With inflation now an economic reality, how do you think stamp values will fare?
It's pretty obvious to everyone now that the potential for runaway inflation is upon us. Retrospectively, stamps and collectibles can be volatile. With money becoming tighter , (meaning less discretionary income), will the market start to do interesting things again? 
Comments
Rene: I greatly enjoy stamp collecting as a hobby but have never considered it a hedge against inflation because my pockets are not deep enough to allow me to purchase investment quality stamps. The decision to spend several hundred dollars on a single stamp versus purchasing a large collection I can break down to build my person collection and increase my inventory here on HipStamp is an easy one for me to make. I favor the low value stamps even though I recognize that these are not going to keep pace with inflation... Any stamp you buy for less than a dime today will probably still be worth less than a dime 20 years from now, but your dime will be worth much, much less.
I believe the market for stamps will take a minor hit if money becomes tighter, but I don't expect a major dip unless we go into a deep recession. Stamp collecting can be a relatively inexpensive activity and I believe collectors will continue to purchase stamps. They may reduce their spending or adjust their collecting preferences from blocks to singles, from mint to used, etc. but I doubt we will see a huge departure from the hobby.
I recommend "The Buyers Guide" by Stephen R. Datz to those of you who are interested in purchasing United States stamps that have the possibility of keeping pace with inflation. All of his books are a joy to read, but this book is especially informative.
https://www.hipstamp.com/store/buybobstamps
"The United States issued these three Graf Zeppelin airmail stamps (Scott C13-15) on April 19, 1930. In the late 1970s, a mint never-hinged set in the grade of very fine could sell for as much as $10,000. Today they have a Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue value of $2,125."
A study of the history of those wild swings is revealing. Somewhere on amongst thousands of clipped articles in three bankers boxes is an article that explained how a good stamp dealer could make money on both the upswings and the downswings.
Just like the age old advice on speculative stocks - never invest a cent that you can't afford to lose....
"The U.S. inflation rate as of May 2021 was 5.0% compared to a year earlier. That means consumer prices increased by more than 5% over the course of a year—the sharpest such increase since August 2008. The inflation rate is an important economic indicator, because it tells you how quickly prices are changing. It's measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) each month."
https://www.thebalance.com/current-u-s-inflation-rate-statistics-and-news-3306139
Prices were down in 2020. They're bouncing back in 2021. That's how it works.
The thing with stamps is that they already exist, so no increased production costs to make up. At the low end, prices are arbitrary, at the high end they're speculative. Normal market pressures don't really apply.
But inflation becomes a psychological problem. It makes you worry about money. When you are worried about being able to afford necessities, you don't spend it on frivolous things.
So rather than philatelic prices going up with inflation, they could go down due to lack of demand.
Bouncing back? I had to cancel a construction project at my house because the original estimate, made just prior to the nonsensical lockdown in NYS, at a little over $3K, bumped to just shy of $12K recently due to the price of lumber. If that's not runaway inflation, what is?
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