Summertime and Stamp Collecting

I realized, this morning, that it has been almost six weeks since I last posted here.

In a sense, it reminds me of my collecting "habits," both as a child, and as an adult-- when summer rolls around, I just don't get the stamps out very often.

Nor, or so it seems, do very many other people. A couple of days ago, I mailed an order for stamps that someone had placed in my eBay stamp store. It was the first time in almost three weeks that anyone had bought something. In the winter, there are usually orders almost every day; sometimes several per day.

It's the time of the year for beach combing!

Summers in western Washington state tend to be short, and sun is a commodity we rarely see during the winter months. As such, we tend to get out there and enjoy it, while we can. For the most part, my wife and I have been gardening and beach combing.

Right now, there's a pile of stamp albums on one of the work tables in my home office. They came from a European stamp auction, back in late May. Aside from a cursory glance when they first arrived, I have not found the time to do the thorough examination of them I like to do... to see if there are any varieties or rare cancels I want to add to my collection. And frankly? I have not felt the inclination, either-- just like I haven't felt the inclination to scan and list new stamps in the places where I sell my duplicates. I know that these albums will most likely sit untouched till sometime in late September, when the first good autumn rain and storm arrives... and the idea of "indoor activities" once again sounds appealing.

I have not been completely out of the "stamp loop," however. I have been evaluating various eBay "alternative" sites where I have listed stamps for sale over the past couple of years-- just to see if there were any buyers. In recent years, there has been much talk about a "mass exodus" of stamp sellers from eBay (due to increasing fees) and I was curious to see just how vaible the alternatives were. After all, what good is "low fees" if NOBODY ever looks at your stamps, or buys them? I plan to review each site in a series of articles, later this year. 

During our few dull days, I have been writing. As some readers may know, I am very dedicated to help the stamp collecting hobby survive and thrive. I am working on a series of stamp collecting articles, which will we placed in NON-philatelic places (publications and web sites), in the hope of drawing a few new collectors to the hobby.

Aside from that, I don't have any exciting stamp news to offer.

I hope everyone is having a nice summer!