Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Our library has been closed for a month now so I can’t get a stamp catalogue when I’ve finally got time to sort through and sell stamps. (Fortunately I took out 2 just before the shutdown and they are not requiring returns).
I’m thinking this may be time to start moving away from hard copies.
My questions:
1) Does anyone have a subscription to - or have purchased - the online version of the Scott catalogues. If so, thoughts?
2) Does a one live in a district where your local library has the e-versions of the catalogues available for lending? Thoughts? I have asked our library before and was rebuffed, but I’m thinking of going at it again when they reopen.
3) Does anyone know a site or resource where I could get access to the e-catalogues on an ad hoc basis? Does Scott do renting or just selling. I’m thinking of taking a selected country or small group of stamps at a time to get catalogue numbers and values - and think that paying for access on an hourly basis might be worthwhile.
Many thanks, Dave.
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Scott World Cat's are available on CD. Unfortunately mine is from 2012. I got mine from Ebay a few years back.
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Thanks Charlie.
2012 does seem that "ancient" but I don't think any of my family's 6 computers even have CD drives anymore! I wonder if they have gone fully to a monthly subscription cost model like so many other software providers.
Dave.
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External CD drives are dead cheap nowadays and selfinstal.
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Scott stopped selling the CD version but pirated copies (why they stopped) continue to be available.
Based upon a review I saw, the e-edition is just image version of the printed version. There had been complaints about searching. The price near the printed version (likely less the cost of a printed book) as I did check on that. That is, no deals on e-edition. They do offer smaller sections for a reduced price.
What I do not know if it is a purchase where you can continue to see the year you bought forever like a printed book. But it is setup as an annual subscription for latest version.
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You can always use this
http://stampsmarter.com/1847usa/SSLookUpAll.html
This resource has everything you would find in a catalog PLUS additional info like plate numbers, tagging info, and certification info for every US stamp. And it is free.
Don
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I tried the online version of Scott's catalogue. They are a pain in the butt to use. You can't save them to your computer, so you have to log in whenever you want to use them. That was my biggest problem with them.
I guess they technically weren't difficult to use, but they weren't the easiest either. After buying the first one about 2 years ago, I called and complained. They let me keep it for a week to see if I would change my mind. I didn't like it, so I called back and they gave me my money back. |
I wanted them to be on my laptop so when I went to a show I could look up information easily if needed. I couldn't do that unless there was access to wifi. Which most places don't have.
They do have good quality pictures though. And it helps that you can enlarge them and the print. But I found they were not for me. I like my catalogues beside me so that I can go from one to another when I need to without fiddling on the computer. Especially if I don't want to sit at the computer while I am working on my stamps.
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try ezstamp upgrades for countries of interest...
https://ezstamp.com/ezstamp-updates-cds-usbs-now-ready/
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A few years ago their catalogues were offered up in an iOS app. Having an iPad, I thought this would be great.
It was downright awful!
I sent them an email with its myriad problems, and they quickly got back to me stating they will look into fixing the app. They never did. Such a shame. Fortunately, Apple refunded the $40 I paid for a catalogue or two. I never bothered with their online offerings as I figured they'd be just as bad.
I have a 2009 set of pdf's, which is fine by me, although I still need to go to stampworld to see what I can't see in Scott's.
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colnect.com is another dbase
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the older digital Scott catalogues were wonderful, in terms of practicality at least (the content is Scott, so flawed, unlogical and incomplete). They were fully searchable, which I still find their main asset. Not very long ago, someone gave me a 2017 version, but it turned out to be image based, turning it into a slow loading beast that does not have any extras apart from a listing of the most recent years. In order to make it useable, I extracted the countries I needed with Acrobat Pro, turning them into single files per country and that makes it sort of okay.
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If you received a digital 2017 PDF I doubt it came from Scott directly. They stopped issuing PDF versions.
It is my understanding the online versions cannot be saved to your local system except like as a screen print. This is why I would never consider purchasing them along with other user complaints.
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I have a 2009 digital Scott Catalogue which is in PDF format. Came on CD and I paid a reasonable price for it. Pretty easy to search for stamps as it has a handy table of contents/Go-To feature for each volume.
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12:40:41pm
I use them exclusively. I admit that they are a bit clunky especially starting with the 2020 version. I love that I can use them on my phone, on my tablet and on my computer (use most). The search option is not great at all. If a catalog number is less than 1000 and the country is at the end of the book, it is almost impossible to search for the number because you only get about 20 records back in the search results. I sometimes use https://colnect.com/en/stamps to identify the stamps and then go to the catalog number in the catalog to get the value of the stamp.
Versions prior to 2020 allowed you to copy text but not anymore. Also in the prior versions you could "tag" certain stamps and use them as a way to navigate. For example, I used to tag the first U.S. stamps in the catalog for rate changes. This way if I had a 33 cent stamp I was trying to identify, I could just click on the 33 cent tag I created. Can't do that anymore either. I have complained but was told there is nothing that they can do. They had to change vendors because the old one went out of business. Usually products get better when they "upgrade" (which is how they originally sold it). But they definitely went backwards.
That being said, I have been able to figure out how to get around all the negatives and have had a positive experience using them. I just wish they would break out more individual countries Not sure how hard that would be.
Bob
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Consider looking on ebay for a used set of printed catalogs if you collect worldwide. Perfect when disconnected...
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09:07:51am
" .... a used set of printed catalogs if you collect worldwide. ...."
That is the way to go, but be cautious about
the shipping cost. A set weighs a short ton.
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I much prefer printed catalogues than digital.
I have bought from amazon in the past. I also use our local library.
I missed the boat, I should have gone to the library the day of the lockdown and taken out a few!!
There is a company on ebay that splits the Scott Catalogues into separate countries.
The problem with this is that Scott just prices recent sets and not individual stamps that's why Gibbons has the advantage over Scott.
What I would like to find is a catalogue of the Japanese Prefectures with every stamp illustrated.
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A few years ago, a member of the International Society for Japanese Philately (www.isjp.org) self-published a very nice book documenting every prefecture issue.
"Japanese Furusato Stamp Program 1989- 2007 by Cecil H. Uyehara."
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"What I would like to find is a catalogue of the Japanese Prefectures with every stamp illustrated"
The "Sakura" catalogue of Japanese stamps does a pretty good job of this, with one noteworthy shortcoming. On sheets where there are, say, 10 different designs, the illustrations aren't large enough to really make out the designs very well.
The Sakura catalogue does have the advantage of breaking out the prefecture issues into a separate section, so they're easier to look through. And for those individual stamps that are part of a sheet of different designs, it might be a helpful strategy to look on StampWorld or Colnet to get a better look at the stamp images themselves. Just a thought, anyway.
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Stanley Gibbons has a separate section for the Prefecture stamps but does not illustrate each stamp.
Stampworld & Colnect has them illustrated but the Prefecture stamps are lumped in between the national issues which is unhelpful.
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04:10:43pm
Ian,
In Colnect you can get to just the Prefecture stamps by clicking into
Japan > Emissions > Regional > Stamps
Here is a direct link:
https://colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/108-Japan/emission/14-Regional
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parkinlot:- Thanks for the info. The trouble I have with Colnect and others is that they do not list the Prefecture stamps by the Prefecture they list them by date issued,
Gibbons list them by individual prefecture but do not show sufficient illustrations.
I thought I found the answer, someone was selling a cd with the prefecture stamps illustrated but again it was by date issued not by prefecture. I may well have to buy it and produce my own catalogue listing by prefecture.
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04:51:03pm
Hi Ian,
Aha! I getchya....
Bob
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Ian, not sure if you have seen this site.
https://inglorious.ecrater.com.au/p/20171965/color-printed-japan-prefectures-furusato-1989-2007
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Vic,
I would be wary of the site you mentioned;
I just checked it, and when you click on the "about", "terms" and "contact" tabs
at the lower right, the pages are all blank?
No info at all!
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Thanks Musicman, I did not click on any links but seem to recall somewhere that it was a work in progress.
I have just tried the links but as you say they go nowhere but neither did they trigger my antivirus software.
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Good to know.
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Pressed the links and they worked fine. Possibly some previous site changed some setting on your Computer without your knowledge ?
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I clicked on the links as well...
And they worked fine for me, too....there's just nothing on those pages.
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Did it again. There are 9 pages full of stuff. Went into the 1st 3 just to see and they worked fine.
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Nope nothing apart from the header on the "About, Terms and Contact" links. They do not work from the homepage either. Maybe it's my ad blocker?
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I'm seeing no details on the Contact, etc. pages either and tested it with three different browsers to no avail. The main page does work just none of the further information type pages.
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Sheepshanks:- Thanks for the link but again listed as date of issue not by Prefecture.
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Ian, I was thinking (dangerous I know)that if it is illustrated in colour that this would aid your sorting of stamps.
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Sheepshanks:- Yes it would but I had tracked down another company who was selling a cd for $9.00 with the same info. But being a bit lazy and mean with the bawbees I'm still looking for "What I Want, What I Really Really Want. (To quote the Spice Girls)
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Think the Spice girls would be worse for you than the virus, especially if she who rules gets to know.
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This one I could handle:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdW9oM6ZMME
As my wife says " Our dog chases cars.........But he can't drive!"
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Ian - Our own Stamporama member Jan-Simon has already started your project for you
Check out his website:-
http://www.pagowirense.nl/stamps/inf-furusato3.asp
Mod. Fixed link.
(Modified by Moderator on 2020-05-03 06:09:52)
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Being a prolific and eclectic reader, not having access to the library during the pandemic is killing me! Typically I would go every 2 weeks and take out 5-6 books and a different Scott Catalogue.
Our library has been closed for a month now so I can’t get a stamp catalogue when I’ve finally got time to sort through and sell stamps. (Fortunately I took out 2 just before the shutdown and they are not requiring returns).
I’m thinking this may be time to start moving away from hard copies.
My questions:
1) Does anyone have a subscription to - or have purchased - the online version of the Scott catalogues. If so, thoughts?
2) Does a one live in a district where your local library has the e-versions of the catalogues available for lending? Thoughts? I have asked our library before and was rebuffed, but I’m thinking of going at it again when they reopen.
3) Does anyone know a site or resource where I could get access to the e-catalogues on an ad hoc basis? Does Scott do renting or just selling. I’m thinking of taking a selected country or small group of stamps at a time to get catalogue numbers and values - and think that paying for access on an hourly basis might be worthwhile.
Many thanks, Dave.
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Scott World Cat's are available on CD. Unfortunately mine is from 2012. I got mine from Ebay a few years back.
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Thanks Charlie.
2012 does seem that "ancient" but I don't think any of my family's 6 computers even have CD drives anymore! I wonder if they have gone fully to a monthly subscription cost model like so many other software providers.
Dave.
Login to Like
this post
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
External CD drives are dead cheap nowadays and selfinstal.
Login to Like
this post
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Scott stopped selling the CD version but pirated copies (why they stopped) continue to be available.
Based upon a review I saw, the e-edition is just image version of the printed version. There had been complaints about searching. The price near the printed version (likely less the cost of a printed book) as I did check on that. That is, no deals on e-edition. They do offer smaller sections for a reduced price.
What I do not know if it is a purchase where you can continue to see the year you bought forever like a printed book. But it is setup as an annual subscription for latest version.
Login to Like
this post
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
You can always use this
http://stampsmarter.com/1847usa/SSLookUpAll.html
This resource has everything you would find in a catalog PLUS additional info like plate numbers, tagging info, and certification info for every US stamp. And it is free.
Don
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
I tried the online version of Scott's catalogue. They are a pain in the butt to use. You can't save them to your computer, so you have to log in whenever you want to use them. That was my biggest problem with them.
I guess they technically weren't difficult to use, but they weren't the easiest either. After buying the first one about 2 years ago, I called and complained. They let me keep it for a week to see if I would change my mind. I didn't like it, so I called back and they gave me my money back. |
I wanted them to be on my laptop so when I went to a show I could look up information easily if needed. I couldn't do that unless there was access to wifi. Which most places don't have.
They do have good quality pictures though. And it helps that you can enlarge them and the print. But I found they were not for me. I like my catalogues beside me so that I can go from one to another when I need to without fiddling on the computer. Especially if I don't want to sit at the computer while I am working on my stamps.
Login to Like
this post
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
try ezstamp upgrades for countries of interest...
https://ezstamp.com/ezstamp-updates-cds-usbs-now-ready/
Login to Like
this post
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
A few years ago their catalogues were offered up in an iOS app. Having an iPad, I thought this would be great.
It was downright awful!
I sent them an email with its myriad problems, and they quickly got back to me stating they will look into fixing the app. They never did. Such a shame. Fortunately, Apple refunded the $40 I paid for a catalogue or two. I never bothered with their online offerings as I figured they'd be just as bad.
I have a 2009 set of pdf's, which is fine by me, although I still need to go to stampworld to see what I can't see in Scott's.
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
colnect.com is another dbase
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
the older digital Scott catalogues were wonderful, in terms of practicality at least (the content is Scott, so flawed, unlogical and incomplete). They were fully searchable, which I still find their main asset. Not very long ago, someone gave me a 2017 version, but it turned out to be image based, turning it into a slow loading beast that does not have any extras apart from a listing of the most recent years. In order to make it useable, I extracted the countries I needed with Acrobat Pro, turning them into single files per country and that makes it sort of okay.
Login to Like
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
If you received a digital 2017 PDF I doubt it came from Scott directly. They stopped issuing PDF versions.
It is my understanding the online versions cannot be saved to your local system except like as a screen print. This is why I would never consider purchasing them along with other user complaints.
Login to Like
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
I have a 2009 digital Scott Catalogue which is in PDF format. Came on CD and I paid a reasonable price for it. Pretty easy to search for stamps as it has a handy table of contents/Go-To feature for each volume.
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Immediate Past President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
18 Apr 2020
12:40:41pm
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
I use them exclusively. I admit that they are a bit clunky especially starting with the 2020 version. I love that I can use them on my phone, on my tablet and on my computer (use most). The search option is not great at all. If a catalog number is less than 1000 and the country is at the end of the book, it is almost impossible to search for the number because you only get about 20 records back in the search results. I sometimes use https://colnect.com/en/stamps to identify the stamps and then go to the catalog number in the catalog to get the value of the stamp.
Versions prior to 2020 allowed you to copy text but not anymore. Also in the prior versions you could "tag" certain stamps and use them as a way to navigate. For example, I used to tag the first U.S. stamps in the catalog for rate changes. This way if I had a 33 cent stamp I was trying to identify, I could just click on the 33 cent tag I created. Can't do that anymore either. I have complained but was told there is nothing that they can do. They had to change vendors because the old one went out of business. Usually products get better when they "upgrade" (which is how they originally sold it). But they definitely went backwards.
That being said, I have been able to figure out how to get around all the negatives and have had a positive experience using them. I just wish they would break out more individual countries Not sure how hard that would be.
Bob
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Consider looking on ebay for a used set of printed catalogs if you collect worldwide. Perfect when disconnected...
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
19 Apr 2020
09:07:51am
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
" .... a used set of printed catalogs if you collect worldwide. ...."
That is the way to go, but be cautious about
the shipping cost. A set weighs a short ton.
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09:32:11am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
I much prefer printed catalogues than digital.
I have bought from amazon in the past. I also use our local library.
I missed the boat, I should have gone to the library the day of the lockdown and taken out a few!!
There is a company on ebay that splits the Scott Catalogues into separate countries.
The problem with this is that Scott just prices recent sets and not individual stamps that's why Gibbons has the advantage over Scott.
What I would like to find is a catalogue of the Japanese Prefectures with every stamp illustrated.
Login to Like
this post
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
A few years ago, a member of the International Society for Japanese Philately (www.isjp.org) self-published a very nice book documenting every prefecture issue.
"Japanese Furusato Stamp Program 1989- 2007 by Cecil H. Uyehara."
Login to Like
this post
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
"What I would like to find is a catalogue of the Japanese Prefectures with every stamp illustrated"
The "Sakura" catalogue of Japanese stamps does a pretty good job of this, with one noteworthy shortcoming. On sheets where there are, say, 10 different designs, the illustrations aren't large enough to really make out the designs very well.
The Sakura catalogue does have the advantage of breaking out the prefecture issues into a separate section, so they're easier to look through. And for those individual stamps that are part of a sheet of different designs, it might be a helpful strategy to look on StampWorld or Colnet to get a better look at the stamp images themselves. Just a thought, anyway.
Login to Like
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04:49:41am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Stanley Gibbons has a separate section for the Prefecture stamps but does not illustrate each stamp.
Stampworld & Colnect has them illustrated but the Prefecture stamps are lumped in between the national issues which is unhelpful.
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Immediate Past President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
24 Apr 2020
04:10:43pm
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Ian,
In Colnect you can get to just the Prefecture stamps by clicking into
Japan > Emissions > Regional > Stamps
Here is a direct link:
https://colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/108-Japan/emission/14-Regional
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01:01:18pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
parkinlot:- Thanks for the info. The trouble I have with Colnect and others is that they do not list the Prefecture stamps by the Prefecture they list them by date issued,
Gibbons list them by individual prefecture but do not show sufficient illustrations.
I thought I found the answer, someone was selling a cd with the prefecture stamps illustrated but again it was by date issued not by prefecture. I may well have to buy it and produce my own catalogue listing by prefecture.
Login to Like
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Immediate Past President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
26 Apr 2020
04:51:03pm
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Hi Ian,
Aha! I getchya....
Bob
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Ian, not sure if you have seen this site.
https://inglorious.ecrater.com.au/p/20171965/color-printed-japan-prefectures-furusato-1989-2007
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Vic,
I would be wary of the site you mentioned;
I just checked it, and when you click on the "about", "terms" and "contact" tabs
at the lower right, the pages are all blank?
No info at all!
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Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Thanks Musicman, I did not click on any links but seem to recall somewhere that it was a work in progress.
I have just tried the links but as you say they go nowhere but neither did they trigger my antivirus software.
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Good to know.
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Pressed the links and they worked fine. Possibly some previous site changed some setting on your Computer without your knowledge ?
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
I clicked on the links as well...
And they worked fine for me, too....there's just nothing on those pages.
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Did it again. There are 9 pages full of stuff. Went into the 1st 3 just to see and they worked fine.
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Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Nope nothing apart from the header on the "About, Terms and Contact" links. They do not work from the homepage either. Maybe it's my ad blocker?
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re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
I'm seeing no details on the Contact, etc. pages either and tested it with three different browsers to no avail. The main page does work just none of the further information type pages.
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05:03:40am
Auctions - Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Sheepshanks:- Thanks for the link but again listed as date of issue not by Prefecture.
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Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Ian, I was thinking (dangerous I know)that if it is illustrated in colour that this would aid your sorting of stamps.
Login to Like
this post
03:51:06pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Sheepshanks:- Yes it would but I had tracked down another company who was selling a cd for $9.00 with the same info. But being a bit lazy and mean with the bawbees I'm still looking for "What I Want, What I Really Really Want. (To quote the Spice Girls)
Login to Like
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Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Think the Spice girls would be worse for you than the virus, especially if she who rules gets to know.
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06:01:33pm
Auctions - Approvals
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
This one I could handle:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdW9oM6ZMME
As my wife says " Our dog chases cars.........But he can't drive!"
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Auctions
re: Scott Catalogues On-Line
Ian - Our own Stamporama member Jan-Simon has already started your project for you
Check out his website:-
http://www.pagowirense.nl/stamps/inf-furusato3.asp
Mod. Fixed link.
(Modified by Moderator on 2020-05-03 06:09:52)
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