2022 APS/APRL Survey

2022SurveyResults

FromDecember5,2022,toDecember26,2022,theAmericanPhilatelicSocietyopenedasurveyof questionstomembers,non-members,andpastmembers,offeringmultipleopportunitiestocomplete duringthatperiod TheAPSusedSurveyMonkey,astandardtoolforcollectingandanalyzing information.

Respondentswerelimitedtooneresponsebutcouldmodifyanswersevenaftercompletingthesurvey

Eachrespondentself-identifiedasamember,non-member,orpastmember,triggeringdifferentquestions foreachtypeofresponse Futuresurveyswillbeopenwithcrosstabsavailableforeachcategoryof respondents.

Forthissurvey,responsesserveascriticalperformanceindicatorsandwillhelpguidefuturesurveyson morespecifictopicsandserviceareas.

Responses

Therewere5,090individualresponsestothesurvey,witha91percentcompletionrate Allanswers providedintheresultsfortheninepercentofrespondentswhoabandonedthesurvey.Oftherespondents, 4,482individuals(88percent)identifiedthemselvesasAPSmembers,333(sevenpercent)asformerAPS members,and275(fivepercent)asnotmembersyet.TheAPSshouldmoreactivelytargetnon-members andformermembersforadditionalfeedback.

AReviewofAPSServices

Overall,satisfactionwiththeAPSremainsveryhigh Afull97percentofAPSmembersand92percent ofnon-membersaresatisfiedwiththeAPS.Threepercentofmembersandeightpercentofnon-members aredissatisfied ThisresponseisconsistentwiththeAPSannualretentionrateof90percent,considereda successfulbenchmarkformembershiporganizations

Ninety-sixpercentofmembersand93percentofformermembersaresatisfiedwith The American Philatelist.Dissatisfactionamongmembersisatfourpercent,andsevenpercentamongformermembers. Onlytwopercentofmembersdonotuse The American Philatelist,makingitthemostwidelyutilized benefittheAPSoffers.

Thesecondmostcommonly-usedfeatureistheAPSwebsite,stampsorg Ofthosepolled,21percentof membersand31percentofformermembersdidnotusethewebsite.Ninety-fourpercentofmembersand 93percentofformermembersweresatisfiedwiththewebsite Onlysixpercentofmembersandseven percentofformermembersexpresseddissatisfactionwiththewebsite

UnlikemostAPSservices,formermemberscanstillreceivethenewsletter,andmanystilldo.One-third ofAPSmembersand39percentofformermembersdidnotutilizetheweeklynewsletterproducedbythe APS Ofthosewhodidusetheservice,95percentofmembersand92percentofformermemberswere VeryorSomewhatsatisfied.CurrentmembersreportedamuchhigherVerysatisfiedratingwiththe newsletter Dissatisfactionislowatfivepercentamongmembersandeightpercentamongformer members

WesurveyedresponsesforInternetSalesbeforetheStampStoretransitiontoHipStamp.Afuturesurvey willseekfeedbackfrombuyersandsellersfollowingthemove Sixty-onepercentofmembersand69 percentofformermembersdonotuseInternetSales.Amongusers,92percentofmembersand87 percentofformermembersaresatisfied Eightpercentofmembersand13percentofformermembers weredissatisfiedwithInternetSales Futuresurveyswillalsofocusonincreasingmemberparticipation andsatisfactionassellersandbuyerswithintheprogram.

Sixty-fourpercentofAPSmembersand74percentofformermembersdonotutilizetheAmerican PhilatelicResearchLibrary.ThelastrecordedtimetheAPSaskedthisquestionwasin1996whenonly sevenpercentofmembersstatedtheyusedtheAPRL Sincethen,theAPRLhasaddedseveraldigital services,suchastheonlinecatalogandtheRobertA.MasonDigitalLibrary,increasingmember participation.Inthe1996survey,93percentofrespondentsweresatisfiedwithlibraryservices.Inour currentsurvey,96percentofmembersand92percentofformermembersexpressedsatisfactionwiththe APRL.

Twenty-ninepercentofAPSmembersand38percentofformermembersreportedusingtheCircuitSales program Bycomparison,memberutilizationwas19percentin1996,21percentin1989,and22percent in1982.OfthoseusingtheCircuitSalesprogram,88percentofAPSmembersand81percentofformer membersexpressedsatisfactionwiththeCircuitSalesprogram.Twelvepercentofmembersand19 percentofformermembersexpresseddissatisfaction Afuturesurveywillexaminewaystoimproveuser participationandsatisfactionwiththeprogram.

Seventy-onepercentofAPSmembersand74percentofformermembersdidnotusetheAmerican PhilatelicExpertizingService(APEX) Bycomparison,onlysevenpercentofmembersreportedusing APEXin1996 Amongthosewhohaveusedtheservice,88percentofAPSmembersand83percentof formermembersexpressedsatisfactionwithAPEX.

Meanwhile,12percentofAPSmembersand17percentofformermembersexpresseddissatisfaction.By contrast,80percentofusersexpressedsatisfactionwiththeservicein1996.Afuturesurveywillexplore waystoimproveutilizationandsatisfactionwiththeprogram

Seventy-ninepercentofAPSmembersand82percentofformermembersrespondedthattheyhadnot usedtheCollectingandConnectingCentralAcademy(C3a) C3aisthenewestAPSservice,sothelower utilizationisunsurprising.Oftheusers,91percentofmembersand93percentofformermembersare satisfiedwiththeplatform Ninepercentofmembersandsevenpercentofformermembersexpressed dissatisfactionwithusingC3a.Infuturesurveys,wewillexploreincreasingutilizationandsatisfaction withC3a.

LookingattheutilizationofallAPSservices,thereisasignificantdividebetweenthethreemost commonlyusedservices, The American Philatelist,thewebsiteandthenewsletter,andtheremaining services ThoughmembershavehistoricallyreportedlowerusageofAPSservices,suchasAPEX,APRL, andCircuitSales,weshouldstrivetoimprovemembervalueandparticipationintheseprograms Future surveyswillexplorepossibleimprovementsthatwouldgivemembersareasontousethesebenefits.

RecruitingNewandFormer Members

Oneofourongoingeffortsisdeterminingthemosteffectivemarketingandoutreachprogramsfor bringingbackmembersandrecruitingnewmemberstotheAPS.Oursurveyprovidedalistofitemsthat wouldbringgreaterrecruitinginterest

Inthecommentssection,thefourthemesare:annualmembershipcost(specificallyforinternational collectors),moredigitalaccessforresearch,broaderreachtoaglobalaudience,andmore beginner-friendlyinformation.

Today,anAPSdigitalmembershipis$45,thesameasaUS annualmembership Morethanhalfofall respondentssupportalower-priceddigitalmembershiptotheAPS.

Nearly40percentwouldbeinterestedinjoiningtheAPStohaveaccesstobuyingstampsonlineor throughcircuitbooks.FurthersurveyquestionscouldhelpimprovemarketingstrategiesforInternetand CircuitSalesprograms

In24percentofresponses,formermembersdidnotfindvalueinthemembership.Additionalcomments centeredonlifechanges,eitherfinancialorhealth

Formermembersalsofoundalower-priceddigitalmembershipappealing,with44percentfavoringthis offering Inthecomments,theresponsesdidnotspecifychangestheAPScouldmakeandinstead reflectedthatindividualsarechoosingtowinddowncollecting.

Asignificantpercentageofnon-membersandformermembersconsideradigital-onlyoptionappealing. Otherresponsessuggesttheannualmembershippriceisabarriertoentry TheAPSyearlymembership hasbeen$45since2008,andwe’reproudtohaveheldthecostdownforAPSmembersfor15years.Past surveyssuggestadigital-onlyoptioncanhaveappealandallowtheAPStoestablishvaluewithmembers notreadytocommittoafullAPSmembership Roughlyone-quarterofmembershavesuggested droppingafullmembershipinexchangeforadigital-onlyservice.Futuresurveyswillexplorethisoption moredeeplytoensureadigital-onlymembershipisaneffectiverecruitingtoolbutprotectsthevalueofa fullAPSmembership

Inthecomments,formermembersdroppedoutprimarilybecauseoffinancialorlifechanges Some expressedahopetoreturn,whileothersinquiredaboutdisposingoftheircollections.Changeinlife circumstancesfallssecondbehinddeathasthetopreasonsweloseAPSmembers Inthosecaseswhere wecancontrolcustomersatisfaction,wewillsurveyfurthertoensureformermembersidentifythevalue ofanAPSmembership.WecanalsoconsideradditionalservicestomaketheAPSmoreattractivetoa broaderaudience

APSMemberProfile

Atotalof53percentofrespondentshavebeenmembersoftheAPSformorethan20years.Infuture surveys,wewillsegmentthegroupmoretodelineatethelengthofmembershipbeyond20yearsand includelifemembership.

Ina1996survey,29percentofrespondentsweremembersfor20ormoreyears In1989,15percentwere membersformorethan20years;in1982,ninepercentweremembersfor20ormoreyears.

MorethanhalfofAPSmembersareverylikelytorecommendAPSmembershiptofriendsandfamily, and38percentarelikely.Amongthe11percentwhoexpressedtheywereunlikelyorveryunlikelyto recommendtheAPS,theprimaryreasonsarefamilymembersarenotinterestedinstampcollectingor concernsforthehobby'sfuture.

The American Philatelist

APSmembersareloyalreadersof The American Philatelist,with78percentstatingtheyreaditmonthly; another13percentreadmostissues Lessthantenpercentofmembersreadhalftheissuesorless We’ve surveyedreadersmoreregularlyon The American Philatelist, andthecurrentissuesreflectthefeedback we’vereceived.Westrivetoimprovethejournalfurther. The American Philatelist issignificantlywritten formembersbymembers Itischallengingtoappealtodiversecollectinginterests,butweworktomake everyarticleappealingtoabroaderaudienceregardlessofthetopic.

Overall,membersaresatisfiedwithallaspectsof The American Philatelist Twoareasthatrequire further examinationarecontentandthemedissues.Themedissueswereinstitutedfollowinga2018member surveyencouragingtyingtogetherthearticles Ourcurrenteditorhasreachedforbroaderthemesthan earlierversions,butwewillcontinuetosolicitfeedbacktoservethemembershipbetter.

Consistently,LetterstotheEditorranksasthemostcommonlyreadsectionof The American Philatelist. ToppingouttheTop5arethePresident’sColumn,PhilatelicHappenings,AdventuresinExpertizing,and WorldwideinaNutshell,writtenbyformerAPSExecutiveDirectorBobLamb.

Eighty-threepercentofAPSmembersbelieve The American Philatelist meetstheirneedsasacollector, whilesixpercentdisagree.FuturesurveyswillexplorehowwecanbettermeettheneedsofAPS memberstoenhancetheircollectingjourney

Seventy-sixpercentofAPSmembersview The American Philatelist asthebestservicetheyreceiveasa member.Infuturesurveys,wewillexplorethecomparativeadvantageofAPSservicestomembersand gaugewherewecanimproveservices

WeaskedifusersviewedthefollowingservicesasessentialservicesoftheAPS.Ninety-twopercentof CircuitSalesusers,87percentofInternetSalesusers,and95percentofAPEX(expertizing)usersagreed. Effectivemarketingreliesonuserexperienceandmember-to-memberadvocacy Inafuturesurvey,we willsolicituserexperiencestosharewithfellowmemberstohelppromoteourservices.

Wearenotconsideringeliminatinganyoftheseprograms Thequestionisdesignedtodeterminehowthe mostdedicatedusersviewtheprogram.Asnotedbefore,ourfuturesurveyontheseservicesneedsto bettercaptureandunderstandthevaluepropositiontothebiggestchampions 2022APS/APRLSurveyResults

CollectingandConnectingCentral Academy(C3a)

Eighty-eightpercentofusersagreethatC3aenhancestheirknowledgeasacollector.Mostofthecourses areaimedatintermediatecollectors,butourgoalistocreatebothbeginnerandintermediatecourses

Fifty-eightpercentofuserssupportdevelopingbeginnercourses,whilesixpercentdisagree.Thirty-six percenthavenoopinion Theresponsesarereflectivethattheprimaryusersareintermediatecollectors Wecanexpandtheservicestomeettheneedsofbothlevelsofcollectors

Two-thirdsofuserspreferon-demandcoursesversusonlytenpercentwhowantlivelearningevents.This responseconfirmstheobservedlowerparticipationinliveevents.Wewillinvestmoreenergyinto developingon-demandcourses

2022APS/APRLSurveyResults

AmericanPhilatelicResearch Library

Withdigitization,theuseoflibraryservicesishighertodaythanever.OnlyfourpercentofAPSmembers reportusingthelibrarymonthly,andanother28percentuseitannually Substantiallyhigherthanthe reportedsixpercentofmembersusingtheservicein1996.Weexpectgreateruseasdigitalservices expand.

Traditionalservices:scans,bookborrowing,andresearchservicesarestillthemostcommonlyused servicesintheAPRL.Fifteenpercentofmembersreportusingthedigitallibrary.Underotherservices, mostmembersidentifiedtheonlinecatalog

OnlineStampSalesandProposed Merger

Seventy-onepercentofAPSmembersagreetheCodeofEthicsprovidesstrongprotectionsforstamp buyers Fivepercentofmembersdisagreed,and24percenthadnoopinion

Sixty-fourpercentofAPSmembersbelievethattheAPSshouldbemoreinvolvedinprotectingonline stampbuyers.Threepercentdisagreed,and33percenthadnoopinion.

Alongwiththejournal,theCodeofEthicshasbeencentraltotheAPSsinceitsfoundingin1886.All disciplinaryactionsarepublishedinthejournalandavailableontheAPSwebsite Weshouldtakesteps topromotetheCodeofEthics

Eighty-fivepercentofAPSmembersbelievedealersandcollectorsshouldcollaboratetocreatemore ethicalpractices.TheAPSwillsoonreconstitutetheDealerAdvisoryCouncilandworktoimprovethe APSDealerMemberprogramtoincludesettingclearstandardsandpromotingethicaldealers

DuringthecommentperiodfortheproposedAPS/ASDAmerger,themostnotableobjectionwasthat dealersandcollectorshadcompetinginterestsandcouldnotworktogethertoimproveethicalstandardsin themarketplace Only16percentofAPSmembersagreewiththatposition

Incontrast,61percentofmembersdisagreed,and23percenthadnoopinion.Theseresultssupport greatercollaborationbetweencollectorsanddealerstopromoteprofessionalandethicalstandards

InJanuary2023,theAPSannounceditwouldnotpursuemergerdiscussionswiththeAmericanStamp DealersAssociation.Thatdecisionwasbasedonseveralfactors,includingmemberfeedbackfromthis survey Wereportedthefindingsintheannouncement,buttheresultsareincludedhere

OnefinalquestioninthesurveywasregardingthefrequencyofsurveysfromtheAPS.Basedonthe responses,wewillschedulefuturesurveysquarterly.ThefollowingsurveywillbeconductedonCircuit Sales,InternetSales,andExpertizinginMarch2023