Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Rumour has it they will do it like Stanley Gibbons and Michel, by region... France and Colonies, Germany and Colonies, Scandinavia, etc. We'll have to wait and see, eh?
David
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That will kill off the Scott catalogs if they do it that way. I can see how it may be thought to be happening this way since the Scott editor stated that it is difficult for them to decide how to group the various countries.
If true, the catalogs will balloon up to a dozen or so volumes with prices for each probably what one volume costs now. I'll also wager that they will let several of the "sections" lapse for a number of years without updates (ala Gibbons).
Looks like it might be a good idea to get the 2017 catalogs as they would then become the last world wide set. Scott did say that they will announce the format of the 2018 catalogs in March or April.
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i just went down in the cellar and got my first Scott catalogs 1971 the world in two books,Vol 1 The Americas , British Commonwealth,U.S., U.N. Volume 2 Europe,Africa,Asia ! Pretty simple, the books look so basic compared to the Scotts catalogs of today ! The zeps cataloged $610 mint and 397.50 used. The penny black 155.00 mint 21.00 used ! If i had to i could collect the world to 1970 !
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09:06:04pm
" .... If I had to I could collect the world to 1970 ! ...."
Sure and if the prices in my oldest Scott Catalog, 1904, were valid I could own the Columbian Expositions and Trans Mississippis for today's lunch money.
"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride"
Hi ho Silver, awaaaaaay !!!
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i will bet on a horse..but i ain't getting up on one !
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Actually I collect much like philb suggests except I quit collecting world wide after 1984. I replace the ww catalogues each five years just to have more recent values. And then I purchase someone else's set when they update. Maintain the oldest catalogue with my inventory so I don't have the veryyyyyy large job of bringing the inventory forward to the newest set.
Dan H
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I recall filling out a survey from Amos Press last year on Scott catalogs. One of the options was to do it by country, another was to make it a 12 volume set. I usually buy a year old set every 2 years so I am due to get a set this year. Since I sell only older stamps and collect for the most part non-scott, there is no need for me to have a current set of catalogs
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Just checked my 1958 Scott Combine Edition Standard Postage and Stamps catalogue, Zepps, mint $175, used $140. BTW this is a 3" thick volume.
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"1958 Scott Combine Edition Standard Postage and Stamps catalogue, Zepps, mint $175, used $140"
If someone can adjust those values for inflation, and compare that adjusted number with the current catalog value, that'll let you know if buying the set was a good investment or not.
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One rough calculator on-line has 1958 vales equal to $3,895 mint in 2015
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"One rough calculator on-line has 1958 values equal to $3,895 mint in 2015"
That must be including something other than inflation. The cumulative inflation from 1957-2015 is 743.5%, which equates $175 in 1957 into $1476.08 in 2015. The 2016 Scott Volume 1 catalog value for a mint set is $1900 ($1155 for unused original gum). I'm not sure whether the $175 price quote for the 1958 catalog was for never hinged or hinged. I'm guessing the 1958 catalog value is for F-VF(?), while the 2016 catalog is for VF; so that may need to be considered in the comparison.
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"That will kill off the Scott catalogs if they do it that way. I can see how it may be thought to be happening this way since the Scott editor stated that it is difficult for them to decide how to group the various countries.
If true, the catalogs will balloon up to a dozen or so volumes with prices for each probably what one volume costs now. I'll also wager that they will let several of the "sections" lapse for a number of years without updates (ala Gibbons).
Looks like it might be a good idea to get the 2017 catalogs as they would then become the last world wide set. Scott did say that they will announce the format of the 2018 catalogs in March or April."
Michel groups the countries (and therefore their catalogues) in regions. They have North America, South America (2 parts), North Africa, Middle Africa, South Africa etc. That does indeed mean you will end up with about 20 volumes. Yes, that will be inconvenient for the worldwide collector but then again, it also has its advantages. For instance, there are many who collect for instance Scandinavia. If they use the Scott catalogues, they will need volume 2 (Denmark and Finland), 3 (Iceland), 4 (Norway) and 6 (Sweden). This would be one single volume when grouped together as a region.
Another example: suppose one collects the Indian subcontinent. In that case you'd need volume 1 (Bangladesh and Bhutan), volume 2 (Ceylon), volume 3 (India), volume 4 (Nepal and Pakistan), volume 5 (Portuguese India, Seychelles) and volume 6 (Sri Lanka). In other words, for just a few countries you'd need all volumes. Even if you only collected Ceylon / Sri Lanka two volumes would be needed...
I would go for the Michel system anytime and if that means there is not going to be a new version of each volume every year, so be it.
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In the end i was purchasing Scott catalogs mainly for trading purposes...not a good investment ! I guess its never too late to wake up...a duplicate is a duplicate to me...if i can get a stamp that i can use for my collection for it.i do not have to damand catalog for catalog .
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Jan, I can definitely see the advantages to regional catalogs, and the advantage of the format of the "standard" catalogs. Just Scott is a company that is so inconsistent, that they can be hard to trust. Also, I can just imagine how much they'll charge for each regional volume. As for updating the catalogs, I'll wager it could be five or more years for updates on the regions that they determine to be unpopular.
I'm planning on getting the 2017 catalogs. Scott says that is the last year for the 6-volume set. What 2018 brings, we'll have to see. Scott says they'll announce in February or March what the 2018 catalogs will look like. Like when a new car model comes out, it might be a good idea to let the 2018 model get its trial run, and buy the 2019 edition after most of the bugs are worked out. I just hope they don't bring out a catalog set with as many volumes as DelCampe has categories, and their pricing per volume had better not cost a second mortgage either.
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my problem with their catalogs is the fact that their well over 100 per new and are softbound making them really annoying to work with and shelf, Id think at that price point they could offer a hardbound.
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The softbound aspect is a deal breaker for me. I suppose that at the current price point it would be worth it to have them bound if you were going to keep them for awhile.
The cost to Scott to have them hardbound at the time of printing would be minimal.
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Some decades ago, I read that that the difference in production costs between a paperback and a hardcover was 45 cents. This takes into account several factors which would not apply to the Scott catalogs, such as the hardcover's much larger size, the use of better quality paper, and the production of a slick dust jacket. The only difference between a hardcover and softcover Scott catalogue would be the use of boards instead of paper wraps.
Micahel#####, would you please win the lotto, already?
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It has to be the research..my late son in law was in the printing/publishing business, it just does not cost a hundred bucks each to mass produce a run of books !
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My husband's father had some old books rebound several years ago. The cost of repair/restitching and a very nice binding was around $20 each. To realize just how cheap it is to print a new book on today's presses take a look at the remainder tables at Barnes & Noble - some decent quality work out there at under ten dollars.
It's not the cost of research because that is all automatic now - it's just a computerized dartboard. The cost of promotion is high.
My two cents
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I recently saw HE Harris catalogs for sale at Hobby Lobby. They were printed spiral bound. I liked that a lot since they will lay flat.
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Scott does issue a hardbound catalog. They charge $50 more for that.
Ted, I'll probably win the lottery when you learn how to spell my name right! 
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Holy crap! I sure mangled that, didn't I. 
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Dear Scottos, i would like an updated version of your catalogs to 1969..i am really not too interested in most of the stuff that came off the presses after that !
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Just a thought- I imagine one of Scott's largest customers for their catalogs are libraries. In just my under-populated county in western Virginia there are 3 town libraries, 1 county and 2 county satellite libraries. All 6 libraries keep the most current edition for reference and the prior 2-3 year sets for checking out. That's 6 sets for libraries in this one small (population wise) county. All the county, city and town libraries nationwide must be a huge sale for those catalogs. I would venture to say it very easily could account for maybe 30-40% of total sales (conjecture only). If they go from 6 to 10 or more volumes at about the same price per volume some libraries may balk and only order every 2 or 3 years or discontinue altogether. Yes, Scott's would be getting more dollars per set but I still think they may lose more than they gain.
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It would be interesting to know how many times those older volumes are checked out. The last time I went to a library (admittedly a long time ago) the set mainly sat on the shelf - showing only a couple of check outs per year.
Not sure of the population of your county but it seems like an awful waste of tax dollars to buy 6 new sets eack year when inter library sharing is the norm on reference books.
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Carol, you voice what I've thought for quite a while. It seems like a waste of money to carry so many sets county-wide. However, surprisingly more often than not I can't find a volume in either 2013 or 2014 at one location but can usually find one or the other at a second location. And the best thing...... last fall the librarian at the satellite location 2 miles from my home called me and offered me a complete set of 2012 catalogs for--- $5.00. When I went to pick them up he had the complete 2012 and 5 of 6 2011 for me. I really didn't want the 2011 but I took them anyway. I gave him $20.00 instead of $5.00- goodwill for maybe being offered future sets!
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I think I'll be headed to my local library to see what they've got. I have a 2004 Specialized US catalog, so I have all the identification etc that I need. What I do want to do is copy the pages for values of stamps up to the 1920s just for score keeping. Right now I've been buying nice stamps for 10% of value in my 2004 book.
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Hopefully, format meant "going digital".... I miss my CD's
1988 Scott's was 4 volumes, 3/4 tall and lighter as current.... I still use them at times
Volume 1, USA, UN, GB and Commonwealth..... so much easier to handle. I understand there would have to be 12-15 volumes (88-today) but more volumes wouldn't be so unwielding
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I bought a couple of the online versions of the catalogue, with the idea that you could save them to a laptop and take it where every you go. That was sort of implied in their descriptions. NOPE! You have to connected to the internet to use them.
I called and complained and I got my money back for them. I asked if they had CD's and they said they would not be making them anymore, because so many people were making copies from them for all of their friend. I was told they even found copies selling on e-bay. That's probably true, but I didn't see any at this time.
I wish they would make a loose leaf version that would fit into a standard binder. Then sell each country individually and if you buy several countries, then they could give a bit of a discount. They could also sell matching binders to hold the pages. Then just offer supplements each year for the new issues. Would also be nice if the pictures and text were on different pages as well, so that every few years they could upgrade just the prices.
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Linn's is reporting that Scott will change the format of the Standard six volume catalog starting with the 2018 edition. Scott has not decided how to do this as of yet. It is expected that Scott will announce the new catalog configuration either March or April 2016. (I have a bad feeling about this..., but maybe Scott will surprise us all and come up with a good plan.)
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Rumour has it they will do it like Stanley Gibbons and Michel, by region... France and Colonies, Germany and Colonies, Scandinavia, etc. We'll have to wait and see, eh?
David
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
That will kill off the Scott catalogs if they do it that way. I can see how it may be thought to be happening this way since the Scott editor stated that it is difficult for them to decide how to group the various countries.
If true, the catalogs will balloon up to a dozen or so volumes with prices for each probably what one volume costs now. I'll also wager that they will let several of the "sections" lapse for a number of years without updates (ala Gibbons).
Looks like it might be a good idea to get the 2017 catalogs as they would then become the last world wide set. Scott did say that they will announce the format of the 2018 catalogs in March or April.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
i just went down in the cellar and got my first Scott catalogs 1971 the world in two books,Vol 1 The Americas , British Commonwealth,U.S., U.N. Volume 2 Europe,Africa,Asia ! Pretty simple, the books look so basic compared to the Scotts catalogs of today ! The zeps cataloged $610 mint and 397.50 used. The penny black 155.00 mint 21.00 used ! If i had to i could collect the world to 1970 !
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
19 Nov 2015
09:06:04pm
re: Scott Standard Catalogs
" .... If I had to I could collect the world to 1970 ! ...."
Sure and if the prices in my oldest Scott Catalog, 1904, were valid I could own the Columbian Expositions and Trans Mississippis for today's lunch money.
"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride"
Hi ho Silver, awaaaaaay !!!
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
i will bet on a horse..but i ain't getting up on one !
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12:15:59am
re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Actually I collect much like philb suggests except I quit collecting world wide after 1984. I replace the ww catalogues each five years just to have more recent values. And then I purchase someone else's set when they update. Maintain the oldest catalogue with my inventory so I don't have the veryyyyyy large job of bringing the inventory forward to the newest set.
Dan H
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
I recall filling out a survey from Amos Press last year on Scott catalogs. One of the options was to do it by country, another was to make it a 12 volume set. I usually buy a year old set every 2 years so I am due to get a set this year. Since I sell only older stamps and collect for the most part non-scott, there is no need for me to have a current set of catalogs
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Just checked my 1958 Scott Combine Edition Standard Postage and Stamps catalogue, Zepps, mint $175, used $140. BTW this is a 3" thick volume.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
"1958 Scott Combine Edition Standard Postage and Stamps catalogue, Zepps, mint $175, used $140"
If someone can adjust those values for inflation, and compare that adjusted number with the current catalog value, that'll let you know if buying the set was a good investment or not.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
One rough calculator on-line has 1958 vales equal to $3,895 mint in 2015
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
"One rough calculator on-line has 1958 values equal to $3,895 mint in 2015"
That must be including something other than inflation. The cumulative inflation from 1957-2015 is 743.5%, which equates $175 in 1957 into $1476.08 in 2015. The 2016 Scott Volume 1 catalog value for a mint set is $1900 ($1155 for unused original gum). I'm not sure whether the $175 price quote for the 1958 catalog was for never hinged or hinged. I'm guessing the 1958 catalog value is for F-VF(?), while the 2016 catalog is for VF; so that may need to be considered in the comparison.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
"That will kill off the Scott catalogs if they do it that way. I can see how it may be thought to be happening this way since the Scott editor stated that it is difficult for them to decide how to group the various countries.
If true, the catalogs will balloon up to a dozen or so volumes with prices for each probably what one volume costs now. I'll also wager that they will let several of the "sections" lapse for a number of years without updates (ala Gibbons).
Looks like it might be a good idea to get the 2017 catalogs as they would then become the last world wide set. Scott did say that they will announce the format of the 2018 catalogs in March or April."
Michel groups the countries (and therefore their catalogues) in regions. They have North America, South America (2 parts), North Africa, Middle Africa, South Africa etc. That does indeed mean you will end up with about 20 volumes. Yes, that will be inconvenient for the worldwide collector but then again, it also has its advantages. For instance, there are many who collect for instance Scandinavia. If they use the Scott catalogues, they will need volume 2 (Denmark and Finland), 3 (Iceland), 4 (Norway) and 6 (Sweden). This would be one single volume when grouped together as a region.
Another example: suppose one collects the Indian subcontinent. In that case you'd need volume 1 (Bangladesh and Bhutan), volume 2 (Ceylon), volume 3 (India), volume 4 (Nepal and Pakistan), volume 5 (Portuguese India, Seychelles) and volume 6 (Sri Lanka). In other words, for just a few countries you'd need all volumes. Even if you only collected Ceylon / Sri Lanka two volumes would be needed...
I would go for the Michel system anytime and if that means there is not going to be a new version of each volume every year, so be it.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
In the end i was purchasing Scott catalogs mainly for trading purposes...not a good investment ! I guess its never too late to wake up...a duplicate is a duplicate to me...if i can get a stamp that i can use for my collection for it.i do not have to damand catalog for catalog .
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Jan, I can definitely see the advantages to regional catalogs, and the advantage of the format of the "standard" catalogs. Just Scott is a company that is so inconsistent, that they can be hard to trust. Also, I can just imagine how much they'll charge for each regional volume. As for updating the catalogs, I'll wager it could be five or more years for updates on the regions that they determine to be unpopular.
I'm planning on getting the 2017 catalogs. Scott says that is the last year for the 6-volume set. What 2018 brings, we'll have to see. Scott says they'll announce in February or March what the 2018 catalogs will look like. Like when a new car model comes out, it might be a good idea to let the 2018 model get its trial run, and buy the 2019 edition after most of the bugs are worked out. I just hope they don't bring out a catalog set with as many volumes as DelCampe has categories, and their pricing per volume had better not cost a second mortgage either.
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12:45:20pm
re: Scott Standard Catalogs
my problem with their catalogs is the fact that their well over 100 per new and are softbound making them really annoying to work with and shelf, Id think at that price point they could offer a hardbound.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
The softbound aspect is a deal breaker for me. I suppose that at the current price point it would be worth it to have them bound if you were going to keep them for awhile.
The cost to Scott to have them hardbound at the time of printing would be minimal.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Some decades ago, I read that that the difference in production costs between a paperback and a hardcover was 45 cents. This takes into account several factors which would not apply to the Scott catalogs, such as the hardcover's much larger size, the use of better quality paper, and the production of a slick dust jacket. The only difference between a hardcover and softcover Scott catalogue would be the use of boards instead of paper wraps.
Micahel#####, would you please win the lotto, already?
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
It has to be the research..my late son in law was in the printing/publishing business, it just does not cost a hundred bucks each to mass produce a run of books !
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
My husband's father had some old books rebound several years ago. The cost of repair/restitching and a very nice binding was around $20 each. To realize just how cheap it is to print a new book on today's presses take a look at the remainder tables at Barnes & Noble - some decent quality work out there at under ten dollars.
It's not the cost of research because that is all automatic now - it's just a computerized dartboard. The cost of promotion is high.
My two cents
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
I recently saw HE Harris catalogs for sale at Hobby Lobby. They were printed spiral bound. I liked that a lot since they will lay flat.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Scott does issue a hardbound catalog. They charge $50 more for that.
Ted, I'll probably win the lottery when you learn how to spell my name right!
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Holy crap! I sure mangled that, didn't I.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Dear Scottos, i would like an updated version of your catalogs to 1969..i am really not too interested in most of the stuff that came off the presses after that !
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Just a thought- I imagine one of Scott's largest customers for their catalogs are libraries. In just my under-populated county in western Virginia there are 3 town libraries, 1 county and 2 county satellite libraries. All 6 libraries keep the most current edition for reference and the prior 2-3 year sets for checking out. That's 6 sets for libraries in this one small (population wise) county. All the county, city and town libraries nationwide must be a huge sale for those catalogs. I would venture to say it very easily could account for maybe 30-40% of total sales (conjecture only). If they go from 6 to 10 or more volumes at about the same price per volume some libraries may balk and only order every 2 or 3 years or discontinue altogether. Yes, Scott's would be getting more dollars per set but I still think they may lose more than they gain.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
It would be interesting to know how many times those older volumes are checked out. The last time I went to a library (admittedly a long time ago) the set mainly sat on the shelf - showing only a couple of check outs per year.
Not sure of the population of your county but it seems like an awful waste of tax dollars to buy 6 new sets eack year when inter library sharing is the norm on reference books.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Carol, you voice what I've thought for quite a while. It seems like a waste of money to carry so many sets county-wide. However, surprisingly more often than not I can't find a volume in either 2013 or 2014 at one location but can usually find one or the other at a second location. And the best thing...... last fall the librarian at the satellite location 2 miles from my home called me and offered me a complete set of 2012 catalogs for--- $5.00. When I went to pick them up he had the complete 2012 and 5 of 6 2011 for me. I really didn't want the 2011 but I took them anyway. I gave him $20.00 instead of $5.00- goodwill for maybe being offered future sets!
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
I think I'll be headed to my local library to see what they've got. I have a 2004 Specialized US catalog, so I have all the identification etc that I need. What I do want to do is copy the pages for values of stamps up to the 1920s just for score keeping. Right now I've been buying nice stamps for 10% of value in my 2004 book.
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
Hopefully, format meant "going digital".... I miss my CD's
1988 Scott's was 4 volumes, 3/4 tall and lighter as current.... I still use them at times
Volume 1, USA, UN, GB and Commonwealth..... so much easier to handle. I understand there would have to be 12-15 volumes (88-today) but more volumes wouldn't be so unwielding
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re: Scott Standard Catalogs
I bought a couple of the online versions of the catalogue, with the idea that you could save them to a laptop and take it where every you go. That was sort of implied in their descriptions. NOPE! You have to connected to the internet to use them.
I called and complained and I got my money back for them. I asked if they had CD's and they said they would not be making them anymore, because so many people were making copies from them for all of their friend. I was told they even found copies selling on e-bay. That's probably true, but I didn't see any at this time.
I wish they would make a loose leaf version that would fit into a standard binder. Then sell each country individually and if you buy several countries, then they could give a bit of a discount. They could also sell matching binders to hold the pages. Then just offer supplements each year for the new issues. Would also be nice if the pictures and text were on different pages as well, so that every few years they could upgrade just the prices.
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