Stamps just keep sticking

ANDY JACKSON/Taranaki Daily News

PASSIONATE PHILATELIST: New Plymouth philatelist Chas Lilley has been collecting stamps for 66 years.

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Don't try telling New Plymouth philatelist Chas Lilley that postage stamps are a thing of the past.

Despite this being the age of Facebook, Twitter and email, The Stamp Shop owner says his collectors business is "going just fine, thanks".

This week, New Zealand Post raised regular stamp prices to 60c, and said the volume of mail had dropped by more than 100 million, to 887 million items sent in the past five years.

But while the digital age has been bad news for NZ Post it has perversely helped boost Mr Lilley's trade. "Because of Trade Me, the hobby has grown a fair bit," he said.

"People who couldn't collect before, because they were isolated or couldn't get near a dealer, but it's all out there now, it's all available.

Mr Lilley, who trades internationally, said he has made more than 15,000 sales on Trade Me after switching from Ebay on which he had already made some 30,000 sales.

Originally from London, Mr Lilley has been collecting stamps for 66 years and has several million in his personal collection.

"Instead of spending my money on sweets, I would buy a stamp and that's how I got going, even through the war I collected stamps," he said.

His oldest stamp is an 1840 Penny Black, the first ever stamp printed, however due to the large number in circulation, it sells for about $100-$150. The most expensive stamps in Mr Lilley's collection are early New Zealand editions which reach up to $500.

Mr Lilley will be one of the exhibitors at Taranaki Philatelic Society's show at the Beach St Hall tomorrow from 9.30am to 3.30pm.Mr Lilley hopes it will attract new people to the hobby. "The younger generation don't know a lot about stamps. We always try to impress mothers, if they can interest their children with stamps, it's a good way of learning. "

Jessie Waite is a Witt journalism student

- © Fairfax NZ News