Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Just because you are collecting stamps, doesn't mean that you have to sell. The two do not necessarily go together. Turning your hobby into a business ends the enjoyment of the hobby for many, so they choose not to sell. Not problem there. You can still find trading partners for your duplicates. Don't worry about dollar values. Just enjoy the stamps.
For a catalog, older editions certainly cost much less than the current one. Also, check out your local library to see if they have a set of catalogs. Your profile indicates that you collect new issues. That's going to require a new catalog to keep up with those. However, you could subscribe to Linn's monthly stamps magazine. It is cheaper than the weekly subscription, and you'll get all the new issue updates to the Scott catalog.
Take it slow, get a feel for the hobby. It won't take long before you get some ideas on the way that you want to go.
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Michael,
an older Scotts will do just fine. they are often found here, and elsewhere, for cheap. I've seen them offered here for free, too.
right now, catalogues allow you to learn about stamps, and old ones will do that effectively too
If I were staying in stamps, I'd definitely get older catalogues, and acquire them as they become available for least amount of money I could
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Welcome mjk,
What are your interests?
If you are a general US collector, I would recommend the Brookman catalogue. It uses the Scott numbering system and usually enough detail to determine varieties. It lists virtually any US stamp, sheet, FDC, etc. you would likely collect. The spiral bound version is a pleasure to use.
For worldwide, as recommended, you can get is older set of Scott's especially if you have an album that uses Scott's including the print your own Steiner pages.
You can also use Stampworld (www.stampworld.com) web site if you just want to organize their way. They have images of most stamps (unlike many catalogues) and a search function.
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use online catalogs ///
http://colnect.com/en/stamps/countries
or stampworld.com
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The single best catalog for world wide stamps 1940 and before is the Scott Classic specialized.
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I donated a scott specialised and scott set to local library hoping it would spur interest in philately ... all went to recycling.
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Instead of donating, try loaning it to the library. There is a difference. Once you donate something, it is under the donee's control. When you loan it, it is still yours and you can take it back any time you want, unless the loan is for a stated minimum/maximum period of time. Then hopefully the library staff will understand that.
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If you are going to specialize in a subject say Trains ,Flowers etc then I would highly recommend Stanley Gibbons as the best catalogue available certainly for detail.
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Thanks for the responses and tips. It looks like I should be on the look out for good deals on used catalogues, but for the most part, I should be able to get much of the info the info I need online or at the library. One thing I will keep a eye out for are some of the Stanley Gibbons topical catalouges. Many of them seem to have been discontinued 10-ish years ago, but as I move into finding older issues relating to my specific interest areas, that's not really a problem.
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Until and unless Gibbons can get out of its financial problems and find a new buyer, their non-mainstream catalogs may be hard to find. Even if it's sold, the new owners may choose to discontinue some aspects of the business as they try to make the company profitable again.
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Hi mjk
Don't rush out and spend lots of your hard earned on paper Catalogue(s) - I find "on line" Free Catalogues more useful because they all give "Country and Date of issue" and most show pictures of all stamps and some have the ability for a "sort" by theme - Try the ones below to see if the information is adequate for your needs.
https://www.freestampcatalogue.com/stamps
www.stampworld.com
http://colnect.com/en/stamps/countries
Later, if you need more specialist info. then a Catalogue may or may not be useful - What Catalogue ? Depends what Country you collect and how much detail you require.
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Hi, Mike! Welcome to StampoRama and the hobby!
My take would be check with your local library for a circulating set of the Scott catalogs. In my experience, the main branch of a medium to large municipal library will have them, with the most recent set in the reference area, with the last year or two's sets available for circulation in the regular stacks.
I'd recommend checking that out. There is terrific explanatory information in the beginning of each volume to help you get your feet wet in philately. (For the 6-volume worldwide set, the explanatory information is virtually the same in each volume.)
After spending a few weeks with them, you can decide how helpful they'll be for you. Although they are pricey when new, they fall in price pretty quickly, so a volume or set 3 or 4 years old might well be pretty affordable, if you decide they'd be helpful.
The Scott numbering system is typically what's used in the US, especially if you were to go to a stamp show. Although some dealers do use other catalogs in specialized areas, nearly everything will be identified by Scott number.
Since you've mentioned some topical interests, another avenue for information might be the specialized checklists prepared by the American Topical Association. You do have to join in order to purchase their checklists (which use Scott numbers, by the way), but they've been working on developing those checklists for decades, and pretty good about keeping them current.
Here's how to access their listings of their checklists:
http://americantopicalassn.org/checklists.shtml
The Stanley Gibbons topical (thematic) catalogs, as mentioned above, are pretty nice too, because they have a lot of illustrations, which the ATA checklists don't. (They just reference by a description and the Scott number.) However, the SG catalogs will use just the SG numbers, which will help on some sites (especially overseas), so I would say it would not be a replacement for Scott information, but an addition to.
Unless I missed one (and that's always possible), at the moment, SG only shows 2 thematic catalogs available through their website, aircraft and motor vehicles:
https://www.stanleygibbons.com/collect-aircraft-on-stamps-catalogue-stamp-catalogues-r2862-09.html
https://www.stanleygibbons.com/collect-motor-vehicles-on-stamps-catalogue-stamp-catalogues-r286304.html
but they've produced way more than that in the past (especially for flora and fauna, if my memory is holding up), and you may have good luck finding them on eBay, if you decide you want to try to pick some up.
I hope this helps round out the information a bit!
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I forgot to mention that Michel, the German catalog publisher, also produces topical catalogs. I have some of their country catalogs, but not any of the topical ones, so I don't know how they'd compare to the Stanley Gibbons ones. Two drawbacks are that Michel catalogs tend to be even pricier than SG ones, and they're almost always in German. (They do publish a few catalogs in English.)
https://www.schaubek.de/MICHEL-thematic-catalogues
Overall, I would think the ATA checklists would be the most authoritative source, supplemented by Scott catalogs as your interests and budget allow.
Good luck, and have fun!
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MJK,
I have to agree whole heartily with the others who've posted responses with great advice. As you have noted already catalogs can be an expensive endeavor to say the least but it doesn't have to be. If you're insistent on owning a hard copy of the most recent catalog? I recommend a Brook-man or a Harris US/BNA. They are relatively inexpensive and the later of the two I mentioned can be purchased at your local Hobby Lobby for $29.98. Sometimes Hobby Lobby gives its customers a 40% off coupon.
They are great for beginners and both use the Scott # system. The biggest drawback is they aren't as detailed as Scott or Stanley Gibbons and the other big catalogs. They will definitely get you started in the right direction. Just remember that these are retail catalogs but are still great for reference that's my two cents worth. I hope this helps and welcome to the hobby.
Jeremy
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Just one last clarification, MJK.
If you're collecting US (or US & Canada), then the Brookman (for US) and Harris (for US and Canada) catalogs are appropriate resources. But they don't cover the world. That would fall into Scott's purview, along with those of Stanley Gibbons and Michel, but which are not as widely used in the US.
Good luck and, again, welcome!
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Thanks again, everyone. It looks like the main branch of my local library keeps up with the latest Scott catalogues (two copies even, one for the book delivery stacks and one for the social science desk), so I should be able to visit and get the info I need. I think that good stock sheets and a proper set of tongs will be a better use of my funds at this point.
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The challenge with Scott (and most any generalist catalogue) is they do not have images for all issues so can be difficult to locate some issues if you are not familiar with the country.
If you want a starting place, consider using stampworld's website. You can search by country, denomination, and a few other aspects to narrow it down since they have images for most issues. This will give you the issue date date to find quickly in Scott.
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10:48:45am
Lots of good advice from members, and the topic of the usefulness of different catalogs has been discussed in several threads before.
However, in my opinion the best advice was the simple;
"Take it easy and learn as you go."
I base that on recollections of less than satisfactory decisions that I, and probably most stampers. have made when, "all fired up and ready to go," with an exciting new interest.
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In addition to the online resources mentioned there is another one called "stamps of the world".
There are also a number of websites on Thematic ( Topical) subjects, and more specialised websites, forums and chatboards than you can shake a stick at. Even of you don't contribute( particularly to one Australian board where some of the content is best described as robust or abrasive-although personally I have had no difficulty ),certainly look on passively,- the amount of knowledge available webwide is awesome.
Stamp collecting is addictive - stamp websites are possibly even more addictive !!
malcolm
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What's the best general South America catalogue? I'd usually go for Gibbons - they do publish one for all SA which they have on their website at £39.95. I hoped to pay a bit less than that but getting an older one at a reasonable price is difficult. There's a copy on Amazon at £435!
I know Yvert also does a cat covering all South America but nix on the French eBay site. Does Michel do one? Or indeed Scott?
Or must it be Colnect?
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07:59:29pm
If you look at the completed listings on ebay UK, you will see several SG South America have sold in the past month for prices from £7.50 (1980 edition -- which is black and white) to £15 (most recent edition, colour - sold for 1 bid).
They aren't always up there, but if you create a search and have it emailed to you daily, you should find a reasonably priced one within a few weeks.
Roy
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10:14:12pm
At this (early) point of my collecting, I'm mainly collecting based on aesthetic and thematic interest and not really even considering selling yet. How useful would a catalog be at this point? Assuming that folks think I could benefit from a catalogue, what should I get? New editions of Scott seem to be horrendously expensive. If identification is my main need, would an older edition do?
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10:40:39pm
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Just because you are collecting stamps, doesn't mean that you have to sell. The two do not necessarily go together. Turning your hobby into a business ends the enjoyment of the hobby for many, so they choose not to sell. Not problem there. You can still find trading partners for your duplicates. Don't worry about dollar values. Just enjoy the stamps.
For a catalog, older editions certainly cost much less than the current one. Also, check out your local library to see if they have a set of catalogs. Your profile indicates that you collect new issues. That's going to require a new catalog to keep up with those. However, you could subscribe to Linn's monthly stamps magazine. It is cheaper than the weekly subscription, and you'll get all the new issue updates to the Scott catalog.
Take it slow, get a feel for the hobby. It won't take long before you get some ideas on the way that you want to go.
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like this post.
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re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Michael,
an older Scotts will do just fine. they are often found here, and elsewhere, for cheap. I've seen them offered here for free, too.
right now, catalogues allow you to learn about stamps, and old ones will do that effectively too
If I were staying in stamps, I'd definitely get older catalogues, and acquire them as they become available for least amount of money I could
Login to Like
this post
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Welcome mjk,
What are your interests?
If you are a general US collector, I would recommend the Brookman catalogue. It uses the Scott numbering system and usually enough detail to determine varieties. It lists virtually any US stamp, sheet, FDC, etc. you would likely collect. The spiral bound version is a pleasure to use.
For worldwide, as recommended, you can get is older set of Scott's especially if you have an album that uses Scott's including the print your own Steiner pages.
You can also use Stampworld (www.stampworld.com) web site if you just want to organize their way. They have images of most stamps (unlike many catalogues) and a search function.
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re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
use online catalogs ///
http://colnect.com/en/stamps/countries
or stampworld.com
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re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
The single best catalog for world wide stamps 1940 and before is the Scott Classic specialized.
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re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
I donated a scott specialised and scott set to local library hoping it would spur interest in philately ... all went to recycling.
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10:39:47am
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Instead of donating, try loaning it to the library. There is a difference. Once you donate something, it is under the donee's control. When you loan it, it is still yours and you can take it back any time you want, unless the loan is for a stated minimum/maximum period of time. Then hopefully the library staff will understand that.
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this post
01:01:39pm
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
If you are going to specialize in a subject say Trains ,Flowers etc then I would highly recommend Stanley Gibbons as the best catalogue available certainly for detail.
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08:31:42pm
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Thanks for the responses and tips. It looks like I should be on the look out for good deals on used catalogues, but for the most part, I should be able to get much of the info the info I need online or at the library. One thing I will keep a eye out for are some of the Stanley Gibbons topical catalouges. Many of them seem to have been discontinued 10-ish years ago, but as I move into finding older issues relating to my specific interest areas, that's not really a problem.
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09:05:32pm
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Until and unless Gibbons can get out of its financial problems and find a new buyer, their non-mainstream catalogs may be hard to find. Even if it's sold, the new owners may choose to discontinue some aspects of the business as they try to make the company profitable again.
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this post
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Hi mjk
Don't rush out and spend lots of your hard earned on paper Catalogue(s) - I find "on line" Free Catalogues more useful because they all give "Country and Date of issue" and most show pictures of all stamps and some have the ability for a "sort" by theme - Try the ones below to see if the information is adequate for your needs.
https://www.freestampcatalogue.com/stamps
www.stampworld.com
http://colnect.com/en/stamps/countries
Later, if you need more specialist info. then a Catalogue may or may not be useful - What Catalogue ? Depends what Country you collect and how much detail you require.
Login to Like
this post
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Hi, Mike! Welcome to StampoRama and the hobby!
My take would be check with your local library for a circulating set of the Scott catalogs. In my experience, the main branch of a medium to large municipal library will have them, with the most recent set in the reference area, with the last year or two's sets available for circulation in the regular stacks.
I'd recommend checking that out. There is terrific explanatory information in the beginning of each volume to help you get your feet wet in philately. (For the 6-volume worldwide set, the explanatory information is virtually the same in each volume.)
After spending a few weeks with them, you can decide how helpful they'll be for you. Although they are pricey when new, they fall in price pretty quickly, so a volume or set 3 or 4 years old might well be pretty affordable, if you decide they'd be helpful.
The Scott numbering system is typically what's used in the US, especially if you were to go to a stamp show. Although some dealers do use other catalogs in specialized areas, nearly everything will be identified by Scott number.
Since you've mentioned some topical interests, another avenue for information might be the specialized checklists prepared by the American Topical Association. You do have to join in order to purchase their checklists (which use Scott numbers, by the way), but they've been working on developing those checklists for decades, and pretty good about keeping them current.
Here's how to access their listings of their checklists:
http://americantopicalassn.org/checklists.shtml
The Stanley Gibbons topical (thematic) catalogs, as mentioned above, are pretty nice too, because they have a lot of illustrations, which the ATA checklists don't. (They just reference by a description and the Scott number.) However, the SG catalogs will use just the SG numbers, which will help on some sites (especially overseas), so I would say it would not be a replacement for Scott information, but an addition to.
Unless I missed one (and that's always possible), at the moment, SG only shows 2 thematic catalogs available through their website, aircraft and motor vehicles:
https://www.stanleygibbons.com/collect-aircraft-on-stamps-catalogue-stamp-catalogues-r2862-09.html
https://www.stanleygibbons.com/collect-motor-vehicles-on-stamps-catalogue-stamp-catalogues-r286304.html
but they've produced way more than that in the past (especially for flora and fauna, if my memory is holding up), and you may have good luck finding them on eBay, if you decide you want to try to pick some up.
I hope this helps round out the information a bit!
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re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
I forgot to mention that Michel, the German catalog publisher, also produces topical catalogs. I have some of their country catalogs, but not any of the topical ones, so I don't know how they'd compare to the Stanley Gibbons ones. Two drawbacks are that Michel catalogs tend to be even pricier than SG ones, and they're almost always in German. (They do publish a few catalogs in English.)
https://www.schaubek.de/MICHEL-thematic-catalogues
Overall, I would think the ATA checklists would be the most authoritative source, supplemented by Scott catalogs as your interests and budget allow.
Good luck, and have fun!
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02:38:36pm
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
MJK,
I have to agree whole heartily with the others who've posted responses with great advice. As you have noted already catalogs can be an expensive endeavor to say the least but it doesn't have to be. If you're insistent on owning a hard copy of the most recent catalog? I recommend a Brook-man or a Harris US/BNA. They are relatively inexpensive and the later of the two I mentioned can be purchased at your local Hobby Lobby for $29.98. Sometimes Hobby Lobby gives its customers a 40% off coupon.
They are great for beginners and both use the Scott # system. The biggest drawback is they aren't as detailed as Scott or Stanley Gibbons and the other big catalogs. They will definitely get you started in the right direction. Just remember that these are retail catalogs but are still great for reference that's my two cents worth. I hope this helps and welcome to the hobby.
Jeremy
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re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Just one last clarification, MJK.
If you're collecting US (or US & Canada), then the Brookman (for US) and Harris (for US and Canada) catalogs are appropriate resources. But they don't cover the world. That would fall into Scott's purview, along with those of Stanley Gibbons and Michel, but which are not as widely used in the US.
Good luck and, again, welcome!
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08:03:47pm
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Thanks again, everyone. It looks like the main branch of my local library keeps up with the latest Scott catalogues (two copies even, one for the book delivery stacks and one for the social science desk), so I should be able to visit and get the info I need. I think that good stock sheets and a proper set of tongs will be a better use of my funds at this point.
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re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
The challenge with Scott (and most any generalist catalogue) is they do not have images for all issues so can be difficult to locate some issues if you are not familiar with the country.
If you want a starting place, consider using stampworld's website. You can search by country, denomination, and a few other aspects to narrow it down since they have images for most issues. This will give you the issue date date to find quickly in Scott.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
07 Jul 2017
10:48:45am
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
Lots of good advice from members, and the topic of the usefulness of different catalogs has been discussed in several threads before.
However, in my opinion the best advice was the simple;
"Take it easy and learn as you go."
I base that on recollections of less than satisfactory decisions that I, and probably most stampers. have made when, "all fired up and ready to go," with an exciting new interest.
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Login to Like.
10:08:52am
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
In addition to the online resources mentioned there is another one called "stamps of the world".
There are also a number of websites on Thematic ( Topical) subjects, and more specialised websites, forums and chatboards than you can shake a stick at. Even of you don't contribute( particularly to one Australian board where some of the content is best described as robust or abrasive-although personally I have had no difficulty ),certainly look on passively,- the amount of knowledge available webwide is awesome.
Stamp collecting is addictive - stamp websites are possibly even more addictive !!
malcolm
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re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
What's the best general South America catalogue? I'd usually go for Gibbons - they do publish one for all SA which they have on their website at £39.95. I hoped to pay a bit less than that but getting an older one at a reasonable price is difficult. There's a copy on Amazon at £435!
I know Yvert also does a cat covering all South America but nix on the French eBay site. Does Michel do one? Or indeed Scott?
Or must it be Colnect?
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
20 Jun 2019
07:59:29pm
re: Do I need a catalouge? If so, which one?
If you look at the completed listings on ebay UK, you will see several SG South America have sold in the past month for prices from £7.50 (1980 edition -- which is black and white) to £15 (most recent edition, colour - sold for 1 bid).
They aren't always up there, but if you create a search and have it emailed to you daily, you should find a reasonably priced one within a few weeks.
Roy
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