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Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
a rather pessimistic view of the Japanese stamp scene. Considering who it comes from I question how accurate it is.
Mod. Link fix.
(Modified by Moderator on 2018-06-30 06:00:13)
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One could try to make the same argument about collecting in any country but the evidence is speculative.
But, this is another case of defining philately. A dealer may have a different view than the collector.
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I found the article embarrassingly devoid of any factual information. Not a single metric, statistic, or other fact(s) which support the writers’ opinion. Simply saying that the number of stamp dealers in Japan has deceased is not informative. Are they referring about brick and mortar dealers? What is the status of online Japanese philately? How does Japan philatelic commerce compare to other countries? Has there been a decline in Japanese stamp values? Has Apfelbaum seen a drop in the Japanese material they have handled over the years???? Come on, give us something to support the fear mongering.
What we do know about Japan is that it’s current population demographics are an issue. It’s population is aging and declining; adult diapers now outsell baby diapers in Japanese supermarkets. Japan has been forced to revisit its long standing anti-immigrant policies as a way to slow it’s population decline. But how has any of this impacted Japanese philately?
It’s clear that no one at Apfelbaum knows. I do not mind negative philatelic articles and it could be that Japanese philately is in decline, but this article is a waste of space since it does virtually nothing to educate us.
Don
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This article is annoying on so many levels.
Tracey Woodward was unquestionably, the greatest philatelic scholar in this field. If the author had paused to think this out he would have realized why; he wrote all his research in ENGLISH. Japanese was known by only a few people outside japan when he did his research in the pre WWII era.
I have a big pile of back issues of 'Japanese Philately'. Articles in them are replete with accounts of active dealers and philatelic authors in Japan back to the early 1900's.
I my have missed it but I do not see anything to identify who wrote this article. It is dogmatic and offers nothing to back up the claims made. Apfelbaum must be low on their stock in this are and trying to redirect interest.
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Hi all,
I'm a complete newcomer to the hobby, and I have only been collecting this year. But I just have to write about how laughable it is to hear this hobby is dead.
I honestly can't BELIEVE the number of websites, auctions sites, etc. devoted to stamp collecting that I DAILY discover!
As a newcomer, maybe I just don't understand what "dead" means... LOL! 
I also am blown away by how many people I have connected with and how much fun I am having with this "dead" hobby of collecting stamps/covers, etc.
Maybe the hobby is just more "internet-centric" now?
I'm sure I don't know the half of it... but this hobby sure seems alive to me...
Specifically, as I gaze at my copy of Linn's, my ATA journal, my AFDCS magazine, my Special topical collecting group journals, my APS magazine, etc. All these publications for a "dead" hobby? I don't think so...
Dead? nah... Changing? Sure... But that's not always bad!
But again, I'm a newbie... Take it all with a grain of salt...
JR
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From a review of other articles on this site, thy pretty much are all like this. Opinion, expressed as fact. Little documentation. I think John Apfelbaum writes them all. This would be a wonderful site and resource if they had someone writing articles who actually knnew what he was talking about.
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Finding sources for Japan material is harder these days. Only one dealer with a web presence seems to be left and he seems pretty inactive. I am not noticing many sellers operating out of Japan either. Ebay sellers seem in some cases to be overcharging for what they offer.
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"... I think John Apfelbaum writes them all ..."
I've got nothing against the guy, but I'll bet he's dictating to a marketing intern.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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This is BS. As a stamp dealer in Canada, I can tell you the Japan market is strong.
Clearly, no research done here!
David
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Just as many other (misinformed) writers....and you could insert most any country into these articles.
In our local club we have a collector of Japan - a very knowledgeable guy who used to be a dealer IN Japan back in the late '60s and early '70s.
He is still very actively collecting Japan. He has many contacts for his acquisitions,
including some IN Japan.
He does not do anything with computers, so all his contact is thru mail or phone or in person.
He is in his early 70's...his wife is from Okinawa. They make trips to Japan every couple of years so she can visit family. While he is there, he makes the rounds to many dealers of Japanese material.
Japanese philately dead? Dying??
I think not - it's alive and well, according to his stories brought back each time!
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i was thinking about asking the worldwide collector community here for their opinion on collecting Japan...i collect it as it comes along up to 1969. Mr Giles you may remove your tie here.
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Why would Japan stamp collecting be dead in Japan. I collect Japan and have lots of stamps up to the year 2000. I may expand Japan beyond the year 2000. Japan like many other countries issues lots of stamps every year. So someone must be purchasing these stamps.
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PhilB.:
Only if you do!
David
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Hi All,
my input on this is as follows: I sell many updates & new sales to Japan for software to inventory Japan stamps. I also buy the year sets to scan. I usually buy 5 sets as collectors pre-purchase those from me. Japan is a VERY popular database & sell a lot. Most do not go to Japan as one would think. Most go to Europe & Asia
Just my perspective
MArios
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I enjoy a lot of the articles he writes for his blog, even though there are times when I disagree with him. I don't think philately is dead in Japan...maybe it's languishing but it's certainly not dead. Just a couple months ago I traded 150 of my stamps for 150 used Japanese stamps with a collector in Japan. And she certainly didn't represent the stereotypical collector we all think of. She's in her early 30s or so and has a young child and number two on the way! And she's an active collector- in Japan. Likewise I know of a lot of other people - also YOUNG - who collect stamps in Japan. So I don't think it's dead but perhaps the demographics are changing.
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"I enjoy a lot of the articles he writes for his blog, even though there are times when I disagree with him..."
I would agree that any article on 'how to rig an auction' would be interesting.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stamp-dealers-sued-for-fraud/
http://www.stampsmauritius.com/ApfelbaumPleadsGuilty.htm
Don
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Thanks for sharing those links....wow, I wasn't even aware of that. Very interesting.
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I think that the comment about language is apposite.
Not very many non-Japanese speak the language. Although doubtless many Japanese citizens speak English, as a percentage of potential stamp collectors it is probably very small. Also whereas many nationalities speak one or more modern European languages, I suspect ( without any evidence ) that knowledge of any foreign languages ( other than English ) in Japan is even smaller.
This leads me to deduce that whatever philatelic activity there is in Japan, poor communication leads to a lack of knowledge rather than necessarily a lack of activity. There could be millions of collectors in Japan and the rest of us would never know !! There must be some domestic activity otherwise it would be completely uneconomic for Japan to produce so many stamps.
Observing some of the strange ( to our eyes) game shows we get a glimpse of and the vast cultural differences- the basis of philately could be completely outside our understanding of the term - just look at all the "Oh Kitty" stamps !
Malcolm
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I'm surprised! The Japanese are ardent model builders in all venues. The Japanese model companies produce some of the finest and most accurate kits of automobiles and military subjects.
They are also some of the heaviest bidders in US antique auto auctions, and have been bringing important vehicles to Japan for decades. Car shows are a big deal there. They also have some of their own automotive art forms that are really strange.
I deal with both Japan and China at least weekly professionally. At our Japanese facility there are a handful of people we can communicate with. In China we talk with a lot of different people whose English skills are very honed, even though they've never been outside of China.
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Stamp collecting in Japan is alive and well.
Generally Japanese have collected primarily their own country stamps, in particular unused copies which makes the early varieties hard to find.
AS in other countries the brick and mortar shops have mainly disappeared and gone online.
These associations thrive in Japan
Japan Stamp Dealers' Association (JSDA)
Japan Philatelic Society Foundation
Japan Philatelic Agency
Japan Postmail Stamp Cooperative Association - http://www.jsda-tokyo.jp/
Exhibitions are frequent and well attended
http://www.yushu.or.jp/english/e_iben/japex/index.html
http://www.yushu.or.jp/english/english05.html
The stamp museum in Tokyo is definitely a must visit
https://www.postalmuseum.jp/english/
For a long time Japan stamps were not that popular outside Japan mainly due to the vast numbers of forgeries/facsimiles and the language. Forging stamps was not illegal in Japan until 1898 and foreign markets were flooded with "Tourist Souvenir Sheets".
The same thing happened in the US with locals. Initially they were popular but fell out of favour for a long time with so many forgeries and catalogs like Scott displaying the forgeries.
In both cases specialized Philatelic Societies, modern catalogs and of course web translation services have rejuvenated these areas. Foreign Japan stamp associations/societies are now commonplace.
Having been in Japan for extended periods, I can say that stamp collecting of Japanese stamps is alive and well but finding those missing N.A. or Europe stamps in your collection would be a problem but then that is not unusual for any country.
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japanese dealers dominate auctions ...repatriating classic era.
real prices here ...
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/category/list/%E5%B0%8F%E5%88%A4%E5%88%87%E6%89%8B-%E6%99%AE%E9%80%9A%E5%88%87%E6%89%8B-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC-%E5%88%87%E6%89%8B-%E5%AE%98%E8%A3%BD%E3%81%AF%E3%81%8C%E3%81%8D-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF-%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3/2084019356/?p=%E5%B0%8F%E5%88%A4%E5%88%87%E6%89%8B&auccat=2084019356&exflg=1&b=1&n=100&s1=score2&o1=d&mode=1
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The catalogue editor at Stanley Gibbons - at least the one who arranges the monthly update pages in their house magazine - certainly wishes to promote Japanese philately. For issues from any other country, a single image identifies a set. Thus, in the dozen or so pages devoted each month to catalogue updates you may learn of new stamps from twenty or thirty countries. But when it's the turn of Japan, every single stamp from every single set (some of them long ones) gets the full illustration. In the latest issue (Gibbons Stamp Monthly) Japan is accorded not just the two or three stamps others have, not just the full column or two granted to British stamps, but five triple-columned pages!**
What can this mean? Japanese philately is in crisis and the authorities supply a massive amount of information to foreign markets to stimulate sales? Gibbons needs to sell more Part 18 (Japan and Korea) catalogues because no-one is buying them? Readers are so keen on Japanese stamps that they continually demand more pictures of them? No idea.
** Full disclosure: I was so irritated by this, to the detriment of certain countries which never appear (Ukraine, perennially absent since 2008), that I tossed my latest GSM away with the rubbish. So these statistics may not be exact! (But I have not deliberately exaggerated.)
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Ian,
Scott does the same thing with pictures of most Japanese stamps. I had assumed it was because the only Western script on the stamps was Nippon and the denomination - too hard to just show one stamp and describe the rest, would make IDing the stamps way too hard - Japan likes to issue lots of stamps with with flowers, trees, etc. - a set could be 10 different red flowers, all 80 yen stamps.
Josh
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I'm with Josh.
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Thanks, gentlemen, for that - I just thought it was Gibbons being obtuse!
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No, Ian, "they" really are out to get you! 
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https://www.apfelbauminc.com/blog/post/decline-philately-japan/
a rather pessimistic view of the Japanese stamp scene. Considering who it comes from I question how accurate it is.
Mod. Link fix.
(Modified by Moderator on 2018-06-30 06:00:13)
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
One could try to make the same argument about collecting in any country but the evidence is speculative.
But, this is another case of defining philately. A dealer may have a different view than the collector.
Login to Like
this post
re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
I found the article embarrassingly devoid of any factual information. Not a single metric, statistic, or other fact(s) which support the writers’ opinion. Simply saying that the number of stamp dealers in Japan has deceased is not informative. Are they referring about brick and mortar dealers? What is the status of online Japanese philately? How does Japan philatelic commerce compare to other countries? Has there been a decline in Japanese stamp values? Has Apfelbaum seen a drop in the Japanese material they have handled over the years???? Come on, give us something to support the fear mongering.
What we do know about Japan is that it’s current population demographics are an issue. It’s population is aging and declining; adult diapers now outsell baby diapers in Japanese supermarkets. Japan has been forced to revisit its long standing anti-immigrant policies as a way to slow it’s population decline. But how has any of this impacted Japanese philately?
It’s clear that no one at Apfelbaum knows. I do not mind negative philatelic articles and it could be that Japanese philately is in decline, but this article is a waste of space since it does virtually nothing to educate us.
Don
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
This article is annoying on so many levels.
Tracey Woodward was unquestionably, the greatest philatelic scholar in this field. If the author had paused to think this out he would have realized why; he wrote all his research in ENGLISH. Japanese was known by only a few people outside japan when he did his research in the pre WWII era.
I have a big pile of back issues of 'Japanese Philately'. Articles in them are replete with accounts of active dealers and philatelic authors in Japan back to the early 1900's.
I my have missed it but I do not see anything to identify who wrote this article. It is dogmatic and offers nothing to back up the claims made. Apfelbaum must be low on their stock in this are and trying to redirect interest.
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Hi all,
I'm a complete newcomer to the hobby, and I have only been collecting this year. But I just have to write about how laughable it is to hear this hobby is dead.
I honestly can't BELIEVE the number of websites, auctions sites, etc. devoted to stamp collecting that I DAILY discover!
As a newcomer, maybe I just don't understand what "dead" means... LOL!
I also am blown away by how many people I have connected with and how much fun I am having with this "dead" hobby of collecting stamps/covers, etc.
Maybe the hobby is just more "internet-centric" now?
I'm sure I don't know the half of it... but this hobby sure seems alive to me...
Specifically, as I gaze at my copy of Linn's, my ATA journal, my AFDCS magazine, my Special topical collecting group journals, my APS magazine, etc. All these publications for a "dead" hobby? I don't think so...
Dead? nah... Changing? Sure... But that's not always bad!
But again, I'm a newbie... Take it all with a grain of salt...
JR
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
From a review of other articles on this site, thy pretty much are all like this. Opinion, expressed as fact. Little documentation. I think John Apfelbaum writes them all. This would be a wonderful site and resource if they had someone writing articles who actually knnew what he was talking about.
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Finding sources for Japan material is harder these days. Only one dealer with a web presence seems to be left and he seems pretty inactive. I am not noticing many sellers operating out of Japan either. Ebay sellers seem in some cases to be overcharging for what they offer.
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
"... I think John Apfelbaum writes them all ..."
I've got nothing against the guy, but I'll bet he's dictating to a marketing intern.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
This is BS. As a stamp dealer in Canada, I can tell you the Japan market is strong.
Clearly, no research done here!
David
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Just as many other (misinformed) writers....and you could insert most any country into these articles.
In our local club we have a collector of Japan - a very knowledgeable guy who used to be a dealer IN Japan back in the late '60s and early '70s.
He is still very actively collecting Japan. He has many contacts for his acquisitions,
including some IN Japan.
He does not do anything with computers, so all his contact is thru mail or phone or in person.
He is in his early 70's...his wife is from Okinawa. They make trips to Japan every couple of years so she can visit family. While he is there, he makes the rounds to many dealers of Japanese material.
Japanese philately dead? Dying??
I think not - it's alive and well, according to his stories brought back each time!
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
i was thinking about asking the worldwide collector community here for their opinion on collecting Japan...i collect it as it comes along up to 1969. Mr Giles you may remove your tie here.
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Why would Japan stamp collecting be dead in Japan. I collect Japan and have lots of stamps up to the year 2000. I may expand Japan beyond the year 2000. Japan like many other countries issues lots of stamps every year. So someone must be purchasing these stamps.
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
PhilB.:
Only if you do!
David
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Hi All,
my input on this is as follows: I sell many updates & new sales to Japan for software to inventory Japan stamps. I also buy the year sets to scan. I usually buy 5 sets as collectors pre-purchase those from me. Japan is a VERY popular database & sell a lot. Most do not go to Japan as one would think. Most go to Europe & Asia
Just my perspective
MArios
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
I enjoy a lot of the articles he writes for his blog, even though there are times when I disagree with him. I don't think philately is dead in Japan...maybe it's languishing but it's certainly not dead. Just a couple months ago I traded 150 of my stamps for 150 used Japanese stamps with a collector in Japan. And she certainly didn't represent the stereotypical collector we all think of. She's in her early 30s or so and has a young child and number two on the way! And she's an active collector- in Japan. Likewise I know of a lot of other people - also YOUNG - who collect stamps in Japan. So I don't think it's dead but perhaps the demographics are changing.
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
"I enjoy a lot of the articles he writes for his blog, even though there are times when I disagree with him..."
I would agree that any article on 'how to rig an auction' would be interesting.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stamp-dealers-sued-for-fraud/
http://www.stampsmauritius.com/ApfelbaumPleadsGuilty.htm
Don
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Thanks for sharing those links....wow, I wasn't even aware of that. Very interesting.
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07:06:58am
re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
I think that the comment about language is apposite.
Not very many non-Japanese speak the language. Although doubtless many Japanese citizens speak English, as a percentage of potential stamp collectors it is probably very small. Also whereas many nationalities speak one or more modern European languages, I suspect ( without any evidence ) that knowledge of any foreign languages ( other than English ) in Japan is even smaller.
This leads me to deduce that whatever philatelic activity there is in Japan, poor communication leads to a lack of knowledge rather than necessarily a lack of activity. There could be millions of collectors in Japan and the rest of us would never know !! There must be some domestic activity otherwise it would be completely uneconomic for Japan to produce so many stamps.
Observing some of the strange ( to our eyes) game shows we get a glimpse of and the vast cultural differences- the basis of philately could be completely outside our understanding of the term - just look at all the "Oh Kitty" stamps !
Malcolm
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
I'm surprised! The Japanese are ardent model builders in all venues. The Japanese model companies produce some of the finest and most accurate kits of automobiles and military subjects.
They are also some of the heaviest bidders in US antique auto auctions, and have been bringing important vehicles to Japan for decades. Car shows are a big deal there. They also have some of their own automotive art forms that are really strange.
I deal with both Japan and China at least weekly professionally. At our Japanese facility there are a handful of people we can communicate with. In China we talk with a lot of different people whose English skills are very honed, even though they've never been outside of China.
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08:35:01am
re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Stamp collecting in Japan is alive and well.
Generally Japanese have collected primarily their own country stamps, in particular unused copies which makes the early varieties hard to find.
AS in other countries the brick and mortar shops have mainly disappeared and gone online.
These associations thrive in Japan
Japan Stamp Dealers' Association (JSDA)
Japan Philatelic Society Foundation
Japan Philatelic Agency
Japan Postmail Stamp Cooperative Association - http://www.jsda-tokyo.jp/
Exhibitions are frequent and well attended
http://www.yushu.or.jp/english/e_iben/japex/index.html
http://www.yushu.or.jp/english/english05.html
The stamp museum in Tokyo is definitely a must visit
https://www.postalmuseum.jp/english/
For a long time Japan stamps were not that popular outside Japan mainly due to the vast numbers of forgeries/facsimiles and the language. Forging stamps was not illegal in Japan until 1898 and foreign markets were flooded with "Tourist Souvenir Sheets".
The same thing happened in the US with locals. Initially they were popular but fell out of favour for a long time with so many forgeries and catalogs like Scott displaying the forgeries.
In both cases specialized Philatelic Societies, modern catalogs and of course web translation services have rejuvenated these areas. Foreign Japan stamp associations/societies are now commonplace.
Having been in Japan for extended periods, I can say that stamp collecting of Japanese stamps is alive and well but finding those missing N.A. or Europe stamps in your collection would be a problem but then that is not unusual for any country.
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
japanese dealers dominate auctions ...repatriating classic era.
real prices here ...
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/category/list/%E5%B0%8F%E5%88%A4%E5%88%87%E6%89%8B-%E6%99%AE%E9%80%9A%E5%88%87%E6%89%8B-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC-%E5%88%87%E6%89%8B-%E5%AE%98%E8%A3%BD%E3%81%AF%E3%81%8C%E3%81%8D-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AF-%E3%82%B3%E3%83%AC%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3/2084019356/?p=%E5%B0%8F%E5%88%A4%E5%88%87%E6%89%8B&auccat=2084019356&exflg=1&b=1&n=100&s1=score2&o1=d&mode=1
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
The catalogue editor at Stanley Gibbons - at least the one who arranges the monthly update pages in their house magazine - certainly wishes to promote Japanese philately. For issues from any other country, a single image identifies a set. Thus, in the dozen or so pages devoted each month to catalogue updates you may learn of new stamps from twenty or thirty countries. But when it's the turn of Japan, every single stamp from every single set (some of them long ones) gets the full illustration. In the latest issue (Gibbons Stamp Monthly) Japan is accorded not just the two or three stamps others have, not just the full column or two granted to British stamps, but five triple-columned pages!**
What can this mean? Japanese philately is in crisis and the authorities supply a massive amount of information to foreign markets to stimulate sales? Gibbons needs to sell more Part 18 (Japan and Korea) catalogues because no-one is buying them? Readers are so keen on Japanese stamps that they continually demand more pictures of them? No idea.
** Full disclosure: I was so irritated by this, to the detriment of certain countries which never appear (Ukraine, perennially absent since 2008), that I tossed my latest GSM away with the rubbish. So these statistics may not be exact! (But I have not deliberately exaggerated.)
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Ian,
Scott does the same thing with pictures of most Japanese stamps. I had assumed it was because the only Western script on the stamps was Nippon and the denomination - too hard to just show one stamp and describe the rest, would make IDing the stamps way too hard - Japan likes to issue lots of stamps with with flowers, trees, etc. - a set could be 10 different red flowers, all 80 yen stamps.
Josh
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
I'm with Josh.
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
Thanks, gentlemen, for that - I just thought it was Gibbons being obtuse!
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re: Philately is Dead in Japan?
No, Ian, "they" really are out to get you!
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