Scary future of our hobby

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by tazdmb

Not a knock, but an honest opinion from a son of a prominent stamp collector. Show me a site that has over 10,000 stamp collectors under 25 years old. I know this is changing subjects but you must admit that average age of a stamp collector is getting older every year.

Okay, but still... it's never a good idea to put down someone else's hobby, especially when it's done as an attempt to boost one's own hobby.

Stamp collectors are, indeed, concerned about how to attract more young people into the fold. In fact, a few years ago a prominent stamp collecting writer wrote a piece expressing those concerns, and he said something along the lines of - and I'm paraphrasing, I don't remember the exact quote - he said something along the lines of 'We've got to show the kids who collect baseball cards the error of their ways and get them to collect stamps instead.' I wrote a letter to the editor, which I think was published, saying that the guy should have known better, and that you'll never get someone interested in one hobby by talking s*** about another.

"My hobby is better than your hobby!" has yet to convince anyone to convert to "my" hobby, whatever that hobby is.

(Personal note to tazdmb: I didn't mention the name of the writer in the above comment because it wouldn't mean anything to those not in the hobby, but since you're the son of a prominent stamp collector, you may recognize the name. The writer whose quote I paraphrased was John Hotchner.)