Opinion: Virtual STAMPEX Review (Part 3) – Roundtables

 

2023 saw the third iteration of the Philatelic Traders’ Society’s (PTS) Virtual STAMPEX. In Part 1 of my review, I provided an reflection on the features offered in this event. In Part 2, I reviewed the Auditorium presentations I attended.

In Part 3 I wanted to discuss the Roundtable talks. These talks were not recorded and only available to those who attended. This is something I fully support. The PTS put a lot of money and time into these events, so sometimes you have to come along to support them to realise all benefits. Also, by not recording, it allowed more freedom for those who attended to decide if they wanted to interact by video, chat, voice, all three or none at all (just listen).

The Future of the Hobby

A number of the talks revolved around the future of philately, stamp shows and clubs. Total up all the different Roundtables and the conversation about the future of philately would have gone for many hours. It was great to see the PTS and American Philatelic Society (APS) attend these talks, providing insight into the challenges but also opportunities from their perspectives. I’d love to see more of this from other large associations as the PTS and APS seem to be doing all the hard work.

To be honest, I can’t recall all the conversations regarding this topic specifically, so I will try and capture the key points I walked away with.

Cultural Change

It was universally agreed that the global pandemic and social media has brought in new and returning collectors to the community which presents new opportunities.

It was also acknowledged that there is a cultural change for the traditionalist and this may take a while for them to either accept or see the benefits. Introducing new ways of collecting would need to be gradual but it is imperative to take action now – ‘strike while the iron is hot.’

Another point raised is that organised philately often focuses on children/teens or seniors. However, social media shows that beginners also need a specific initiatives to bring them in, and beginners often sit between 18-35 yrs of age.

Stamp Shows

Stamp Shows have a perception of appealing only to an older crowd and are seen as a dealer/buyer event rather than an experience to entice people to visit. Endless displays of exhibits are also somewhat unappealing. Boston 2026 was discussed and the question was asked, ‘Why would you fly half-way across the world to attend?’ 

To bring in new collectors and visitors, collectors are looking for more story-orientated shows, that offer a unique experience, similar to museum/art gallery experiences. They need to appeal to a broader audience, including those who may not collect but may be introduced via these experiences. Comic Con was a common example of how stamp shows can re-invent itself to be more appealing to a new demographic.

Shows also need to incorporate more active involvement by organisers to include more contemporary collecting styles such as #xtremephilately, YouTube videos and other mutli-media experiences.

Content Creators & Sponsorship

Content creators reach a vast audience and are currently poorly utilised to connect followers with organised philately/trade associations. There is work being considered to get better co-operation between content creators and organised philately.

Clubs and Societies

It is was generally agreed that many clubs/societies have no visibility in the busy philatelic online space. The 35-55 yr old, computer-literate demographic are leading the re-invigoration of clubs. Those that have embraced social media have seen their numbers increase. Every club should now have a social media plan if they want to survive.

Clubs/societies should also be aware that not everyone can attend. Rural/regional collectors often find it difficult to attend meetings or find a local club when they live far away. Zoom meetings play a critical role in reaching these community members. This also applies to international collectors who want to attend but can’t through distance.

Dealers

The future of the hobby relies on supporting the next generation as they will be the next generation of buyers.

It was raised that some dealers need support in creating modern and contemporary websites, or to reach new collectors. Some websites are completely out of date and clunky to use or their social media presence is underwhelming.  Trade associations often have broken or outdated links/information which do not seem to be checked regularly (using a free link-checker would resolve these issues).

About Modern Stamps on Covers

The Punk Philatelist discussed collecting modern covers. Often modern material is overlooked or disregarded as ‘common’ or uninteresting. The Punk Philatelist showed a number of Australian covers ranging from 1966 to the later 1980’s.

What was fascinating was the rarity of some modern covers, in particular the 1987 Man from Snowy River series which had a very limited period of postal use where the value and postal rates matched. Punk advised postally used examples, within the correct period, are rare.

If you have put aside modern material, Punk definitely made you wonder if now is the time to start considering it again from a new perspective!

Meet Simon Martin Redman and Ask Him Anything About Exhibiting

Simon Martin Redman (Grand Prix Exhibitor) provided advice and support for those looking to exhibit formally. One of the key messages from this talk was that many exhibitors fail to achieve marks as they do not provide a structured story to guide the judges through their exhibit.

Another interesting comment was about rare and scarce items. Often exhibitors get frustrated when the judges request an item that simply doesn’t exist. His advice is that the exhibitor needs to point out in their exhibit that it is the only known item, and this detail is sometimes forgotten.

A very interesting discussion even for those who haven’t yet exhibited, are thinking about exhibiting or are looking to achieve higher marks. I certainly learned some tips and tricks!

AI and ChatGPT

One of the roundtables that garnered quite a bit of interest was the one hosted by Dimitrios. One of the key benefits that ChatGPT may offer collectors is structuring the story of their exhibitions. However, it was agreed that one should not create an exhibition solely rely on it – the key message from this was that ChatGPT is only as good as the information it is fed “garbage in, garbage out.”

The other part of the conversation related to AI. Now this was interesting! Dimitrios showed an example of how AI could be used to detect plating for Greece’s large head Hermes. This was truly mind-blowing as the possibilities could be endless in helping both dealer and collector identify plating. By using ten examples of each plate, AI then matched those unique plate features to any stamp and gave a probability outcome that the stamp came from that plate.

Everyone at the table saw the potential of how AI and philately could intertwine in the future!