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Gas up, stamps down

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries. 

A not-so-funny thing happened recently: My stamps stopped selling on eBay and everywhere else.

I'm not a major dealer by any means. I put up maybe ten moderately-priced items each week. Some 
sell, some don't. It pays for other stamp purchases.

I asked around online, and, sure enough, other casual stamp sellers are experiencing the same 
thing. After more discussion, I realized that, yes, the last time we saw a slump like this was 
when gas approached and topped three dollars a gallon.

It's not just online stamp collecting commerce. Stamp shows are likely to suffer, too. 

Stamps aren't a necessity. When the cost of going to work or the store or driving the kids to 
school goes up, and income doesn't, something has to give. 

It's not the extra twenty-thirty cents a gallon. Three dollars seems to be a flash point.

Stamps are discretionary spending, and discretion is the better part of making ends meet.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more about stamps and stamp collecting, 
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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