age 6 and 7 find stamps very intersting, especially those with nice pictures of animals and always ask when they see one with a horse or another beautiful animal: "can i have that one?". I am sure though that this will pass in a few years, when they find out peer pressure requires them to either go underground with their love for stamps or do as all kids of their age: say stamps are boring.
I don't care, I just enjoy the moments they come and watch me play with my stamps.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
This is the official definition of "millennial"
"Millennials (millennial generation, Generation Y) is the phrase used to generally describe a person who reached adulthood in the early 21st century and covers the generation of people born between 1980 and 2000. ... The U.S. Census Bureau defines a millennial as a person born between 1982 and 2000."
So - this means anyone between the ages of 20 and 38.
I as well don't totally agree with the article.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I was 50 when my son was born, apart from a brief fling as a kid he has never shown any interest, recently I was talking about the future disposal of my stuff 'if and when' and he said he might want to hold onto some of it. I am trying to hide my emotions, don't want to scare him off..
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12:15:58pm
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Snick,
I know how your son feels. My dad was taking me to Pennsylvania antique and coin shops as soon as I could walk. He and my mother divorced when I was very young but i really enjoyed his collections when I would visit. When he passed away his then wife boxed everything up and sent it off to a dealer to be sold. She wouldnt let me know where so I could at least attempt to purchase some of it. Your son will hang on to alot of it even if he doesnt collect. He'll pull them out from time to time and say "these belonged to my dad".
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01:04:49pm
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Very interesting discussion.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I think the thing we are not realizing here is that they are referring to
the 20-to-38 age bracket - not 'children'.
Many - if not MOST - of us started stamp collecting at a very young age, like Kira.
Later, when we discovered more "adult" things in our world, we tended to put away our collections on the back shelf...many of us to never again take it out.
And those of us that did, often did so much later in life than the aforementioned age bracket.
This article is speaking JUST of that age group.
Which makes me still disagree with its summation.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
12 Apr 2020
01:44:47pm
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
There are some younger collectors out there, but I think they are collecting in a totally different way than we did. There is a Millennial Collector who has a series that I access on You-Tube that I look at occasionally that should give you an idea what I mean, if you want to check it out. I'll provide a link below to one of the episodes if you want to check it out. Especially read some of the comments, many from younger collectors. LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mZYZJxgDME
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Really nice video with an introduction to the history of stamps and stamp collecting! Thanks for sharing this.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
"... I am writing a curriculum guide for Advanced Placement Art History using world wide postage stamps from Cave Art to XXIst Century art ..."
Excellent !!!
My favorite (and oft-repeated suggestion) is that each of us adopt one local history museum.
Most schools will drag their kids thru these little museums at least once during K-6.
Collecting a dozen items - corners & RPPCs & ephemera - to load into a display case - perhaps supplemented with then-vs-now photographs - won't put that big a dent in any of our budgets, and all we need is one kid per class to get the bug and we're golden.
As I am fond of saying: tangible is the new black.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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04:41:13pm
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
ikey-Pikey:
I truly like the idea of Adopting a Local Museum!
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Robert: Let us know how you get on with adopting a local history museum, or two.
Anyone interested in drawing youth into the hobby would do well to be in contact with MaryAnn Bowman who, among other things, writes a Youth in Topics column for the ATA's Topical Times, heads the Youth Division of the Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs, and is a leader in this part of our community.
Her contact details are available by PM.
The Youth Resources page at the Wisconsin Federation of Stamp Clubs
The Youth Resources page at the American Topical Association
The Youth Resources page at the American First Day Cover Society
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who is gonna ass-u-me that y'all know how to find the APS)
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Local, "small" museums: Probably good places to display small numbers of stamps and/or covers with local connections, especially if the items displayed have minimal catalogue value. But museums generally don't seem to understand philately, do not have space to store them efficiently and safely, and cannot afford to hire a philatelic curator. Then there is the question of public access: unless a museum makes public display a priority, few collectors will ever be able to see curated collections, and of course could not buy any items in the collections. Collectors are the best curators of philatelic collections, and are most likely to return their collections to the marketplace before their passing or arrange for other collectors to have access to their collections after they pass.
Millennials, interested in philately? I doubt it! From 1973 through 1990, I taught both generation x and millennial students in elementary and high school. During that time, in three different schools, I sponsored stamp clubs which attracted as many as 20 students. They weren't the school's athletes, or the most popular students, or honor roll students, or chess club members, or the kids who were often in trouble, or the ones with learning disabilities. They were the quiet kids who for the most part earned average grades, enjoyed reading, never caused trouble, didn't join cliques, and were unfailingly polite. Perhaps some of them continued collecting through high school and into adulthood, but they were always a very small group in large schools; the members of the club I sponsored in high school represented only 1% of the school population. I doubt that many of my stamp club members were able to retain their collecting interests through the turbulent years of late childhood and early adulthood.
I live in Vancouver, where for more than a decade I was very active in the British Columbia Philatelic Society, serving as president, VANPEX chair, and VANPEX exhibits chair for several of those years. In all that time, we had just two teenage members, and no younger members at all. At the five or six VANPEX shows I participated in, I recall seeing only three young Canadians who were children of club members or exhibitors. One year, several members from a stamp club in Mumbai were among the exhibitors, but they appeared to have little interest in studying other exhibits and apparently were not allowed to buy stamps from dealers in the bourse.
It apparently takes a village: It's not enough, apparently, for a parent to interest his or her children in collecting, and it may not be the parent's fault. I tried to engage my son in collecting. He seemed to be interested at first, but soon was spending most of his time in front of his computers or playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends. He told me a few years ago that he felt overwhelmed by my enthusiasm for collecting, and believed he would never be able to assemble a collection like mine.
It's all about money, apparently, at least in the eyes of young collectors: Soon after the Millenium, one of the members of the BC Philatelic Society tried to start a stamp club in his high school. An enthusiastic group showed up for the first meeting. He taught them how to use stamp catalogues, and they bought a lot of stamps from the stock books and mixtures he provided. They returned to the next meeting and were disappointed that they couldn't sell their stamps to other students at a profit. Within weeks, the club folded because no one was attending. It's imperative that anyone who tries to interest young people in stamp collecting has to provide them with the hard fact that the hobby isn't about financial profit, but concerns the history and practice of nearly every activity that human beings engage in.
Bob
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
12 Apr 2020
05:58:06pm
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I am sure I've said in several posts that I was an antique dealer for over 30 years and I've always been a collector myself. That's something that is dying in all generations now. Most people my own age are spending a huge amount of their effort downsizing because their kids don't have any interest in their "stuff", actually they have little interest in their own "stuff". Since the collecting bug seems to be dying out in all generations now the antique business is almost dead! There will always be a small number of die hard collectors but as they die off very few are taking their place. A fair number of people buying on various on line sites are doing it with the idea of making a profit. I retired from teaching six years ago and It didn't even occur to me to start a stamp club. I did run a Math Club for the better students and that went over quite well, especially with the Asian kids. We won many contests and ad a great time, but a stamp club... I don't think so!!
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
My 2 nephews aged 18 and 15 have no interest in stamps even when I have showed them some of my collections. One day in the car I told my sister I had sold a $100 stamp on EBAY and my nephew jumped in "I did not know stamps were worth that much !" Since I have no children he later asked me who is going to inherit my collection ?! Steve
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Ouch! Harvey hit a nerve when he said,
"Most people my own age are spending a huge amount of their effort downsizing because their kids don't have any interest in their "stuff", actually they have little interest in their own "stuff"."
This has become a problem in our family. Two or three years ago, I turned over our son and his wife some family heirloom woodworking tools that were used by my great-grandfather — a scribe, a draw knife, a level, and a keyhole saw. I included a WWII U.S. Army canteen that I bought in an Army surplus store when I was a teenager and used on several memorable hikes in New Mexico and on a climb up one of the states highest peaks (see Climbing Cooke's Peak.) Less than a year later, our daughter-in law called and said she wanted to return all of those items to us, because they were, in her words, "just stuff".
Our son hasn't shown any more interest than she in "stuff," unless it's the newest electronic/digital gizmo. I shouldn't complain: three or four years ago, he bought new iMac computers for both my wife and me, as well as AirPods, and he's given us a laptop that he no longer needed, and many other useful things that we probably wouldn't have bought for ourselves. But I was recently disappointed to learn that he had given away a book that I bought for him, a first edition of the The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein, his favourite sci-fi novelist.
Then, adding insult to injury, the last time our daughter-in-law visited us, she spotted some Japanese prints on the wall, and said, "When you're gone, would be OK if I got those prints?" Well, actually, no. I'd rather donate them to Green Peace!
Of course, any middle-class person who complains about rampant consumerism opens himself or herself up to criticism. After all, we live so much better, in terms of "consumer goods," than most people in the world and anyone in the past. But it's difficult to deny that our consumer culture, in which corporations enjoy the same "rights" as people, has to a large extent created the environmental, social, and health problems with which we have to cope on a day-to-day basis. We're hearing reports that the air over urban centres has become much cleaner in recent weeks simply because we aren't, shopping, driving, flying, and vacationing as much as we were. A short term benefit will doubtless be fewer heart and lung problems, as long as we aren't sabotaged by Covid-19. Perhaps we are coming to the point where society finally figures out that if we work harder to protect the natural world from our baser instincts, everyone will benefit. Instead of "Making America Greater," wouldn't it be wonderful if we could "Make the World Nicer" for everyone?
Bob
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Bobstamp: You will notice that I never said anything about donating anything to a local history museum.
I think that the ideal arrangement looks like this:
- Collector buys a large shadow box, which gets mounted on a wall, and
- Collector fills the shadow box and, once each year, rotates stuff in & out.
You will also notice that I never mentioned the word "stamp".
http://goscf.com/t/69330 ... Donations to a museum are lost to philately forever.
https://stamporama.com/discboard/disc_main.php?action=20&id=23313#166242 ... same post, locally
Harvey: Most "collectors" of antique furniture were using most of their "collection" to furnish their house; I've not met many folks who've got storage units full of genuine antiques they look at once each year but, then, you've met more of the actively acquiring folks than I have, so YMMV.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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05:22:26am
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I created an account to post on this thread specifically because as a 20 year old collector I feel like I have a perspective that has not been discussed yet. I do not have any family members who collect but my Grandpa did collect as a child and gave me some old stamps to get started.(around 8 years ago) I live in the Vancouver area and have been to two meetings of the BC Philatelic Society as well as went to Vanpex 2019 and several other local shows. I am not a member of the BC Phil because of the fact that public transit makes so the trip is not worth it for me. Instead I am a member of the Centennial Stamp in Coquitlam BC as it is much closer for me.
I personally think there are several reasons why stamp clubs have trouble attracting younger members and that club members do not represent collectors as a whole. Today many people have irregular work schedules and less people are interested in community events as a whole. I know very few non retired people who are members of clubs of any kind but my grandparents are in tons of clubs (bridge, investing,social,etc). I would say the average age of stamp collectors on the internet is at least 20-30 years younger than in stamp clubs/stamp shows. I personally have noticed a lot of growth in the last few years for stamp collecting on social media. Graham Beck of Exploring Stamps is now at over 11 thousand subscribers and several new people have decided to start stamp collecting youtube channels as well as podcasts. Stampworld is almost at 400 thousand registered users and there are dozens of Facebook groups with one having over 34 thousand members. On the local level I can say that my stamp club has almost doubled our membership since I joined in Fall 2018 (Now around 30).
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Welcome Newjab and thanks for providing a different perspective. You do offer hope for this hobby and it's good to hear of a stamp club where the membership has increased. Hope you enjoy Stamporama!
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04:03:16pm
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
The younger generations use more digital and social media. They can sit in their homes, collect stamps, interact through various groups which is great.
They do not physically have to attend a local philatelic society on a specific day at a specific time. They do not have to "pluck up the courage" to walk into a room full of other collectors who will probably have more knowledge about philately than they do, or face the various cliques that have already formed within the society.
I was in my forties before I plucked up the courage to join a Society and once I moved house, several years later, I never joined another because of what I witnessed at the first society.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
My grandson is 24. He just shakes his head at his mom and me when we are working on stamps.
Also my daughter and I belong to several local clubs in the area. The biggest one is in Hamilton with about 120 members. Down to a club with about 20 members. There are a half dozen or so younger kids from about 6 to 12 years old that come to the Hamilton shows twice a year. They rarely come to the club meetings.
My daughter Shelley and I go to as many club shows that we can get to during the year from Toronto, Hamilton all the way to Windsor Ont. which is about a 4 hour drive. We seldom see anyone at these shows between 12 and 30 years old. I am not saying that there aren't some, but there are not more then a half dozen if that.
When you look around the room at any stamp club or show that we go to, I would say that the average age is 60 plus.
Normally we go to about 30 club meetings a year and about 10 stamp shows.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Hi all,
I have to really give a shout out to NewJab for his take on things and really give a heartfelt resounding "yes, I fully agree" to his post!
I am not young, but I am not old either, and I literally stumbled on stamp collecting via the internet (about 2 years ago) and remain stamp collecting because of fun groups to be a part of like this one (SOR). For me stamp collecting is 50% social involvement in groups like this and 50% collecting. I know everyone is different and I probably do not represent the larger group very well, but I believe that the "virtual stamp collectors" out there are my age (52) or much younger. You nailed it NewJab when you mentioned Graham Beck of Exploring Stamps, that guy is REALLY bringing stamp collecting some GREAT publicity and in a super fresh new way. He feels like the future to me.
I am a collector because the internet and social media existed. Without them, I'm not sure I would have been exposed to stamp collecting ever.
Just my 2 cents. Seriously. Your mileage may (and probably has) vary/varied!
JR
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Never heard of Graham before. Just watched his Windmills episode. That was quite interesting. I had seen other collectors on YouTube, but they weren't all that interesting. Graham does a great job at his!
Thanks for opening my eyes to a great channel.
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14 Apr 2020
11:40:32am
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I've been watching the series that Graham Beck posts on YouTube since he started, it's a bit basic but fun to watch. Several times I've posted suggestions to his comments and always hear back from him. He's a younger collector himself and his site is a great help to getting younger people interested. You should all check out his site, actually even as a long time collector I've picked up several useful pieces of information from the site. A link is given in another of my recent posts but here it is again: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkeSM6aOWfaUPIGb5rPOGyA
(Modified by Moderator on 2020-04-14 12:10:51)
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Both of my kids are millennials.
My son has taken a fairly generous attitude toward me and my passion for stamp collecting. He travels all over the world and makes it a point to stop at the post office when visiting foreign countries, so that he can send me a postcard franked with a nice commemorative stamp. I sometimes wonder (hope) that he'll take up the hobby if and when he ever settles down. It would be comforting to know that my collection could be left behind to someone who appreciated its value (not just monetary) and would take good care of it.
My daughter, on the other hand, while she is a kind person, once remarked while observing me at the dining room table sorting and displaying my stamps: "So, what's the end goal with all of this?" I admit I was at a loss for words initially. I guess my view of my collection(s) and time spent with them is that there really isn't an end in sight! It seemingly just goes on and on forever.
However, I do agree with other posters' comments about the relaxation effect of the hobby and how its unplugged time/space is *so* needed in our hurried, electronically connected world these days.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
"So, what's the end goal with all of this?"
This question can be asked for any optional activity.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
16 Apr 2020
11:36:03am
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I was just listening to a talk radio show in my area and a Millennial phoned in. His attitude was since the "Boomers" have grossly screwed up the world and since Covid19 seems to be mostly affecting Boomers that the virus should be allowed to just take its course so that the economy can restart. Does this really sound like someone who can sit at the kitchen table for hours sorting stamps?
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
"I was just listening to a talk radio show in my area and a Millennial phoned in. His attitude was since the "Boomers" have grossly screwed up the world and since Covid19 seems to be mostly affecting Boomers that the virus should be allowed to just take its course so that the economy can restart. Does this really sound like someone who can sit at the kitchen table for hours sorting stamps? "
LOL! So brutally honest! LOVE IT!
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11:45:28am
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Likewise, I fall into the "in between" category, as I celebrate my last week in my 40s. I've been preaching this for years, but not seeing young people at stamp clubs and stamp shows or your children and grandchildren are not the benchmark for whether young people collect. Milenials engage the hobby for different reasons and in different ways than you did. We have to meet them where they are not expect them to come to us.
Thanks Newjab for the mention of Graham Beck, a proud APS member, and the work he's doing with Exploring Stamps. We've had a two-year partnership with Graham and we promote Exploring Stamps on our website, in the newsletters, and we are also a sponsor of his series (if you watch, you already know). His audience is growing more every day and we're so grateful for the work he's doing to make stamp collecting relatable to a new audience.
If we use APS membership as a benchmark, we have almost 1,200 members under the age of 40. I won't turn this into an advertisement, but we've been profiling millennial collectors in our news section since last year. I would encourage you to visit our website at www.stamps.org and check out the news section. We just posted two more stories about two young ladies who graduated from the YPLF program and how they're active in the hobby today.
Also, we launched a digital-only membership for under 30 collectors for just $25/year. We're getting applications over the past two weeks and I expect it to grow as we continue to market the membership. In case you know someone who fits the bill and doesn't belong to the APS, please share this link: https://stamps.org/news/c/news/cat/member-benefits/post/coming-in-april-25-30-aps-digital-membership
Scott
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05:00:15pm
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I agree with everything you say Scott.I took advantage of the $25 ($35 Canadian) digital membership because I had previously thought of becoming an APS Member. I had decided against it because as a Canadian paying over $75 (Canadian) for a physical magazine or over $60 for a digital membership did not appeal to me so when I saw the announcement for the $25 offer I decided to go for it. I am really enjoying the APS stamp chats and am glad you are putting them on youtube. Keep up the good work.
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05:51:08pm
re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Thank you for the kind words and welcome to the APS!
I'm glad you're enjoy the chats. Though we started this in response to the Global Lockdown, we are going to continue the chats into the future.
If we can ever assist, please do not hesitate to contact me at scott@stamps.org.
Look forward to seeing you online soon!
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Just my anecdote.
I'm 50. I have three daughters - 11-year-old twins and a 9-year-old. One of the 11-year-olds is fairly serious about her collection. All three have collections and will "play" with them, but the oldest twin (by five minutes and she'll let you know she's the oldest) is fairly serious about it. Not a millennial of course.
Also NOT millennials, but closer. I teach Digital Arts and Design on the high school level. It's a 3-year, Sophomore through Senior year program.
As part of it, we do several lessons over the three years on postage stamps. We look at all sorts of things like who designed the stamp, how/why was the subject chosen, is the depiction of the subject appropriate or could it have been handled better, size, shape, color(s), paper used, printing process, typography, etc. The students get to redesign existing stamps and design new stamps, etc.
There is a real design challenge for a student when the assignment is to accurately portray topic ABC in a .84 x 1.42 inch design space.
The point is this is a series of lessons that receive HIGH engagement from the students. They seem to enjoy the discussions, videos, reading bits from the APS magazine about design, and of course, their actual design work, very much. I show some of my collection, and they SEEM to enjoy that, to the point I get questions about why I collect this or that.
Do they become collectors? No clue to doubtful, but they show an interest, and I believe the interest is fairly genuine. And that is a start.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
This is a clip from an article about the survival of the postal service in the WSJ.
"For younger generations, buying stamps is as foreign as using a telephone to actually talk to someone.
"
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
The challenge is there is no hard useful data of younger collectors to predict anything - mostly hopeful sentimental optimism.
When I was young, there were inexpensive worldwide albums but now due to all the stamps issued in the last 60 years, even a single country album can be large. The path to be a collector (of anything) can be different for everyone.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
I think people are looking at this question from thier own perspective - ie via stamp clubs etc even via forums like this one. Look at what is happening on Instagram. For those who are trying to get their head around Instagram and some social media sites. One way of gauging the level of interest in a particular topic is the check out the number of posts associated with individual hashtags. So for instance #stampcollection has 116,392 posts. #philately has 312,320 posts, #philatelic has 86,245 posts (maybe a term not used so much by millenials? #postagestamps has 141,815 posts. Go to instagram and check out some hash tags yourself and I think you will pleasantly surprised as these numbers indicate that there is interest and activity. Of note too is if you look at some of the photos is that they are writing real letters to each other.
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
"... 116,392 posts ... 312,320 posts ... 86,245 posts ... 141,815 posts ..."
I dunno, Sharon, you know way too much about social media to be a stamp collector.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who likes to bury his irony)
PS: Millennial at a payphone.
Helpful friend: "It's simple. You just insert a quarter."
Millennial: "But why? And, what's a quarter?"
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Here is another article about this- The author did what I suggested ie follow the hashtags to get a sense of the numbers - what I found interesting is that these collections are about how these stamps display on instagram ie arranged on a plate like food? Each collector to thier own pleas-sure I guess. I did like all the blue stamps grouped together... I dont care just pleased to see younger people collecting- I hope the link to the article will work - if not just copy and paste
https://www.purewow.com/tech/millennial-trend-stamp-collecting
(Modified by Moderator on 2020-05-07 06:40:42)
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re: Why millennials have fallen in love with stamp collecting
Flashback to 40 years ago, letters with stamps would come through the door on a near daily basis. Children, adults and everyone in between were surrounded by them. Having this constant interaction no doubt pushed a lot of younger kids into collecting.
This week I received one letter with a prepaid envelope…. If you’re coming from a family that doesn’t collect stamps I’d find it near impossible for a child on their own accord to become engaged with stamp collecting.
From a younger perspective (me being 26)… Like the article has said stamps in the younger community are surviving because a vintage revival where it’s trendy to collect vinyls, use film cameras and to send post. I see Etsy/Instagram sellers sell common mint stamps for 2x face value. Obviously these buyers are not concerned about rarity or filling an album but more about the aesthetics of any given stamp.
In the last 6 months I’ve definitely seen an incredible shift in regards to APS and how they are targeting the younger demographic. Although this isn't from their website or news section but thanks to Instagram and content creators like Graham from Exploring Stamps on youtube.
I’ve been watching Graham for about 2 years now and seeing himself and other content creators be recognized and promoted by APS is amazing to see. If you haven’t seen his videos please do, entertaining and informative!
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