Once every decade. A quarter million visitors. Rarities smaller than the face of your smartwatch and worth millions of dollars. The World Stamp Show 2016 recently drew excited collectors and crowds to New York City where 200 dealers and postal administrators displayed the most coveted American and international stamps. But given their small size and big value, these stamps are frequently shipped by air or hand-carried in order to arrive at the stamp exhibitions securely and on time. Navigating the Customs clearances for these precious parcels of stamps coming from countries like Canada and Croatia, Iceland and England, required the expertise of PIBL (Phoenix International Business Logistics), the Official Freight Forwarder and Customs Broker for this year's World Stamp Show in New York.
With shipments that totaled in the millions of dollars, PIBL managed the complex Customs clearance process for many of the exhibitors at this stamp show, ensuring that the proper documentation was submitted to the authorities three or more weeks in advance of travel. Brokers then met the flights to help ensure timely clearances. The show, which lasted eight days, was attended by international collectors of stamps and also by the general public. Delays in Customs clearance could mean missing this highly-anticipated forum to present the most intriguing philatelic gems of the world.
This year's World Stamp Show received extensive media attention as one "Jenny" air mail stamp, with an inverted aircraft image printed in 1918, fetched more than $1.35 million at the show's auction - a record result for any U.S. stamp. Another stamp in that sheet of 100 error stamps was returned to the American Philatelic Research Library under FBI jurisdiction at the show, after it was stolen from a convention more than 60 years ago.
The exhibition also included John Lennon's stamp album loaned from the Smithsonian, hard-to-find collectibles from the U.S. Post Office, along with the extensive collections of rarities from the world's most notable dealers. Over the years, known collectors and connoisseurs of stamps have included President Franklin Roosevelt, financial icon Warren Buffet, James Earl Jones, Maria Sharapova, Freddy Mercury and Ron Wood among others, according to the American Philatelic Society.
Phil Hobson, President of PIBL, who founded the company more than 20 years ago, remarked, "Providing Customs clearance expertise to this exhibitor community was a challenge that our company embraced. Each of the shipments represented extremely high value and involved handling what can be a very cumbersome clearance process for objects with that level of rarity and worth. PIBL has a track record of reliability, as we combine our expertise in Customs regulations and document filing with state-of-the-art systems to increase efficiencies and expedite clearances. We're very honored to have been selected as the World Stamp Show's Official Freight Forwarder and Customs Broker for the first time."
PIBL, based in Elizabeth, N.J., is a licensed U.S. Customs broker and international freight forwarder that offers customized shipping solutions through its offices in New Jersey, Chicago and Las Vegas. From the common to the colossal, PIBL has tackled the transport logistics for a wide range of objects and exhibits, including a life-size Dutch windmill, military tanks and 10,000 yoga mats for the world's largest yoga session. PIBL is a world-class provider of transportation services for trade fairs, competitions and events, and acts as the appointed freight forwarder and Customs broker for approximately 50 international and domestic trade shows annually, some of which rank among the country's largest freight shows.