Review of Stampex 2026
I attended Stampex last week (two days, Friday and Saturday) and it was my fifth time there. I have looked back over my review of last year's Stampex and I noticed that I ended by saying "I don't think I had enough time at Stampex but hopefully next year, when it is held during half-term week, I will be able to spend more time talking to people, looking through all the exhibitions and visiting more of the dealers." I also added that "I think Stampex is a very important event that will continue to be innovative and at the forefront of championing the world's greatest hobby."
So, a year later, was I able to spend more time exploring Stampex and do I still feel it is "innovative and at the forefront of championing the world's greatest hobby"?
The answer to the first part of the question is easy. Yes, I spent two days at Stampex and, unlike last year when I was there for just the Saturday and had three interviews to carry out as well as the Stamp Active youth activities, this time I didn't feel so rushed. I was able to see a lot more of Stampex and I think this gave me the chance to get a better feel for what Stampex is.
I have hear a lot about what Stampex was. There was even a display of items from Stampex's history to tell us about that. But the question I had in mind - in Stampex's 70th year - was this: what is Stampex for?
Now, I know what Stampex thinks it is for. The PTS tells you right here. The website proudly states that "since 1956, we have been proudly showcasing the very best in the philatelic trade, in person, in London - the home of philately!" I'm not sure about the "home of philately" claim and I will come to that in a minute, but underneath that the PTS explains that "Stampex is the largest philatelic collectibles fair in the UK with International exposure... the show brings the philatelic community together, welcoming businesses, societies, exhibitors, influencers and hobbyists from all over the world. The four-day show gives people the chance to enjoy the hobby, learn something new, connect with friends, and add items to their collection, or enquire about selling a collection. The show is open to all..."
So there's quite a bit in that. The PTS aims for Stampex to be "the home of philately", to be the largest philatelic show in the UK, to unite the philatelic community, to provide opportunities for education and connecting, to provide a place to buy and sell, and be welcoming to everyone. So, I am going to review it on how well it does all of these things.
"The Home of Philately" - I don't think anyone seriously believes Stampex (or London) is the "home" of philately. In fact, I really dislike this because I'm not from London and I am tired of the way these kinds of events are always in London. Yes, I understand why but it doesn't make it easy for those of us who live in the North West.
What I think the PTS is saying here is that they want Stampex to be seen as a "home" for all collectors and people involved in philately, and that isn't a bad ambition. But it really doesn't feel at all like that. This year I have been to several stamp fairs in Liverpool, Preston, Derby and Stafford. Some are large and some are small, but all of them feel more homely than Stampex. (I've also been to York Racecourse, but that wasn't very homely.) Stampex feels like it wants to be more serious, more like the PTS's showpiece event, and that's fine but it isn't the event it was when I first attended. It's much smaller now and while it might be a home for high-end collectors it doesn't feel like a home for people like me and my sister. Or even my mum and dad come to think of it.
The largest show in the UK - Is it still the flagship show? Maybe, but maybe not - it's hard to say. But it's very clear that it isn't as big as it was just a few years ago. When I first came to Stampex it was in the main arena covering a huge area with a large exhibition space, Royal Mail's impressive stand welcoming you and the chance to see the world's rarest stamp (the famous 1856 British Guiana 1C magenta). There were interesting talks in some side rooms. It felt like a really important event and definitely like a real international exhibition. Now it's in a much smaller room no bigger than some of the halls in places like Liverpool's Liner Hotel or Stafford Showground. There were 55 dealers (plus Stamp Active) there this year, which is hardly huge (for comparison, Stafford will have 42 next week) - to be honest, I've been to bigger Christmas fairs in churches. There is also no longer any Royal Mail presence, which makes Stampex feel incomplete (how can Stampex be a genuine national stamp show when Royal Mail doesn't see the point in attending?) and the exhibition space has vanished and been replaced with a screen (more about that later).
I would say Stampex feels more like a large stamp fair than a real show or exhibition. It definitely feels like it is becoming smaller and, even compared to last year, it seemed there were fewer people attending. Why is this? I imagine some of you who have been going to Stampex for longer than me will have your own ideas, but I thought it was quite sad that Stampex is "celebating" 70 years in totally inglorious style with no-one really noticing.
What I did notice after two days at Stampex is that it isn't the ultimate collectors' hub that I thought it was and that it's struggling for relevance in ways I hadn't imagined. It may once have been the centre of the stamp-collecting world but that's no longer true and it simply doesn't have the sense of purpose you might think from reading the PTS website. It feels, if I can express a really personal view, a bit lost, like it wants to be this really important event and make a big statement but doesn't know how to do it and isn't sure what to say.
Stampex may still be the largest show in the UK but it clearly isn't what it once was and it's become just another stamp fair - one that's bigger, more expensive and not quite as homely as the others. "We're slightly bigger than Stafford" isn't really a distinctive identity and of course a successful event is about so much more than its size.
Uniting the philatelic community - It might be a good place for PTS members to get together, but does it unite the rest of us? No.
The PTS is about lots of things but you can't escape from the fact that it's main purpose is buying and selling stamps. It can say what it likes about "community", but it feels like a really exclusive club. And that's because... actually, it is.
Look, I know why Stampex is PTS only. It guarantees integrity and standards. But it leads to an event that doesn't really do what it claims it does. It also doesn't seem to appreciate that not everyone who is into stamps is a traditional collector (my mum definitely isn't) and the talks that I saw (which were all pre-recorded and shown on a TV screen with no more than five or six people watching) were PTS members talking to us about what is, after all, our hobby. There was no real interaction - just the chance to be lectured to by knowledgeable people. I'm not saying some of these weren't interesting because they were, but this isn't how you build unity or community. It's all very top-down.
I don't think either the PTS or Stampex has any idea about how to unite the "philatelic community". In fact, is there really a "philatelic community" at all, or just a community with some philatelists in it? If there was, surely it would be in the PTS's interests for some real conversations to go on at Stampex and to shape its future so it reflects tomorrow's collectors?
Opportunities for education - the most obvious way Stampex does this is through exhibitions and the talks. As I've said the talks are all pre-recorded and I don't think this format really works - there isn't the opportunity for questions for a start. I can also watch recorded talks from experts on YouTube (The PTS has a YouTube channel) and it isn't a reason to travel to London.
The large exhibition area has been replaced with an exhibition screen, which I don't actually mind. Why not use technology to make things easier? However, if you're going to do that then the technology needs to be used efffectively, it needs to actually work and it needs to be in a prominent place.
There was a screen at Stampex as part of a project called "Display Your Way". This seems a good idea because all the normal rigidity about exhibiting was replaced with an invitation to let people display how they wanted. So, while some exhibitors did submit the more traditional style displays, others tried more experimental things and I think that is a positive thing. This helps make exhibiting more accessible, so well done PTS!
There were 41 displays that you could scroll through on the screen. These were about all kinds of subjects, from "The Franking System in the Post office 1652-1840" to "Mia and Leo learn about Astrophilately and Aerophilately". However, some of the displays were actually scans of recent editions of magazines or invitations to subscribe to things, so the number of genuine displays was much smaller.
Some of these exhibitions were quite interesting. But do I think this is a good replacement for the framed exhibitions? No!
I like the idea of using technology to make this easier and more accessible. I also like the idea of changing the way we do exhibitions and opening it up to new ideas. But if you're going to do it you have to do it properly. Just ONE screen just isn't enough and if you're going to have screens like this then they need to be placed around the venue or in a place where everyone sees them.
I was there for two days and on Friday I didn't see anyone else apart from Heidi and I using it. On Saturday, I went back to have a look at a few more displays I hadn't got around to seeing on the Friday but I couldn't because the screen was either broken or not turned on. What's the point? The traditional boards aren't the future in my view but at least they had quite a few people looking at them.
So yes, there are HUGE opportunities for the PTS to do more to promote education but if it is serious about it then next year's Stampex needs to have more than one screen and make sure that it works. It's a pity when people have worked so hard on their exhibits and no-one looks at them.
Connecting - I noticed that several postcrossers got together at Stampex on Saturday. Stamp Active also does a very important job in providing a place for young people to connect. But overall, I don't think that there's anything special about Stampex. It isn't better for connecting than other stamps fairs, and probably less good than some of the smaller stamp fairs where it is easier to talk to people.
I am sure it is a good place for PTS members to get together but for the rest of us I can't honestly say that Stampex is a great place for connecting. There aren't any social spaces. Philately is about more than dealers and about more than the PTS, but many people that do so much to keep the hobby alive in the UK like philatelic societies can't have stalls and so they're invisible. I feel Stampex is a bit cliquey in ways that other stamp fairs aren't. It's not really good for people new to collecting because they're not going to be interested in expensive high-end stuff or international auction houses.
A place to buy and sell - yes, Stampex is definitely this! But most of the buying and selling seems to be around the high-end of the market and it isn't really the place for people new to collecting or casual collectors, And, unfortunately, it isn't a place for young people who don't have a lot of money.
Welcoming to everyone - Everyone says they're welcoming, don't they? But is it real? How do you know if you're welcoming or not? You can say you're "open to all", but what does it actually mean?
Last year I felt quite welcome but as I pointed out at the time I went there with a bit of a mission, got some help from a few people and I wasn't there long enough to get a proper feel of Stampex. This year, two days felt more than long enough. And no, it didn't always feel welcoming. Before I talk about my own experiences, this is what someone wrote on Stampboards (an online forum) on Thursday: "My grandson was accused of stealing a cover he won on a win and spin from the stall next door [the Stamp Active stand]. Even heard some ‘gentlemen’ asking what these kids were doing here. Decided to skip out and take them to the postal museum instead."
That is really sad, but does it surprise me? No.
I heard similar things. I was on one stall looking through album pages when the dealer suggested to my dad that he should take me to the Stamp Active stand instead as that was "the place for children". Another dealer was obviously not happy for me to be at their stall, which I'm guessing was because of my age. And yes, I did hear other customers complaining about "all these children" just before the Stamp Active auction on Saturday. There were 15 young people there, hardly a huge crowd. I also felt some dealers were a bit abrupt - I won't say they were rude but they weren't as friendly as the dealers we're used to at Liverpool.
Of course, it's not the full picture. Stamp Active provides a fantastic range of activities and really encourage youth philately, even if they're not appreciated enough. The Stamp Active auction on the Saturday is definitely the best event of the show and can be really exciting! Also, I'm going to give a shout-out to some of the dealers, Stephen T Taylor and Paula Cant (Thematix), who were very welcoming and totally understand how important it is to encourage young collectors. My sister Heidi was at one stand looking through some cards when an elderly man next to her told her how good it was to see children at Stampex and told her about how his daughter used to collect and how she named the Victorian stamps after birds so she could remember them. So to these people we say a big "thank you". However, the fact is that people remember the negative things more than they do the positives. I don't know the young boy who was accused of stealing a cover, but I am sure he will not forget that experience. Why would he come back to Stampex after that? We might even have lost a future collector because of a cover worth £1 or so. And yes, I couldn't help but feel that there were people at Stampex who thought the event would be better if there were no children there. Young people aren't stupid and we know when we're being looked down on or judged for no reason.
The PTS needs to address this. I wasn't the only young person at the Stamp Active auction on Saturday who felt like this. It might surprise some people but young people talk to each other, especially if no-one else wants to. It's not fun to feel alienated.
If something wants to be relevant to younger people it needs more than some free "I love Stampex" badges and a stamp bug search.
We don't deserve to be treated with suspicion or made to feel unwelcome, whether it is by dealers or guests. Parents also shouldn't have to deal with children who have been upset, and they definitely shouldn't have to take them somewhere else instead. Does the PTS understand children, or is it just happy to say "we welcome everyone" and expect Stamp Active to step in and do all the work for them? I hope not, because that approach just won't cut it. If the event is to be welcoming to young people, beginners, casual collectors or anyone else who isn't the traditional-style collector, then it needs to work with all of the dealers to do it. I did buy some fantastic items and I have added a lot to my US collection. As always, I enjoyed what Stamp Active put on for young people. I don't want to be totally negative, but of course I have that question I need to answer.
What is Stampex for?
After two days at Stampex, I wasn't really sure what the point of it is and whether too many people - even most stamp collectors - would care too much if this year was its last. I would care because I think Stampex could be something incredible if it can find new ways to do the things it says it wants to do. Unfortunately, if it wasn't for Stamp Active I feel Stampex would be just another stamp fair, a bit like some of the others but not as good. Maybe it should just call itself the PTS London Fair and forget trying to be the national philatelic event of the year?
This weekend I will be at Stafford Stamp Show. I will of course update you all with a review after my visit!
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