Collecting stamps in 2030 AD
I had lots of interesting moments while reading the Into the Future – The American Philatelic society 2030 report. No, I’m not a member of APS (or any other philatelic organization any more), but I find reports as such very useful way to track down where organized philately is heading to. And especially as I expect to retire somewhere around 2040, I have very high hopes that the world would still have plenty of fellow stamp collectors in distant future.
Overall, and above all honestly, I’m having very eerie feeling (like watching the m/s below, or an episode of Twilight Zone):
1980 North Korea - Conquerors of Space, Deluxe m/s, CTO cancelled
Yes, the report has some very true assumptions like:
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) may no longer exist as we know it. Postage stamps may still be issued, but not because there is a genuine need)…
But lots of stuff that got me shaking my head. Sometimes I felt like looking the last of dinosaurs trying desperately to survive with old patterns:
Threats…APS shrinking while hobby statistically growing… No clue what interests younger people …. Virtual stamp clubs (not our own) driving future core of hobby
The parts about going to “Second Life” and heavy promotion of digital services were definitely far from traditional approaches. I just hope the folks at APS do understand that computers are nothing more but a tool for “young collectors” (like me). There is definitely no need to kill off “human touch” completely just to save costs… Yes, Internet and digital lifestyle will continue to evolve. And sure, they will become even far more important than today. But it still doesn’t mean that everything should be placed online.
I acknowledge that the needs of an large organization are somewhat different than the the needs of an individual, but I’m still somewhat amazed how little focus there was for the common collector and for the stamp collecting community in general. I hate to write this, but big guys (and especially working committee behind this report) at APS still don’t get it.
Just my 2 cents of worth…
PS. Here’s a link to 51 page PDF-report.
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Thank you for posting this. The report sounds pretty bleak to me! I would be included in the under-40 age folks (at least for a little while longer). As long as there are birthdays and other holidays, there will be a need for stamps to send a card, even in 2030. Who wants an e-greeting for Christmas? There will definitely be less mail as all bill paying becomes online. There will probably not be as many stamps as well, but I can’t see them going away completely. I can’t see online postage taking over, unless ink for printers suddenly becomes really cheap. I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
I can only agree with you. Traditional greeting card will be very hard to beat (though I’m sure there will be lots of attempts). And as long as there’s something to deliver physically, there will definitely be need to pay the postage costs in some method. But is it a stamp or something totally else (like the German SMS/text message attempt) remains to be seen…
I have only recent got into stamp collecting and the more i investigate the more interesting I find it. Like you I am sure it will continue.
There’s only one answer to keep stamp collecting and the use of stamps alive, and that is for all collectors to regularly keep sending each other packets of duplicates (and insisting at the Post Office to use real stamps on the envelopes). BTW, the link to the 51-page PDF didn’t work for me.
@William… Seems that APS has deleted the PDF-file (permanently maybe). What a shame.
Hello,
I am afraid that the page.
“Here’s a link to 51 page PDF-report”
does not work. Can you give me the link, please.
Regards Miklos
@Miklos… Link fixed (APS folks had moved the file to new location without proper redirection)
Went to the us national APS convention that was here in Columbus. I am not a member, BTW. I have to agree that they do not seem to be interested in the “common collector.”.
. They do however do a few nice things for the kids.
@Rick… I totally forgot this years StampShow was in Columbus. Hope you had some nice time at the show.
Ja!…Stampex goes in the same way!(they open next month)…I just go there for the freebies for the visitors nothing else…the kids corner is on the last day of the fair (saturday) and if you’re lucky you get some bargains (catalogues, stock books, etc.) and you can donate stamps or other material that you don’t use any more… but…not for me!!!
We common collectors have to accept our share of the responsibility for making it so hard for the philatelic dealers to survive. We can be tightwads when it comes to buying the more scarce/rarer/valuable/famous stamps. I blame it partly on how my parents raised me. I explain it by my effort not to be competitive (hard at an auction), by my refusal to travel long distances just for a stamp show, and by describing my collection as a hoard, rather than an investment.
I went again today to the APS Convention. I arrived two hours before closing, and it was a lot more fun. I virtually had the place to myself and didn’t have to worry about waiting in line or someone looking over my shoulder wishing I would hurry up. I got some decent deals on US. It was interesting how many of the vendors were from the Northeast US.
@Carol… Well put… What a nightmarish bunch we generalists (a new word I learned from Fred Melvilles “Chats on Postage Stamps” last night) must be
@Rick… Now that sounds lots more fun
Well… no doubt that you will become his natural and obliged inheritor (Fred’s passion) and who else could be?…you and only you are the lighthouse in this chaotic and turbulent sea of stamps that make us in one way or another different of the ordinary people…long live Keijo!
@Fred… Personally I doubt it (as I count myself as an ordinairie collector of stamps). But who knows. Maybe pigs will fly some day
What a wonderful discovery Melville’s book is, and it can be read on the internet. Thanks, Keijo. When I first googled it, I thought I was going to hear a podcast.
After my first gloss of the “book” my impression, dear readers, is that we not be be put off by the (almost) solid black “cover” and the yellowed “pages.” Melville has a great way with words, and the pages are chock-full of fascinating early history and illustrations.
@Carol…That’s the way (pdf file) I’m reading it on my Galaxy S2 (phone). I’d defininitely prefer the real printed book though…
Can someone provide alink to the pdf for Melville’s book?
@Ravi… You can get it through Archive.org – http://www.archive.org/details/chatsonpostagest00melvuoft
Thanks Keijo