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Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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For People Who Love To Talk About Stamps



What we collect!
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Sales, Swaps, Auction & Approvals/Approvals Disc. : Book Organization Kudos

 

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rrraphy
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Retired Consultant APS#186030

27 Oct 2021
12:41:57pm

Approvals
A topic that never dies...how organized should Approval Books be?
From every stamp with Cat # and year to floor droppings, I see all kind of books, and you know my preference, even if prices are higher (but there are seldom any differences...)

Just came across a book by HolocaustStamps that navigated well the middle road. Stamps were grouped by Year. Turns out some of the years were right in my target for expansion of my collected years, and SOR offers the very nice feature of buying the whole page! One click per page...voila!

Please sellers, if you don't want to take the extra effort of indicating cat numbers (and I understand why), could you at least attempt to group the stamps in some form of order, or list them by year or by narrow range of years per page. or by country if you post worldwide books...it would work just as well. Thanks in advance.

rrr...

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Jansimon
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collector, seller, MT member

28 Oct 2021
08:58:58am

Approvals
re: Book Organization Kudos

I try to organize my books as much as possible, but sometimes it works better than other times. For instance, some countries have an output that wildly varies in catalogue value. In those cases I cannot list things all chronologically. In other cases, the stamps all have equal value, or I can't be bothered to check them all (because I did a good job purchasing the lot, or just want to get rid of the stamps) and I just put them in the books. In such cases speed wins over accuracy. As a bonus, there is a bigger chance I have overlooked something and the buyer might find something interesting, but he has to do some extra work for it. Happy
Anyway, I understand what you mean and do my best to create logically ordered books.

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

28 Oct 2021
09:48:34am
re: Book Organization Kudos

I would love it if all books were in order by year with Scott's numbers, but that is ridiculous! I would be happy if countries are together and in some sort of order without much stamp overlap and the stamps clear enough and large enough for me to tell what they are. Most sellers do that much, I just try to ignore those that don't. Of course, since I collect by Scott which recognizes watermark varieties, there are many cases when I can't buy your stamps because I don't know the watermark or can't tell the perforation. I live with that and the sellers have to as well. Most of you do an excellent job with your books and the few that don't...well, I just don't buy from your books very often. I hope I haven't offended any sellers, most of you do an amazing job and some of you actually go beyond what is expected!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Brechinite

28 Oct 2021
10:33:29am
re: Book Organization Kudos

"Scott which recognizes watermark varieties, there are many cases when I can't buy your stamps because I don't know the watermark or can't tell the perforation."



You may find that both the "better" watermark varieties and perf varieties are listed in the auctions rather than in an Approval Book.

It also happens that a lot of catalogues do not list these "varieties" so sellers may not be aware that there are varieties of watermark and perforations.

So just keep looking.

"Whit’s fur ye’ll no go by ye!.
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amsd
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Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads

28 Oct 2021
11:10:22am

Auctions
re: Book Organization Kudos

if you promise to buy it, i'll list it anyway you like

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HolocaustStamps

Collecting one stamp for each of the 1.5 Million children murdered in The Holocaust.

28 Oct 2021
10:12:31pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

Thanks for the shout-out Ralph.

I've been on the opposite side of your argument: for cheap Approval items adding catalogue numbers is a negative-revenue activity for sellers (well, at least for me).

However, I did find changing the format of my Vario pages recently to allow almost any size/shape of stamps to be combined in a single page then allowed me to spend a bit more time (not overwhelming) to sort by issue year at least.

Hopefully I can continue this and get even more people buying to support the project (I like your idea of buying whole pages - hopefully it will catch on).

Cheers, Dave.

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Brechinite

30 Oct 2021
06:52:16pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

It can be difficult to list in year order as the limits imposed on the seller restricts this.

Keep in mind a 100 stamp minimum and a 24 page maximum.

For example take 35 incomplete sets of 4 over 20 years.

The range of "price" of an individual stamp could be, 10 cents, 15 cents, 20 cents, 25 cents, 30 cents, 35 cents, 40 cents, 45 cents, 50 cents, 55 cents, 60 cents, 65 cents, 70 cents, 75 cents, 80 cents, 85 cents, 90 cents, 95 cents, $1.00, $1,10, $ 1.20. (Of course it can go higher)

In this case there are 21 price points meaning 21 pages are required,

On page one you may have 10 stamps from 10 different years, on page 2 you may have 10 stamps from 8 different years and 8 different years from page 1. On page 3 you may have 3 stamps from 3 years not on page one 2 not on page 2 but one on page two.
You may only have 2 stamps on each of the following pages which means you fall short on the 100 stamp limit even if you add 3 extra pages and of course nothing is in year order ( eg 1976 on page 10 12 & 14, 1972 on page 11 12 and 13 and 1968 on page 2 12 and 16)

I have tried to simplify the example but this is what sellers come across when trying to put together an Approval Book. It can be more complex than people think.

I have said it before and I will repeat myself. ALL members should pick 100 stamps of their duplicates and try and put an approval book together in country order, year order, price order, scan the pages and list it and just see how complex and time consuming it is.
(No cheating by taking stamps out of a stockbook that is already in order)


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BenFranklin1902
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Tom in Exton, PA

06 Nov 2021
01:44:13pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

It's slave labor! Big Grin

I've done a few books of US First Day Covers and put them in date order. That's the best I'm gonna do!

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Brechinite

06 Nov 2021
04:23:54pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

I can only say:-


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EkMkjQab_E

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

01 Jan 2022
06:44:24pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

I just want to make a comment about "mixture books". I always check them out because sometimes real treasures can be hidden in there. But... would it be possible with maybe about a half hour's work to keep countries together? I was looking through a book where all the prices were the same, so to me there seems to be no real need to separate countries all over the book. I always look through these books for countries like Russia and Poland. I was just looking at a book where Poland seemed to scattered all over the place. This seems like it should be fairly easy to avoid, but maybe it takes more work than I think. Just a comment and if it is a lot of work to do I apologize!!

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
06:42:36am
re: Book Organization Kudos

Currently approximately 10% of all books are classified as "Worldwide". The price per item ranges from 4 cents to several dollars. The average appears to be 10 cents.

What can be deduced from this is that these books fill a need for some buyers.

90% of the remaining book categories give a wide choice of countries and topics.

How all these books are laid out is up to the Seller.

Sellers are wide and varied in their capabilities and knowledge. Some have time constraints and find it easier to put up a "Worldwide" Book all at the same price rather than individually search through catalogue numbers, values etc.


"I always check them out because sometimes real treasures can be hidden in there."



These Books may contain some bargains and rewards the Buyer who is prepared to take the time to seek them out. If a Buyer is not prepared to spend the time going through these books I have one suggestion for them....Do not look at these books.

One should always be careful what they wish for. More work for the seller, more detailed requirements for the buyer will lead to higher prices and the disappearance of the "bargains" in these "Worldwide" Books.

I sometimes feel that peoples expectations of the Approval Books system here goes way beyond the principle behind the introduction of the system.
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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

02 Jan 2022
08:06:32am
re: Book Organization Kudos

I didn't say "bargains", I said "treasures", a big difference. If I had to pay an extra couple cents because the seller organized a little bit, at least by country, I wouldn't have a problem with that. By the way, there are a few sellers I only look at if the mood is right. If the book is more frustrating than fun it defeats the purpose of the hobby. It isn't much fun looking through some books so I will follow Ian's advice and not bother.

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
10:37:53am
re: Book Organization Kudos

Treasures? Bargains? To some they are the same thing.

What treasures/bargains are to one collector are "Floor Sweepings" to another!

That is the diversity of our hobby.

"I have said it before and I will repeat myself. ALL members should pick 100 stamps of their duplicates and try and put an approval book together in country order, year order, price order, scan the pages and list it and just see how complex and time consuming it is.
(No cheating by taking stamps out of a stockbook that is already in order)"



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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

02 Jan 2022
12:21:04pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

Ian, honestly, I don't ask for much. All I would like to see is countries together! I really don't think it would take long. I look through most of the mixture books and Country XXX is scattered through the book, a few on each page. I have a pretty good idea who does this and won't check their offerings anymore. I'm sure others are doing the same. I don't care if they are numbered, in alphabetical order or in order by year - just keep countries together within price ranges. If the prices vary in the book, and a lot of mixture books have all stamps the same price, just keep the countries together within the price. I see cases where the same stamp is in three different places in the book and there's no real excuse for that (in my opinion). Ian, your books are immaculate and well organized and a joy to buy from. To sellers of these "mixture books", how about a minimal amount of basic organization. Please at least keep series together within prices and repeated stamps should be together. How about a couple very basic rules for the books??? I am expressing my opinion only, please don't unduly criticize!!

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
01:31:38pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

Yes you are expressing your opinion as am I!

The majority of the time that I post on this platform I only have one goal:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRloeL9Zpt8

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
01:42:19pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

"How about a couple very basic rules for the books???"



There are (see Approval Rules)

If one has a complaint about a book then one should make that complaint to the appropriate authority.

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

02 Jan 2022
02:12:33pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

I re-read the rules and there are several that are broken on a regular basis. I've never been a complainer, I guess I assume the seller will read the post eventually and clean up his/her act. By the way, while you're laughing about my comment about "not being a complainer", I do complain but I usually don't run to authority figures to do it. I guess I'll just stay away from sellers whose material I don't like. There's only a few, most of you are fantastic!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
02:51:47pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

"most of you are fantastic!!"



I can heartily agree that most Buyers and Sellers are fantastic.
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rrraphy
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Retired Consultant APS#186030

02 Jan 2022
06:27:08pm

Approvals
re: Book Organization Kudos

Many of the recent Worldwide Books are crap...floor droppings masquerading as Approvals. We should REQUIRE some form of order, as we did have once before before, (I will remind some that worldwide at the inception of Approvals was NOT allowed). At minimum grouping countries and having duplicates not scattered everywhere should be mandated, just as we mandate indicatig faults. Is it so difficult?
rrr...

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Harvey
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!

02 Jan 2022
06:39:37pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

rrr - I agree, there has to be some minimum standard. The other day I was checking one of these mixture books for Poland and got so frustrated that it wasn't fun anymore and gave up on it. What I'm doing now is opening the book and looking at the first page and if there is no organization I don't go any further!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
psgStamper
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02 Jan 2022
06:43:29pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

While it would be great to have books structured by country, sorted by Scott # (or whatever system the seller chooses) and in chronological order, I would settle for grouping countries and some attempt at chronological order. Oh yeah, if you have duplicates, please place them together... no hiding throughout the book. I have pretty much given up looking at books with no order whatsoever... Other than that, I do find SOR to be my #1 online source for stamps!

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
07:52:12pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

There are rules.

The problem is enforcement or should I say lack of enforcement.

To expect someone to go through every book when they are listed looking at each item would take an inordinate amount of time and to me is totally wasteful.

Some members point out that they are dis-satisfied with some books and that rules are being broken.

Not all sellers read the posts on the discussion board so expecting them to "change their ways" is a no no.

As I see it the only way forward is for the dis-satisfied members to complain to those in authority and allow the authorities to take the appropriate action. (The authorities cannot take action if they are not given the information.)

If the dis-satisfied members do not feel that they want to notify the authorities then that is their privilige and may I suggest that they take note of the particular seller and don't look at their Books ever again. or

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
08:29:11pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

There is one particular seller who has sold many, many, many items from their Approval Books over the last 14 days. Yes some of their books would qualify for rrraphy's "Floor Sweepings" and Harveys less than "Minimum Standard".

They also have some "Brilliant" Approval Books with a wide variety of different countries.

Too strict enforcement over the "poor" books may result in losing a good resource of better material.

This member accounts for approx 14% of the total books listed.

Be careful what you wish for.

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Webpaper

In loving memory of Carol, my wife for 52 years.

02 Jan 2022
10:01:14pm

Auctions - Approvals
re: Book Organization Kudos

Back when I was doing shows the bulk of my material slowly became postal history and related ephemera where welcomed.

Two schools of thought as to organization - the first was to have everything categorized and notated with what the cover was and its redeeming features, all neatly sleeved and orderly. The second was totally disorganized with small light price notations on a back corner of each cover. You would find a 50 cent 1880's GPC and the next cover would be a scarce $200 territorial stampless.

Guess who had lines of people waiting for a chair. Guess who sold the most covers. The logic is simple - few people collect only one type of cover. Cover collectors are eclectic and are always looking for something new. At the organized tables they go through a box of early FDC's, then a box of stsmpless, then a box of #11's looking for #10's,a box of #26's looking for #25's. They see the same covers month after month. Boring.

At the anything goes anywhere table they are exposed to new material every month just from the sheer volume of it. They pick up something because - "Hey, that's neat".

Food for thought - personally I go through world wide at nickels and dimes apiece because there are bargains to be found in that mess and I can scan the whole 24 page book in under 5 minutes. Do I miss things - certainly but I often come away with one or more stamps that catalog a few dollars apiece.

Let the market decide

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Brechinite

03 Jan 2022
05:22:21am
re: Book Organization Kudos

I attend a few auctions and buy mixed boxes.

Looking through these boxes is more "exciting" and "rewarding" than an album/box of a single country.

The "chase" can be more interesting than the "result".

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auldstampguy
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Tim
Collector, Webmaster

09 Jan 2022
10:28:04am
re: Book Organization Kudos

I just bought a bunch of stamps from a couple of Jan-Simon (siem)'s Approval Books. Jan-Simon had listed them in chronological order on the page, which made it so easy for me to check whether I had them already or not. Thank you Jan-Simon, I really appreciate your efforts.

Regards ... Tim.

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rrraphy
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Retired Consultant APS#186030

23 Jan 2022
11:02:55pm

Approvals
re: Book Organization Kudos

Another HATS OFF to Jan-Simon (Siem) and his 3 El Salvador Approval Books just issued.
Books are a real pleasure to buy from. Organized in chronological order (so who needs the category number, they are de facto in Cat # order!).
These are what Approval Books should be.
And it is to me a further proof that well organized books sell! So far they have sold in the high 30s to 70s percentages. On the other hand as Ian will note, no one knows why some sell and some don't...subject wise, or price wise. But I beg to differ as to the organization of the books. Well organized books sell better!

Compare these 3 books with the flood of disorganized books that are increasingly dominating Approvals. I must admit that as disorganized as they may be, the Approval Books sell (possibly at lower percentages?). Is it because of lower prices. Not evident. Go figure!

Some of us buying on SOR must have extra time. I, for one, cannot turn through page after page of randomly thrown together stamps to pick what I need. After trying, a page or 2, I usually just move on elsewhere. I then avoid these sellers in the future.

Again Thanks J-S (Siem). Wonderful books to explore.

rrr...

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Jansimon
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collector, seller, MT member

24 Jan 2022
03:42:51am

Approvals
re: Book Organization Kudos

Hi Ralph,
Thank you for your kind words. I think these El Salvador stamps would still have sold if they had been less organized, but not this much. As you can imagine, I am pleased with the results as well. When I saw this collection being offered, I knew I had to get it because it is not often that one sees anything from this country in such quantities.
Anyway, not wanting to say anything negative about my colleague sellers, I have given up on going through these seemingly random world wide books as well. Even though I know there are gems hidden in them, like you I do not have the stamina to go through 20 pages of Romania and Ras al Khaima to find that one stamp from Memel, Danzig or Peru I would like.
And yes, I must admit that some of my books are also a bit chaotic, but at least they are one country or at least one common theme/region/subject.

Sometimes my wife tells me I have autistic tendencies, I suppose the fact that I enjoy putting things in the correct order is some sort of proof of that Big Grin

Well, I bought an interesting bunch of Venezuela together with these El Salvador ones. These are due to be put in one or more approval books as well. I suppose the bar has been set high now...

Jan-Simon

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rrraphy
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Retired Consultant APS#186030

24 Jan 2022
11:35:34am

Approvals
re: Book Organization Kudos

Looking forward to your VZ.
The bar was set high at inception.

It has degraded, and to be specific, there is no attempt to tighten it back, even part way, or even pretend to moderate Approvals. Some here do not believe in it. I shall say no more.

rrr...

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michael78651

24 Jan 2022
11:52:34pm
re: Book Organization Kudos

The worldwide approval books are supposed to be organized, and not just a jumble. I have seen them too. You would think that a seller would take pride in the product being offered. If I went to buy a car from someone and the car was trashed out. I'd just walk away from it. A seller with no pride in what they are selling tells me that I would mostly like wind up with a POS if I did buy something from them.

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rrraphy

Retired Consultant APS#186030
27 Oct 2021
12:41:57pm

Approvals

A topic that never dies...how organized should Approval Books be?
From every stamp with Cat # and year to floor droppings, I see all kind of books, and you know my preference, even if prices are higher (but there are seldom any differences...)

Just came across a book by HolocaustStamps that navigated well the middle road. Stamps were grouped by Year. Turns out some of the years were right in my target for expansion of my collected years, and SOR offers the very nice feature of buying the whole page! One click per page...voila!

Please sellers, if you don't want to take the extra effort of indicating cat numbers (and I understand why), could you at least attempt to group the stamps in some form of order, or list them by year or by narrow range of years per page. or by country if you post worldwide books...it would work just as well. Thanks in advance.

rrr...

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Jansimon

collector, seller, MT member
28 Oct 2021
08:58:58am

Approvals

re: Book Organization Kudos

I try to organize my books as much as possible, but sometimes it works better than other times. For instance, some countries have an output that wildly varies in catalogue value. In those cases I cannot list things all chronologically. In other cases, the stamps all have equal value, or I can't be bothered to check them all (because I did a good job purchasing the lot, or just want to get rid of the stamps) and I just put them in the books. In such cases speed wins over accuracy. As a bonus, there is a bigger chance I have overlooked something and the buyer might find something interesting, but he has to do some extra work for it. Happy
Anyway, I understand what you mean and do my best to create logically ordered books.

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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
28 Oct 2021
09:48:34am

re: Book Organization Kudos

I would love it if all books were in order by year with Scott's numbers, but that is ridiculous! I would be happy if countries are together and in some sort of order without much stamp overlap and the stamps clear enough and large enough for me to tell what they are. Most sellers do that much, I just try to ignore those that don't. Of course, since I collect by Scott which recognizes watermark varieties, there are many cases when I can't buy your stamps because I don't know the watermark or can't tell the perforation. I live with that and the sellers have to as well. Most of you do an excellent job with your books and the few that don't...well, I just don't buy from your books very often. I hope I haven't offended any sellers, most of you do an amazing job and some of you actually go beyond what is expected!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Brechinite

28 Oct 2021
10:33:29am

re: Book Organization Kudos

"Scott which recognizes watermark varieties, there are many cases when I can't buy your stamps because I don't know the watermark or can't tell the perforation."



You may find that both the "better" watermark varieties and perf varieties are listed in the auctions rather than in an Approval Book.

It also happens that a lot of catalogues do not list these "varieties" so sellers may not be aware that there are varieties of watermark and perforations.

So just keep looking.

"Whit’s fur ye’ll no go by ye!.
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amsd

Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
28 Oct 2021
11:10:22am

Auctions

re: Book Organization Kudos

if you promise to buy it, i'll list it anyway you like

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HolocaustStamps

Collecting one stamp for each of the 1.5 Million children murdered in The Holocaust.

28 Oct 2021
10:12:31pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

Thanks for the shout-out Ralph.

I've been on the opposite side of your argument: for cheap Approval items adding catalogue numbers is a negative-revenue activity for sellers (well, at least for me).

However, I did find changing the format of my Vario pages recently to allow almost any size/shape of stamps to be combined in a single page then allowed me to spend a bit more time (not overwhelming) to sort by issue year at least.

Hopefully I can continue this and get even more people buying to support the project (I like your idea of buying whole pages - hopefully it will catch on).

Cheers, Dave.

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Brechinite

30 Oct 2021
06:52:16pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

It can be difficult to list in year order as the limits imposed on the seller restricts this.

Keep in mind a 100 stamp minimum and a 24 page maximum.

For example take 35 incomplete sets of 4 over 20 years.

The range of "price" of an individual stamp could be, 10 cents, 15 cents, 20 cents, 25 cents, 30 cents, 35 cents, 40 cents, 45 cents, 50 cents, 55 cents, 60 cents, 65 cents, 70 cents, 75 cents, 80 cents, 85 cents, 90 cents, 95 cents, $1.00, $1,10, $ 1.20. (Of course it can go higher)

In this case there are 21 price points meaning 21 pages are required,

On page one you may have 10 stamps from 10 different years, on page 2 you may have 10 stamps from 8 different years and 8 different years from page 1. On page 3 you may have 3 stamps from 3 years not on page one 2 not on page 2 but one on page two.
You may only have 2 stamps on each of the following pages which means you fall short on the 100 stamp limit even if you add 3 extra pages and of course nothing is in year order ( eg 1976 on page 10 12 & 14, 1972 on page 11 12 and 13 and 1968 on page 2 12 and 16)

I have tried to simplify the example but this is what sellers come across when trying to put together an Approval Book. It can be more complex than people think.

I have said it before and I will repeat myself. ALL members should pick 100 stamps of their duplicates and try and put an approval book together in country order, year order, price order, scan the pages and list it and just see how complex and time consuming it is.
(No cheating by taking stamps out of a stockbook that is already in order)


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BenFranklin1902

Tom in Exton, PA
06 Nov 2021
01:44:13pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

It's slave labor! Big Grin

I've done a few books of US First Day Covers and put them in date order. That's the best I'm gonna do!

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Brechinite

06 Nov 2021
04:23:54pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

I can only say:-


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EkMkjQab_E

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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
01 Jan 2022
06:44:24pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

I just want to make a comment about "mixture books". I always check them out because sometimes real treasures can be hidden in there. But... would it be possible with maybe about a half hour's work to keep countries together? I was looking through a book where all the prices were the same, so to me there seems to be no real need to separate countries all over the book. I always look through these books for countries like Russia and Poland. I was just looking at a book where Poland seemed to scattered all over the place. This seems like it should be fairly easy to avoid, but maybe it takes more work than I think. Just a comment and if it is a lot of work to do I apologize!!

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
06:42:36am

re: Book Organization Kudos

Currently approximately 10% of all books are classified as "Worldwide". The price per item ranges from 4 cents to several dollars. The average appears to be 10 cents.

What can be deduced from this is that these books fill a need for some buyers.

90% of the remaining book categories give a wide choice of countries and topics.

How all these books are laid out is up to the Seller.

Sellers are wide and varied in their capabilities and knowledge. Some have time constraints and find it easier to put up a "Worldwide" Book all at the same price rather than individually search through catalogue numbers, values etc.


"I always check them out because sometimes real treasures can be hidden in there."



These Books may contain some bargains and rewards the Buyer who is prepared to take the time to seek them out. If a Buyer is not prepared to spend the time going through these books I have one suggestion for them....Do not look at these books.

One should always be careful what they wish for. More work for the seller, more detailed requirements for the buyer will lead to higher prices and the disappearance of the "bargains" in these "Worldwide" Books.

I sometimes feel that peoples expectations of the Approval Books system here goes way beyond the principle behind the introduction of the system.
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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
02 Jan 2022
08:06:32am

re: Book Organization Kudos

I didn't say "bargains", I said "treasures", a big difference. If I had to pay an extra couple cents because the seller organized a little bit, at least by country, I wouldn't have a problem with that. By the way, there are a few sellers I only look at if the mood is right. If the book is more frustrating than fun it defeats the purpose of the hobby. It isn't much fun looking through some books so I will follow Ian's advice and not bother.

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
10:37:53am

re: Book Organization Kudos

Treasures? Bargains? To some they are the same thing.

What treasures/bargains are to one collector are "Floor Sweepings" to another!

That is the diversity of our hobby.

"I have said it before and I will repeat myself. ALL members should pick 100 stamps of their duplicates and try and put an approval book together in country order, year order, price order, scan the pages and list it and just see how complex and time consuming it is.
(No cheating by taking stamps out of a stockbook that is already in order)"



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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
02 Jan 2022
12:21:04pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

Ian, honestly, I don't ask for much. All I would like to see is countries together! I really don't think it would take long. I look through most of the mixture books and Country XXX is scattered through the book, a few on each page. I have a pretty good idea who does this and won't check their offerings anymore. I'm sure others are doing the same. I don't care if they are numbered, in alphabetical order or in order by year - just keep countries together within price ranges. If the prices vary in the book, and a lot of mixture books have all stamps the same price, just keep the countries together within the price. I see cases where the same stamp is in three different places in the book and there's no real excuse for that (in my opinion). Ian, your books are immaculate and well organized and a joy to buy from. To sellers of these "mixture books", how about a minimal amount of basic organization. Please at least keep series together within prices and repeated stamps should be together. How about a couple very basic rules for the books??? I am expressing my opinion only, please don't unduly criticize!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
01:31:38pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

Yes you are expressing your opinion as am I!

The majority of the time that I post on this platform I only have one goal:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRloeL9Zpt8

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
01:42:19pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

"How about a couple very basic rules for the books???"



There are (see Approval Rules)

If one has a complaint about a book then one should make that complaint to the appropriate authority.

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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
02 Jan 2022
02:12:33pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

I re-read the rules and there are several that are broken on a regular basis. I've never been a complainer, I guess I assume the seller will read the post eventually and clean up his/her act. By the way, while you're laughing about my comment about "not being a complainer", I do complain but I usually don't run to authority figures to do it. I guess I'll just stay away from sellers whose material I don't like. There's only a few, most of you are fantastic!!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
02:51:47pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

"most of you are fantastic!!"



I can heartily agree that most Buyers and Sellers are fantastic.
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rrraphy

Retired Consultant APS#186030
02 Jan 2022
06:27:08pm

Approvals

re: Book Organization Kudos

Many of the recent Worldwide Books are crap...floor droppings masquerading as Approvals. We should REQUIRE some form of order, as we did have once before before, (I will remind some that worldwide at the inception of Approvals was NOT allowed). At minimum grouping countries and having duplicates not scattered everywhere should be mandated, just as we mandate indicatig faults. Is it so difficult?
rrr...

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This is my diabetic cat OBI! I think, therefore I am - I think! Descartes, sort of!
02 Jan 2022
06:39:37pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

rrr - I agree, there has to be some minimum standard. The other day I was checking one of these mixture books for Poland and got so frustrated that it wasn't fun anymore and gave up on it. What I'm doing now is opening the book and looking at the first page and if there is no organization I don't go any further!

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""We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years." George Carlin"
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psgStamper

02 Jan 2022
06:43:29pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

While it would be great to have books structured by country, sorted by Scott # (or whatever system the seller chooses) and in chronological order, I would settle for grouping countries and some attempt at chronological order. Oh yeah, if you have duplicates, please place them together... no hiding throughout the book. I have pretty much given up looking at books with no order whatsoever... Other than that, I do find SOR to be my #1 online source for stamps!

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
07:52:12pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

There are rules.

The problem is enforcement or should I say lack of enforcement.

To expect someone to go through every book when they are listed looking at each item would take an inordinate amount of time and to me is totally wasteful.

Some members point out that they are dis-satisfied with some books and that rules are being broken.

Not all sellers read the posts on the discussion board so expecting them to "change their ways" is a no no.

As I see it the only way forward is for the dis-satisfied members to complain to those in authority and allow the authorities to take the appropriate action. (The authorities cannot take action if they are not given the information.)

If the dis-satisfied members do not feel that they want to notify the authorities then that is their privilige and may I suggest that they take note of the particular seller and don't look at their Books ever again. or

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Brechinite

02 Jan 2022
08:29:11pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

There is one particular seller who has sold many, many, many items from their Approval Books over the last 14 days. Yes some of their books would qualify for rrraphy's "Floor Sweepings" and Harveys less than "Minimum Standard".

They also have some "Brilliant" Approval Books with a wide variety of different countries.

Too strict enforcement over the "poor" books may result in losing a good resource of better material.

This member accounts for approx 14% of the total books listed.

Be careful what you wish for.

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In loving memory of Carol, my wife for 52 years.

02 Jan 2022
10:01:14pm

Auctions - Approvals

re: Book Organization Kudos

Back when I was doing shows the bulk of my material slowly became postal history and related ephemera where welcomed.

Two schools of thought as to organization - the first was to have everything categorized and notated with what the cover was and its redeeming features, all neatly sleeved and orderly. The second was totally disorganized with small light price notations on a back corner of each cover. You would find a 50 cent 1880's GPC and the next cover would be a scarce $200 territorial stampless.

Guess who had lines of people waiting for a chair. Guess who sold the most covers. The logic is simple - few people collect only one type of cover. Cover collectors are eclectic and are always looking for something new. At the organized tables they go through a box of early FDC's, then a box of stsmpless, then a box of #11's looking for #10's,a box of #26's looking for #25's. They see the same covers month after month. Boring.

At the anything goes anywhere table they are exposed to new material every month just from the sheer volume of it. They pick up something because - "Hey, that's neat".

Food for thought - personally I go through world wide at nickels and dimes apiece because there are bargains to be found in that mess and I can scan the whole 24 page book in under 5 minutes. Do I miss things - certainly but I often come away with one or more stamps that catalog a few dollars apiece.

Let the market decide

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Brechinite

03 Jan 2022
05:22:21am

re: Book Organization Kudos

I attend a few auctions and buy mixed boxes.

Looking through these boxes is more "exciting" and "rewarding" than an album/box of a single country.

The "chase" can be more interesting than the "result".

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auldstampguy

Tim
Collector, Webmaster
09 Jan 2022
10:28:04am

re: Book Organization Kudos

I just bought a bunch of stamps from a couple of Jan-Simon (siem)'s Approval Books. Jan-Simon had listed them in chronological order on the page, which made it so easy for me to check whether I had them already or not. Thank you Jan-Simon, I really appreciate your efforts.

Regards ... Tim.

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rrraphy

Retired Consultant APS#186030
23 Jan 2022
11:02:55pm

Approvals

re: Book Organization Kudos

Another HATS OFF to Jan-Simon (Siem) and his 3 El Salvador Approval Books just issued.
Books are a real pleasure to buy from. Organized in chronological order (so who needs the category number, they are de facto in Cat # order!).
These are what Approval Books should be.
And it is to me a further proof that well organized books sell! So far they have sold in the high 30s to 70s percentages. On the other hand as Ian will note, no one knows why some sell and some don't...subject wise, or price wise. But I beg to differ as to the organization of the books. Well organized books sell better!

Compare these 3 books with the flood of disorganized books that are increasingly dominating Approvals. I must admit that as disorganized as they may be, the Approval Books sell (possibly at lower percentages?). Is it because of lower prices. Not evident. Go figure!

Some of us buying on SOR must have extra time. I, for one, cannot turn through page after page of randomly thrown together stamps to pick what I need. After trying, a page or 2, I usually just move on elsewhere. I then avoid these sellers in the future.

Again Thanks J-S (Siem). Wonderful books to explore.

rrr...

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Jansimon

collector, seller, MT member
24 Jan 2022
03:42:51am

Approvals

re: Book Organization Kudos

Hi Ralph,
Thank you for your kind words. I think these El Salvador stamps would still have sold if they had been less organized, but not this much. As you can imagine, I am pleased with the results as well. When I saw this collection being offered, I knew I had to get it because it is not often that one sees anything from this country in such quantities.
Anyway, not wanting to say anything negative about my colleague sellers, I have given up on going through these seemingly random world wide books as well. Even though I know there are gems hidden in them, like you I do not have the stamina to go through 20 pages of Romania and Ras al Khaima to find that one stamp from Memel, Danzig or Peru I would like.
And yes, I must admit that some of my books are also a bit chaotic, but at least they are one country or at least one common theme/region/subject.

Sometimes my wife tells me I have autistic tendencies, I suppose the fact that I enjoy putting things in the correct order is some sort of proof of that Big Grin

Well, I bought an interesting bunch of Venezuela together with these El Salvador ones. These are due to be put in one or more approval books as well. I suppose the bar has been set high now...

Jan-Simon

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rrraphy

Retired Consultant APS#186030
24 Jan 2022
11:35:34am

Approvals

re: Book Organization Kudos

Looking forward to your VZ.
The bar was set high at inception.

It has degraded, and to be specific, there is no attempt to tighten it back, even part way, or even pretend to moderate Approvals. Some here do not believe in it. I shall say no more.

rrr...

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"E. Rutherford: All science is either physics or stamp collecting."
michael78651

24 Jan 2022
11:52:34pm

re: Book Organization Kudos

The worldwide approval books are supposed to be organized, and not just a jumble. I have seen them too. You would think that a seller would take pride in the product being offered. If I went to buy a car from someone and the car was trashed out. I'd just walk away from it. A seller with no pride in what they are selling tells me that I would mostly like wind up with a POS if I did buy something from them.

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