Dealer says, "Stamp collecting as a hobby is dead."

In an article about the proposed postal rate increase in May and the new 'Forever' stamp, the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport,CT, quotes Norman Belair, owner of the Milford Coin Exchange as saying, "Stamp collecting as a hobby is dead."

Belair, who has been in the business for 28 years says he had 20 good customers when he started, now he has two or three.

Apparently he blames it on the way the Postal Service flooded the market with stamps and then made plate block collecting more expensive.

"Back in the 1950s and 1960s, collectors would buy a block of four stamps with a number on the corner. Once the Postal Service caught on, the quantity of the stamps to get that precious plate number went from four to six to eight to 10."

As for the Forever stamp, Belair sees it as "just another stamp."

Belair says he knows an easier way to beat the postal increase - buy U.S. stamp collections at below face value and then use those stamps to mail your letters.

I think I know why he only has two or three customers.

To read the entire article, click here.