Watching this hobby from an emotional but physically proximate distance, I am troubled by the current expressions that dealers and collectors are in conflict and an organization representing one cannot merge with one representing the other, as a "conflict of interest" would result.
Philatelic dealers are the link between available items and those that seek them. Much work is involved in pulling together these resources, accurately identifying them, and facilitating collector access to them -- whether through listings online, or schlepping them to a stamp show.
Being married to a man whose deepest love (perhaps besides his family) is the hobby he's pursued since childhood, I've been openly puzzled and skeptical about the validity and value of this hobby. Forty-plus years in, I can bear witness that it does indeed have value -- to the individuals for whom it meets any of various functions in their lives. The fact that the pursuit and joy is not limited to one thing, but is highly individual and various, affirms the value I observe.
A digression for a moment - the area I'm least in awe of is exhibiting. Unfortunately, for some who are overly concerned with medal levels achieved, exhibiting provides external motivation to what is otherwise a pursuit of intrinsic motivation. Numerous studies affirm that the application of external rewards, diminishes intrinsic motivation. Therefore, contrary to popular philatelic views, I see exhibiting as a diminishment of the hobby, rather than its apex.
Back to the perceived conflict of interest - I deny it wholeheartedly. Dealers are facilitators, not the enemy. Again, I've watched close up as my husband's love of the hobby has traveled the path of sharing -- from writing to publishing to hosting stamp clubs to maintaining vigilance on authenticity ... to now serving his beloved hobby as a dealer.
Yes, there are dealers whose primary personal driver is profit and who will offer appallingly little to a widow for her husband's collections. Shame on them. These are actions we feel are morally reprehensible. Yet, even then, the dealer is providing a service in disposing of something of no value to a non-collector (in this case the widow) and making it available to those who seek those items.
I can't imagine there are many who have the time or connections to scour the country for the little pieces of paper they seek. Dealers are the work horses who do this for them. We should thank them, not deride them. They are not the enemy. They are the facilitators -- most doing it secondary to the same joy they share with the collectors they serve.
Postscript - as I was writing this, an email came in from my sale of a postcard through Ebay:
Dear vintagedoky,
