Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I have many thousands of spare stamps that I'd like to start putting in the approvals. Is there a reason why there isn't a "World" category?
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Yes, there is a reason why "worldwide" was excluded. It is because we did not want to have approval books full of floor sweepings and small numbers of stamps from all over the place. The belief is that such books will not sell well.
Instead:
1. Small numbers of stamps from a country that are insufficient to qualify for an approval book can be made into a small lot and offered in the auctions. This is commonly done by many sellers.
2. You can create a worldwide lot and offer it for sale in the classified ads.
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I'm surprised that there's a belief that they wouldn't sell, as there are so many worldwide collectors on the forum, but I defer to you. Approvals were the best option for me time wise, so I'll leave it until time allows.
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I wrote this in March of 2017 but never posted it. I thought that it might be too conntroversal. However, since the Worldwide Category has been brought up I will post it.
Hello All,
I would like to suggest a new category, the Penny Box category, for lack of a better name. It would be a wide open worldwide category for anything philatelic, i.e., all varieties stamps, labels, cinderellas etc. Prices would be limited to 1c to 5c each. They would be like the Penny Boxes of old at Stamp Clubs and Dealers. Stamps with minimum catalog value and those that have minor unlisted faults such as short perfs, missing corners, black blots, etc., things that could be seen in scans could be listed. They could also have minor back problems like multiple hinges, small amounts of paper adhering or a catalog number written on the back in pencil. If you pay 5c or less you can remove the paper and hinges if you like. You can erase the catalog number if in pencil. Tears, repaired or not, and heavy creases would have to be listed. If the seller wants to list minor back faults (paper, hinges, etc.) they can. Yes, some may not meet your requirements but you haven’t paid a fortune for them either. You will soon learn which dealers to trust and which not to trust. One first small purchase to check a dealer out will not cost you a fortune.
This would work best for those collectors that want to collect as many stamps as possible for a very little cost. The category would have to be monitored to prevent it from becoming a dumping ground for faulty stamps. There are many thousands of sound stamps that can be sold from 1c to 5c each if all the seller had to do is scan a page of stamps to create a book. Scott numbers would be optional. People can purchase by looking at the picture.
To prevent all pages being 5c stamps we could require no more than 8 pages of 5c stamps and at least 3 pages of 1c, 2c or 3c stamps. Also to prevent any member from loading huge numbers of books we could limit the number of “Penny Books” to 5 or 10 per member.
In other words, bring back the “Penny Box ”, i.e., “Penny Box Approval Books” for those members who live on limited incomes but love to collect stamps. It might actually bring in more members overtime if cheap worldwide stamps were available on Stamporama.
It shouldn't impact current members since you don't have to look at the books if you are not interested.
Other member thoughts?
Jim
Cactusjack
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I was not involved with the decisions that established the original rules and parameters for the approval books, such as what is being discussed here.
If you, like Jim has, want to make your case for creating (or not creating) a worldwide category, it can be discussed here, and can be taken into consideration.
However, please understand that no promise is being made that this will be acted upon. Also keep in mind that any needed programming changes, especially the more complicated they may be, could be a negative deciding factor in any consideration for making changes.
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I can see the attraction for buyers to a "Penny Box" type of Approval Book.
However the rules say an Approval Book must have a minimum of 100 stamps.
Lets look at it from a sellers point of view, the seller would have to sell ALL the stamps in an approval book to "earn" $1.
Now what does the seller have to do to "earn" that $1.
They have to:-
a) Examine and Pick out 100 Stamps.
b) Stick them in a stocksheet, or hinge them on to an approval sheet.
c) Scan the sheets.
d) Crop the sheets.
e) Alter the no of pixels on the images to fit the Stamporama system.
f) Load the sheets onto Stamporama.
The costs in time, materials and electricity are obvious.
When sold:-
a) Pick out the sold stamps out the stocksheet, or pull the stamp off an approval sheet and take off the hinge.
b) Put the stamp(s) into an envelope or glassine for each individual buyer.
c) Raise an invoice for each of the buyers.
d) Wait for the buyer(s) to pay.
d) Package the items securely.
e) Weigh the package.
f) Take the package to the post office.
g) Return from the post office.
Again the costs in time and materials are obvious.
The biggest drawback is the cost of postage.
Buyers will want to purchase sufficient stamps to offset the cost of postage.
Lets say the seller has only 5 books of "Penny Box" approvals listed, 3 are already sold out, the seller may not list another book for a few weeks. How long will the seller have to hold the stamps for the buyer? One month, 2 months, 3 months or ad infinitum!!
Great if you are a buyer and want to wait weeks for your stamps, you'll probably buy a few duplicates in that time!!
I have always said the Stamporama "System" is not perfect but it covers most of our needs.
Any major increase in books would affect the server. Any change to the computer programme would cost our Voluntary expert time and please remember that we get this great website Free of Charge, thanks to Roy!!!!
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DaveSheridan :-
The list of Approval Book categories is wide open:-
UNITED STATES of AMERICA (including UN)
CANADA & PROVINCES
UNITED KINGDOM (Great Britain) & ISLES
BRITISH COMMONWEALTH & COLONIES
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & OCEANIA
GERMANY & AREA
FRANCE & COLONIES
SPAIN, PORTUGAL & COLONIES
SCANDINAVIA & BALTIC STATES
OTHER WESTERN EUROPE
EASTERN EUROPE
AFRICA
ASIA
MIDDLE EAST
CARIBBEAN
SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA
COVERS & POSTCARDS
REVENUES, CINDERELLAS & SEALS
TOPICALS
OTHER MISC. ITEMS
You don't need a world category you can easily sort your stamps into the above categories.
If I don't have 100 stamps of say San Marino, you can put them alongside Andorra, Gibraltar etc. in the Other Western Europe.
Using the Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe categories is easy.
Would the moderator object to France, Germany Spain etc going into other western Europe, Ask him.
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I'm sure this has been asked and answered before, but I can't find any reference to it.
I have many thousands of spare stamps that I'd like to start putting in the approvals. Is there a reason why there isn't a "World" category?
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this post
re: Approvals Categories - No "World" Category
Yes, there is a reason why "worldwide" was excluded. It is because we did not want to have approval books full of floor sweepings and small numbers of stamps from all over the place. The belief is that such books will not sell well.
Instead:
1. Small numbers of stamps from a country that are insufficient to qualify for an approval book can be made into a small lot and offered in the auctions. This is commonly done by many sellers.
2. You can create a worldwide lot and offer it for sale in the classified ads.
Login to Like
this post
re: Approvals Categories - No "World" Category
I'm surprised that there's a belief that they wouldn't sell, as there are so many worldwide collectors on the forum, but I defer to you. Approvals were the best option for me time wise, so I'll leave it until time allows.
Login to Like
this post
re: Approvals Categories - No "World" Category
I wrote this in March of 2017 but never posted it. I thought that it might be too conntroversal. However, since the Worldwide Category has been brought up I will post it.
Hello All,
I would like to suggest a new category, the Penny Box category, for lack of a better name. It would be a wide open worldwide category for anything philatelic, i.e., all varieties stamps, labels, cinderellas etc. Prices would be limited to 1c to 5c each. They would be like the Penny Boxes of old at Stamp Clubs and Dealers. Stamps with minimum catalog value and those that have minor unlisted faults such as short perfs, missing corners, black blots, etc., things that could be seen in scans could be listed. They could also have minor back problems like multiple hinges, small amounts of paper adhering or a catalog number written on the back in pencil. If you pay 5c or less you can remove the paper and hinges if you like. You can erase the catalog number if in pencil. Tears, repaired or not, and heavy creases would have to be listed. If the seller wants to list minor back faults (paper, hinges, etc.) they can. Yes, some may not meet your requirements but you haven’t paid a fortune for them either. You will soon learn which dealers to trust and which not to trust. One first small purchase to check a dealer out will not cost you a fortune.
This would work best for those collectors that want to collect as many stamps as possible for a very little cost. The category would have to be monitored to prevent it from becoming a dumping ground for faulty stamps. There are many thousands of sound stamps that can be sold from 1c to 5c each if all the seller had to do is scan a page of stamps to create a book. Scott numbers would be optional. People can purchase by looking at the picture.
To prevent all pages being 5c stamps we could require no more than 8 pages of 5c stamps and at least 3 pages of 1c, 2c or 3c stamps. Also to prevent any member from loading huge numbers of books we could limit the number of “Penny Books” to 5 or 10 per member.
In other words, bring back the “Penny Box ”, i.e., “Penny Box Approval Books” for those members who live on limited incomes but love to collect stamps. It might actually bring in more members overtime if cheap worldwide stamps were available on Stamporama.
It shouldn't impact current members since you don't have to look at the books if you are not interested.
Other member thoughts?
Jim
Cactusjack
Login to Like
this post
re: Approvals Categories - No "World" Category
I was not involved with the decisions that established the original rules and parameters for the approval books, such as what is being discussed here.
If you, like Jim has, want to make your case for creating (or not creating) a worldwide category, it can be discussed here, and can be taken into consideration.
However, please understand that no promise is being made that this will be acted upon. Also keep in mind that any needed programming changes, especially the more complicated they may be, could be a negative deciding factor in any consideration for making changes.
Login to Like
this post
Auctions - Approvals
re: Approvals Categories - No "World" Category
I can see the attraction for buyers to a "Penny Box" type of Approval Book.
However the rules say an Approval Book must have a minimum of 100 stamps.
Lets look at it from a sellers point of view, the seller would have to sell ALL the stamps in an approval book to "earn" $1.
Now what does the seller have to do to "earn" that $1.
They have to:-
a) Examine and Pick out 100 Stamps.
b) Stick them in a stocksheet, or hinge them on to an approval sheet.
c) Scan the sheets.
d) Crop the sheets.
e) Alter the no of pixels on the images to fit the Stamporama system.
f) Load the sheets onto Stamporama.
The costs in time, materials and electricity are obvious.
When sold:-
a) Pick out the sold stamps out the stocksheet, or pull the stamp off an approval sheet and take off the hinge.
b) Put the stamp(s) into an envelope or glassine for each individual buyer.
c) Raise an invoice for each of the buyers.
d) Wait for the buyer(s) to pay.
d) Package the items securely.
e) Weigh the package.
f) Take the package to the post office.
g) Return from the post office.
Again the costs in time and materials are obvious.
The biggest drawback is the cost of postage.
Buyers will want to purchase sufficient stamps to offset the cost of postage.
Lets say the seller has only 5 books of "Penny Box" approvals listed, 3 are already sold out, the seller may not list another book for a few weeks. How long will the seller have to hold the stamps for the buyer? One month, 2 months, 3 months or ad infinitum!!
Great if you are a buyer and want to wait weeks for your stamps, you'll probably buy a few duplicates in that time!!
I have always said the Stamporama "System" is not perfect but it covers most of our needs.
Any major increase in books would affect the server. Any change to the computer programme would cost our Voluntary expert time and please remember that we get this great website Free of Charge, thanks to Roy!!!!
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Auctions - Approvals
re: Approvals Categories - No "World" Category
DaveSheridan :-
The list of Approval Book categories is wide open:-
UNITED STATES of AMERICA (including UN)
CANADA & PROVINCES
UNITED KINGDOM (Great Britain) & ISLES
BRITISH COMMONWEALTH & COLONIES
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & OCEANIA
GERMANY & AREA
FRANCE & COLONIES
SPAIN, PORTUGAL & COLONIES
SCANDINAVIA & BALTIC STATES
OTHER WESTERN EUROPE
EASTERN EUROPE
AFRICA
ASIA
MIDDLE EAST
CARIBBEAN
SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA
COVERS & POSTCARDS
REVENUES, CINDERELLAS & SEALS
TOPICALS
OTHER MISC. ITEMS
You don't need a world category you can easily sort your stamps into the above categories.
If I don't have 100 stamps of say San Marino, you can put them alongside Andorra, Gibraltar etc. in the Other Western Europe.
Using the Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe categories is easy.
Would the moderator object to France, Germany Spain etc going into other western Europe, Ask him.
Login to Like
this post