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For broadcast on CBS Radio Network stations March 8-9, 2003:


Show Going.


For some people, a stamp show is just a place to buy and sell stamps. Stamp
dealers can't afford stores in most downtown areas or shopping malls.
COLLECTORS can choose from among several dealers when buying stamps -- much
like shopping for clothes at a mall.


For others, it's a place to exhibit and see rare stamps and pieces of mail.


However, with the rise of the Internet, more and more commerce and
exhibiting can be done on the Web.


So stamp shows are also becoming more of a social occasion, a chance to see
friends and other people with similar interests. The meetings, seminars,
networking, and just shooting the breeze are the reason to make the trip.


The buying, selling and exhibiting of really expensive and rare stamps still
require shows: It's too easy to fake something on the Internet. You want to
see the real thing, in person.


And buying really CHEAP stamps also seems to need a stamp show: It's just
not worth the time and expense to list five-and-dime stamps online.


And that's stamp collecting this week. 


I'm Lloyd de Vries, CBS News. 


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