Many collectors over the last decade have declaried that they had "finished with new issues", and Royal Mail is "killing the goose that lays the golden egg" - heck, we've had some of them commenting here as well
I've been accused, in that forum discussion, of being an apologist and defender of Royal Mail, but regular readers here will know for themselves how true that is. I started a second thread asking readers just what they wanted from Royal Mail, and in due course I will direct the policy makers to those discussions.
If you want to read what others are saying and take part, the threads are:
Obviously, everyone collects what appeals to them and is also dependent on how deep their pockets are. I've keep track of how much I spend on new issues from the Royal Mail since 1988 and it's rather alarming to see how much this has increased over the years (figures include items like albums & supplement pages):
ReplyDelete1988 £105.26
1989 £137.75
1990 £135.74
1991 £123.56
1992 £114.74
1993 £136.23
1994 £190.90
1995 £115.24
1996 £118.85
1997 £135.62
1998 £208.01
1999 £189.07
2000 £228.89
2001 £125.01
2002 £296.55
2003 £332.71
2004 £375.24
2005 £336.65
2006 £326.53
2007 £348.66
2008 £452.39
2009 £426.70
2010 £537.30
2011 £550.56
2012 £589.33 (without Xmas issue)
I thought about stopping my GB collection at the turn of the Millennium and I now wish I did!
But I'll probably see it through to the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign and call it quits then.
Interesting figures, P. I checked how inflation would affect the figures...
Deletethe 1988 £105.26 is worth £232.62 now, so the cost had more than doubled by 2011.
Of course other people's collecting will vary but the trend will be similar.
Basically, I'm paying around 6 times as much for my new GB stamp issues today as I was 25 years ago.
DeleteEven allowing for inflation, this means that Royal Mail are churning-out around three times as much product now as they were in 1988.
Much of this comes from the larger number of commemorative sets released each year, most of which have a far greater number of stamps compared with 25 years ago (the 26 A to Z of Britain, 30 Olympic Sports and numerous sets of 10 1st class stamps spring to mind).
Then we have the advent of extra products like Greetings Stamps, Post & Go stamps, Smilers, the increase in Prestige Stamp Books (4 a year is not unusual) and the regular issue of miniature sheets for almost every topic.
I've now been collecting for 60 years and it's difficult to stop at a 'natural' point. I'm not an investor, it's just a hobby. I had thought of stopping at the Millennium but I didn't. I said I would stop if one of the following happened: Change in currency (e.g. to the Euro); The Queen's head removed and/or name of country added; end of Queen Elizabeth's reign - I would then have a collection "Victoria to Elizabeth. I certainly don't agree with the vast number of new issues and I think they have nearly "killed the goose". I honestly feel that once many collectors see/identify their 'natural break point' the authorities will be in for a shock with dwindling revenues. Particularly as they have only treated the enthusiastic collector with total distain and cannot even admit that a Machin year code is a 'visible' change. The latest Royal Mail Stocklist is about 20 pages of which most is used up with bric-a-brac and yet I cannot (as an example) order a book of 4 large 2nd class stamps with a year code 12!!!
ReplyDeleteDoug (Enfield)
The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that nowadays a lot of stamps are either 1st or 2nd class. With the price increase every year, these stamps become more valuable. Last year was an unusually big jump from 46p tp 60p (1st) - some 30% annual interest (loan shark territory...). Of course, you won't get face value when you sell them again, but it's not too bad to get interest on stamps!
ReplyDeleteBut I agree that these machin security overprints are just ridiculous. But the post & go are even more so. These overprints have made them almost private labels. I'm done with these for sure now.
Collectors will collect what they choose...personal prerogative.....end of Reign seems sensible cut off point.....although many collectors have always just stuck with definitives....which fed into the Machin craze in the early 70s...I remember when even a whiff of a single commemorative issue raised a large intake of breath and a loud TUT!
ReplyDelete