Indian Stamp Ghar

Let Us Save Philately

It is nice to know that a number of Philatelists have sent us words of encouragement on our write up regarding philately. We shall continue to air our views to ensure that Philately as a hobby gets promoted and is not  exploited or hijacked by people professing themselves to be the saviours of this hobby.

We again wish to emphasize that constructive suggestions to popularize this hobby should be the aim and not professional or personal jealousy.

We wish to highlight the malpractices which are prevalent in Philatelic circles which are being put under wraps and  “NO ISSUES”  are being highlighted at the behest of few people who have professional and business interests at stake.

A recent issue was ordered by a so called Philatelist in bulk as it was commanding a premium in the market, the print quantity was low and this Philatelist cum trader was procuring it in bulk to dispose it to earn  a huge profit. It is worth mentioning that others were being given this at scale of two and in some parts of country it was not even available. It was a blatant misuse of Power, unethical and criminal. It  amounts to cheating a small boy who saves his pocket money  to buy this stamp thinking that is  going to be great addition to his collection only to be told that unknown quantity has also been sold to one/ few individuals; naturally his heart breaks? IS it not unethical, illegal , immoral and criminal.

Why are the quantities of various issues varying? It  seems vested interests have  financial stakes  in such issues otherwise why should Tarangini /Dandi March be cornered by a few and it should be issued in such less quantity whereas a popular theme like butterflies is lying unsold having being printed in huge quantities. It merits attention.

Special covers and booklets being printed and not coming to philatelic Bureaus but being cornered by so called lucky few within hours of release. These are then sold at high Premiums online and Offline .What will this be called? This is total injustice being done to Philatelists  to benefit a few individuals. What action is being taken against such individuals.?

A variety, error of any type will always command a price and a premium. That’s the fun of Philately. The oldest stamp is not the costliest it may be unique or rare. But what about the premium for creating artificial scarcity? Who is getting benefited ? A lucky few who can either afford, have right connections or have the capacity to order additional quantities and liquidate /sell  them in market at many times the face value .Is it not an offence ?

Another field of Philately thriving today is innovative creations ? An item not originally issued by Department of Post but some  smart people are creating it now and disposing them online/offline as original issues. Is it not Cheating an innocent collector or buyer?

A collector will pay whatever a dealer asks ,as he loves to collect and posses what he likes., but it is the moral duty of seller not to cheat, dupe him or overcharge him. In a healthy environment the hobby thrives, in polluted environment the hobby shall face a premature death and extinction. Choice is with us.

All this is happening because some persons are having unchecked access to Department of Post/ offices where a common citizen is not allowed to go but these persons manage to go because of their connections in corridors of power and have inside information about the release of issue and its likely market value and thereby they carry out a speculative trading.