Sharing your passion/desire of your collection.

[kacyds]

I know that most of us come here to learn something, share our collection, trade, and to make friends.  Which is the reasons that I love coming here.

But............  (and you knew an big ugly "but" was coming)

Do you have someone to share your collection with (locally), someone that appreciates your collection just as much as you do?

The reason I ask is that I love my collection and know that others would love it also.  But I don't know of anyone locally that I could sit down and share my collection or someone else share theirs.  My wife and kids could care less about some square pieces of paper with rough edges on them.  1774739874

There is a local stamp club that meets every month, but its on a night that I have other obligations.  So that is out of the question until my kids finish school.

I hope you understand what I am trying to say, and wondered if other members feel the same way........ 

[Admin Bear]

oh yeah man i get what you are saying 100%.. and have much the same issue.

The wife and kids take interest form time to time but not like i do..

and no one really local to connect with..

the 2 clubs sort of in my area never respond to calls or emails and are almost always on days i have other stuff happening.

really wish there was a way to get something started, kind of a Stamp Bears local chapter type thing..

[Deleted]

Same here. Alas, philately is a solitary sport.

[FairyFoot]

I have looked for clubs in my area.... rather rural and haven't found any.... although there was an old gentleman in the local paper a while back with an old collection of stamps...

My son shows some interest, and other than the nice sub-postmaster I visit to buy stamps from (who worked for SG), haven't found anyone else into stamps.

[kannik]

I do have a friend here in Montreal with whom I share my love of stamps whenever
I get some organized. He enjoyed seeing my perfins the other night. He is way
ahead of me in terms of how many he has and how much he spends on them, but we
love going to stamp shows and sitting for hours amongst cardboard boxes of covers
and comparing afterwards.

But, Bear, would it be possible to publish a list of members with the cities they
live in, so that we could communicate with others nearby and ask if they want to
meet? I know that our members are all over the world, but I know there are at
least 2 in Toronto, and I don`t know any in Montreal yet. My friend John does not
do computers, so, darn it, we just have to meet face-t0-face!

[Admin Bear]

if members wanted to add them selves to such a list it would be voluntary.. we could never force anyone to reveal their location in such detail .

i will start a thread on the idea and see where we go from there.

i have seen a similar type of thing on a board related to another hobby.

[ChickasawStampMan]

I can't wait to get settled here on the Mississippi gulf coast as there isan active club here. They have monthly meetings with 30 plus members attending. I hope to befriend one or two. Never had an opportunity like this with collecting stamps. So look forward to the coming months.

Chris

[alyn]

I have a couple of clubs within commuting distance, time seems to be my restraint. I hope to join a local club someday.

Alyn

[hendriks]

The only people I talk to about stamps are dealers I usually meet at stamp happenings here in Europe. They know what I collect, and keep things aside for me if they find something.

I used to have one dealer close by (10 mins bike ride) with a brick and mortar shop. He had a bar, where you could sit, and where he would serve coffee and book after book of stamps that he thought would be interesting for your collection. He kept a worldwide stock, there must have been at least a 1,000 stock books full of goodies. I spent many free Saturdays there (also a lot of money). He would go out of his way to present you with something new and exciting every time. This is where I met a lot of local collectors. Even some people that I knew through other venues that I never knew to be collectors. Unfortunately he has moved on to do something else with his life. The stock and shop were sold to another dealer. He only runs the shop on weekdays in a much different way (much more expensive, less exciting material, no more regulars that stay all day and chat).

I should try and join a club. There's one that shares my interest in French colonial stamps, but I'm afraid it will be full with people 20-30 years older than me. They still print their monthly newsletter on dead trees, instead of publishing it on the internet.

[cbavier]

I live in Northern Mi as my Avatar suggests. Twelve miles south of Grayling. The closest club to me is in Petosky. That's about 70 miles away.I tried for a year to get a club started but there was no interest. I would be thrilled to join in a club if there was one closer or even meet with one or two serious collectors just to share our interest and passion.

Chuck

[samb]

My dad. I can tell and show him whatever I want from my collection and he's interested. He collected when he was a kid and is the one that gave me his album and showed me how hinges work and got me started. He doesn't collect anymore but has been to a club meeting and a show with me since he retired. He does have a nice little railroad postcard collection.

Besides him, the stamp bear family is the only group of people that ever sees my collection and shows interest.

[kacyds]

Thanks for everyones opinion. Now if I could get @nolastampshop to participate here, maybe we could share our collection over a couple of cold ones............  hint hint

[crazyquilter]

At home I have my 4 year old Grand daughter, Mya and at work there are a few ladies who like to see my stamps on paper.

[kacyds]

Figure I would give this thread a "Bump", since there are many new members since this was first posted.

Please share your experiences...... Thanks!!!

[krash]

Most certainly I understand. There are no stamp collectors around that I know of and only 3 outdated books on the subject in the local library from the 1970's and they have absolutely no wear on them what-so-ever! The cover boards stil crack with fresh binding glue when you open them...that made me chuckle when I heard that albeit in a sad way. I want to start a small club but I don't think there would be enough interest to do so?

Oct 16, 2013 18:09:23 GMT -5 kannik said:

... He is way ahead of me in terms of how many he has and how much he spends on them, ...

I sort of don't know what to think about feeling like that? What I mean is: for me, collecting isn't about the volume of stamps that one has but rather the quality and scope of the collectors interests. My thought is why would someone wish to have boxes upon boxes of stamps jammed everywhere?  Money and huge numbers of stamps a collection doth not make- in my humble opinion anyway. I try not to play keep-up with the proverbial "Jone's" because I'm on a fixed income so there can be no competition. I'm just happy with what I have and what I can afford I guess - never content, but happy. OK rant over...ha-ha-ha!

[JanetC]

Other than StampBears or my granddaughter, I have no one to share my collection with. Oh, I can talk about it to the guy at the stamp and coin shop but to really sit down and discuss or show my collection to, there is no one else local. I know there is a club here but I don't know anything about it.

[MikeC99]

Somehow I missed this thread when Kacyds started it. I have been a member of our local stamp club since I retired in 2005. Before retirement, life was too hectic to find time for stamp collecting. I enjoy our club which meets twice a month from September to June. I also have coffee from time to time with its members and of course we talk stamps and show new acquisitions. Our local club has approx. 15 to 19 attend each meeting. I also visit the local stamp and coin retailer and spend some enjoyable time talking to him about stamps and pick up some stamps/supplies from him.
Mike

[kacyds]

A bunch of new members have joined since this was first posted and decided to bump this up.

Please share your experiences!!!!

[kannik]

Oh, I didn`t mean I was jealous of the NUMBER of stamps my friend has - it was just a passing comment.  I think he spends FAR too much money on them.  Also, and unfortunately for him, he lost a lot of his valuable stamps when he
somewhat bungled a forced move.  BTW, we are not currently friends in 2018.  He has moved quite a distance from me.

[frog]

I'm rather isolated here on the mountain and other than trying to keep my wife informed on any good finds so she knows some value added,no one even guesses what I do here.I tried to contact a couple APS registered dealers who are within twenty miles or so but even they show little interest in talking.One never even responded to emails sent through his site.A member of another forum mentioned a stamp club about 45 minutes away but again wrong nights for me.If anyone knows Rip Van Winkle I'm close to that area.I would welcome visitors and a big plus the pub is walking distance from here.