Stamp Collecting in the Cyber World

Stamp collecting began with the issuance of the very first postage stamp issued by Great Britain in 1840 - the famed Penny Black. Today, stamp collecting is one of the most popular hobbies in the world; In the US alone there are more than 20 million stamp collectors. In the past, collectors had only one way to collect stamps: they collected envelopes, packages and postage material and cut out the stamps, often asking friends and relatives to bring back stamps when visiting abroad- the excitement involved in getting a new unfamiliar stamp from a foreign country was unbeatable.
Today there are many ways to collect stamps, the Internet is a great tool that help bring stamp collectors from all over the world together.
nowadays it is easy to locate dealers, online auctions and stores and it's even easier to connect with other stamp collectors and exchange stamps online.
although it is a growing challenge to get the new generation to get engaged in stamp collecting, the Internet has been a great tool for the older generation who now have a new resource of information and ease of finding stamps online is also a great benefit.
although some collectors believe that the Internet may kill the hobby I still find tons of web sites dedicated to collectors and think that the benefit outweigh the disadvantage.
Welcome to a new era of stamp collecting the Cyber stamps Era!