What we collect!

 

Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Stamporama Discussion Board Logo
For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps



What we collect!
What we collect!


General Philatelic/Gen. Discussion : Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

 

Author
Postings
londonbus1
Members Picture


04 Nov 2014
04:29:59am
October 2014.

I recently returned from a gruelling work-infested trip to the UK and unlike many or most of my visits back to Old Blighty, philatelic side-trips were almost non-existent.
I did manage one 36-hour jaunt to London to visit friends and took a few hours to find some stamps and stamp accessories.
I was disappointed on both counts. Sad
As I trudged along the Strand and surrounding streets, once the home of world philatelic stuff, I found myself outside Stanley Gibbons. Always a bit up-market, they at least had a good downstairs accessory department to stock up on sheets and just about anything else.
Not any more.
Downstairs was closed and turned into offices, most likely for their expensive stamp and auction business. Upstairs were mostly catalogues and top quality albums, neither of which were on my list. There was little else and so nothing to hang around for.
I left.
On the opposite side of the Strand was the Stamp Centre, always a useful place although overrun with Dr.Who toys and momorabilia. I entered and was greeted by........lots,lots more Dr.Who toys and memorabilia !! Then I asked the young man behind the counter (who doubtless knew nothing about stamps) if he had some Vario stock sheets and he said they didn't stock them any more and that I should buy them on eBay !!! Angry He REALLY said that. Shocked, I asked him if he was joking and he said quite calmly that he wasn't.
I left.
Two more shops not to visit on future trips to the UK capital city.
I then headed west for the short walk to St.Martins Lane to one of the last remaining 'real' stamp shops in London. There I was sure to get something of what I wanted or at the very least to look at some stamps.
No.
Not only was the shop gone, but the building had been completely renovated to make it look new and modern and housed some banking or other business facility. I gazed upon the scene with sadness. Was this it ? The end of the line for the average philatelist in London ?
It appeared so.
So what remained?
The Post Office on Trafalgar Square still had a philatelic counter which was quite refreshing. So while all the other 'windows' sported huge mile-long queues, this Bus was able to get his few bits from a Postal Teller twiddling his thumbs !! Big Grin

It is true, there are still a good number of Saturday and Sunday monthly or Bi-monthly fairs around London and one good monthly fair in the centre, but it seems like the Philatelic death knell has sounded for the ordinary visitor/collector to London.
And it was sad.

But there was one continuing bright spot on the horizon. The Charing Cross collectors fair on a saturday morning, from 7am, was still going strong and was very busy and I did pick up some nice Cinderellas. I met my Stamp buddy, Stampstudy for our usual browse and full English breakfast afterwards.

Some things never change.

Londonbus1

Like 
6 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
TuskenRaider
Members Picture


04 Nov 2014
08:31:19am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Hi Everyone;

I fondly remember all the stamp dealers in Chicago, when I used to live in Illinois. I'm sure most of them are gone now, or are struggling to stay afloat. Sad

The internet has indirectly caused lots of casualties probably in many different parts of the small business world. But I do appreciate the great bargains on the internet that 30 years ago I could not afford to drive to where those items are located.

But I too understand, that the internet is no substitute for the fun of just browsing thru the old stamp shops, and spending hours going thru stockbooks, or sifting thru boxes of bargain stamps on the counter. Sad

Keep on stampin'
TuskenRaider

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.webstore.com/store,pgr,37572,user_id,37572,ac,shop
nigelc
Members Picture


04 Nov 2014
01:05:44pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Mr LB1,

I must agree so much with you.

I live near London and have done so for thirty years and the change in that time amongst our stamp shops has been very sad.

So many great shops and wonderful characters have gone!

When I first came to London the Saturday morning fair in the car park at the Embankment was a huge affair but at least as you say it still exists!

I remember buying fascinating items from Mr Bokievicz (I'm sure I got his name wrong!) at Continental Stamp Supplies, from Mr Constantine at Trafalgar Square, from the many dealers at the short-lived King St Stamp Centre, from the old gentleman who collected Bhutan at what became Royale Stamp Co., at the smart glass-sided shop next to St Pauls, at the little shop near Covent Garden next to George the Barber, and on and on and on.

The latest change has been particularly difficult; this has been the closure of Vera Trinder's, a wonderful stamps books and supplies shop on Bedford Street, forced to move out of London completely by planned redevelopment by the landlord.


Like
Login to Like
this post
Bobstamp
Members Picture


04 Nov 2014
02:49:31pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

In 2001 in Vancouver, there were four stamp shops that I could walk to from my apartment and four that required public transportation (I no longer drive).

In 2014, there is only one stamp shop within walking distance, and only three that I can get to if I want to spend an hour on buses and the SkyTrain or Canada Line, but I don't ever go to the nearest one and the others don't have much to offer. Most of my buying these days is on-line.

Bob


Like
Login to Like
this post

www.ephemeraltreasures.net
philb
Members Picture


04 Nov 2014
03:35:37pm

Auctions
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Bob, i was in Vancouver around the millinium aslso..we found 3 stamp shopes downtown easily..one dealer who stands out in my mind was drinking brandy from a snifter behind the counter if you have any idea who i mean ? phil

Like
Login to Like
this post

"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
philb
Members Picture


04 Nov 2014
03:43:04pm

Auctions
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Londonbus, its very sad..until 4 or 5 years ago there was this wonderful place in Manhatten called Stampazine. I did not know of it before but it was in the same building as Cherrystone Auctions on 57th st and i went with a friend who was selling stamps to cherrystone. The two places could not be any more different ..Cherrystone was immaculate with its glassed in conference room and mahogany furniture. Stampazine had a counter and a few barstools and the room was packed with stockbooks and boxes. They had these two or three wonderful old gnomes who would come up to your barstool and ask what you wanted to look at. It was paradise ! i took my wife there to show her the place about 6 months later and the stamps were gone to Bennett Auctions in Baltimore. There were only bare shelves and some stamp mounts left !

Like
Login to Like
this post

"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
DRYER
Members Picture


The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.

04 Nov 2014
03:44:55pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Thank you for the update, londonbus1 and others.
I'll be returning to London next summer (should I live so long)
and this information will help me to avoid wasting time.

Perhaps a photo-op at Stanley Gibbons.

John Derry

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Much happiness is overlooked because it doesn't cost anything. "

parklanemews@gmail.com
Guthrum
Members Picture


27 Jan 2015
06:12:25pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Dismayed to read that Gibbons downstairs is no longer their accessory room - have I really not been there since last October? On weekdays SG could often muster no more than one member of staff at the counters, and when I asked for something from downstairs someone else had to emerge to look after the shop. I also asked what stock of stamps they actually had at SG, and was told earnestly that they had everything in the catalogue. I took leave to doubt this but did not press the point.

Is it possible that downstairs was temporarily closed for refurbishment?

Like
Login to Like
this post
cdj1122
Members Picture


Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..

28 Jan 2015
11:24:09am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Somehow I think the homey ambiance of a friendly stamp shop where you could almost smell the stamps in albums and stock books that lined the walls and where spending a hour or two chatting with others interested in the hobby was normal course of events, has gone the way of the dodo bird.

Like
Login to Like
this post

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
phos45
Members Picture


28 Jan 2015
12:45:01pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Stanley Gibbons is basically a publisher ... try to access their stamp stocks online is impossible. goto youtube, you may find Hugh Jeffries with an odd stockcard ...

rather sad ...

Like
Login to Like
this post

machinstudygroup.blogspot.ca
nigelc
Members Picture


28 Jan 2015
02:08:12pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

"Stanley Gibbons is basically a publisher"


SG is still basically a stamp dealer but it does have significant activity in coins & medals, other collectables and publishing.

Here's an extract from their last half-year company report:

Image Not Found

Like
Login to Like
this post
Philatarium
Members Picture


APS #187980

28 Jan 2015
02:59:07pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Thanks for posting that, Nigel!

It's interesting that the line of business that I associate most favorably with them, the catalogs, are part of their smallest line of business, which also has the second-worst margin.

Interesting also that their best margins are in philatelic and coin dealings.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"You gotta put down the duckie if you wanna play the saxophone. (Hoots the Owl -- Sesame Street)"

www.hipstamp.com/store/the-philatarium
phos45
Members Picture


28 Jan 2015
10:01:25pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

the value in philatelic, is "investment quality" stamps ... pedestrian sales are neglected. for a while some new issues appeared on ebay... then disappeared.

Like
Login to Like
this post

machinstudygroup.blogspot.ca
Charlie2009
Members Picture


03 Feb 2015
12:28:46pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

I am glad I read this post since I was going for a stamping trip to London.I remember buying my first " Serious" stamp just across from SG,a £1 green,QV unmounted mint for £ 35.00.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

www.hipstamp.com/store/my-stamping-ground
Ningpo
Members Picture


13 Jul 2016
09:40:57am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Have posted this here as I can't find the original thread. It may however be appropriate.

Stanley Gibbons share prices have hit 9.63 pence. So the irony is that one can now buy a share cheaper than their cheapest catalogued value stamp.

Will Stanley Gibbons in the Strand London become a new supermarket or burger outlet in the near future?

Like
Login to Like
this post
lemaven
Members Picture


13 Jul 2016
12:48:37pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

I'm sure none of us want to face this reality, but we are dinosaurs. Ours is a hobby of (primarily) old (almost all) men who are increasingly narrowing rather than broadening our scope of interest. Reminds me of my Grade 5 math teacher who said "an expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing".

The first stamp I bought was in a small shop in Nova Scotia almost 50 years ago. Passing the chips and penny candies, and next to the comic stand was a shelf with various types of albums and stamp magazines, and a metal carousel that must have held hundreds of sales cards/envelopes loaded with different stamps. When I got home I went to the back of my Daredevil comic and cut out the coupons for stamps on approval from 3 or 4 different companies. On Wednesday nights our Scouts troop included time to talk about and trade stamps, I belonged to my elementary school stamp club that met every Friday, and on Sundays I joined 10 other eager kids in some local guy's basement - none of our parents knew anything about him other than he always had a huge table loaded with stamps and albums and let us pick what we wanted for 1-2c each. Any of that happening today? Certainly not the last bit - even with a requisite police background check? Nerd

Six months ago I went to a stamp club meeting near Toronto. 8 broken-down looking old fogies and a small table of stuff they were trying to get each other to buy. I was so depressed by the experience I haven't been able to go back.

A month ago I went to a local stamp auction in "the other London" (Ontario Canada). Of about 60 people attending there were 2 women and I was probably one of the two or three youngest there (I'll be 60 in November).

I just got back from Newfoundland and couldn't find a single stamp shop, every antique store owner simply laughed when I asked if they had any stamps, and one B&B owner was happy to give me a couple covers and some loose stamps he had because "I don't know anybody who'd want them, so I was gong to just toss them out until you asked..."

And we also have the situation where anyone who inherits a crappy collection from Uncle Wilbur wants to offload them for 10-100 times their value in the belief that they are "old and rare" - yet I've found it's sometimes a PITA to even try and give away stamps. My father-in-law said a friend of his who just died had been a life-long collector, and president of the local "Royal Society" and he thought his collection was probably worth many multiple thousands of dollars - yet his widow said she had only four people make a serious offer and got less than $3,000 for everything.

Now to get out of the doldrums let's be hopeful: unlike a lot of people I held on to my vinyl LPs. (At one time after CDs became popular no one would even take your albums for free when you moved...) My early Beatles albums (given to me by my sister in the early 70s) aren't worth lots of dough, but my 16 year old daughter now plays them on her own record player and many of her friends are excitedly rediscovering Velvet Underground, Kinks, and Taj Mahal looking through my record collection and starting to buy (very expensive) remastered reissued albums.

So maybe kids will rediscover stamp collecting and everything will pop back up again. But I really doubt we'll see it - switching from Graphic Novels to Machin color and perforation variations doesn't have the same potential draw as trading Britney Spears for Lou Reed.

So I'm personally just content to collect things that are of interest, look for the odd unique find, and especially not worry about useless trivia like "are CTOs more than wallpaper" or "how much can I sell this for".

Sad, but reality today...

Sad

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Snick1946
Members Picture


APS Life Member

13 Jul 2016
03:33:34pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Back in 2011, Gibbons posted this video on YouTube showcasing their ground floor walk in store:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbfNPc0ylKI

So, none of this exists any longer? Nice to know one can still get things there if you know enough to go upstairs and ask, but it just seems terribly sad. Given all the issues they are having it should come as no surprise.

I live in a city of a half million. We have one walk in shop, it also sells coins and sport cards, but the owner (president of the local stamp club) is a collector and knowledgeable stamp dealer. It is nice just to be able to have someplace to get mounts, binders, pages and stuff.

I still remember back in the 70's -moving here and visiting a downtown dealer who'd been there since 1920.

Like
Login to Like
this post
Poodle_Mum
Members Picture


A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).

13 Jul 2016
07:05:27pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Well, I don't fit the stereotype of the "old man stamp collector" - I was born in the early 70s. Stamp collecting was still a norm amongst kids albeit lower than the previous generations. I also have a love of books and spent countless hours in old musty bookstores. When I graduated high school there was 75,000 people in my city. Now, 25 years later, there is 120,000+.

I go downtown and want to cry because all the stores are long gone. There used to be minimum 6 used bookstores downtown. Our last one closed its doors a little over a year ago after 40 years.

Our local newspaper ended in March after 123 years of publishing. They still have a website but no paper. Twice a week our free "mini" newspaper is distributed where we can find some local news and updates on city bylaws, city sports, etc.

Not a lot changed from my parents' teen years in the 50s and mine in the 80s. Now? It's a whole different world. The department stores are gone, one by one. Bookstores? We have one in town. Hobby shops? There's only the box store Michaels.

Is this electronic world going to turn itself around in the next 20 or 30 years? With people becoming more wary of electronic theft, perhaps. In 40 years, God-willing, I'd like to see our world changing back.

Everything is about "going green" - we didn't have that problem before because we didn't have plastic bags and bottles, and the stores had larger fresh food aisles than canned aisles.

When I was a kid, one of the ways we made extra pennies to go to the candy store was to collect pop bottles and take them into the grocer for change. Right through high school, except by then we weren't collecting the bottles for candy, we were buying smokes at the drug store!

Sorry for off-topic. It just looks like the electronic world that burst into the scene in the late '90s has taken us all on a trip we never imagined.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Let's find a cure for Still's Disease, Breast Cancer and Canine Addison's Disease. We CAN find a cure and save lives!!"

drkellyfleming.ca
HungaryForStamps
Members Picture


13 Jul 2016
07:50:14pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Its not surprising to me that stamp stores have closed, and certainly no mystery that stamp supplies are not a profit making opportunity for brick and mortar locations. There's just not enough foot traffic to justify holding the inventory. I don't regret having to buy supplies online, as they are pretty cheap, and brick and mortar prices are usually higher.

I sort-of regret there not being retail locations to browse through stamp/cover boxes, but realistically, I would probably never purchase anything anyway. I don't when I visit the two remaining shops in the DC area. Its so much more convenient to purchase online, whether its Ebay, APS, or an online auction, and I believe its cheaper as well.

I think its nostalgia that causes the regret. I remember going to stamp shops and the department stores as a kid. Those memories would be nice to relive, but really, I'm glad those stores are gone or closing when I think about it rationally. Sure you probably would like to revisit those nostalgic feelings while on vacation. But surely time is better spent going to the museums and other sights that have relevance to your vacation.

It would be nice to have more interest in stamp collecting from the general public, but again, I understand why fewer people are interested. Part of it was speculative bubble and when the dust cleared, the fortune hunters collecting common stamps wised up and stopped collecting. In part it was a fad and fads run their course. Also today, children have so many more interesting things to do.

This is not just hitting stamps, but other areas as well. My family is big into board games (we have about 250 or more). Even though game and toy stores are closing, the board game industry is pretty strong. Plenty of folks buy board games, enough to support relatively new and innovative game companies such as Academy Games. But running a brick and mortar game store is very difficult to pull-off. You have to do other things, like sell comics, host games, host Pokemon tournaments etc. Hobby shops need to do the same thing.

My point is that even though brick and mortar is going away, that does not spell doom for stamp collecting and other hobbies or for board gaming. Board gaming is stronger than ever. Niche hobbies will survive. Its just that the retail environment for them is getting more efficient and wringing out unnecessary costs (such as the middle man).

The online retail revolution will not reverse. More and more brick and mortar stores will close, particularly in areas where touching and feeling the product is not necessary. Why regret bookshops closing when you can order a book on your kindle and download it in a minute or order the physical copy and get it in a day. This regret for me is a desire for nostalgia, but progress and time will eliminate that too.




Like
Login to Like
this post
ikeyPikey
Members Picture


15 Jul 2016
09:19:10am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

The switch from full-time brick'n'mortar stores to less-formal weekend bourses is not all bad; for example, the lower barriers to entry (tables rent for a few tens of dollars, and only when you need one) allows new sellers to try their hand, and at prices that rival the internet.

Oddly, that switch comes at a time when so many more 'service economy' folks are working on weekends; go figure.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Like
Login to Like
this post

"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
karlfry
Members Picture


15 Jul 2016
09:30:53am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

This is a Paris question not London so I hope its ok here. My grandfather told me stories of a huge stamp "fair" if you will that was held weekly near the cathedral in Paris. I hate to ask but I guess it too has fallen to the way side to make room for "Pokeman Go"
On a personal note I remember my first trips to a local stampSad dealer in Cincinnati, his office was high up in a downtown office building and when you walked in the room was filled with tables and stock books for miles. I miss that old shop!

Like 
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
philatelia
Members Picture


15 Jul 2016
11:36:35am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

There was a wonderful Brick and Mortar store here in Fort Pierce. Sadly, he recently closed. Surprisingly, the store didn't close because sales were lagging, it closed because the wife wanted hubby to spend more time with the grandkids!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"August 2023 - selling penny start bargain lots on EBay - https://www.ebay.com/str/philatelia"

www.ebay.com/str/philatelia
musicman
Members Picture


APS #213005

15 Jul 2016
08:14:09pm
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

There is still a wonderful storefront dealer in Chicago;

"Stamp King"
(Charles Berg)
7139 W. Higgins
Chicago

US & WW stamps & covers
Collections & Discounted supplies
Beginners and youngsters welcome!


...I visit him once a year...sometimes twice.

Big Grin

Like
Login to Like
this post
londonbus1
Members Picture


16 Jul 2016
02:50:12am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Please note I have changed the thread title as most of the posts here have nothing at all to do with London.

Now I can reply to some of those posts ! Winking

Like
Login to Like
this post
londonbus1
Members Picture


16 Jul 2016
08:10:10am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

"This is a Paris question not London so I hope its ok here. My grandfather told me stories of a huge stamp "fair" if you will that was held weekly near the cathedral in Paris. I hate to ask but I guess it too has fallen to the way side to make room for "Pokeman Go""



Your Grandfather was correct and it is still there today. The 'Marche aux Timbres' is a thrice-weekly Stamp Market in the Avenue Marigny off the Champs Elysee and in the grounds once owned by the Elysee Palace. A previous owner, and stamp collector, bequeathed the land to the City of Paris on condition that it was to be used for a Philatelic 'event'. From the late 1860's there has been a market 3 days a week without interruption (including during wartime). Around 50 dealers gather and there are tables for buyers and dealers to discuss stamps in a wonderful atmosphere. 9am -7pm Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
On a rather sad note, I was in Paris with my family a few years ago and this market was top of my agenda whilst the others went elsewhere. On the Metro journey I had my wallet stolen with all my money inside !! I did walk around the market but had no money to spend. So every time I think of this event I get mixed feelings.

Paris is also well supplied with Stamp shops which still thrive and are in very quaint and atmospheric locations.

It was nice to give Paris, and France, a 'Heads Up' after all the recent atrocities.

Londonbus1

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
TribalErnie

18 Jul 2016
12:26:08am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

So Saturday afternoon I had what might have been my worst visit ever to a hobby shop. I stopped in at All Florida Coin & Stamp on University Blvd. I called ahead and asked the guy what time he was open till and asked him if he had any world wide remainders or box lots I could look at. He was curt on the phone saying "yeah, I got all that".

So me and my 16 year old son were out tooling around in town anyway so we drive the 30 minutes to his shop and go in. I had been there once a long long time ago (10 years maybe) and told him that I remembered him from then. Tried to make small talk with him for a second we were the only ones in the store and my son was petting his friendly cat. We both knew some of the same people from the stamp and coin clubs and he's bashing the mess out of them. He was complaining about being in the shop and said that he didn't care one bit about any of the stamps in the building because he made 90 percent of his money on coins. I'm thinking "fantastic, I'll take some off your hands today".

So I asked him to show me something and be brings down this two volume collection, in I think blue binders. They were all messed up looking and dirty. I was flipping through trying to figure out some sort of value but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know. There's a smattering of everything but the condition was not good. They were all coming unhinged, some of the pages were ratty and many of the stamps looked discolored maybe from foxing or some sort of moisture damage. He was asking $660.00 for the two binders. I knew enough to know I wasn't giving him that kind of money. He had a paper taped to the front of the album showing a total cat value of $1800 for the lot.

I said, "wow, some of these pages looked really discolored" just in an observational way. He looked at me and said "I tell you what, if you don't like what you see you can just shut the book and put it back on the shelf". My son's eyes got bigger. I said "ok no problem" and I put the book back.

Rather than leave, I said "what else do you have?". He said "nothing". I'm looking at a huge wall with binders, boxes and "stuff".

I couldn't believe it. I REALLY wanted to buy a big bunch of stamps and spend all day today with them. I had $75 cash that was literally burning a hole in my pocket. I was the best kind of customer, "EAGER and not particularly set on any one thing".

I said, "ok then, enjoy the rest of your weekend". He grunted; we left. In the parking lot my son said "dad, he was a jerk". Yeah, a little bit son.

I was very disappointed. Not because he was so rude but because I left empty handed

Like 
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Jansimon
Members Picture


collector, seller, MT member

18 Jul 2016
03:32:01am

Approvals
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

In Amsterdam there used to be a street (or rather an alley) with only stamp shops but nowadays only two or so remain there. It was a mixture of more or less serious stamp stores and those who catered more to the not that knowledgeable collectors and/or tourists. The latter mainly sold the Disney and dinosaur theme stamps from countries like Guyana and Grenada.
Other than that, we still have a lot of stamp shops, also in relatively smaller cities. There is a movement towards concentration, where several larger companies have bought competitors, creating something like a chain of stamp stores.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

www.etsy.com/nl/shop/itsallmadeofpaper/
jldelstamp

03 Jun 2017
12:57:12am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

I am pleased today that in Delaware, we still have an honest-to-goodness stamp store, where you can buy stamps, supplies, etc. It's called "The Stamp Center" (aka "Dutch Country Auctions") -- it is located at 4115 Concord Pike in Wilmington, Delaware. It has to be one of the last few brick-and-mortar stores left in philately in the US.

Does anyone know if there is a "Stamp Store Directory" of any sort for the US, which lists the names, addresses and phone numbers of the remaining brick-and-mortar stamp store? I'd would love to see a publication like that, so that during travel, one could pop in and pay a visit to a real-live stamp store!

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
bigcreekdad
Members Picture


03 Jun 2017
08:36:10am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

I live in Toledo, Ohio. When I was a kid (50's/early 60's), there were at least 3 stamp shops in downtown, and a few hobby stores offered a much more limited selection.

Today, there are none. Online I found a few in the Detroit area, but from their websites, it was clear that coins were their mainstay. I did luck upon one small stamp shop in Ann Arbor. They also deal in coins, but there seems to be as much attention to stamps. Sadly, it is run by a guy older than me, and, thus, will likely go when he does.

The internet is great in many ways, but what's happening to the individual retailers is a damn shame.

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.hipstamp.com/store/troutbum-stamps
BenFranklin1902
Members Picture


Tom in Exton, PA

03 Jun 2017
09:21:59am
re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

"I am pleased today that in Delaware, we still have an honest-to-goodness stamp store, where you can buy stamps, supplies, etc. It's called "The Stamp Center" (aka "Dutch Country Auctions") -- it is located at 4115 Concord Pike in Wilmington, Delaware. It has to be one of the last few brick-and-mortar stores left in philately in the US."



I'm in Pennsylvania, but only about a half hour down 202 from the Stamp Center. I met the owner at one of our club meetings but have yet to go to the store. I need to do so!

There is a coin and stamp shop much closer to me that I went into once. Their focus was coins, but I'd never step foot in there again, due to the owners. There were two men behind the counter smoking. The entire shop was filled with that din of smoke in the air, and I knew anything I bought there would smell like smoke. To make matters worse they were very involved in a conversation between themselves, with every second word being a curse word. All in front of a customer who they pretty much ignored.

We regularly have conversations on my model car board about the same subject, the lack of hobby shops, and the poor business practices of those that are still hanging on. Sometimes these places are their own worse enemies.

Like 
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

"Check out my eBay Stuff! Username Turtles-Trading-Post"
        

 

Author/Postings
Members Picture
londonbus1

04 Nov 2014
04:29:59am

October 2014.

I recently returned from a gruelling work-infested trip to the UK and unlike many or most of my visits back to Old Blighty, philatelic side-trips were almost non-existent.
I did manage one 36-hour jaunt to London to visit friends and took a few hours to find some stamps and stamp accessories.
I was disappointed on both counts. Sad
As I trudged along the Strand and surrounding streets, once the home of world philatelic stuff, I found myself outside Stanley Gibbons. Always a bit up-market, they at least had a good downstairs accessory department to stock up on sheets and just about anything else.
Not any more.
Downstairs was closed and turned into offices, most likely for their expensive stamp and auction business. Upstairs were mostly catalogues and top quality albums, neither of which were on my list. There was little else and so nothing to hang around for.
I left.
On the opposite side of the Strand was the Stamp Centre, always a useful place although overrun with Dr.Who toys and momorabilia. I entered and was greeted by........lots,lots more Dr.Who toys and memorabilia !! Then I asked the young man behind the counter (who doubtless knew nothing about stamps) if he had some Vario stock sheets and he said they didn't stock them any more and that I should buy them on eBay !!! Angry He REALLY said that. Shocked, I asked him if he was joking and he said quite calmly that he wasn't.
I left.
Two more shops not to visit on future trips to the UK capital city.
I then headed west for the short walk to St.Martins Lane to one of the last remaining 'real' stamp shops in London. There I was sure to get something of what I wanted or at the very least to look at some stamps.
No.
Not only was the shop gone, but the building had been completely renovated to make it look new and modern and housed some banking or other business facility. I gazed upon the scene with sadness. Was this it ? The end of the line for the average philatelist in London ?
It appeared so.
So what remained?
The Post Office on Trafalgar Square still had a philatelic counter which was quite refreshing. So while all the other 'windows' sported huge mile-long queues, this Bus was able to get his few bits from a Postal Teller twiddling his thumbs !! Big Grin

It is true, there are still a good number of Saturday and Sunday monthly or Bi-monthly fairs around London and one good monthly fair in the centre, but it seems like the Philatelic death knell has sounded for the ordinary visitor/collector to London.
And it was sad.

But there was one continuing bright spot on the horizon. The Charing Cross collectors fair on a saturday morning, from 7am, was still going strong and was very busy and I did pick up some nice Cinderellas. I met my Stamp buddy, Stampstudy for our usual browse and full English breakfast afterwards.

Some things never change.

Londonbus1

Like 
6 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Members Picture
TuskenRaider

04 Nov 2014
08:31:19am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Hi Everyone;

I fondly remember all the stamp dealers in Chicago, when I used to live in Illinois. I'm sure most of them are gone now, or are struggling to stay afloat. Sad

The internet has indirectly caused lots of casualties probably in many different parts of the small business world. But I do appreciate the great bargains on the internet that 30 years ago I could not afford to drive to where those items are located.

But I too understand, that the internet is no substitute for the fun of just browsing thru the old stamp shops, and spending hours going thru stockbooks, or sifting thru boxes of bargain stamps on the counter. Sad

Keep on stampin'
TuskenRaider

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.webstore.com/sto ...
Members Picture
nigelc

04 Nov 2014
01:05:44pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Mr LB1,

I must agree so much with you.

I live near London and have done so for thirty years and the change in that time amongst our stamp shops has been very sad.

So many great shops and wonderful characters have gone!

When I first came to London the Saturday morning fair in the car park at the Embankment was a huge affair but at least as you say it still exists!

I remember buying fascinating items from Mr Bokievicz (I'm sure I got his name wrong!) at Continental Stamp Supplies, from Mr Constantine at Trafalgar Square, from the many dealers at the short-lived King St Stamp Centre, from the old gentleman who collected Bhutan at what became Royale Stamp Co., at the smart glass-sided shop next to St Pauls, at the little shop near Covent Garden next to George the Barber, and on and on and on.

The latest change has been particularly difficult; this has been the closure of Vera Trinder's, a wonderful stamps books and supplies shop on Bedford Street, forced to move out of London completely by planned redevelopment by the landlord.


Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
Bobstamp

04 Nov 2014
02:49:31pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

In 2001 in Vancouver, there were four stamp shops that I could walk to from my apartment and four that required public transportation (I no longer drive).

In 2014, there is only one stamp shop within walking distance, and only three that I can get to if I want to spend an hour on buses and the SkyTrain or Canada Line, but I don't ever go to the nearest one and the others don't have much to offer. Most of my buying these days is on-line.

Bob


Like
Login to Like
this post

www.ephemeraltreasur ...
Members Picture
philb

04 Nov 2014
03:35:37pm

Auctions

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Bob, i was in Vancouver around the millinium aslso..we found 3 stamp shopes downtown easily..one dealer who stands out in my mind was drinking brandy from a snifter behind the counter if you have any idea who i mean ? phil

Like
Login to Like
this post

"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"
Members Picture
philb

04 Nov 2014
03:43:04pm

Auctions

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Londonbus, its very sad..until 4 or 5 years ago there was this wonderful place in Manhatten called Stampazine. I did not know of it before but it was in the same building as Cherrystone Auctions on 57th st and i went with a friend who was selling stamps to cherrystone. The two places could not be any more different ..Cherrystone was immaculate with its glassed in conference room and mahogany furniture. Stampazine had a counter and a few barstools and the room was packed with stockbooks and boxes. They had these two or three wonderful old gnomes who would come up to your barstool and ask what you wanted to look at. It was paradise ! i took my wife there to show her the place about 6 months later and the stamps were gone to Bennett Auctions in Baltimore. There were only bare shelves and some stamp mounts left !

Like
Login to Like
this post

"And every hair is measured like every grain of sand"

The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
04 Nov 2014
03:44:55pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Thank you for the update, londonbus1 and others.
I'll be returning to London next summer (should I live so long)
and this information will help me to avoid wasting time.

Perhaps a photo-op at Stanley Gibbons.

John Derry

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Much happiness is overlooked because it doesn't cost anything. "

parklanemews@gmail.c ...
Members Picture
Guthrum

27 Jan 2015
06:12:25pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Dismayed to read that Gibbons downstairs is no longer their accessory room - have I really not been there since last October? On weekdays SG could often muster no more than one member of staff at the counters, and when I asked for something from downstairs someone else had to emerge to look after the shop. I also asked what stock of stamps they actually had at SG, and was told earnestly that they had everything in the catalogue. I took leave to doubt this but did not press the point.

Is it possible that downstairs was temporarily closed for refurbishment?

Like
Login to Like
this post

Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
28 Jan 2015
11:24:09am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Somehow I think the homey ambiance of a friendly stamp shop where you could almost smell the stamps in albums and stock books that lined the walls and where spending a hour or two chatting with others interested in the hobby was normal course of events, has gone the way of the dodo bird.

Like
Login to Like
this post

".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
Members Picture
phos45

28 Jan 2015
12:45:01pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Stanley Gibbons is basically a publisher ... try to access their stamp stocks online is impossible. goto youtube, you may find Hugh Jeffries with an odd stockcard ...

rather sad ...

Like
Login to Like
this post

machinstudygroup.blo ...
Members Picture
nigelc

28 Jan 2015
02:08:12pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

"Stanley Gibbons is basically a publisher"


SG is still basically a stamp dealer but it does have significant activity in coins & medals, other collectables and publishing.

Here's an extract from their last half-year company report:

Image Not Found

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
Philatarium

APS #187980
28 Jan 2015
02:59:07pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Thanks for posting that, Nigel!

It's interesting that the line of business that I associate most favorably with them, the catalogs, are part of their smallest line of business, which also has the second-worst margin.

Interesting also that their best margins are in philatelic and coin dealings.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"You gotta put down the duckie if you wanna play the saxophone. (Hoots the Owl -- Sesame Street)"

www.hipstamp.com/sto ...
Members Picture
phos45

28 Jan 2015
10:01:25pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

the value in philatelic, is "investment quality" stamps ... pedestrian sales are neglected. for a while some new issues appeared on ebay... then disappeared.

Like
Login to Like
this post

machinstudygroup.blo ...
Members Picture
Charlie2009

03 Feb 2015
12:28:46pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

I am glad I read this post since I was going for a stamping trip to London.I remember buying my first " Serious" stamp just across from SG,a £1 green,QV unmounted mint for £ 35.00.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

www.hipstamp.com/sto ...
Members Picture
Ningpo

13 Jul 2016
09:40:57am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Have posted this here as I can't find the original thread. It may however be appropriate.

Stanley Gibbons share prices have hit 9.63 pence. So the irony is that one can now buy a share cheaper than their cheapest catalogued value stamp.

Will Stanley Gibbons in the Strand London become a new supermarket or burger outlet in the near future?

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
lemaven

13 Jul 2016
12:48:37pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

I'm sure none of us want to face this reality, but we are dinosaurs. Ours is a hobby of (primarily) old (almost all) men who are increasingly narrowing rather than broadening our scope of interest. Reminds me of my Grade 5 math teacher who said "an expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing".

The first stamp I bought was in a small shop in Nova Scotia almost 50 years ago. Passing the chips and penny candies, and next to the comic stand was a shelf with various types of albums and stamp magazines, and a metal carousel that must have held hundreds of sales cards/envelopes loaded with different stamps. When I got home I went to the back of my Daredevil comic and cut out the coupons for stamps on approval from 3 or 4 different companies. On Wednesday nights our Scouts troop included time to talk about and trade stamps, I belonged to my elementary school stamp club that met every Friday, and on Sundays I joined 10 other eager kids in some local guy's basement - none of our parents knew anything about him other than he always had a huge table loaded with stamps and albums and let us pick what we wanted for 1-2c each. Any of that happening today? Certainly not the last bit - even with a requisite police background check? Nerd

Six months ago I went to a stamp club meeting near Toronto. 8 broken-down looking old fogies and a small table of stuff they were trying to get each other to buy. I was so depressed by the experience I haven't been able to go back.

A month ago I went to a local stamp auction in "the other London" (Ontario Canada). Of about 60 people attending there were 2 women and I was probably one of the two or three youngest there (I'll be 60 in November).

I just got back from Newfoundland and couldn't find a single stamp shop, every antique store owner simply laughed when I asked if they had any stamps, and one B&B owner was happy to give me a couple covers and some loose stamps he had because "I don't know anybody who'd want them, so I was gong to just toss them out until you asked..."

And we also have the situation where anyone who inherits a crappy collection from Uncle Wilbur wants to offload them for 10-100 times their value in the belief that they are "old and rare" - yet I've found it's sometimes a PITA to even try and give away stamps. My father-in-law said a friend of his who just died had been a life-long collector, and president of the local "Royal Society" and he thought his collection was probably worth many multiple thousands of dollars - yet his widow said she had only four people make a serious offer and got less than $3,000 for everything.

Now to get out of the doldrums let's be hopeful: unlike a lot of people I held on to my vinyl LPs. (At one time after CDs became popular no one would even take your albums for free when you moved...) My early Beatles albums (given to me by my sister in the early 70s) aren't worth lots of dough, but my 16 year old daughter now plays them on her own record player and many of her friends are excitedly rediscovering Velvet Underground, Kinks, and Taj Mahal looking through my record collection and starting to buy (very expensive) remastered reissued albums.

So maybe kids will rediscover stamp collecting and everything will pop back up again. But I really doubt we'll see it - switching from Graphic Novels to Machin color and perforation variations doesn't have the same potential draw as trading Britney Spears for Lou Reed.

So I'm personally just content to collect things that are of interest, look for the odd unique find, and especially not worry about useless trivia like "are CTOs more than wallpaper" or "how much can I sell this for".

Sad, but reality today...

Sad

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Members Picture
Snick1946

APS Life Member
13 Jul 2016
03:33:34pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Back in 2011, Gibbons posted this video on YouTube showcasing their ground floor walk in store:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbfNPc0ylKI

So, none of this exists any longer? Nice to know one can still get things there if you know enough to go upstairs and ask, but it just seems terribly sad. Given all the issues they are having it should come as no surprise.

I live in a city of a half million. We have one walk in shop, it also sells coins and sport cards, but the owner (president of the local stamp club) is a collector and knowledgeable stamp dealer. It is nice just to be able to have someplace to get mounts, binders, pages and stuff.

I still remember back in the 70's -moving here and visiting a downtown dealer who'd been there since 1920.

Like
Login to Like
this post

A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
13 Jul 2016
07:05:27pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Well, I don't fit the stereotype of the "old man stamp collector" - I was born in the early 70s. Stamp collecting was still a norm amongst kids albeit lower than the previous generations. I also have a love of books and spent countless hours in old musty bookstores. When I graduated high school there was 75,000 people in my city. Now, 25 years later, there is 120,000+.

I go downtown and want to cry because all the stores are long gone. There used to be minimum 6 used bookstores downtown. Our last one closed its doors a little over a year ago after 40 years.

Our local newspaper ended in March after 123 years of publishing. They still have a website but no paper. Twice a week our free "mini" newspaper is distributed where we can find some local news and updates on city bylaws, city sports, etc.

Not a lot changed from my parents' teen years in the 50s and mine in the 80s. Now? It's a whole different world. The department stores are gone, one by one. Bookstores? We have one in town. Hobby shops? There's only the box store Michaels.

Is this electronic world going to turn itself around in the next 20 or 30 years? With people becoming more wary of electronic theft, perhaps. In 40 years, God-willing, I'd like to see our world changing back.

Everything is about "going green" - we didn't have that problem before because we didn't have plastic bags and bottles, and the stores had larger fresh food aisles than canned aisles.

When I was a kid, one of the ways we made extra pennies to go to the candy store was to collect pop bottles and take them into the grocer for change. Right through high school, except by then we weren't collecting the bottles for candy, we were buying smokes at the drug store!

Sorry for off-topic. It just looks like the electronic world that burst into the scene in the late '90s has taken us all on a trip we never imagined.

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Let's find a cure for Still's Disease, Breast Cancer and Canine Addison's Disease. We CAN find a cure and save lives!!"

drkellyfleming.ca
Members Picture
HungaryForStamps

13 Jul 2016
07:50:14pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Its not surprising to me that stamp stores have closed, and certainly no mystery that stamp supplies are not a profit making opportunity for brick and mortar locations. There's just not enough foot traffic to justify holding the inventory. I don't regret having to buy supplies online, as they are pretty cheap, and brick and mortar prices are usually higher.

I sort-of regret there not being retail locations to browse through stamp/cover boxes, but realistically, I would probably never purchase anything anyway. I don't when I visit the two remaining shops in the DC area. Its so much more convenient to purchase online, whether its Ebay, APS, or an online auction, and I believe its cheaper as well.

I think its nostalgia that causes the regret. I remember going to stamp shops and the department stores as a kid. Those memories would be nice to relive, but really, I'm glad those stores are gone or closing when I think about it rationally. Sure you probably would like to revisit those nostalgic feelings while on vacation. But surely time is better spent going to the museums and other sights that have relevance to your vacation.

It would be nice to have more interest in stamp collecting from the general public, but again, I understand why fewer people are interested. Part of it was speculative bubble and when the dust cleared, the fortune hunters collecting common stamps wised up and stopped collecting. In part it was a fad and fads run their course. Also today, children have so many more interesting things to do.

This is not just hitting stamps, but other areas as well. My family is big into board games (we have about 250 or more). Even though game and toy stores are closing, the board game industry is pretty strong. Plenty of folks buy board games, enough to support relatively new and innovative game companies such as Academy Games. But running a brick and mortar game store is very difficult to pull-off. You have to do other things, like sell comics, host games, host Pokemon tournaments etc. Hobby shops need to do the same thing.

My point is that even though brick and mortar is going away, that does not spell doom for stamp collecting and other hobbies or for board gaming. Board gaming is stronger than ever. Niche hobbies will survive. Its just that the retail environment for them is getting more efficient and wringing out unnecessary costs (such as the middle man).

The online retail revolution will not reverse. More and more brick and mortar stores will close, particularly in areas where touching and feeling the product is not necessary. Why regret bookshops closing when you can order a book on your kindle and download it in a minute or order the physical copy and get it in a day. This regret for me is a desire for nostalgia, but progress and time will eliminate that too.




Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
ikeyPikey

15 Jul 2016
09:19:10am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

The switch from full-time brick'n'mortar stores to less-formal weekend bourses is not all bad; for example, the lower barriers to entry (tables rent for a few tens of dollars, and only when you need one) allows new sellers to try their hand, and at prices that rival the internet.

Oddly, that switch comes at a time when so many more 'service economy' folks are working on weekends; go figure.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Like
Login to Like
this post

"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Members Picture
karlfry

15 Jul 2016
09:30:53am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

This is a Paris question not London so I hope its ok here. My grandfather told me stories of a huge stamp "fair" if you will that was held weekly near the cathedral in Paris. I hate to ask but I guess it too has fallen to the way side to make room for "Pokeman Go"
On a personal note I remember my first trips to a local stampSad dealer in Cincinnati, his office was high up in a downtown office building and when you walked in the room was filled with tables and stock books for miles. I miss that old shop!

Like 
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Members Picture
philatelia

15 Jul 2016
11:36:35am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

There was a wonderful Brick and Mortar store here in Fort Pierce. Sadly, he recently closed. Surprisingly, the store didn't close because sales were lagging, it closed because the wife wanted hubby to spend more time with the grandkids!

Like
Login to Like
this post

"August 2023 - selling penny start bargain lots on EBay - https://www.ebay.com/str/philatelia"

www.ebay.com/str/phi ...
Members Picture
musicman

APS #213005
15 Jul 2016
08:14:09pm

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

There is still a wonderful storefront dealer in Chicago;

"Stamp King"
(Charles Berg)
7139 W. Higgins
Chicago

US & WW stamps & covers
Collections & Discounted supplies
Beginners and youngsters welcome!


...I visit him once a year...sometimes twice.

Big Grin

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
londonbus1

16 Jul 2016
02:50:12am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

Please note I have changed the thread title as most of the posts here have nothing at all to do with London.

Now I can reply to some of those posts ! Winking

Like
Login to Like
this post
Members Picture
londonbus1

16 Jul 2016
08:10:10am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

"This is a Paris question not London so I hope its ok here. My grandfather told me stories of a huge stamp "fair" if you will that was held weekly near the cathedral in Paris. I hate to ask but I guess it too has fallen to the way side to make room for "Pokeman Go""



Your Grandfather was correct and it is still there today. The 'Marche aux Timbres' is a thrice-weekly Stamp Market in the Avenue Marigny off the Champs Elysee and in the grounds once owned by the Elysee Palace. A previous owner, and stamp collector, bequeathed the land to the City of Paris on condition that it was to be used for a Philatelic 'event'. From the late 1860's there has been a market 3 days a week without interruption (including during wartime). Around 50 dealers gather and there are tables for buyers and dealers to discuss stamps in a wonderful atmosphere. 9am -7pm Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
On a rather sad note, I was in Paris with my family a few years ago and this market was top of my agenda whilst the others went elsewhere. On the Metro journey I had my wallet stolen with all my money inside !! I did walk around the market but had no money to spend. So every time I think of this event I get mixed feelings.

Paris is also well supplied with Stamp shops which still thrive and are in very quaint and atmospheric locations.

It was nice to give Paris, and France, a 'Heads Up' after all the recent atrocities.

Londonbus1

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
TribalErnie

18 Jul 2016
12:26:08am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

So Saturday afternoon I had what might have been my worst visit ever to a hobby shop. I stopped in at All Florida Coin & Stamp on University Blvd. I called ahead and asked the guy what time he was open till and asked him if he had any world wide remainders or box lots I could look at. He was curt on the phone saying "yeah, I got all that".

So me and my 16 year old son were out tooling around in town anyway so we drive the 30 minutes to his shop and go in. I had been there once a long long time ago (10 years maybe) and told him that I remembered him from then. Tried to make small talk with him for a second we were the only ones in the store and my son was petting his friendly cat. We both knew some of the same people from the stamp and coin clubs and he's bashing the mess out of them. He was complaining about being in the shop and said that he didn't care one bit about any of the stamps in the building because he made 90 percent of his money on coins. I'm thinking "fantastic, I'll take some off your hands today".

So I asked him to show me something and be brings down this two volume collection, in I think blue binders. They were all messed up looking and dirty. I was flipping through trying to figure out some sort of value but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know. There's a smattering of everything but the condition was not good. They were all coming unhinged, some of the pages were ratty and many of the stamps looked discolored maybe from foxing or some sort of moisture damage. He was asking $660.00 for the two binders. I knew enough to know I wasn't giving him that kind of money. He had a paper taped to the front of the album showing a total cat value of $1800 for the lot.

I said, "wow, some of these pages looked really discolored" just in an observational way. He looked at me and said "I tell you what, if you don't like what you see you can just shut the book and put it back on the shelf". My son's eyes got bigger. I said "ok no problem" and I put the book back.

Rather than leave, I said "what else do you have?". He said "nothing". I'm looking at a huge wall with binders, boxes and "stuff".

I couldn't believe it. I REALLY wanted to buy a big bunch of stamps and spend all day today with them. I had $75 cash that was literally burning a hole in my pocket. I was the best kind of customer, "EAGER and not particularly set on any one thing".

I said, "ok then, enjoy the rest of your weekend". He grunted; we left. In the parking lot my son said "dad, he was a jerk". Yeah, a little bit son.

I was very disappointed. Not because he was so rude but because I left empty handed

Like 
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Members Picture
Jansimon

collector, seller, MT member
18 Jul 2016
03:32:01am

Approvals

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

In Amsterdam there used to be a street (or rather an alley) with only stamp shops but nowadays only two or so remain there. It was a mixture of more or less serious stamp stores and those who catered more to the not that knowledgeable collectors and/or tourists. The latter mainly sold the Disney and dinosaur theme stamps from countries like Guyana and Grenada.
Other than that, we still have a lot of stamp shops, also in relatively smaller cities. There is a movement towards concentration, where several larger companies have bought competitors, creating something like a chain of stamp stores.

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.

www.etsy.com/nl/shop ...
jldelstamp

03 Jun 2017
12:57:12am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

I am pleased today that in Delaware, we still have an honest-to-goodness stamp store, where you can buy stamps, supplies, etc. It's called "The Stamp Center" (aka "Dutch Country Auctions") -- it is located at 4115 Concord Pike in Wilmington, Delaware. It has to be one of the last few brick-and-mortar stores left in philately in the US.

Does anyone know if there is a "Stamp Store Directory" of any sort for the US, which lists the names, addresses and phone numbers of the remaining brick-and-mortar stamp store? I'd would love to see a publication like that, so that during travel, one could pop in and pay a visit to a real-live stamp store!

Like 
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Members Picture
bigcreekdad

03 Jun 2017
08:36:10am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

I live in Toledo, Ohio. When I was a kid (50's/early 60's), there were at least 3 stamp shops in downtown, and a few hobby stores offered a much more limited selection.

Today, there are none. Online I found a few in the Detroit area, but from their websites, it was clear that coins were their mainstay. I did luck upon one small stamp shop in Ann Arbor. They also deal in coins, but there seems to be as much attention to stamps. Sadly, it is run by a guy older than me, and, thus, will likely go when he does.

The internet is great in many ways, but what's happening to the individual retailers is a damn shame.

Like
Login to Like
this post

www.hipstamp.com/sto ...
Members Picture
BenFranklin1902

Tom in Exton, PA
03 Jun 2017
09:21:59am

re: Stamping in London, USA, Paris and other places.......a thing of the past ?

"I am pleased today that in Delaware, we still have an honest-to-goodness stamp store, where you can buy stamps, supplies, etc. It's called "The Stamp Center" (aka "Dutch Country Auctions") -- it is located at 4115 Concord Pike in Wilmington, Delaware. It has to be one of the last few brick-and-mortar stores left in philately in the US."



I'm in Pennsylvania, but only about a half hour down 202 from the Stamp Center. I met the owner at one of our club meetings but have yet to go to the store. I need to do so!

There is a coin and stamp shop much closer to me that I went into once. Their focus was coins, but I'd never step foot in there again, due to the owners. There were two men behind the counter smoking. The entire shop was filled with that din of smoke in the air, and I knew anything I bought there would smell like smoke. To make matters worse they were very involved in a conversation between themselves, with every second word being a curse word. All in front of a customer who they pretty much ignored.

We regularly have conversations on my model car board about the same subject, the lack of hobby shops, and the poor business practices of those that are still hanging on. Sometimes these places are their own worse enemies.

Like 
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.

"Check out my eBay Stuff! Username Turtles-Trading-Post"
        

Contact Webmaster | Visitors Online | Unsubscribe Emails | Facebook


User Agreement

Copyright © 2024 Stamporama.com