Rethinking Youth Outreach in Philately

For over four decades, the stamp collecting world has been wringing its hands over how to get kids into the hobby. “We need young blood!” everyone says. And they’re not wrong. The average age of collectors keeps creeping up with the average stamp show looking like a nursing home, and if things don’t change, we’re going to be swimming in collections with no one around to care.

The American Philatelic Society (APS) and other organizations have thrown tens of thousands of dollars at the problem—glossy materials, kids’ booths, literal truckloads of free stamps—but here’s the harsh truth: almost none of it has worked. We’re not seeing new full-time collectors come out of these efforts. So what gives?

Let’s be honest. Handing out piles of free stamps that no one wants isn’t outreach. It’s clutter. Most kids walk away from the APS youth booths at stamp shows with a bag full of boring stamps they didn’t pick and don’t understand. It’s like giving a kid a jar of old screws and calling it a Lego set. It’s not magical—it’s disappointing.

You can’t tell me children have lost the collecting gene. Three of my nephews have spent hundreds of dollars on their Pokémon card collections. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

To their credit, APS has made some meaningful changes in recent years—especially with the launch of the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship (YPLF), an initiative shaped in part by Alex Haimann. I actually went to the very first YPLF meeting, back in Hartford, Connecticut. It was a genuinely hopeful moment—full of energy, ideas, and fresh faces. I was even there when Matt Kewriga met his lovely wife Kimberly, which, if nothing else, proves the program was successful at producing at least one long-term commitment.

The YPLF shifted the focus away from just dumping stamps on kids and toward mentorship, exposure to the deeper layers of the hobby, and connecting young people with established leaders. It was a step in the right direction. But here’s the catch: to my knowledge, not a single participant has stayed in the hobby longer than a few years. They show promise, get some attention, then quietly drift away.

Part of the problem might be that the program seems more invested in the prestige side of philately: the big national shows, the suit-and-tie networking events, the high-level awards. There’s value in all that, sure—but it doesn’t exactly translate to grassroots outreach. Most kids can’t travel the country for stamps, and they’re not looking for a mentor in a blazer. If we want to grow the next generation of collectors, we need to start where they actually are—locally, casually, and without the fancy ballroom receptions.

Instead of pouring money into extravagant reception dinners, a better investment might have been subsidizing youth tables at local shows—free for anyone under 40 to use for a couple of hours. Imagine the impact of funding youth exhibits for friendly competition, or creating opportunities for young collectors to earn a stamp collecting merit badge. Even better, what if we gave new collectors the chance to dip their toes into bourse stamp dealing? These kinds of hands-on experiences could create lasting connections to the hobby, far more effectively than any semi-annual high-end banquet ever could.

But here’s the good news: some things are working—and they’re not coming from the big institutions. The grassroots folks are making real progress. Show promoters, smaller clubs, and—believe it or not—the internet are breathing new life into the hobby.

Take Southern California. A couple show promoters in the LA area have started giving free or discounted tables to young collectors. That’s a game-changer. When a young person sits behind a table, shows off their collection, talks to buyers—they’re no longer a kid tagging along with Grandpa. They’re part of the show. They belong.

Let’s expand on that idea. Imagine a youth section at every major show—not some condescending “Kids Corner,” but a real exhibit space where younger collectors can display their material like everyone else. Let them get feedback. Give them awards that actually mean something. The key? Treat them like peers, not projects.

And about giveaways… let’s stop dumping buckets of bulk stamps and calling it a gift. If you want to get a kid interested, you’ve got to give them something they want. A better idea? Hold a raffle. Give away a stamp worth talking about. Something cool. Something with a story.

I’ll never forget when my son went to a magic show in Vegas. Not only did they call him up on stage and make him feel like a star, but they raffled off a magic set to the children in attendance, worth $75—and he won. He’s been obsessed ever since. That’s the kind of moment we need to create in philately. Make a kid feel like they’re already a collector.

Stamp shows could absolutely do this. Turn the youth booth into an interactive hub. Let kids (or anyone under 40, really) bring a few better items and sell them. Will the pricing be off? Sure. But that’s not the point. The point is participation. The goal isn’t to squeeze profits from these booths—it’s to invest in the future of the hobby. Think of it as philanthropy with perforations.

And don’t underestimate the power of the internet. Young collectors are already out there, buying and selling stamps on eBay and Facebook Marketplace. They're trading, researching, and discovering stamps on Reddit, YouTube, Facebook and eBay. I recently saw a 20 something young man pop up to take a booth at Steve Patillo’s show in Anaheim, California. They’re showing up—they just don’t always look like the traditional collector.

For the longest time, it was just me and Matt Kewriga—both of us practically the same age—carrying the “young dealer” banner. Matt enjoyed a public profile, out there shaking hands and making connections, while I preferred the solitude of eBay and working behind-the-scenes at some of the larger auction houses. We were the kids in the room for years into our mid forties. But now? I’m finally seeing people in their 20s and 30s start to emerge. And you know what? It doesn’t feel like it’s because of APS programs. It feels like it’s in spite of them.

I can’t help but feel a sense of renewal every time my old joke about being the last stamp collector gets proven wrong. For years, it felt like I was watching the hobby age in slow motion—but now, seeing younger faces pop up at shows and online, it’s clear I’m not the only one left after all.

These younger folks aren’t waiting to be invited—they’re making their own way. They’re building their own communities, their own businesses, their own collecting paths. What they need isn’t a pat on the head. They need opportunities. They need space. They need respect.

And that brings us to a bigger point: today’s younger generation is wildly entrepreneurial. They’re flipping sneakers, trading Pokémon cards, selling vintage video games on Etsy. If they can hustle all that, they can absolutely get into stamps. But only if we let them.

Right now, we treat kids at stamp shows like spectators. That has to change. They need a seat at the table—literally and figuratively. Let them exhibit. Let them sell. Let them make mistakes and learn. That’s how you build real collectors.

No one’s saying we need to dumb down the hobby or throw tradition out the window. Quite the opposite. We should trust young people with the real stuff. Show them what makes a Penny Black special. Teach them the quirks of postal history. Get excited about the hobby—and they’ll feed off that energy.

So here’s a practical, low-budget action plan for show promoters, club leaders, or anyone who cares about philately’s future:

• Sponsor discounted or free dealer tables to young collectors. Let them participate like real dealers.

• Create a youth exhibit section. Make it official. Give it some dignity.

• Replace “grab bags” with real giveaways. Raffles, special prizes, things with actual value.

• Encourage and support kids selling stamps. Even if you’re just buying one item to make them smile, do it.

• Meet them online. Interact with the YouTubers. Jump into a Reddit thread. Subscribe to their Substack blogs! (*Especially the charming, insightful ones written by someone who may or may not be me. Just saying.)

The truth is, the old strategies haven’t worked—and that’s okay. But now’s the time to try something new. And the best part? It doesn’t require a giant budget. Just a shift in mindset. Let’s stop trying to shove kids into our version of the hobby. Let’s give them space to build their own.

Because the next generation of collectors? They’re already here. We just need to make room for them.