Sharing your passion/desire of your collection.

Same here. Alas, philately is a solitary sport.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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!

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

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.