Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
12:58:09pm
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"But I am always afraid I'mm miss a treasure!"
Aye! Curiosity is a terrible affliction.
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"It is so difficult to look through a world approval book and get it right, it might be better not to even look. "
World Approval Books in no order with no cat #s. What a plague. Don't set me off....
Miss the days when in Approval Books, the World category was equated to floor droppings and BANNED.
"I'm not complaining because if I do Ian gets on me for it"
I know the feeling. By the way, Ian Books (even the worldwide books) keep a decent orderly structure. I can't say the same about others.
rrr...
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"World Approval Books in no order with no cat #s. What a plague. Don't set me off..."
I don't know the Scott catalog numbers of the stamps I need by heart, so catalog numbers are of no use to me, when I am buying from approval books.
What I do is, I go by memory; then more often than not, I am in Harvey's situation where many and sometimes most of the stamps I bought are the ones I already have, and many of those I did not have were left behind and were purchased by fellow collectors.
Can't think of a way to avoid any of this happening in the future.
A small chunk of my collection is in stockbooks right over my desk. If I am at home and the approval book covers what is in the stockbooks, I can do a quick check.
Otherwise, I just buy what I believe is of use and then try to sell it, if it turns out it was a duplicate.
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I keep track of what I have and still make purchase something I already have. There are just too many countries to rely on memory.
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07:48:24am
I keep a want list for most of the stuff I collect so Scott numbers are great, but for someone making a few pennies per stamp there's no incentive to look things up. For countries like Poland and Russia with their huge numbers of stamps, especially when I am only missing a stamp here and there, there is no way to check my albums. Ian is the exception, he keeps his books in pretty good order, but I'm sure it takes him many hours to do that. Most of the World books aren't in any order at all, not even by country! Those are the ones I really have to start ignoring! I don't sell and I really have no interest in spares!
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08:51:49am
"especially when I am only missing a stamp here and there, there is no way to check my albums. "
Suggestion:
Take pictures of album pages with the "holes". Rename the picture files according to date i.e. Poland-1920-22. Save these all in an organized directory (folder) on your computer or phone.
Then, when looking through an approval book, you can quickly retrieve pictures of the pages with missing stamps and see if it is the one you need. Much faster than pulling the album off the shelf. When you mount the stamps, take new pictures.
Your picture file becomes your "want list" by image.
A stamp club member does the reverse -- he pictures all his album pages because he has more "holes" than filled spaces. But if you have only a few spaces, you will have many fewer images of pages with holes.
Roy
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I think we could consider banning innocuous selling practices we don't like (even if some of the great unwashed don't seem to mind them).
Alternatively, we could look at Approval Books structured just the way we like, don't look at those we find lacking substantial detail, and quit constantly kvetching about them. Maybe turn that time agonizing about the tragic aspects of stamp collecting into something more positive, like learning a new recipe. Not saying...just saying...
As a buyer, I look for Approval books from certain sellers I like - or books that potentially have some stamps I want - I don't look at every book offered. Sometimes what I really want is gone by the time I get there; generally I waste a few minutes skipping over random stamps I'm not interested in; and occasionally I buy duplicates of stamps I already have. Either way, having the catalog # would not give me a significant advantage.
As a seller, I search through album pages, semi-organized envelopes, and shoeboxes of loose stamps; sort by country or topic; check for damage; organize by selling price and stamp size on Vario pages; scan and edit those pages; upload to SOR; double-check my Approval Book and activate. Then I wait for a week to see what sold; take the stamps from the Vario pages and organize into envelopes by seller; create an invoice; address an envelope and lick some stamps; go to the post office to have the envelopes (with beautiful Canadian stamps) nicely cancelled in front of me; and drive home.
Then I get to rejoice at the $13.46 of sales I made from 4 Approval Books of 125 stamps per book, priced at 4c each, with 67.3% sold to 7 buyers (ranging from 3 stamps upwards). Net "profit" (the stamps sold do have a cost attached after all) is probably $8.41. All that money for just 6 hours of work - and I didn't even spend another 5 hours looking up catalogue #s and values; organizing by catalog number (or at least date of issue); writing it all down; and typing it into the Item description boxes. Ha! Drat the picky buyers - what a sweet deal for me!
So bottom line, who should be whinging about this dark aspect of our hobby? The 7 people who took 20 minutes each to find something priced very inexpensively that they wanted (even without the benefit of a catalogue #)? The 11 people who spent 10 minutes each quickly looking through the books and moving on? The 392 members who spent zero minutes not even looking? ... Or the knucklehead seller who took "the easy way out", excluding the provision of catalogue numbers to the discerning buyer in return for a usurious "wage" of $1.40 per hour?
As both a buyer and seller, I know who I think should be outraged at this most "first-world" of problems. But I don't have time. There's a new recipe I want to learn for dinner tonight.
Cheers, Dave.
P.S. Auctions, or Approval Book items, priced at 10c each (or more) are a different species; and I think a valid point can be made there for adding catalogue numbers. But in the final analysis a seller will put out the items, at the price and in the format, they think will maximize sales relative to time commitment. As a buyer, I will either buy from that seller, or not buy from them. But personally I'm not going to waste anyone's time demanding strict measures be enacted or bleating about the inequities of the marketplace (because personally, I'd like stamps arranged by colour).
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09:53:57am
You're right Dave! It's time for me to stop complaining about the books I don't like and concentrate on the sellers who do the books I do like, all others can easily be ignored! My stress level would go down. How often do I miss a stamp I want because it's gone by the time I get to it?
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Hahaha, too right Joe!
I just missed a few dozen stamps I wanted from 3 great sellers I like.
And organizing my Germany dupes right now (for a future sale that will probably not include catalogue numbers) found I have bought up to 5 copies of the same stamp over the past few years.
Cheers, Dave.
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Dave, Thanks for the post describing what you go through to sell.
You saved me from posting the exact same description.
Thanks
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06:21:01pm
I really don't want to insult anyone but... I look at the books produced by those of you who really care about the end product and compare them to books where there is no order what-so-ever with overlapping stamps that are numbered in such a way that you can't figure it out. For every book that takes hours to set up there are many where the stamps are thrown on the floor and then put in the book according to how they land. I don't sell at all, so I guess it's easy for me to complain, but a bit of organization would be great - at least try to keep the countries together unless some have to be split up because of price. But I see books that are totally disorganized where all stamps are the same price!
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" But I see books that are totally disorganized where all stamps are the same price!"
I can appreciate the points that are being made, however be careful what you ask for.
There are situations that sellers have little alternative but to just take the stamps out of an envelope or stockbook and make up a book that all stamps sell for 3 or 5 or 6 cents each. You may find that if sellers have to take more time to sort into countries, catalogue, number etc., etc., etc., that the prices for these same stamps will double or treble in price. ("The labourer is worthy of their hire")
Lets be honest price is the "B all" and "End all". Everyone is looking for a bargain, and there are bargains to be had with some stamps selling at 10% of catalogue or less.
You may also find that sellers would not be able to produce the same number of books therefore the choice of stamps will diminish. (Yet some of these same priced disorganised books sell well.)
Yes there are some deplorable books that get listed but it makes one appreciate the Books where Sellers have taken the time and made the effort to present their offerings to the members well.
I have always said that people should try and put an Approval Book together using the "Full Monty" of descriptions and see how long it takes them. (No cheating by using stamps from a stockbook that is already in order)
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As someone who buys random stamps from multiple sellers, I 've spent months trying to catalogue my USA collection. Constant buying, buying duplicates, and mis-identification of stamps (by me) means I've not yet completed a reliable Want List. I buy mainly stamps at 5c, but I've recently spent considerably more on individual stamps or on groups. Ian gets considerable praise, and rightly so, for his efforts. I would like to throw a couple of bouquets to another 2 members for their superb efforts in dealing with my constant queries.
I recently bought a load
from Dave (HolocaustStamps). Most were priced at the ridiculous low price of 3c each. Knowing these stamps are sold to raise funds for a wonderful cause, close to my heart, I ordered many including some priced way above the base price. After placing my order I began badgering Dave about other stamp needs. He was so helpful and accommodating, I was delighted. The stamps arrived earlier this week and I was astonished to discover most had gutter strips, many were mint, all were in perfect order, and there was a note inside saying "Thanks for the order, I've enclosed a few freebies for you". Dave, your service is greatly appreciated by me and, I'm certain, many others.
I'd also like to congratulate GrampaDennis on his professionalism and terrific customer service. Dennis, like Ian, produces excellent pages of sales. Fully detailed sheets with competitive pricing, and prompt, efficient and safe postage ensure I'm always happy to make enquiries about any items I need. Dennis is most helpful and pleasant.
I said a couple of bouquets, but I'd like to thank Roy and Debbie at BuckaCover too. Members of SoR are so lucky to have them as supporters of this club. In addition to providing a magnificent range of stamps and covers, they also assist everyone both publicly on SoR and privately with email queries.
I'm delighted Harvey has decided to stop complaining. I've found everyone tries their best on our behalf, and very few people on here even cover their costs, far less make a profit, selling to members. Criticising sellers unnecessarily, means (and I speak from personal experience) they may fold up their tents and leave the marketplace. There used to average 30 books for sale in the USA Approvals section. Today we have 10. I think it's mainly due to the factors I've described above. Sellers, keep up the great work.
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"Take pictures of album pages with the "holes". Rename the picture files according to date i.e. Poland-1920-22. Save these all in an organized directory (folder) on your computer or phone."
I scan all my album pages and rescan when I add a stamp and also use them as a reference to quickly see something.
I also use on Colnect to locate stamps based upon demonination and image.
(I did fix the misspelling of Australia).
Yes, I have added overhead work to collecting but do not consider it a burden since organizing is fun.
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Hey I expect service here!
If you want to sell in the approvals, y'all need to buy a new 2021 Scotts and new 2021 Gibbons catalogs. I expect all the stamps to be pristine. There needs to be both a front and back view of each stamp, and have both the Scott and Gibbons catalog numbers, along with 2021 value typed next to each stamp image!
And you folks charging 5 cents a stamp? Get real, no modern stamp is worth more than a penny or two! I won't pay more that three cents! So get with the program! 
Actually I agree with Dave that it's a ton of work for no return. I am currently going through boxes I haven't opened in some 30 years! I'm finding envelopes for specific countries. In my hand right now is an envelope containing an old approval card with 44 stamps from Chile. I do have an old Scott's set, but unlike USA where I can pretty much tell you the year for every stamp ever issued, looking these up would be hours of agony since I don't have any knowledge of Chilean stamps! Not happening!
I recently posted that when I seek covers with postmarks I don't possess for my New Jersey cover collection, I don't have a problem paying several dollars a cover, since someone spent the time and effort to go through the eBay listing process.
And people look at the HE Harris catalog, which offers stamps for sale by that company. Why are the prices so high? Because someone that gets paid had to handle them! Throw the book values and your desire to pay 10% of catalog value out the window! If you want to buy one specific stamp, be prepared to pay for that service. Want to pay a penny or two a stamp, buy an unsorted lot.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
28 Sep 2021
12:58:09pm
I collect a couple areas that have huge numbers of stamps, even with my 1985 cutoffs for Poland and Russia. Quite a few of the approval books, actually most of them, do not give numbers or even put the stamps in some semblance of order. I'm not complaining because if I do Ian gets on me for it, and also I realize for a few pennies per stamp it really is not worth the effort. I really have to stop looking at these books because I almost always either miss stamps I need or buy ones I don't. Again this is my fault!! Today I got an order in the mail that included 8 stamps and I ended up having all of them, even though there was one colour variation that I put in the album. My gut tells me that it was probably just faded, but what the heck!! It is so difficult to look through a world approval book and get it right, it might be better not to even look. But I am always afraid I'mm miss a treasure!
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01:59:48pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Must be more careful!
"But I am always afraid I'mm miss a treasure!"
Aye! Curiosity is a terrible affliction.
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: Must be more careful!
"It is so difficult to look through a world approval book and get it right, it might be better not to even look. "
World Approval Books in no order with no cat #s. What a plague. Don't set me off....
Miss the days when in Approval Books, the World category was equated to floor droppings and BANNED.
"I'm not complaining because if I do Ian gets on me for it"
I know the feeling. By the way, Ian Books (even the worldwide books) keep a decent orderly structure. I can't say the same about others.
rrr...
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re: Must be more careful!
"World Approval Books in no order with no cat #s. What a plague. Don't set me off..."
I don't know the Scott catalog numbers of the stamps I need by heart, so catalog numbers are of no use to me, when I am buying from approval books.
What I do is, I go by memory; then more often than not, I am in Harvey's situation where many and sometimes most of the stamps I bought are the ones I already have, and many of those I did not have were left behind and were purchased by fellow collectors.
Can't think of a way to avoid any of this happening in the future.
A small chunk of my collection is in stockbooks right over my desk. If I am at home and the approval book covers what is in the stockbooks, I can do a quick check.
Otherwise, I just buy what I believe is of use and then try to sell it, if it turns out it was a duplicate.
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re: Must be more careful!
I keep track of what I have and still make purchase something I already have. There are just too many countries to rely on memory.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
29 Sep 2021
07:48:24am
re: Must be more careful!
I keep a want list for most of the stuff I collect so Scott numbers are great, but for someone making a few pennies per stamp there's no incentive to look things up. For countries like Poland and Russia with their huge numbers of stamps, especially when I am only missing a stamp here and there, there is no way to check my albums. Ian is the exception, he keeps his books in pretty good order, but I'm sure it takes him many hours to do that. Most of the World books aren't in any order at all, not even by country! Those are the ones I really have to start ignoring! I don't sell and I really have no interest in spares!
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
29 Sep 2021
08:51:49am
re: Must be more careful!
"especially when I am only missing a stamp here and there, there is no way to check my albums. "
Suggestion:
Take pictures of album pages with the "holes". Rename the picture files according to date i.e. Poland-1920-22. Save these all in an organized directory (folder) on your computer or phone.
Then, when looking through an approval book, you can quickly retrieve pictures of the pages with missing stamps and see if it is the one you need. Much faster than pulling the album off the shelf. When you mount the stamps, take new pictures.
Your picture file becomes your "want list" by image.
A stamp club member does the reverse -- he pictures all his album pages because he has more "holes" than filled spaces. But if you have only a few spaces, you will have many fewer images of pages with holes.
Roy
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09:45:28am
re: Must be more careful!
I think we could consider banning innocuous selling practices we don't like (even if some of the great unwashed don't seem to mind them).
Alternatively, we could look at Approval Books structured just the way we like, don't look at those we find lacking substantial detail, and quit constantly kvetching about them. Maybe turn that time agonizing about the tragic aspects of stamp collecting into something more positive, like learning a new recipe. Not saying...just saying...
As a buyer, I look for Approval books from certain sellers I like - or books that potentially have some stamps I want - I don't look at every book offered. Sometimes what I really want is gone by the time I get there; generally I waste a few minutes skipping over random stamps I'm not interested in; and occasionally I buy duplicates of stamps I already have. Either way, having the catalog # would not give me a significant advantage.
As a seller, I search through album pages, semi-organized envelopes, and shoeboxes of loose stamps; sort by country or topic; check for damage; organize by selling price and stamp size on Vario pages; scan and edit those pages; upload to SOR; double-check my Approval Book and activate. Then I wait for a week to see what sold; take the stamps from the Vario pages and organize into envelopes by seller; create an invoice; address an envelope and lick some stamps; go to the post office to have the envelopes (with beautiful Canadian stamps) nicely cancelled in front of me; and drive home.
Then I get to rejoice at the $13.46 of sales I made from 4 Approval Books of 125 stamps per book, priced at 4c each, with 67.3% sold to 7 buyers (ranging from 3 stamps upwards). Net "profit" (the stamps sold do have a cost attached after all) is probably $8.41. All that money for just 6 hours of work - and I didn't even spend another 5 hours looking up catalogue #s and values; organizing by catalog number (or at least date of issue); writing it all down; and typing it into the Item description boxes. Ha! Drat the picky buyers - what a sweet deal for me!
So bottom line, who should be whinging about this dark aspect of our hobby? The 7 people who took 20 minutes each to find something priced very inexpensively that they wanted (even without the benefit of a catalogue #)? The 11 people who spent 10 minutes each quickly looking through the books and moving on? The 392 members who spent zero minutes not even looking? ... Or the knucklehead seller who took "the easy way out", excluding the provision of catalogue numbers to the discerning buyer in return for a usurious "wage" of $1.40 per hour?
As both a buyer and seller, I know who I think should be outraged at this most "first-world" of problems. But I don't have time. There's a new recipe I want to learn for dinner tonight.
Cheers, Dave.
P.S. Auctions, or Approval Book items, priced at 10c each (or more) are a different species; and I think a valid point can be made there for adding catalogue numbers. But in the final analysis a seller will put out the items, at the price and in the format, they think will maximize sales relative to time commitment. As a buyer, I will either buy from that seller, or not buy from them. But personally I'm not going to waste anyone's time demanding strict measures be enacted or bleating about the inequities of the marketplace (because personally, I'd like stamps arranged by colour).
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
29 Sep 2021
09:53:57am
re: Must be more careful!
You're right Dave! It's time for me to stop complaining about the books I don't like and concentrate on the sellers who do the books I do like, all others can easily be ignored! My stress level would go down. How often do I miss a stamp I want because it's gone by the time I get to it?
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10:33:21am
re: Must be more careful!
Hahaha, too right Joe!
I just missed a few dozen stamps I wanted from 3 great sellers I like.
And organizing my Germany dupes right now (for a future sale that will probably not include catalogue numbers) found I have bought up to 5 copies of the same stamp over the past few years.
Cheers, Dave.
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05:57:21pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Must be more careful!
Dave, Thanks for the post describing what you go through to sell.
You saved me from posting the exact same description.
Thanks
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
29 Sep 2021
06:21:01pm
re: Must be more careful!
I really don't want to insult anyone but... I look at the books produced by those of you who really care about the end product and compare them to books where there is no order what-so-ever with overlapping stamps that are numbered in such a way that you can't figure it out. For every book that takes hours to set up there are many where the stamps are thrown on the floor and then put in the book according to how they land. I don't sell at all, so I guess it's easy for me to complain, but a bit of organization would be great - at least try to keep the countries together unless some have to be split up because of price. But I see books that are totally disorganized where all stamps are the same price!
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07:04:06pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Must be more careful!
" But I see books that are totally disorganized where all stamps are the same price!"
I can appreciate the points that are being made, however be careful what you ask for.
There are situations that sellers have little alternative but to just take the stamps out of an envelope or stockbook and make up a book that all stamps sell for 3 or 5 or 6 cents each. You may find that if sellers have to take more time to sort into countries, catalogue, number etc., etc., etc., that the prices for these same stamps will double or treble in price. ("The labourer is worthy of their hire")
Lets be honest price is the "B all" and "End all". Everyone is looking for a bargain, and there are bargains to be had with some stamps selling at 10% of catalogue or less.
You may also find that sellers would not be able to produce the same number of books therefore the choice of stamps will diminish. (Yet some of these same priced disorganised books sell well.)
Yes there are some deplorable books that get listed but it makes one appreciate the Books where Sellers have taken the time and made the effort to present their offerings to the members well.
I have always said that people should try and put an Approval Book together using the "Full Monty" of descriptions and see how long it takes them. (No cheating by using stamps from a stockbook that is already in order)
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07:55:09pm
re: Must be more careful!
As someone who buys random stamps from multiple sellers, I 've spent months trying to catalogue my USA collection. Constant buying, buying duplicates, and mis-identification of stamps (by me) means I've not yet completed a reliable Want List. I buy mainly stamps at 5c, but I've recently spent considerably more on individual stamps or on groups. Ian gets considerable praise, and rightly so, for his efforts. I would like to throw a couple of bouquets to another 2 members for their superb efforts in dealing with my constant queries.
I recently bought a load
from Dave (HolocaustStamps). Most were priced at the ridiculous low price of 3c each. Knowing these stamps are sold to raise funds for a wonderful cause, close to my heart, I ordered many including some priced way above the base price. After placing my order I began badgering Dave about other stamp needs. He was so helpful and accommodating, I was delighted. The stamps arrived earlier this week and I was astonished to discover most had gutter strips, many were mint, all were in perfect order, and there was a note inside saying "Thanks for the order, I've enclosed a few freebies for you". Dave, your service is greatly appreciated by me and, I'm certain, many others.
I'd also like to congratulate GrampaDennis on his professionalism and terrific customer service. Dennis, like Ian, produces excellent pages of sales. Fully detailed sheets with competitive pricing, and prompt, efficient and safe postage ensure I'm always happy to make enquiries about any items I need. Dennis is most helpful and pleasant.
I said a couple of bouquets, but I'd like to thank Roy and Debbie at BuckaCover too. Members of SoR are so lucky to have them as supporters of this club. In addition to providing a magnificent range of stamps and covers, they also assist everyone both publicly on SoR and privately with email queries.
I'm delighted Harvey has decided to stop complaining. I've found everyone tries their best on our behalf, and very few people on here even cover their costs, far less make a profit, selling to members. Criticising sellers unnecessarily, means (and I speak from personal experience) they may fold up their tents and leave the marketplace. There used to average 30 books for sale in the USA Approvals section. Today we have 10. I think it's mainly due to the factors I've described above. Sellers, keep up the great work.
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re: Must be more careful!
"Take pictures of album pages with the "holes". Rename the picture files according to date i.e. Poland-1920-22. Save these all in an organized directory (folder) on your computer or phone."
I scan all my album pages and rescan when I add a stamp and also use them as a reference to quickly see something.
I also use on Colnect to locate stamps based upon demonination and image.
(I did fix the misspelling of Australia).
Yes, I have added overhead work to collecting but do not consider it a burden since organizing is fun.
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re: Must be more careful!
Hey I expect service here!
If you want to sell in the approvals, y'all need to buy a new 2021 Scotts and new 2021 Gibbons catalogs. I expect all the stamps to be pristine. There needs to be both a front and back view of each stamp, and have both the Scott and Gibbons catalog numbers, along with 2021 value typed next to each stamp image!
And you folks charging 5 cents a stamp? Get real, no modern stamp is worth more than a penny or two! I won't pay more that three cents! So get with the program!
Actually I agree with Dave that it's a ton of work for no return. I am currently going through boxes I haven't opened in some 30 years! I'm finding envelopes for specific countries. In my hand right now is an envelope containing an old approval card with 44 stamps from Chile. I do have an old Scott's set, but unlike USA where I can pretty much tell you the year for every stamp ever issued, looking these up would be hours of agony since I don't have any knowledge of Chilean stamps! Not happening!
I recently posted that when I seek covers with postmarks I don't possess for my New Jersey cover collection, I don't have a problem paying several dollars a cover, since someone spent the time and effort to go through the eBay listing process.
And people look at the HE Harris catalog, which offers stamps for sale by that company. Why are the prices so high? Because someone that gets paid had to handle them! Throw the book values and your desire to pay 10% of catalog value out the window! If you want to buy one specific stamp, be prepared to pay for that service. Want to pay a penny or two a stamp, buy an unsorted lot.
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