http://www.stampandcoin.co.uk FEBRUARY 2016^25W
e street traders can get
jealous of shop proprietors:
the weatherproof premises,
the on-site bathroom, the
kitchen! But then we think
about the downside: rent, business rates, energy
bills, telecoms, security and salaries for staff.
It’s not surprising that as business rates and rentals have gone up,
the number of stamp shops in Britain has gone down. However,
according to the Philatelic Traders Society (PTS), there are still
between fifty and 100 left and Ron Grierson of the Enfield Stamp
Centre is compiling a list of them.
There’s something unique about a stamp shop.
I’ve always found them to be relaxed,
companionable places where
philatelic knowledge is freely
exchanged but other topics
of conversation can cover
any subject under the
sun; stamp collectors
are an erudite bunch.
Every dealer has his
star items, specialist
stock, general ranges
and various rummage
boxes of album leaves
or covers, where bargains
can be found and prices
can be negotiated. And there’s
no substitute for seeing a stamp
you want to buy in the flesh as it were.
Holding it up to the light and feeling the
snap of the paper can tell you more than any hi-res scan.
Specialised retail businesses work best in two ways, as clusters
or as regional centres. Paris still has a cluster of stamp traders
in Quartier Drouot; there must be ten or a dozen within a few
minutes’ walk of each other. Central London’s cluster near the
Strand is down to two. Both have diversified: Gibbons into
autographs, the Stamp Centre into collectables inspired by sci-
fi films and television. Today, both these businesses sit happily
together in the firm’s busy shop, which offers over the counter
sales, a Buy/Bid sale and daily offers by e-mail. Owner Steven
Scott notes that the retail stamp trade continues to defy its
detractors. ‘Granted, there are fewer children coming into the
hobby. But we’re still here. We’ve built up a stock that appeals
to all types of collectors and of course the staff are vital as well.These are people who really know stamps – they’re not just
pulling stuff out of a drawer.’
One shop that is very much a regional centre is Robert Murray’s
in Edinburgh, which has seven staff working from two city centre
locations. The main shop’s frontage on Ferry Road is vital for the
success of the business. ‘It’s like a billboard,’ Robert says. ‘Thousands
of people walk past here every day. And just recently, we had a call
from someone who was stuck in the traffic outside, saw the shop and
took a picture of it, complete with our phone number.’
The shop has a comprehensive website and a presence on social
media, but it is the wider world of internet trading that really
benefits the business. In Bakewell, Ian Uttley of the Stamp Shop
doesn’t do internet sales at all. ‘People like to come
into the shop and see what they’re buying’,
he says. He occupies a compact unit in
a shopping arcade in the centre of
town. He doesn’t specialise in
any particular area: ‘if I see
something I like and the
price is right, I’ll buy it.’
The Oxted Stamp Shop
in Surrey falls between
the city cluster and the
regional centre, but gains
a London presence at
Stampex and the monthly
fairs at Bloomsbury. Partner
Malcolm Richardson admits
that the internet has made life
hard for traders. ‘It’s driven down the
price of ordinary material. Often, because
the people selling it are disposing of their own
collections or they’re retired and doing it as a hobby.’
He sees the future in the better material, which is harder to find
in the first place, and where the collector wants to see the item
before he buys it.
Certainly, the hobby would be poorer, much poorer, without
the stamp shops. As Robert Murray says: ‘Retail stamp dealers do
more than anyone else to keep the hobby alive, by recruiting new
collectors and encouraging them to carry on. People can just walk
in off the street and suddenly, they’re in this world of stamps.’ If
you’re already in that world, and enjoying it, then support your
local stamp shop, get Ron Grierson’s list and go on to see a few
more. You’re bound to find something for your collection. You
may discover something new. And you’ll help a vital part of British
philately to survive and prosper.Support Britain’s
stamp shops
The internet revolution and the success of buy and sell auction sites has prompted
many collectors to head to their computers when they feel like adding to their collection but,
as David Bailey discovers, the retail stamp trade is alive and wellOpinion
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