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One for the money, two for the show

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

There are about 30 major stamp shows each year in the U-S, most of them regional. They're 
part of the World Series of Philately, which is organized by the American Philatelic Society, 
the nation's largest stamp collecting organization.

Recently, two of them asked to be excused for a year. And the sour economy isn't really a 
factor.

A big one is eBay and the rest of the Internet. The fees stamp dealers pay for their booths 
are what support these shows...and quite a few dealers have decided it's cheaper and more 
efficient to stay home with their computers, buying and selling online. It doesn't matter 
what the weather and traffic are outside, or what the price of gas is, as long as the power 
is on.

Sometimes a show loses its venue. A hotel may decide it can make more money with weddings.

And another factor is age. Show committee members may get too old for the physical set-up. 
Others aren't around any more....they've passed away or moved away, into retirement.

Some of the shows in trouble now weren't recruiting younger people onto their committees. 
They stayed clubby...exclusive. Now they're paying the price.

But a show is still a great place to see stamps...as well as other stamp collectors. The 
strong ones emphasize the social aspects...and adjust to the times.

You can find a list of World Series shows at stamps-dot-org...and a worldwide calendar of 
THIS weekend's shows at Virtual-Stamp-Club-dot-com.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of the Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting, 
visit Virtual-Stamp-Club-dot-com

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[Hear the shorter CBS version]

Download this report as an MP3 sound file.

For broadcast on CBS Radio Network stations November 29-30, 2008:
 
One for the money, two for the show

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

There are about thirty major stamp shows each year, most of them regional. 

Recently, two of them decided to skip a year. And the sour economy isn't really a factor.

A big one is eBay and the rest of the Internet. The fees stamp dealers pay for their booths 
are what support these shows...and quite a few dealers have decided it's cheaper and more 
efficient to stay home with their computers.

Sometimes a show loses its venue. A hotel may decide it can make more money with weddings.

And another factor is age. Show committee members may get too old for the physical set-up. 
Others aren't around any more. 

Some of the shows in trouble weren't recruiting younger people into their committees. They 
stayed clubby...exclusive. Now they're paying the price.

But a show is still a great place to see stamps...as well as other stamp collectors. The 
strong ones emphasize the social aspects...and adjust to the times.

You can find a list of shows at stamps-dot-org.

And that's stamp collecting this week. I'm Lloyd de Vries, CBS News.
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