Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
05:27:04pm
Is there a Scott pocket for foreign? I have looked on EBay but a full set of used Scott catalogs is still expensive.
I'm looking for something in the $40-$80 range if possible. Is there a site that has catalogs cheap? How far back should I go in terms of the year of the catalog to still get the most information I can? Any personal sources or internet sources that you all know about or suggestions about which catalogs to buy would be much appreciated!!
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There is no "pocket" catalog for world stamps.
Since you are not wanting the catalogs to "value" stamps, older catalogs generally work as well for identification as the new catalogs. Information does not change that often from one year to the next. Pick a year that fits about where the newest of your stamps are. Older catalogs (more than 5 years older than the current set) can usually be bought quite inexpensively.
Dealers often get them when they purchase collections from estates. They throw them in box lots to quickly clear them out. Keep your eyes out for them when they are offered for sale, and jump on them!
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You may be able to find someone in the USA who will sell at a nominal cost (or give away) their old catalogues just to get rid of them for the cost of shipping to you
I would offer you my older catalogues but the cost of postage to the USA would be horrendous as each volume weighs about 1900g. My guess would be about $32 in postage per volume according to the parcel rates on the Canada Post website. Too much!!!!
If there is a stamp club in your area you could put the word out that you are a new stamp collector & looking for older cheaper catalogues or failing that your local library may have the catalogues for loan as you need them.
When you are first starting out, you may find that older catalogues are sufficient for identification purposes, providing the stamps are older than the catalogue you are searching through.
Liz
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There is a free online catalogue here. The catalogue is maintained by PostBeeld, a stamp dealers located in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The preamble reads in part:
"Freestampcatalogue... is a world stamp catalogue free for everyone to use. Almost all official stamps issued from about 1920 to the present day are shown.... The stamps are displayed per set, resulting in nearly 200,000 series and blocks. By using the filter function..., you can easily find stamps sorted by country, theme or date...."
The catalogue is obviously of limited use for older stamps, and it doesn't show any of the well known catalogue numbers unless the stamps are actually in stock at the dealers. But I've found it useful as an aid to sorting modern stamps....g
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07:40:17pm
Lisa,
I just checked eBay. You can pick up individual volumes of Scott (and build your own set) from 2004 to 2008 for prices about $10-$15 per volume. Media mail for a single volume in the US appears to be about $5. If you are willing to go as far back as 2000, they can be picked up for $1 or $2 -- plus postage.
I have a 2008 set of 6 volumes available for $100, but postage from Ontario to NH would add $50.
If you do build your own set through individual purchases, target a single year, because I think they shifted the volumes "split points" from year to year (not 100% sure of that), but if I am right, you might end up with a "hole" if you mix years.
Roy
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Scott last changed the country line-up in the catalogs in the 2011 edition. However, Volumes 1 through 3 were not changed in 2011 from previous editions. I don't remember which edition prior to 2011 had a realignment.
Here is the Scott 2011 country alignment:
Volume 1: A-B
Volume 2: C-F
Volume 3: G-I
Volume 4: J-M
Volume 5: N-Samoa
Volume 6: San Marino-Z
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Hi Lisa, if your libraries don't sell the older issues they remove from circulation, try half.com. They are owned by ebay and the dealers specialize in books, cds and other media, and shipping costs are low because they use media mail. I can get 4-5 year old volumes for under $10 apiece with shipping. THOM
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08:21:28pm
In the 2008 set, first three volumes are the same as 2011, but the rest are:
Vol 4: J - O
Vol 5: P - Sl
Vol 6: So - Z
Roy
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If one does not want to buy a full set of catalogs, one can buy the pages of the countries you collect. There are sellers on eBay who do this.
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Why pay for the cow, when you can get the milk for free?
Check out your local library, Lisa. If they don't have a recent set of Scott catalogues, ask how you can submit a suggestion to the purchasing committee. A local stamp club endorsement would only help your case.
I live in London, Ontario. There's a population of about 375,000 around here. There are currently four different sets of 2012 Scott's catalogues available for loan (never mind the three reference sets). The resource is awesome!
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I just wish B&N or Amazon would wise up and work a deal with the major catalog makers for e-book versions of catalogs.... Can't tell you how much time and energy that would save, just leave my nook next to what I'm working on, and not have to go searching through all my "old" catalogs (the ones I do have... which are all US.).
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Ah, dear stamp collectors:
The world is not perfect. At the three-quarter century mark, I'm still not used to it, but have decided to adapt to the environment.
Join me.
John Derry
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09:01:54am
" ....The world is not perfect. At the three-quarter century mark, I'm still not used to it, but have decided to adapt to the environment. .... "
Shucks, are all these years I have been struggling, paddling my canoe up stream, futile ?
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Charlie, while you were paddling upstream, and maybe it sometimes seemed futile, just think of all the water that passed by you as you were paddling. If you had not paddled, you would not have seen that water. Yes, you could have sat there and maybe the water would have reached you, but then without the effort, it would have just passed you by.
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It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle Onassis
18 Mar 2012
05:27:04pm
I have purchased a Scott pocket catalog for my US stamps but I can't seem to find anything affordable to help identify foreign stamps.
Is there a Scott pocket for foreign? I have looked on EBay but a full set of used Scott catalogs is still expensive.
I'm looking for something in the $40-$80 range if possible. Is there a site that has catalogs cheap? How far back should I go in terms of the year of the catalog to still get the most information I can? Any personal sources or internet sources that you all know about or suggestions about which catalogs to buy would be much appreciated!!
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this post
05:41:51pm
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
There is no "pocket" catalog for world stamps.
Since you are not wanting the catalogs to "value" stamps, older catalogs generally work as well for identification as the new catalogs. Information does not change that often from one year to the next. Pick a year that fits about where the newest of your stamps are. Older catalogs (more than 5 years older than the current set) can usually be bought quite inexpensively.
Dealers often get them when they purchase collections from estates. They throw them in box lots to quickly clear them out. Keep your eyes out for them when they are offered for sale, and jump on them!
Login to Like
this post
06:22:19pm
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
You may be able to find someone in the USA who will sell at a nominal cost (or give away) their old catalogues just to get rid of them for the cost of shipping to you
I would offer you my older catalogues but the cost of postage to the USA would be horrendous as each volume weighs about 1900g. My guess would be about $32 in postage per volume according to the parcel rates on the Canada Post website. Too much!!!!
If there is a stamp club in your area you could put the word out that you are a new stamp collector & looking for older cheaper catalogues or failing that your local library may have the catalogues for loan as you need them.
When you are first starting out, you may find that older catalogues are sufficient for identification purposes, providing the stamps are older than the catalogue you are searching through.
Liz
Login to Like
this post
06:58:08pm
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
There is a free online catalogue here. The catalogue is maintained by PostBeeld, a stamp dealers located in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The preamble reads in part:
"Freestampcatalogue... is a world stamp catalogue free for everyone to use. Almost all official stamps issued from about 1920 to the present day are shown.... The stamps are displayed per set, resulting in nearly 200,000 series and blocks. By using the filter function..., you can easily find stamps sorted by country, theme or date...."
The catalogue is obviously of limited use for older stamps, and it doesn't show any of the well known catalogue numbers unless the stamps are actually in stock at the dealers. But I've found it useful as an aid to sorting modern stamps....g
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BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
18 Mar 2012
07:40:17pm
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
Lisa,
I just checked eBay. You can pick up individual volumes of Scott (and build your own set) from 2004 to 2008 for prices about $10-$15 per volume. Media mail for a single volume in the US appears to be about $5. If you are willing to go as far back as 2000, they can be picked up for $1 or $2 -- plus postage.
I have a 2008 set of 6 volumes available for $100, but postage from Ontario to NH would add $50.
If you do build your own set through individual purchases, target a single year, because I think they shifted the volumes "split points" from year to year (not 100% sure of that), but if I am right, you might end up with a "hole" if you mix years.
Roy
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08:10:07pm
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
Scott last changed the country line-up in the catalogs in the 2011 edition. However, Volumes 1 through 3 were not changed in 2011 from previous editions. I don't remember which edition prior to 2011 had a realignment.
Here is the Scott 2011 country alignment:
Volume 1: A-B
Volume 2: C-F
Volume 3: G-I
Volume 4: J-M
Volume 5: N-Samoa
Volume 6: San Marino-Z
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08:16:15pm
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
Hi Lisa, if your libraries don't sell the older issues they remove from circulation, try half.com. They are owned by ebay and the dealers specialize in books, cds and other media, and shipping costs are low because they use media mail. I can get 4-5 year old volumes for under $10 apiece with shipping. THOM
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this post
BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
18 Mar 2012
08:21:28pm
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
In the 2008 set, first three volumes are the same as 2011, but the rest are:
Vol 4: J - O
Vol 5: P - Sl
Vol 6: So - Z
Roy
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this post
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
If one does not want to buy a full set of catalogs, one can buy the pages of the countries you collect. There are sellers on eBay who do this.
Login to Like
this post
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
Why pay for the cow, when you can get the milk for free?
Check out your local library, Lisa. If they don't have a recent set of Scott catalogues, ask how you can submit a suggestion to the purchasing committee. A local stamp club endorsement would only help your case.
I live in London, Ontario. There's a population of about 375,000 around here. There are currently four different sets of 2012 Scott's catalogues available for loan (never mind the three reference sets). The resource is awesome!
Login to Like
this post
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
I just wish B&N or Amazon would wise up and work a deal with the major catalog makers for e-book versions of catalogs.... Can't tell you how much time and energy that would save, just leave my nook next to what I'm working on, and not have to go searching through all my "old" catalogs (the ones I do have... which are all US.).
Login to Like
this post
The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
13 Apr 2012
03:44:07pm
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
Ah, dear stamp collectors:
The world is not perfect. At the three-quarter century mark, I'm still not used to it, but have decided to adapt to the environment.
Join me.
John Derry
Login to Like
this post
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
15 Apr 2012
09:01:54am
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
" ....The world is not perfect. At the three-quarter century mark, I'm still not used to it, but have decided to adapt to the environment. .... "
Shucks, are all these years I have been struggling, paddling my canoe up stream, futile ?
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09:41:29am
re: Countries of the world catalogs - resources
Charlie, while you were paddling upstream, and maybe it sometimes seemed futile, just think of all the water that passed by you as you were paddling. If you had not paddled, you would not have seen that water. Yes, you could have sat there and maybe the water would have reached you, but then without the effort, it would have just passed you by.
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