Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
So the question is: If you were appointed the editor of Scott's (a chance occurrence equal to winning the proverbial Powerball), what would you change to make it better?
Here are my thoughts, to start things off:
1) Cross references to other internationally recognized catalogues: That would mean referencing British Commonwealth to Stanley Gibbons, Germany to Michel, etc. to finally eliminate all of the confusion around catalogue listings.
2) REAL catalogue values - don't tell me a stamp is worth 20 cents when no one would ever pay 20 cents for a common issue stamp. If a stamp is worth a penny, tell me it is worth a penny and not what a dealer wants for the stamp.
3) Consistent BOB listings. In the absence of them, references to recognized authorities. Don't be shy, Scott's. If there's enough of a demand, maybe you should list those stamps too.
4) Greater detail on Classic Issues in all catalogues. The d*mned things cost $90 per volume and most of us can't afford a new (or even used) set more than once a decade. If that's the case, how much of an issue is it to put out an 8 or 9 or even 10 volume set to give one source for everything philatelic? Why should there be a double standard around the main catalogue and the Classic Catalogue? As an alternative, how about specialized, country/topic-specific catalogues for areas like British Commonwealth, France and Colonies, Germany and German states...? Don't get me wrong: I love my 2001 Michel catalogue. Scott's could never replace it; but general subject areas could definitely stand on their own. How many of you out there would consider investing in a very decent British Commonwealth Volume.
That's it for starters. I hope that no one from Scott's reads this and puts it into practice. I would hate to see the only general North American catalogue bankrupted because of me...
What do the rest of you think?
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Those are all valid points of deficiencies within the Scott catalogs, except for the cross references. You will never find those, because each catalog system (you named but a few) are proprietary. If Scott were to implement a cross reference, Scott would have to pay royalties to the other catalog publishers. The catalogs, which cost $99.95 each for the 2012 edition, would cost $200 for each volume.
The biggest problem of the Scott catalogs is that over the decades, there have been several different editors of the catalog. Each new editor put his own flavor of cataloging in the volumes. As a result, the gross inconsistencies in the listings grew and grew. Each country needs to be reviewed and the catalog numbers revised. Now you will find semi-postal and airmail stamps in with the regular listings for some countries. Yes, this was done a long time ago in Italy. However, if you are going to create separate sections for the type of service that a stamp is intended for, then you have to maintain that as a golden rule. The result is that it is difficult to figure out where some stamps are located if they are not regular postage.
Some countries have changed names over the years. Scott, however, starts the new country name by simply continuing the catalog numbers from where the old country name left off. If it is a new grouping for a country listing, then it needs to start with #1, or combine the different name(s) into one country listing like what was done with Burkina Faso.
Bring back the dimensions of souvenir sheets.
Stamps that were not intended for use need to be removed to separate "Special Issues" sections. This includes the special issues and the Farley's from the US.
Create a handbook for the Scott catalog system that explains everything and more about the catalogs and how to use them. The introductions to the catalogs are very good, but it would be nice to put this all in one book, including a watermark directory and color explanations (can create a color cross reference for other catalog publishers for this).
New issues for many countries are now lumped into a single set price. This goes against the catalog system, and is simply laziness on the part of Scott. Each stamp should be listed individually and a set price given.
Many sets remain broken. You'll find 10 of a definitive set in one location, and then two listed just a couple of spaces down for two more. These should be combined into one larger set. Scott did this many years ago with Belgium.
Okay, those are just a few of the changes, and I have discussed these with the editors at Scott. They have deaf ears over there.
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I agree with most of the points brought forward here. One of the most obvious I have not seen yet: show pictures of all different stamps, not just one stamp in a set and descriptions of the others. That makes it very difficult sometimes to find stamps that are not shown.
I do not agree with the idea to put broken sets together. It creates more problems than that it will solve. First of all: number changes. I hate them as it will make older catalogues useless and creates misunderstanding when collectors try to communicate with different issues of catalogues. Furthermore many countries include the year of issue in the designs. Moving stamps back to the first instalment of a set will make it harder to find stamps as the year on the stamp does not correspond with the year in the catalogue. Just create a referencelist at the end of the country's listing would solve most of these problems.
Another thing: end the rather arbitrary and artificial difference between "real" stamps and those with additional surcharge, the socalled "semipostals". As Michael already pointed out, sometimes Scott does not follow its own rules. There are countries where you have airmail stamps as part of a set. I prefer to have them as one set in my albums and would like to see the catalogue to do so as well, so that I do not have to go back and forth through the catalogue all the time.
The best solution would be to start all over again. There is only one thing in which Scott is good: the colour pictures. Keep those and buy a license to translate the Michel catalogue into English using Scott's colour pictures and call it the new and improved Scott :)
Jan-Simon
Jan-Simon
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12:13:42pm
I just want to point out that the greatest invention in Philately since tongs (tweezers to some) were invented are those little almost micro-printed numbers in the margin, along the edge of the design or concealed in the foliage somewhere. I can easily sort a bundle of stamps by year and then decide how to arrange them on a page. With them I can also ignore Scott and go right to one of the better foreign catalogs to create the page for the albums.
And the absolutely worst thing since Rowland Hill's original glutinous mixture is the crap that is used on the back of US stamps. I am close to the point of simply ignoring US stamps and enjoying the other 630,000 (And counting) world wide stamps that have been produced over the last 171 years or so.
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you all point out many problems, but Michael hits a couple of essential one squarely on the head.
Inconsistencies abound and should be rectified. Why are scenic Americans considered airmails? There are no airmail rates from the US.
Put all of a series together or run things chronologically; don't do parts of both.
Try to FIND each 20c stamp. This will be a multi-year process, but there are still many MCV listings out there for stamps that cant' be found.
Consider rarity instead of $ for various stamps on cover. this might require another specialized catalogue strictly for covers, but might be worth the effort.
Highlight a closeup of the normal aspects of a stamp so that the other types and dies can be viewed in contrast to that instead of in a vaccuum. Feel free to use larger images for these variants; I don't mind if the catalogue grows another 100 or so pages if it becomes more useful.
David
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SCOTT'S IS JUST FINE AS IT IS.
OKAY, IF I WAS EDITOR, MAYBE I'D ALTER THE SPELLING TO THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH; BUT LET'S NOT PUT TOO FINE A POINT ON IT.
NO MATTER HOW SCOTT'S IS ORGANIZED, THERE WILL BE COUNTLESS CRITICS SUGGESTING IMPROVEMENTS, MODIFICATIONS , INSERTIONS, DELETIONS, AD INFINITUM.
HOW DO I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE? SIMPLE. I LOOK AT MY OWN STAMP COLLECTION AND HOW I HAVE DISPLAYED (SOME OF) IT IN ALBUMS. FOR OVER HALF A CETURY, I HAVE RE-ORGANIZED ALMOST ALL OF MY ALBUMS, SOME SEVERAL TIMES, A FEW FREQUENTLY; THOSE UNTOUCHED ARE BIDING THEIR TURN.
WHY DO I DO THIS? BECAUSE, AT THE OUTSET, I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO ENVISION, FROM COVER TO COVER, A FULLY SATISFACTORY MANNER OF DISPLAYING MY STAMPS. NO SOONER DO I GET A FEW PAGES INTO RE-ORGANIZING AN ALBUM, OR EVEN A PORTION OF IT, INVARIABLY I REALIZE HOW EVEN MY RE-ORGANIZATION COULD BE FURTHER IMPROVED. IT'S A SISYPHEAN TASK. PERFECTION CAN NEVER BE ATTAINED. GOSH, FROM TIME TO TIME I'M EVEN RE-ORGANIZING THE STORAGE OF MY UNMOUNTED AND DUPLICATE STAMPS - IT'S AN ESCHER STAIRCASE!
SCOTT'S MAY BE CHANGED BUT CAN NOT BE MADE BETTER. ONE EDITOR'S IMPROVEMENT WILL BE ONE USER'S LAMENT. I USE IT AS IT AS I FIND IT AND I ENJOY MY HOBBY.
JOHN DERRY
P.S. I PREFER TO READ OPINIONS DIFFERENT FROM MINE.
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John, an interesting and informed perspective capped with the fine aromatic Cognac of that last line. May it ever be so. And may that perspective be transferred throughout the world
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#1. It needs an iPad app that I can mark up (ie, make notes like "got one", "spacefiller".)
#2. Change the pricing to an annual subscription, like $50 - $100 per year.
#3. Automatic pricing and new issue updates as part of the subscription.
Mark
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07:28:55pm
Mark my words, Mark, you have hit the mark.
I suggest that such improvements are just around the corner technically and with forward-thinking management at Scott, only a few years away.
The operative expression is "forward- thinking."
I suspect that some other publisher, Facit, Yvert, or perhaps Michel, being the most likely, in my opinion, will be the first to venture into the cyber world.
Once one of the catalog publishers tries it and it is successful the rest will follow suit.
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What would I like to see in Scott's, well two things come to mind immediately, and this is from the writings of an old geezer. As I will be 89 in January, I am having a lot of trouble lifting the books, therefore I suggest breaking the books down to additional volumes, say two more. I know that the books are expensive enough already, but I only buy them every four years. You younger people can usually find them in your local library. I had been going to my library to check prices for the 2010, & then 2011 stamps, especially for China, but with a walking problem, beside lifting the books, it is out of the question now.
My other major problem is seeing the small print, even with the use of a magnifier, so I say, larger print. I know that it will mean more volumes, but perhaps they could print special editions for those people with poor eyesight.
By the way, I caught that word "sisyphean", by Dryer, and that was a new one for me. Had to look it up in the dictionary.
Richaard
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If Scott had not stopped publishing their catalogue volumes on CD's, you could increase the size of the print of the catalogue pages on your computer screen. CD's are much lighter than books and don't get tattered and dirty from turning pages. The CD's certainly do not take up much storage room.
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I was debating with myself about the CD's, but I like to take the books into different areas, and also mark certain info in them, so the CD was not an option.
Richaard
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So why have printed volumes at all? I believe we should have a Wikipedia type database that can be updated by a large group of people and can be accessed from anywhere. It should be accessed by a web application like Stamporama, an application that runs on iPhones, iPad, iPods, Android phones. It should have a central committee to make the basic formatting and structural decisions, because someone has to make policy decisions or it just doesn't work, I've been looking for something like this on the internet for years and it just isn't there. But why should we pay $600+ for an update every year if we want to be current, especially when it doesn't have all the material that we need. It should either be a free service or something that is sold on a subscription basis.
So there are my thought on the matter.
Regards ... Tim.
Ps. Did you know that we have about 60,000 images of stamps and covers that could be used in the beginning of something like this.
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10:11:40am
Well, I haven't bought a NEW Scott's for over thirty years. I had been buying slightly used copies as they became available in auctions or at the Stamp club. I have access to a fine library nearby that spends money for a new set every year or so.
Being interested in postally used, that suited me just fine.
The last new catalog I bought was a Gibbon's Elizabethan Specialized #4, about a year ago, and a Facit a year or so earlier. Other spcialized catalogs, Michel, Yvert, Ceres, Sakura and so on, are only bought used, a year or two old.
I would love to see Scott do one of two things.
One possibility would be to break the world down into geographic sections as Gibbons does so that I can buy the areas of most interest as they are updated and areas of lesser interest, used.
The second alternative would be to keep their alphabetical format, but break the volumes up into smaller sections so that I could spread the expense, hopefully smaller, over several years in sequence, although I still might prefer to continue watching for and buying segments a year or so old. This suggestion might allow Scott to expand the coverage within a smaller segment so that I wouldn't be interested in looking at specialized references from particular countries.
Either way, a dealer who feels that the newest copy is a necessity, could buy the whole set as volumes are published. Since I am neither a dealer, nor intend to become one, I see no need for a brand new set each year. Also, smaller segments might allow Scott to increase the fonts size which are, for some notes problematical to the average collector, which studies have shown are predominently male and getting long in the few teeth we have left.
As for CDs, Deegam's Complete Machin Handbook, which is a virtual encyclopedia of philatelic knowledge about the Machin Series as well as many otherwise afcets of stamp production, common to agencies worldwide, and absolutely the best source of information about the several thousand varieties of that simple series, which as most UK collectors know spans 1967 to date, is in a very handy CD format which I use constantly. However, as Richard mentions, there are times when a hard cover version is easier to move around.
For instance, several times when I have been hospitalized, I have had my wife or one of my daughters bring me one of the paper volumes so that I could amuse myself by re-reading some of the technical sections. For that reason, I try to keep the looseleaf version up to date with current listings from the frequently published Deegam Reports and other news sources. It may eventually become more convenient to use a CD edition as computers become smaller and more easy to drag along but til then it is not prectical to have a decent sized computer in a hospital ward.
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The only new Scott catalogue I've bought since I was kid in the 1950s was the 2004 Scott Classic. All of my others have been used. Once the local branch of the public library sold me a complete set of 1986 catalogues for a dollar each, and I still use them. A decade later replaced Vol. 1 with a used copy of the 1996 catalogue. Am I up to date or what?! ;-)
At least one eBay seller offers country sets of Scott pages from current Scott catalogues. A few years ago I bought such a set of pages, for Vietnam, for only $12 or so. I put the sheets in page protectors and a ring binder. If you collect only a few countries, this is certainly a practical and inexpensive way to go.
Bob
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11:04:20am
As as Scott Catalogs go you are as up to date as I am.
For new issue information on US stamps, I get a color catalog, over 100 pages in length, from Mystic Stamps as I occasionally will buy some recent sets that were printed on un-obtainium paper by the USPS. It is free to customers and certainly a good reference source for catalog numbers and numbers of stamps in series.
I hope that this is not violating some rule about selling things in this thread.
That is the only picture I could find quickly.
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Bob,
If you have a good friend that has a current Scott, perhaps they can scan the pages that you need. I did this for a customer in China. Only problem is that I had to remove the pages from the catalog, so I could scan the information close to the spine.
Richaard
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Having seen Richaard's suggestion, I should add that I don't need a new catalogue. I'm just not interested in modern stamps, and on the odd occasion when I need information about the values of one or a few stamps, it's easier for me to walk the two blocks to the public library and look at the Scott catalogues in their reference collection than it is to ask a friend to scan pages for me. And easier for the friend, too! I have occasionally asked here on the discussion board for the current value of a stamp; someone is always willing to help out.
Mostly, I just don't care about the catalogue value of stamps, and I'm certainly not going to haggle over prices with a dealer for something I need for my collection. So my older catalogues suit me just fine.
Bob
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The latest Mystic stamp catalog is free online as well, with searchable features, if that is more convenient for you:
http://www.mysticstampcatalog.com/
(Modified by Moderator on 2011-11-26 06:10:45)
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one of the reasons, actually the primary reason, Scott discontinued the CDs was piracy. Even encrypted, there are too many people who could overcome the protection and copy the disks.
and it probably is sufficient to remind people that Scott is a copyrighted publication and that those who copy discs, or pages, are circumventing the law. It is probably not ethical to copy Scott; it is certainly not legal. Scott publishes the catalogue SOLELY to make money.
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I had read (in linns maybe?) that Scott had finally transferred their catalogue data to a database. This would open up the opportunity to build a catalogue "app" in the future.
I want Scott to make a profit; it is valuable work to keep the catalogue up to date. But the costs involved in printing and shipping that much paper is pure waste. Especially if you want to buy an updated set every few years.
If they understand they are in the information business and not the printing business then they could make more money by making their information more easily accessible.
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I think they are wanting to develop an online application for their catalog, but remember who owns them: Amos PRESS, a printing company.
Scott says that they have moved to a print on demand system for their album pages to cut costs on storage, warehousing, holding non-moving product, etc. Print on demand is a big cost cutter for publishers. Unfortunately, Scott cut costs and doubled its prices....
I work in the printing and publishing industries. It does not cost much to print. Scott believes that it holds a monopoly in the USA regarding philatelic catalogs and albums. Well, they do as regards to their cataloging system. However, Gibbons catalogs are a good competitor and in some regards cheaper and better than Scott catalogs. For example, while the Gibbons "Stamps of the World" 5 volume catalog set is abridged, that pertains mostly to the older material. For newer material, say from the 1980s onward, the Gibbons world-wide catalog set offers the collector individual listings of all stamps, including stamps in sets that Scott lumps together in one complete set and doesn't list and value the stamps individually.
Michel catalogs list much more of the local issues that Scott barely touches, except to some extent in the Scott Classic Catalog.
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Current list price of 2012 Scott Catalogues is $420.00(that's the Amos Advantage price) plus $50 to ship to Canada equals $470USD per year for up to date catalogues.
I have yet to meet a collector who will admit to paying for a new set of catalogues each year. I meet many more collectors who tell me that they NEVER purchase a new catalogue. We are all using old catalogues (mine are 1999 library cast offs)
That's why I think an app is so appealing to Amos. I will never pay $470 for a set of catalogues. Not even $470 per decade. But oddly enough, I'd gladly subscribe to an application where I could get automatic new listings, pricing changes, etc. An app that I could carry around on my tablet to stamp shows. One that could sit beside me while I work on my collection. One where I could add my own notes (got one mint, need one used, etc.)
The goofy thing is that I would gladly pay $50 - $100 per year for this app subscription. That's $500 - $1000 per decade from a person from whom Amos is currently getting exactly $0. And I have this feeling that there are many more collectors giving Amos $0 today than are giving them $470.
You're right Michael, that Amos is a publishing company first and foremost. But all publishers are struggling with digital these days (either how to fight it or how to take advantage of it); I hope Amos is one of those who are trying to take advantage of it.
Mark
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I think those publishers who don't embrace digit and/or print on demand will become the dinosaurs of the publishing industry.
With cellphones attached to the internet, it would be fantastic to be able to go online at Scott when at a stamp show and get the details of a stamp, not just for price, but for information such as perfs and watermarks to make sure it is identified correctly by the seller. Heck, I may even toss my old flip-phone get myself a cellphone that can access the internet if they do that!
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Overall, I like Scott (liked 'em better when they were still Scott and not owned by Amos Press). I use them to keep inventory of what I have by marking each # with a pink marker.
Also I write little notes in them to designate a problem with a certain stamp (Ex.SF for spacefiller, etc.) would be very disappointed if they quit publishing printed version.
Tried the CDs, didn't like'em. As for cellphones, i consider them the new form of brain cancer. As for Mystic, my feelings are much the same for them as for paypal. My distaste for them goes back 55 years. My eighty year old aunt still talks about it.
Anyway, agree with(hey, what happened to the other postings) Aw, Geez! Be back.
Agree with the consistency issue and the pictures, would nice to have a pic of each
stamp but the price would probably double. As to cv., they base it on what dealers
(like Mystic) charge in most cases. hi-v stuff (I think this is right) based on dealer
prices & auction prices. As for numbering, agree with Jan-Simon, leave'em alone.
Was po'ed when they did that machin change. i'd just finished making a GB album when they did that. As for SG, I have a 1998, can't hardly make head nor tails of it.
And as for Michel. They list those sanddunes for outrageous prices that I can't give away. Anyway, I try to buy 2 year old Scotts for $15.00-$20.00 each, keep 'em say, 5 years then get caught up. last couple of years been getting them for Christmas.
Beats a tie or a pair of socks every time.
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I like Scott as well. Of course it's not perfect. It can be downright useless, especially when trying to evaluate singles from modern sets. But, then, I don't actually pay much attention to stamp values. If I want a stamp, find a copy I like, and can afford it, I buy it.
Since Scott moved to colour, I've found it much easier to use, but I do wish they would illustrate all stamps in sets rather than just one. I've spent at least two years out of my life trying to find particular stamps, when good illustrations would have given me enough time to go out and pick up more beer cans to turn into stamps.
It would be great if Scott would use its print-on-demand technology to produce catalogues for just one country. I never even look at most of the country listings because they just don't include material I'm interested in. Alternatively, they could produce world catalogues for particular periods, say individual decades. I would love to have three catalogues covering 1931-1940, 1941-1950, and 1951-1960.
I'd be pleased with a world airmail catalogue (but I would hope for more consistency in their aircraft descriptions, which are often vague or even incorrect. Why call a DC-4 a "multi-engine transport"?
One thing I've done to make my Scott catalogues more useful is to stick Post-It Tape Flags to the first page of countries and/or sections I'm interested in. For example, my old Vol. III (G-O) has flags for Germany, Germany Semi-Postals, and German Air Mail.
Bob
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My suggestion would be to publish a "special" edition every 10 years that includes ALL of the previous "Special Feature" articles. Each year they have an article that explains some numbering change or introduces a new category. I wish I had every one of those!
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I just read where Gibbons has done just that and put them on CD, but it goes back much farther than 10 years!
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That would be great if they would show EVERY SINGLE one including the one where they explain (in the 40's, I think) that they are renumbering everything. I would expect this special issue to be more expensive, but many collectors would only need to buy a catalog every 10 years and would be more likely to purchase a new one. It drives me nuts to find out that a catalog number changed and I didn't know because it was announced in a catalog I didn't get. U.S. Scott #279Bj comes to mind. I think it was 279Be before. Knowing the new number is important, but knowing the previous number can also be useful when searching for a stamp. I think I got my 279Bj from someone that had it listed as a 279Be.
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Scott is slow to advance to the needs of its customers.
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Jumping in to this discussion, I note that almost most of the discussions are from the collectors point of view, and not the dealer. As a dealer, I have to base my selling price on something, thus I use the Scott prices,and of course discount them. Since I only buy the catalogs once every four years, my selling price is usually a couple of years old, but after the second year, I usually check the Scott in the library, on certain countries. there was a tremendous difference in prices for Chinese stamps between the 2010 & 2011 catalogs. Some of my customers were perplexed about my pricing, and I told them to check the new Scott. I usually do not change prices for three years on most of my price lists, as it is just too much work. I often wonder how certain dealers keep up with the new catalogs every year, and keep making new lists.
Richaard
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10:57:44am
If I were a dealer and had to maintain a mass of price lists, I would find a computer program that allowed me to enter price changes in one swope. For instance "World wide, MUH +3%; or China, Peoples's Republic 1950- date, -5%.With the kind of programs that have been developed recently that should not be all that difficult.
I can just imagine some poor soul trying to keep up hand generated lists and prices for major countries.
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No matter what program you use, you still have to put in the new prices, delete sold items, and perhaps add new items.
My lists are under WORD, and I do not make complete new lists, but i still have to do the above. If i had a magic wand, I could just write change all prices per the new Scott, just wave the wand over the catalog, and voila, it would be done. Anyone have a magic wand that they want to put in a SOR auction?
Richaard
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Just read this in Linns this morning, by Charles Snee, editor of the Scott Catalogues:
“The coming year will bring some exciting new developments for Scott, including the launching of digital versions of the catalogs that will be available via the Apple iPad and iPhone.â€
Interesting times. I hope the app is affordable, as I’d be willing to try Version 1.
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So how much do you think they will be charging for such an app? And do they want you to buy a new app each year (in other words a subscription), or do you pay once and use it as long as you want (as with a book)?
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02:10:27pm
The Complete Deegam Machin Handbook was two very thick looseleaf binders until reduced to one CD that sold for about £39 with updates available on an exchance basis for £20.
I would expect Scott's to be able to reduce its six volumes to about two or three CDs and they could create a simiar exchange system.
With a higher volume of sales the discs out to be not much more than about $50-$60, and replacement updates about $30.
The cost of mailing one or two discs has to be much less than shipping five or six heavy catalogs.
If Scott charged more than that they would not draw in the sales that would make it profitable for them.
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@JanSimon -- my hope is that they would charge up to $100 per year as a subscription for all their content served up through the app. It's a price I'd sure be willing to pay.
For that money I'd like to see automatic updates to catalogue information and stamp values, new issues, etc. Forget this annual updating nonsense that they are forced into with paper.
What I don't think I'll see in Version 1 but would love to see in future versions is an inventory service (ie check boxes beside catalogue entries so I can track what I have), annotation service (so I can add notes to the catalogue),really good search (even image recognition search??) and ability to share info between users of the app. ie. I can share my want list with you.
If they think about how collectors really use their information and how collectors love to connect with each other and their favorite dealers, they could hugely expand their user base. think 100X the number of collectors using their information around the world.
And for those who say "$100? But they get $500 per collector now!" No they don't. They get $500 from a very, very small subset of collectors. And I'm willing to bet money that as older collectors pass on the number willing to give $500 per year for paper volumes goes way, way down too. They will transform their business and I truly think they will grow it to levels not seen since the 1950's.
Honest true!
Mark
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I'd be surprised to see another CD version of Scott.
Mark said the the new direction Scott is taking would include "…the launching of digital versions of the catalogs that will be available via the Apple iPad and iPhone.†I can't imagine anyone publishing CDs, which are rapidly becoming obsolete technology. Apps, however, are a different story altogether. A well-designed app version of the Scott catalogue could truly revolutionize catalogue publishing.
What I would like to see would be several different apps, representing different geopolitical regions, or periods, or even individual countries. Popular apps selling for a pittance have made many app developers rich. With the ever-increasing popularity of digital readers and smart phones, it's hard to imagine that Scott could not profit from publishing a variety of apps at low prices.
Bob
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Michel and Stanley Gibbons have been active with online catalogues / databases for many, many years already, so I do not think a revolution would be upcoming with the arrival of a Scott iPad app.
It would be interesting though, to see what they come up with
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On-line catalogues? Could we have a link, please?
I do think a revolution, or at least a "revolution," is possible. Anyone who has not used a good app on an iPad should treat themselves. Both my wife and I have our iPads in hand many times a day, for a variety of different uses. Her latest purchase is the National Geographic app, and it's wonderful. Much better bang for the buck than the hard-copy magazines. A stamp catalogue app could provide magnified images of stamps, detailed images, printing histories, historical details, market histories, links to specialist web pages, and even downloadable album pages. Want lists and checklists would be assumed! Interactive apps could link collectors through Facebook and other social media.
All of this won't come quickly, I'm sure. We member sof Stamporama are "cutting edge" when it comes to "digital philately". There are still many members of my club who essentially refuse to acknowledge that computers and the internet are changing philately, and that the changes are far more positive than negative.
Bob
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In a discussion around the inconsistency of Scott's BOB listings in the "Can you identify this?" section, Michael brought up a very valid point: He mentioned that, when he wins Powerball (a US lottery to our international members) and buys Scott's Catalogue outright, heads will roll.
So the question is: If you were appointed the editor of Scott's (a chance occurrence equal to winning the proverbial Powerball), what would you change to make it better?
Here are my thoughts, to start things off:
1) Cross references to other internationally recognized catalogues: That would mean referencing British Commonwealth to Stanley Gibbons, Germany to Michel, etc. to finally eliminate all of the confusion around catalogue listings.
2) REAL catalogue values - don't tell me a stamp is worth 20 cents when no one would ever pay 20 cents for a common issue stamp. If a stamp is worth a penny, tell me it is worth a penny and not what a dealer wants for the stamp.
3) Consistent BOB listings. In the absence of them, references to recognized authorities. Don't be shy, Scott's. If there's enough of a demand, maybe you should list those stamps too.
4) Greater detail on Classic Issues in all catalogues. The d*mned things cost $90 per volume and most of us can't afford a new (or even used) set more than once a decade. If that's the case, how much of an issue is it to put out an 8 or 9 or even 10 volume set to give one source for everything philatelic? Why should there be a double standard around the main catalogue and the Classic Catalogue? As an alternative, how about specialized, country/topic-specific catalogues for areas like British Commonwealth, France and Colonies, Germany and German states...? Don't get me wrong: I love my 2001 Michel catalogue. Scott's could never replace it; but general subject areas could definitely stand on their own. How many of you out there would consider investing in a very decent British Commonwealth Volume.
That's it for starters. I hope that no one from Scott's reads this and puts it into practice. I would hate to see the only general North American catalogue bankrupted because of me...
What do the rest of you think?
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Those are all valid points of deficiencies within the Scott catalogs, except for the cross references. You will never find those, because each catalog system (you named but a few) are proprietary. If Scott were to implement a cross reference, Scott would have to pay royalties to the other catalog publishers. The catalogs, which cost $99.95 each for the 2012 edition, would cost $200 for each volume.
The biggest problem of the Scott catalogs is that over the decades, there have been several different editors of the catalog. Each new editor put his own flavor of cataloging in the volumes. As a result, the gross inconsistencies in the listings grew and grew. Each country needs to be reviewed and the catalog numbers revised. Now you will find semi-postal and airmail stamps in with the regular listings for some countries. Yes, this was done a long time ago in Italy. However, if you are going to create separate sections for the type of service that a stamp is intended for, then you have to maintain that as a golden rule. The result is that it is difficult to figure out where some stamps are located if they are not regular postage.
Some countries have changed names over the years. Scott, however, starts the new country name by simply continuing the catalog numbers from where the old country name left off. If it is a new grouping for a country listing, then it needs to start with #1, or combine the different name(s) into one country listing like what was done with Burkina Faso.
Bring back the dimensions of souvenir sheets.
Stamps that were not intended for use need to be removed to separate "Special Issues" sections. This includes the special issues and the Farley's from the US.
Create a handbook for the Scott catalog system that explains everything and more about the catalogs and how to use them. The introductions to the catalogs are very good, but it would be nice to put this all in one book, including a watermark directory and color explanations (can create a color cross reference for other catalog publishers for this).
New issues for many countries are now lumped into a single set price. This goes against the catalog system, and is simply laziness on the part of Scott. Each stamp should be listed individually and a set price given.
Many sets remain broken. You'll find 10 of a definitive set in one location, and then two listed just a couple of spaces down for two more. These should be combined into one larger set. Scott did this many years ago with Belgium.
Okay, those are just a few of the changes, and I have discussed these with the editors at Scott. They have deaf ears over there.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
I agree with most of the points brought forward here. One of the most obvious I have not seen yet: show pictures of all different stamps, not just one stamp in a set and descriptions of the others. That makes it very difficult sometimes to find stamps that are not shown.
I do not agree with the idea to put broken sets together. It creates more problems than that it will solve. First of all: number changes. I hate them as it will make older catalogues useless and creates misunderstanding when collectors try to communicate with different issues of catalogues. Furthermore many countries include the year of issue in the designs. Moving stamps back to the first instalment of a set will make it harder to find stamps as the year on the stamp does not correspond with the year in the catalogue. Just create a referencelist at the end of the country's listing would solve most of these problems.
Another thing: end the rather arbitrary and artificial difference between "real" stamps and those with additional surcharge, the socalled "semipostals". As Michael already pointed out, sometimes Scott does not follow its own rules. There are countries where you have airmail stamps as part of a set. I prefer to have them as one set in my albums and would like to see the catalogue to do so as well, so that I do not have to go back and forth through the catalogue all the time.
The best solution would be to start all over again. There is only one thing in which Scott is good: the colour pictures. Keep those and buy a license to translate the Michel catalogue into English using Scott's colour pictures and call it the new and improved Scott :)
Jan-Simon
Jan-Simon
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
02 Nov 2011
12:13:42pm
re: Scott's for better and worse
I just want to point out that the greatest invention in Philately since tongs (tweezers to some) were invented are those little almost micro-printed numbers in the margin, along the edge of the design or concealed in the foliage somewhere. I can easily sort a bundle of stamps by year and then decide how to arrange them on a page. With them I can also ignore Scott and go right to one of the better foreign catalogs to create the page for the albums.
And the absolutely worst thing since Rowland Hill's original glutinous mixture is the crap that is used on the back of US stamps. I am close to the point of simply ignoring US stamps and enjoying the other 630,000 (And counting) world wide stamps that have been produced over the last 171 years or so.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
you all point out many problems, but Michael hits a couple of essential one squarely on the head.
Inconsistencies abound and should be rectified. Why are scenic Americans considered airmails? There are no airmail rates from the US.
Put all of a series together or run things chronologically; don't do parts of both.
Try to FIND each 20c stamp. This will be a multi-year process, but there are still many MCV listings out there for stamps that cant' be found.
Consider rarity instead of $ for various stamps on cover. this might require another specialized catalogue strictly for covers, but might be worth the effort.
Highlight a closeup of the normal aspects of a stamp so that the other types and dies can be viewed in contrast to that instead of in a vaccuum. Feel free to use larger images for these variants; I don't mind if the catalogue grows another 100 or so pages if it becomes more useful.
David
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The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
03 Nov 2011
07:17:14pm
re: Scott's for better and worse
SCOTT'S IS JUST FINE AS IT IS.
OKAY, IF I WAS EDITOR, MAYBE I'D ALTER THE SPELLING TO THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH; BUT LET'S NOT PUT TOO FINE A POINT ON IT.
NO MATTER HOW SCOTT'S IS ORGANIZED, THERE WILL BE COUNTLESS CRITICS SUGGESTING IMPROVEMENTS, MODIFICATIONS , INSERTIONS, DELETIONS, AD INFINITUM.
HOW DO I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE? SIMPLE. I LOOK AT MY OWN STAMP COLLECTION AND HOW I HAVE DISPLAYED (SOME OF) IT IN ALBUMS. FOR OVER HALF A CETURY, I HAVE RE-ORGANIZED ALMOST ALL OF MY ALBUMS, SOME SEVERAL TIMES, A FEW FREQUENTLY; THOSE UNTOUCHED ARE BIDING THEIR TURN.
WHY DO I DO THIS? BECAUSE, AT THE OUTSET, I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO ENVISION, FROM COVER TO COVER, A FULLY SATISFACTORY MANNER OF DISPLAYING MY STAMPS. NO SOONER DO I GET A FEW PAGES INTO RE-ORGANIZING AN ALBUM, OR EVEN A PORTION OF IT, INVARIABLY I REALIZE HOW EVEN MY RE-ORGANIZATION COULD BE FURTHER IMPROVED. IT'S A SISYPHEAN TASK. PERFECTION CAN NEVER BE ATTAINED. GOSH, FROM TIME TO TIME I'M EVEN RE-ORGANIZING THE STORAGE OF MY UNMOUNTED AND DUPLICATE STAMPS - IT'S AN ESCHER STAIRCASE!
SCOTT'S MAY BE CHANGED BUT CAN NOT BE MADE BETTER. ONE EDITOR'S IMPROVEMENT WILL BE ONE USER'S LAMENT. I USE IT AS IT AS I FIND IT AND I ENJOY MY HOBBY.
JOHN DERRY
P.S. I PREFER TO READ OPINIONS DIFFERENT FROM MINE.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
John, an interesting and informed perspective capped with the fine aromatic Cognac of that last line. May it ever be so. And may that perspective be transferred throughout the world
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re: Scott's for better and worse
#1. It needs an iPad app that I can mark up (ie, make notes like "got one", "spacefiller".)
#2. Change the pricing to an annual subscription, like $50 - $100 per year.
#3. Automatic pricing and new issue updates as part of the subscription.
Mark
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
24 Nov 2011
07:28:55pm
re: Scott's for better and worse
Mark my words, Mark, you have hit the mark.
I suggest that such improvements are just around the corner technically and with forward-thinking management at Scott, only a few years away.
The operative expression is "forward- thinking."
I suspect that some other publisher, Facit, Yvert, or perhaps Michel, being the most likely, in my opinion, will be the first to venture into the cyber world.
Once one of the catalog publishers tries it and it is successful the rest will follow suit.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
What would I like to see in Scott's, well two things come to mind immediately, and this is from the writings of an old geezer. As I will be 89 in January, I am having a lot of trouble lifting the books, therefore I suggest breaking the books down to additional volumes, say two more. I know that the books are expensive enough already, but I only buy them every four years. You younger people can usually find them in your local library. I had been going to my library to check prices for the 2010, & then 2011 stamps, especially for China, but with a walking problem, beside lifting the books, it is out of the question now.
My other major problem is seeing the small print, even with the use of a magnifier, so I say, larger print. I know that it will mean more volumes, but perhaps they could print special editions for those people with poor eyesight.
By the way, I caught that word "sisyphean", by Dryer, and that was a new one for me. Had to look it up in the dictionary.
Richaard
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09:07:20pm
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re: Scott's for better and worse
If Scott had not stopped publishing their catalogue volumes on CD's, you could increase the size of the print of the catalogue pages on your computer screen. CD's are much lighter than books and don't get tattered and dirty from turning pages. The CD's certainly do not take up much storage room.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
I was debating with myself about the CD's, but I like to take the books into different areas, and also mark certain info in them, so the CD was not an option.
Richaard
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re: Scott's for better and worse
So why have printed volumes at all? I believe we should have a Wikipedia type database that can be updated by a large group of people and can be accessed from anywhere. It should be accessed by a web application like Stamporama, an application that runs on iPhones, iPad, iPods, Android phones. It should have a central committee to make the basic formatting and structural decisions, because someone has to make policy decisions or it just doesn't work, I've been looking for something like this on the internet for years and it just isn't there. But why should we pay $600+ for an update every year if we want to be current, especially when it doesn't have all the material that we need. It should either be a free service or something that is sold on a subscription basis.
So there are my thought on the matter.
Regards ... Tim.
Ps. Did you know that we have about 60,000 images of stamps and covers that could be used in the beginning of something like this.
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
25 Nov 2011
10:11:40am
re: Scott's for better and worse
Well, I haven't bought a NEW Scott's for over thirty years. I had been buying slightly used copies as they became available in auctions or at the Stamp club. I have access to a fine library nearby that spends money for a new set every year or so.
Being interested in postally used, that suited me just fine.
The last new catalog I bought was a Gibbon's Elizabethan Specialized #4, about a year ago, and a Facit a year or so earlier. Other spcialized catalogs, Michel, Yvert, Ceres, Sakura and so on, are only bought used, a year or two old.
I would love to see Scott do one of two things.
One possibility would be to break the world down into geographic sections as Gibbons does so that I can buy the areas of most interest as they are updated and areas of lesser interest, used.
The second alternative would be to keep their alphabetical format, but break the volumes up into smaller sections so that I could spread the expense, hopefully smaller, over several years in sequence, although I still might prefer to continue watching for and buying segments a year or so old. This suggestion might allow Scott to expand the coverage within a smaller segment so that I wouldn't be interested in looking at specialized references from particular countries.
Either way, a dealer who feels that the newest copy is a necessity, could buy the whole set as volumes are published. Since I am neither a dealer, nor intend to become one, I see no need for a brand new set each year. Also, smaller segments might allow Scott to increase the fonts size which are, for some notes problematical to the average collector, which studies have shown are predominently male and getting long in the few teeth we have left.
As for CDs, Deegam's Complete Machin Handbook, which is a virtual encyclopedia of philatelic knowledge about the Machin Series as well as many otherwise afcets of stamp production, common to agencies worldwide, and absolutely the best source of information about the several thousand varieties of that simple series, which as most UK collectors know spans 1967 to date, is in a very handy CD format which I use constantly. However, as Richard mentions, there are times when a hard cover version is easier to move around.
For instance, several times when I have been hospitalized, I have had my wife or one of my daughters bring me one of the paper volumes so that I could amuse myself by re-reading some of the technical sections. For that reason, I try to keep the looseleaf version up to date with current listings from the frequently published Deegam Reports and other news sources. It may eventually become more convenient to use a CD edition as computers become smaller and more easy to drag along but til then it is not prectical to have a decent sized computer in a hospital ward.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
The only new Scott catalogue I've bought since I was kid in the 1950s was the 2004 Scott Classic. All of my others have been used. Once the local branch of the public library sold me a complete set of 1986 catalogues for a dollar each, and I still use them. A decade later replaced Vol. 1 with a used copy of the 1996 catalogue. Am I up to date or what?! ;-)
At least one eBay seller offers country sets of Scott pages from current Scott catalogues. A few years ago I bought such a set of pages, for Vietnam, for only $12 or so. I put the sheets in page protectors and a ring binder. If you collect only a few countries, this is certainly a practical and inexpensive way to go.
Bob
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
25 Nov 2011
11:04:20am
re: Scott's for better and worse
As as Scott Catalogs go you are as up to date as I am.
For new issue information on US stamps, I get a color catalog, over 100 pages in length, from Mystic Stamps as I occasionally will buy some recent sets that were printed on un-obtainium paper by the USPS. It is free to customers and certainly a good reference source for catalog numbers and numbers of stamps in series.
I hope that this is not violating some rule about selling things in this thread.
That is the only picture I could find quickly.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Bob,
If you have a good friend that has a current Scott, perhaps they can scan the pages that you need. I did this for a customer in China. Only problem is that I had to remove the pages from the catalog, so I could scan the information close to the spine.
Richaard
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Having seen Richaard's suggestion, I should add that I don't need a new catalogue. I'm just not interested in modern stamps, and on the odd occasion when I need information about the values of one or a few stamps, it's easier for me to walk the two blocks to the public library and look at the Scott catalogues in their reference collection than it is to ask a friend to scan pages for me. And easier for the friend, too! I have occasionally asked here on the discussion board for the current value of a stamp; someone is always willing to help out.
Mostly, I just don't care about the catalogue value of stamps, and I'm certainly not going to haggle over prices with a dealer for something I need for my collection. So my older catalogues suit me just fine.
Bob
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08:00:26pm
re: Scott's for better and worse
The latest Mystic stamp catalog is free online as well, with searchable features, if that is more convenient for you:
http://www.mysticstampcatalog.com/
(Modified by Moderator on 2011-11-26 06:10:45)
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re: Scott's for better and worse
one of the reasons, actually the primary reason, Scott discontinued the CDs was piracy. Even encrypted, there are too many people who could overcome the protection and copy the disks.
and it probably is sufficient to remind people that Scott is a copyrighted publication and that those who copy discs, or pages, are circumventing the law. It is probably not ethical to copy Scott; it is certainly not legal. Scott publishes the catalogue SOLELY to make money.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
I had read (in linns maybe?) that Scott had finally transferred their catalogue data to a database. This would open up the opportunity to build a catalogue "app" in the future.
I want Scott to make a profit; it is valuable work to keep the catalogue up to date. But the costs involved in printing and shipping that much paper is pure waste. Especially if you want to buy an updated set every few years.
If they understand they are in the information business and not the printing business then they could make more money by making their information more easily accessible.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
I think they are wanting to develop an online application for their catalog, but remember who owns them: Amos PRESS, a printing company.
Scott says that they have moved to a print on demand system for their album pages to cut costs on storage, warehousing, holding non-moving product, etc. Print on demand is a big cost cutter for publishers. Unfortunately, Scott cut costs and doubled its prices....
I work in the printing and publishing industries. It does not cost much to print. Scott believes that it holds a monopoly in the USA regarding philatelic catalogs and albums. Well, they do as regards to their cataloging system. However, Gibbons catalogs are a good competitor and in some regards cheaper and better than Scott catalogs. For example, while the Gibbons "Stamps of the World" 5 volume catalog set is abridged, that pertains mostly to the older material. For newer material, say from the 1980s onward, the Gibbons world-wide catalog set offers the collector individual listings of all stamps, including stamps in sets that Scott lumps together in one complete set and doesn't list and value the stamps individually.
Michel catalogs list much more of the local issues that Scott barely touches, except to some extent in the Scott Classic Catalog.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Current list price of 2012 Scott Catalogues is $420.00(that's the Amos Advantage price) plus $50 to ship to Canada equals $470USD per year for up to date catalogues.
I have yet to meet a collector who will admit to paying for a new set of catalogues each year. I meet many more collectors who tell me that they NEVER purchase a new catalogue. We are all using old catalogues (mine are 1999 library cast offs)
That's why I think an app is so appealing to Amos. I will never pay $470 for a set of catalogues. Not even $470 per decade. But oddly enough, I'd gladly subscribe to an application where I could get automatic new listings, pricing changes, etc. An app that I could carry around on my tablet to stamp shows. One that could sit beside me while I work on my collection. One where I could add my own notes (got one mint, need one used, etc.)
The goofy thing is that I would gladly pay $50 - $100 per year for this app subscription. That's $500 - $1000 per decade from a person from whom Amos is currently getting exactly $0. And I have this feeling that there are many more collectors giving Amos $0 today than are giving them $470.
You're right Michael, that Amos is a publishing company first and foremost. But all publishers are struggling with digital these days (either how to fight it or how to take advantage of it); I hope Amos is one of those who are trying to take advantage of it.
Mark
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re: Scott's for better and worse
I think those publishers who don't embrace digit and/or print on demand will become the dinosaurs of the publishing industry.
With cellphones attached to the internet, it would be fantastic to be able to go online at Scott when at a stamp show and get the details of a stamp, not just for price, but for information such as perfs and watermarks to make sure it is identified correctly by the seller. Heck, I may even toss my old flip-phone get myself a cellphone that can access the internet if they do that!
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Overall, I like Scott (liked 'em better when they were still Scott and not owned by Amos Press). I use them to keep inventory of what I have by marking each # with a pink marker.
Also I write little notes in them to designate a problem with a certain stamp (Ex.SF for spacefiller, etc.) would be very disappointed if they quit publishing printed version.
Tried the CDs, didn't like'em. As for cellphones, i consider them the new form of brain cancer. As for Mystic, my feelings are much the same for them as for paypal. My distaste for them goes back 55 years. My eighty year old aunt still talks about it.
Anyway, agree with(hey, what happened to the other postings) Aw, Geez! Be back.
Agree with the consistency issue and the pictures, would nice to have a pic of each
stamp but the price would probably double. As to cv., they base it on what dealers
(like Mystic) charge in most cases. hi-v stuff (I think this is right) based on dealer
prices & auction prices. As for numbering, agree with Jan-Simon, leave'em alone.
Was po'ed when they did that machin change. i'd just finished making a GB album when they did that. As for SG, I have a 1998, can't hardly make head nor tails of it.
And as for Michel. They list those sanddunes for outrageous prices that I can't give away. Anyway, I try to buy 2 year old Scotts for $15.00-$20.00 each, keep 'em say, 5 years then get caught up. last couple of years been getting them for Christmas.
Beats a tie or a pair of socks every time.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
I like Scott as well. Of course it's not perfect. It can be downright useless, especially when trying to evaluate singles from modern sets. But, then, I don't actually pay much attention to stamp values. If I want a stamp, find a copy I like, and can afford it, I buy it.
Since Scott moved to colour, I've found it much easier to use, but I do wish they would illustrate all stamps in sets rather than just one. I've spent at least two years out of my life trying to find particular stamps, when good illustrations would have given me enough time to go out and pick up more beer cans to turn into stamps.
It would be great if Scott would use its print-on-demand technology to produce catalogues for just one country. I never even look at most of the country listings because they just don't include material I'm interested in. Alternatively, they could produce world catalogues for particular periods, say individual decades. I would love to have three catalogues covering 1931-1940, 1941-1950, and 1951-1960.
I'd be pleased with a world airmail catalogue (but I would hope for more consistency in their aircraft descriptions, which are often vague or even incorrect. Why call a DC-4 a "multi-engine transport"?
One thing I've done to make my Scott catalogues more useful is to stick Post-It Tape Flags to the first page of countries and/or sections I'm interested in. For example, my old Vol. III (G-O) has flags for Germany, Germany Semi-Postals, and German Air Mail.
Bob
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re: Scott's for better and worse
My suggestion would be to publish a "special" edition every 10 years that includes ALL of the previous "Special Feature" articles. Each year they have an article that explains some numbering change or introduces a new category. I wish I had every one of those!
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re: Scott's for better and worse
I just read where Gibbons has done just that and put them on CD, but it goes back much farther than 10 years!
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re: Scott's for better and worse
That would be great if they would show EVERY SINGLE one including the one where they explain (in the 40's, I think) that they are renumbering everything. I would expect this special issue to be more expensive, but many collectors would only need to buy a catalog every 10 years and would be more likely to purchase a new one. It drives me nuts to find out that a catalog number changed and I didn't know because it was announced in a catalog I didn't get. U.S. Scott #279Bj comes to mind. I think it was 279Be before. Knowing the new number is important, but knowing the previous number can also be useful when searching for a stamp. I think I got my 279Bj from someone that had it listed as a 279Be.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Scott is slow to advance to the needs of its customers.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Jumping in to this discussion, I note that almost most of the discussions are from the collectors point of view, and not the dealer. As a dealer, I have to base my selling price on something, thus I use the Scott prices,and of course discount them. Since I only buy the catalogs once every four years, my selling price is usually a couple of years old, but after the second year, I usually check the Scott in the library, on certain countries. there was a tremendous difference in prices for Chinese stamps between the 2010 & 2011 catalogs. Some of my customers were perplexed about my pricing, and I told them to check the new Scott. I usually do not change prices for three years on most of my price lists, as it is just too much work. I often wonder how certain dealers keep up with the new catalogs every year, and keep making new lists.
Richaard
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
01 Dec 2011
10:57:44am
re: Scott's for better and worse
If I were a dealer and had to maintain a mass of price lists, I would find a computer program that allowed me to enter price changes in one swope. For instance "World wide, MUH +3%; or China, Peoples's Republic 1950- date, -5%.With the kind of programs that have been developed recently that should not be all that difficult.
I can just imagine some poor soul trying to keep up hand generated lists and prices for major countries.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
No matter what program you use, you still have to put in the new prices, delete sold items, and perhaps add new items.
My lists are under WORD, and I do not make complete new lists, but i still have to do the above. If i had a magic wand, I could just write change all prices per the new Scott, just wave the wand over the catalog, and voila, it would be done. Anyone have a magic wand that they want to put in a SOR auction?
Richaard
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Just read this in Linns this morning, by Charles Snee, editor of the Scott Catalogues:
“The coming year will bring some exciting new developments for Scott, including the launching of digital versions of the catalogs that will be available via the Apple iPad and iPhone.â€
Interesting times. I hope the app is affordable, as I’d be willing to try Version 1.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
So how much do you think they will be charging for such an app? And do they want you to buy a new app each year (in other words a subscription), or do you pay once and use it as long as you want (as with a book)?
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02 Jan 2012
02:10:27pm
re: Scott's for better and worse
The Complete Deegam Machin Handbook was two very thick looseleaf binders until reduced to one CD that sold for about £39 with updates available on an exchance basis for £20.
I would expect Scott's to be able to reduce its six volumes to about two or three CDs and they could create a simiar exchange system.
With a higher volume of sales the discs out to be not much more than about $50-$60, and replacement updates about $30.
The cost of mailing one or two discs has to be much less than shipping five or six heavy catalogs.
If Scott charged more than that they would not draw in the sales that would make it profitable for them.
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re: Scott's for better and worse
@JanSimon -- my hope is that they would charge up to $100 per year as a subscription for all their content served up through the app. It's a price I'd sure be willing to pay.
For that money I'd like to see automatic updates to catalogue information and stamp values, new issues, etc. Forget this annual updating nonsense that they are forced into with paper.
What I don't think I'll see in Version 1 but would love to see in future versions is an inventory service (ie check boxes beside catalogue entries so I can track what I have), annotation service (so I can add notes to the catalogue),really good search (even image recognition search??) and ability to share info between users of the app. ie. I can share my want list with you.
If they think about how collectors really use their information and how collectors love to connect with each other and their favorite dealers, they could hugely expand their user base. think 100X the number of collectors using their information around the world.
And for those who say "$100? But they get $500 per collector now!" No they don't. They get $500 from a very, very small subset of collectors. And I'm willing to bet money that as older collectors pass on the number willing to give $500 per year for paper volumes goes way, way down too. They will transform their business and I truly think they will grow it to levels not seen since the 1950's.
Honest true!
Mark
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re: Scott's for better and worse
I'd be surprised to see another CD version of Scott.
Mark said the the new direction Scott is taking would include "…the launching of digital versions of the catalogs that will be available via the Apple iPad and iPhone.†I can't imagine anyone publishing CDs, which are rapidly becoming obsolete technology. Apps, however, are a different story altogether. A well-designed app version of the Scott catalogue could truly revolutionize catalogue publishing.
What I would like to see would be several different apps, representing different geopolitical regions, or periods, or even individual countries. Popular apps selling for a pittance have made many app developers rich. With the ever-increasing popularity of digital readers and smart phones, it's hard to imagine that Scott could not profit from publishing a variety of apps at low prices.
Bob
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re: Scott's for better and worse
Michel and Stanley Gibbons have been active with online catalogues / databases for many, many years already, so I do not think a revolution would be upcoming with the arrival of a Scott iPad app.
It would be interesting though, to see what they come up with
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re: Scott's for better and worse
On-line catalogues? Could we have a link, please?
I do think a revolution, or at least a "revolution," is possible. Anyone who has not used a good app on an iPad should treat themselves. Both my wife and I have our iPads in hand many times a day, for a variety of different uses. Her latest purchase is the National Geographic app, and it's wonderful. Much better bang for the buck than the hard-copy magazines. A stamp catalogue app could provide magnified images of stamps, detailed images, printing histories, historical details, market histories, links to specialist web pages, and even downloadable album pages. Want lists and checklists would be assumed! Interactive apps could link collectors through Facebook and other social media.
All of this won't come quickly, I'm sure. We member sof Stamporama are "cutting edge" when it comes to "digital philately". There are still many members of my club who essentially refuse to acknowledge that computers and the internet are changing philately, and that the changes are far more positive than negative.
Bob
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