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The Evolution of Selling Stamps

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

Whatever happened to the stamp store? They were cozy places with cheap stamps to sort 
through, and usually some regular customers hanging around.

Well, times have changed.

Downtown areas in many communities have disappeared, replaced by malls. And the rents 
in malls are too high to support a low-volume low-profit store. It's hard enough for 
an independent retailer to compete, but a HOBBY store?

And by "hobby," I don't mean one that caters TO a  hobby, but one that operates AS a 
hobby: Many of these stores were something to keep retirees busy.

Today, most retail stamp sales occur at shows, held periodically in hotels and exhibition 
halls, or on the Internet. That's not necessarily bad: There's more competition and more 
material from which to choose.

There ARE still stamp stores -- Just not as many. You can find them in the Yellow Pages 
under "stamps for collectors." They're especially useful for selling a collection 
someone has inherited.

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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