This started from a simple idea discussed in this bulletin board some six months ago. The basic idea transformed itself after a lot of thought and hard work into this new platform. This is truly unique. None of the on-line auctions, clubs, or stores offers anything like it!
Approval Books are like the old mailed APS circuit books we are all familiar with, but much more in this handy and all encompassing e-version. In contrast to auctions or stores, they provide a unique and simple way to sell and to collect for our members. Approval Books do not just try to be one more auction platform, they will encourage participation, sharing of resources and help relieve the clutter of lower cost items which one cannot justify listing one at a time in auctions. But it is much more than that, and I encourage you all to check it out and jump in!
Built into the SOR Approval Books Platform is a remarkable level of flexibility. This will allow the creation of various formats in the approval books to meet virtually any need, and the member to pick from them expediently.
Take a look at the various Approval Books that have just been released. They represent various approaches your development team has played with and put together as we implemented and debugged the system. They are the first books released on this platform. Please join in.
From books made on standard templates (provided for your convenience) to any custom template you may wish to set up, to scanned album pages, to....let your imagination run wild... the SOR Approval Books will greatly improve the experience of collecting at Stamporama.
I am truly in awe at the results! Let's break out the champagne!
I cannot close this announcement without adding my unlimited praise for the small team of remarkably talented, dedicated, meticulous, opinionated (lol) and truly remarkable members that brought this project to fruition. Led by our software "extraordinaire" Tim (the wizard), backed by mister organization himself, Arno, and with major contributions from Bobby, Peter and yours truly, this small team volunteered immense time and effort. It proves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the benefits of such a group effort when you put together talented and dedicated people. Thanks to all for the privilege of working with you!
rrr...
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Great Job Guys!!!!Thanks for all the hard work and time spent.
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A formidable innovation that consolidates Stamporama's position
as the best stamp-collecting club on the internet.
John Derry
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If any one wonders, Approvals can be found on the Home Page (just after Auction)
Or use the following link: http://stamporama.com/approvals/approvals_main.php
rrr...
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This really is something well done. To make a purchase it is really easy to use. I just bought a ton of stamps from one book, so there doesn't seem to be a problem with any limit on the number you can buy at one time...ouch, my wallet! I'll be diving back into this section quite often, and not just as a buyer.
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Just read this thread and went into the Approvals Section. Took a while to find the link, but did manage to fill a few of the inexpensive holes in a number of countries. What a great way to fill blanks in the albums! Congratulations to the team, the future posters of Approval Books and those who buy (I will be posting a book or two!). Again, THANK YOU!
George (biggeorge)
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What a wonderful launch for our new Stamporama Approvals. In the first 6 hours of operation 606 stamps were purchased from the Approvals.
Tim.
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Great job. Looks really good and is awesome feature for the club.
Alyn
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i just completed transfering data from an old catalogue to a new catalogue and found lots of holes in my German and occupation areas.. hopefully my timing and the launch of these approval books will be kismet
hint
hint
David
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Since all the superlative words seem to have been used, let me say it looks like this is going to be hotter than a bottle of cinnamon schnapps (Dare I say the name?)How about if I say,
"Hot Da*n". Anyway, will definitely be using this to sell since my scanner setup takes twice as long to use as on my old computer. Perhaps, I can figure out how to list in a couple of months. Printed out the "Stamporama Approvals User Guide" to help. Might have to ask for the simpler version "Stamporama Approval Guide For Dummies". I'm a klutz when it comes to this stuff. I can barely manage the smilies.
Anyway, 
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Oh man, Stampoholic, do I ever hear you! My ignorance of computers takes a back seat to no one. I tried to play with the entering of some stuff just to see, and I'm now a looker/buyer with the approval books-definitely not a seller. I'm hoping that someone will work on the U.S. and the Revenues books-I'd love to look through them. Meanwhile, for the higher end stuff the auction proper will be the place for me to look/post. What a wonderful job the 5 member team did to bring this new dimension to light. Of course with a Wizard, should we have expected less? All hail to the Wizard and his team of apprentices. We are a most fortunate kingdom indeed.
Dan C.
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Great news rrraphy
I am sure this will be an added plus for the forum.
Chimo
Bujutsu
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Yeah, Tim, there are "solds" all over the place. My PO Box is going to be full in a few days!
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I think I got a page listed. Not showing up yet, though . Didn't I see something somewhere about a 15 minute lag? been working on it for hours. If so, it is a great testament to all who developed it.
Got'er done. Yee-hah! 
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You need to activate the Book for it to post.
As long as the book is INACTIVE you can work on it solo, make changes, add pages, etc, etc... and no one will see it, but you.
When you ACTIVATE it, it is posted publicly for sale, and items are up for grabs. You will then be limited to what you can still do to your pages once an item has sold...ie not all changes are still allowed. If nothing has yet sold, you will be able to make changes with no restrictions, but preferably make it inactive, make your changes and then activate it again.
So, my suggestion is for you to work on your book in INACTIVE mode, not just on one page, until you are ready to post the whole thing for sale. Remember...this is intended for "books" not auction items or pages, which should go under auction as before.
By the way, it will get much, much easier after you have done a page or two.
rrr...
And we are all available for help should you need it.
You may also want to make the book title shorter. Put your comments at the bottom of the pages. See how some of the other books were done, as a guide.
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I believe approval books are numbered in the order they are created; the missing numbers are probably either retired books or inactive books, determined by the seller. The number itself pretty much lacks any meaning other than a placeholder or counter.
I like the idea of an option to buy the whole page.
Peter
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@ Carl (Stampaholic)
I think numbering stamps above or below the stamp is prone to error. When you scroll the page, you do not see the whole page, and one can get confused if the relevant number is above or below. Especially if some members have pages with numbers above and others below. See image:
I believe it is best if books mimic the template pages which uniformly have numbers at the left. Most custom pages I have seen from other members follow this format. If these are old stock pages, that you want to permanently use for the Approval system, you can buy a pen that writes in white, and write numbers on the page.
While the system accommodates a wide variety of approaches, all approaches must enable that stamps can be reliably, uniquely identified. I don't see this is the case with numbers above and below, especially as in this case the number below is relevant, but the number above being much closer to the image.
Good to see you got started using the new approval system. I hope you will find it easy to use after a while.
Arno
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I agree that putting the number closer to the item is the key, but I think having the flexibility of using numbers in any position is fine, as long as a number is clearly associated with the relevant item. I don't use the provided templates as I never hinge stamps, and don't want to use mounts just for this purpose. I like the flexibility of the custom pages, such as Vario or Prinz stock sheets.
I'm going to start using the Prinz Plus sheets which have a "gutter" for a label above the stamp holder. If you put a pre-printed set of number labels in the gutter and the labels will be flush against the stamp in question. Here is an example using the six row sheet where the gutter is close to the stamp section. I'm partial to the numbers beneath the stamps, so I use the bottom gutter.
Here's an example using the 3-row sheet, for larger items. Note how using the pre-printed and cut labels allows you the flexibility to center a label under a specific item.
Cheers,
Peter
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Arno, was amazed I even got it listed on the 1st try (sort of). This was my prototype,
so to speak. I'm still working on the setup. Took me hours just to get that. I like templates but all my colored paper is in storage. Having to hunt to find the black pages to put them on.
BTW: It's still a hail of a lot of work just to prepare them. I shudder to think of the work all these folks that developed this did. Many thanks for a great job.
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I found that there is steep learning curve, meaning the preparation of later pages went much faster than the first few pages. Obviously, the amount of time needed to prepare pages much depends on how elaborate you design your pages. If you look at several of the books created from different members, you will get a wealth of ideas how to create your pages. For instance, you include little labels with catalog numbers on your pages. It is also possible to enter this information as you upload the pages. There is a space to enter specific information (catalog number, condition, faults etc.) for each stamp on the page.
Ultimately, and I agree with you 100%, many will just not find it worthwhile to sell extras from their collection. The time it takes to prepare items for sale, list them, pack them, ship them, deal with errors/returns/unpaid lots etc. etc., is simply not worth the effort to some. While the Approval system brings down the time/effort quite a bit compared to listing the same number of stamps as individual items in our auction, many members will still prefer to remain on the sidelines of selling. I do believe, however, that it is a healthy exercise to participate as both buyer and seller to really appreciate the time sellers take to supply items for our collection. I don't think money is the motivation most of the time; some member just find it fun to sell, some do it as a service to others, or simply to clean up the desk.
Arno
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Peter,
Looks like these "Prinz Plus sheets with gutter" are a good solution. I also experimented with the virtual overlays of numbers used by many. I don't think it is working for me. The mess starts once you actually sell some stamps and have to count out the positions to find stamps #9 and #13, because there are actually no numbers on the physical page. And once #9 and #3 are gone, good luck when stamp #17 sells next, and counting will get you to the wrong spot because some stamps are now missing etc. I am sure that sellers who number items with overlays have some system to ensure that there is no confusion later, but I am afraid the efficiency of not physically numbering the stamps when creating the page is paid for with all kinds of double checking and extra work later. For instance, having to go back and compare with the scan for items sold, because there are no numbers on the page. Over time, I am sure best practices will probably emerge as users are sharing their experiences.
Arno
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I have been playing around with the picture formats. I have also been playing with image size as I believe that will correspond to sales. What are your opinions on this layout and item identification in conjunction with the purchase buttons.
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On another note when working on your book I was wonder if any other small capabilities could be added in the "Edit" area
1. The ability to edit the # of items on your page besides the "Enable/Disable" button.
2. The ability to adjust the page order- to be able to add to a book and keep it relatively in catalog order. Example I have a book started of Canada Starting with Scott# 36 page 1 then it jumps to #200 on page 2 I would like to add a page of Scott #75- when adding now it places the page at the end I would like to adjust the page #'s.
3. The ability to "delete" a page.
Ross
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For #3, I believe you can do that now.
Also, Ross in your scans there is a light mark across the bottom of each row; I think if you press down on the top cover of your scanner it may go away. Or use a newer stock sheet. The white line happens because the bottom of the rows are not flush against the backing so it elevates this part during scanning. It can also affect focus or perf images in some cases.
Peter
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I haven't found all the info yet, so I have a couple of questions.
Is this ONLY for low end items ? If so, what is the maximum price ?
The list of categories is the same as the auctions. So can someone make up a page of covers ?
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Mr. Bus 
Yes, you can put any philatelic material; for covers, you're probably going to get two, maybe three on a page to show the stamp section clearly (depending on their size and how detailed you want the scan you could even fit more on a page).
This is not only for low end items, but there are two caveats to using this system efficiently.
1. Remember the intention is to allow people to put multiple pages up for sale; if you only have one cover or a couple of stamps, consider using the fixed price option in auctions instead.
2. You can tailor each page of a book to have its own price, so if you have a bunch of GB stamps for example, you could put a page of Penny Blacks at 10c each (just be sure to email me first! ), followed by a page of two covers for $1 each, then a page of Machins for 50c each, etc. Mix and match, as long as they are all the same theme (GB in this case; you can do the same for topicals, Commonwealth, etc.).
The only category that doesn't really make sense here as it does for auctions is the penny lot category.
Peter
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The Approvals section is a great new addition to SOR. I expect to make lots of use of it in the months -- years -- to come. Thanks for the effort at getting this put together.
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I am leaving the #'s & stamps as listed on each page and making new #'s for each new page.
lot of work, definitely not doing it for the money.
Would be glad to put up a $25.00-$50.00 page, But so far better stuff isn't going well at auction. BTW: can we mention our auctions in the approval book?
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@ mdroth
"But you have not created 'approvals' at all - you've created stores!!"
We created a quite flexible system, but the "vision" was that of approval books that allow member-to-member offerings for the bulk of less expensive stamps. I see that some offerings, and questions concerning allowable offerings, "test" the limits of the system. Specifically, posting 10,000 "books" with one page each with one stamp on the page, would indeed use the approval book system to introduce BidStart/ebay-style Seller stores through the back door. Let me assure you, this is not going to happen.
The name of the module is Stamporama Approvals, because it based on the idea of an online version of APS-style approval books. One stamp is not a BOOK; one page or two pages is not a book. If you only have one page of Sweden and two pages of Denmark, and 2 pages of Norway, then make ONE book of Scandinavia etc. OR -- simply sell the whole page as BIN in our auction, if this is what you prefer.
Can you start a book with one page, and add pages later? Or just do a one page book now to test the system? Especially now, while this is all new? ABSOLUTELY! There are currently very few rules prescribing what can and cannot be done. I am not sure if more detailed rules are necessary. I personally think that principles are more powerful than rules. The principle is that the Stamporama Approvals are a virtual version of Approval books. If everybody participating keeps this in mind, I don't think we need more rules and have to waste volunteer resources for enforcement. We wanted to create something that did not previously exist, and what we believe fills a specific need. Members that want Stores, find plenty of options for that in other places.
Not speaking for the design team, personal opinion,
Arno
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Carl, RE:
"Quote"" I am leaving the #'s & stamps as listed on each page and making new #'s for each new page. lot of work, definitely not doing it for the money.Whew
Would be glad to put up a $25.00-$50.00 page, But so far better stuff isn't going well at auction. BTW: can we mention our auctions in the approval book? """
I hope you are not planning to have one page BOOKS Carl. This is not the intention for APPROVAL BOOKS, and is best served under auctions. please look at the way the first 30-40 books have been put together by the design team to explore many ways to simplify your task. It gets easier after each page. But do put together multiple page multiple item books, and then Activate them when you are done.
On the issue of higher price items, I have tried to make my books of mostly lower cost stamps...which was the original concept, but I have experimented with adding a few sets, S/S, covers, and a few more expensive stamps at the back of the book. Surprising! They are being bought! I suppose collectors are like me. They work by subject, country, topic, or whatever, and like filling empty spots cheaply and effectively, so first you work to find the low cost ones, and them, why not get tempted by a few others, maybe more difficult to find stamps, sets etc.. if the price is right...why not?
So my suggestion to you is to list a BOOK of say 10 pages of lower cost items, under one topic, and then throw in a few pages of the more expensive stuff at the very end of your book, and see what happens. But the intent here has been to facilitate the trading of low cost items, and un-clutter the auctions where hundreds of stamps, priced say below 10 cents, are lot of work to list and to buy. So this Approval Books should work well for buyer and seller alike.
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These are great! For those who remember, this is what I envisioned when I created my U-Pick Stamps Stop Lots on BidStart years ago... but the "engine" was never there to automatically differentiate the different stamps and buy them individually (without calling out the stamp labels one at a time in a separate message).
Well done, Tim and others! This is sure to be a hit!
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Geez! It takes me several hours to get a page ready to scan & list. I'm getting to be
an old geezer that can't see too well. Gimme (sorry, Bobby) a break here! I certainly plan on having more than 1 page books. On top of that I'm not the greatest computer whiz in the world. I consider myself lucky to be able To get the smilies working.
Let's not turn this into O'care.
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" 1. The ability to edit the # of items on your page besides the "Enable/Disable" button.
2. The ability to adjust the page order- to be able to add to a book and keep it relatively in catalog order. Example I have a book started of Canada Starting with Scott# 36 page 1 then it jumps to #200 on page 2 I would like to add a page of Scott #75- when adding now it places the page at the end I would like to adjust the page #'s.
3. The ability to "delete" a page."
Thank you!
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12:46:29am
I second Michael's request - can we have an option to purchase the entire page? I know from my own trigger happy thumb tonight that a "purchase page" would have been easier.
This way if there are 30 stamps on the page I have to manually click all of them plus keep a tally of prices as I go through the book.
Minor issues of course which is what we do with a physical approval book.
Kelly
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Great idea SOR. I have been wanting something like this to help me get rid of the hordes of doubles I have. It takes a little while to get things scanned but after that its all down hill. Fantastic software! It looks like the traffic is great too. Already 1 buyer and the book only went live an hour ago.
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06:30:54am
Franky
The book you posted is fantastic. It is exactly what we envisioned when we began this endeavor. Well scanned, well numbered and documented, multiple pages, lots of stamps and priced low. The five of us on the development team had many common goals and a few individual goals. One of those common goals was to promote the hobby by getting low cost, more common material into the collecting stream, while at the same time moving members' duplicate accumulations into new homes where they can be appreciated.
Keep on posting!
Bobby
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09:51:04am
I'm very excited about this new feature. I am planning on creating a few books, but have a things to think through first. I don't think I want to hinge the stamps, not that I have anything against hinging but I think it would be time consuming. That means using stock pages, but I don't want keep the stamps in the pages. How are members who are using stock pages storing the stamps? Are you keeping them in the stock pages or moving them to a glassine? I don't like using stock pages to store low value stamps. I think putting the stamps in a glassine will make it tougher to pick them when they are sold.
Like everything, I'm sure it will take a little getting used to then once you got routine, it becomes much easier. I remember it would take me 10 minutes to create an auction, now I can create one in about 1 minute.
Thanks,
Bob
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THIS IS FUN!
After all the hard work, it is FUN to see the growth of interest and to witness my first sales, my first 100 sales..etc...Wow.
I have just added a few pages to one book that had a lot of items sold, and in keeping with my earlier thoughts, reduced some of the other prices. I plan to do it systematically for every book, but will wait until I return from my trip.
What I really like is the flexibility Tim built into this system, and I hope you all appreciate it.
Meanwhile I am learning about selling, packing, shipping, invoicing, communicating, etc... My growing respect to those who do it regularly. It is work!
Putting a page together is now a 10 minutes process for me, so trust me when I say, it will get much easier after you have done a few, and I hope the same applies to the shipping part.
I like being able to share duplicates that just sit otherwise, and to scan and pick stamps that I need and never have the patience to go look for one at a time! So I plan to do a lot more books in the future.
Only drawback I see: I will spend even more time on my hobby and here!
I better be nice to my wife!
rrr....
PS: One remark from someone who has used both SOR templates, and stockcards. Having the number on your page helps a lot. Putting numbers via photo software requires, when you have sold some of the stamps, that you identify the number from your inventoried card..and the number is on the scan. So I find the technique of putting numbers on small pieces of (acid free 
) paper just next to or under the stamp both more efficient and less subject to errors when you put a book together, and when you go back to pull the stamps you have sold.
For me, templates still work the best because I print them as I need and because I will soon run out of Vario or Unitrade stockcards, and I am sure I will screw things up if I try to move the stamps from scanned card to inventory to reuse the ones I have.
Already when packing for shipping, I noticed that it is easy to make mistakes...like to ship stamp 5 from page 6 instead of stamp 6 from page 5! So anything that identifies page number and stamp number permanently is a plus, a big PLUS! But you will all find out soon enough.
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I'm of the school of what works for you may not work for everyone else. The magic key here is organization. Finding a method that is both easy and efficient for yourself. There are a lot of good idea's that have been offered by members but for myself I have yet to settle on any one yet. I am still experimenting with the listing templates, storage idea's and the most important is correctly filing orders. I do appreciate all the idea's and ask that they keep coming as I'm sure that someone else idea will become a great solution to one or more of the challenges we all face.
What a conundrum we have here- we are all in competition with each other to sell our stamps yet without hesitation we offer help and idea's ten fold. What a great club we have and who could ask for a better start to a new year.
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"For me, templates still work the best because I print them as I need and because I will soon run out of Vario or Unitrade stockcards, and I am sure I will screw things up if I try to move the stamps from scanned card to inventory to reuse the ones I have.
Already when packing for shipping, I noticed that it is easy to make mistakes...like to ship stamp 5 from page 6 instead of stamp 6 from page 5! So anything that identifies page number and stamp number permanently is a plus, a big PLUS! But you will all find out soon enough."
But you can always look at the scans if you are not sure. When I start scanning pages I will only be using a stockpage or 3....the stamps will be returned to an album. Surely it's more neat that way.
Now I just need to find time !!
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Certainly the moderator group deserves great praise for this new feature!!!
I have not yet posted to this part of the site, but I certainly intend to give it a try.
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11:10:20am
Thanks for the praise, Bob. However, the development team responsible for this new part of SOR was not the Moderator Group (although I happen to be a DB moderator, my participation in the Approvals Book development has nothing to do with my moderator role). The following members are responsible for this creation (user names only - listed alphabetically - full names and contact information may be found in the "members area" database):
auldstampguy
bobby1948
cocollectibles
Rhinelander
rrraphy
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Wow, gone for the holidays and look what happens! This is a fantastic addition to SOR. Kudos and many thanks to the fab five (auldstampguy, Bobby1948, cocollectibles, Rhinelander, and rraphy) on a job well done. I cannot imagine the time this project took but it is very impressive. Thanks much.... Sally
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Welcome back Sally. I am about to go on vacation myself. Wonder what will await me in about 2 weeks.
Rrr... (3 r)
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(Let's play a joke on Ralph, so when he logs in again in two weeks, he gets hit with listing fees and a star rating system?)
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Rrr - sorry for missing the third "r". Hope you have a great vacation. Maybe share some photos? Sally
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Can anyone help me? I have tried to start a new Approval Book but am having problems uploading the pictures. I get as far as stage two, where I am asked to select and upload a picture file but when I do so all I get on stage three is the Stamporama heading and a blank page. I have made sure the picture is not too big and I am using the Stamporama Apptoval Book templates. What am I doing wrong?
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01:52:35pm
I don't know Kim. Could you attach your scanned page to an email and send it to me?
Bobby
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Is it possible to price Approval Book stamps in sterling?
Best regards
Joe Donohue
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03:35:46pm
Sorry, Joe. Like the auction, it has to be in US$.
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Thanks Bobby for answering my query re pricing for approval books.
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New Subject:
Maybe I am just being dumb, but I need to delete or retire several pages of approvals and can't seem to find a way to do it. On the bottom of the pages that have just a few stamps it says I cannot delete the page because some of the stamps have been sold. I have already sent invoices on the sold stamps, so how do I go about getting rid of the used up page?
Thanks, and by the way, I agree with everyone else. This approval idea is great and very well thought out. Just a few glitches I have seen such as this if it is one and kudos to those who worked so hard to create it. Thank you!!
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Try "disabling" the few stamps left on those pages and then try to delete the page/book.
Don't know if that's the correct way of doing it, but it shouldn't hurt to try.
Mike
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What can I say, it works to well. I'm now purchasing more issues for my stamp club friends here at home, than I'm doing for myself. But it helps the collector to reach out to the sellers because of how the system is set up. For newer collectors such as myself, this gives is much more freedom and time to collect what we want.
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AKTraveler,
You bring up an interesting question, one that I don't have a great answer for yet. I had a look at your books and I see what you mean. I would retire the book and take the unsold stamps and start a new book. That will make it easier for people to find what is left.
Regards ... Tim.
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09:31:02am
AKTraveler
When we first began the Approval project, there were many long discussions on various aspects of the ultimate product, one of which was what to do with books when pages became seriously depleted. Ultimately, we came to a consensus that rather than install a complex system to relist books, either minus the depleted pages or with holes in said pages replaced by new stamps, it would be simpler to just retire the entire book and incorporate the unsold items into a new book.
Now, with this wonderfully smooth and user friendly program Tim has given us, that answer is even more appropriate. You can retire your book and start a new one. Use the scans you have of the unsold items on pages that are substantially full, but remembering to disable the buttons corresponding to sold items. Then reassemble the items from the seriously depleted pages, consolidating them into new, full pages. Then simply publish this new book.
Remember, that while we currently have no firm and fast rules regarding size, this program was never envisioned to accommodate one or two page books, so please add new items to get additional pages up, or insure than the item total is at least 60.
Bobby
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Let me provide yet some more context. What member can post are called "BOOKS" for a reason. Like with the APS approval books, the idea was that sellers put a selection of stamps together, circulate online, and retire books once depleted. For members who do not have enough material to make single country books, books of several countries are an option (Caribbean Islands, Scandinavia, etc.)
What I observe is very heavy use of the editing options. An initial "book" of only two pages is posted, pages are moved, added etc. etc. The "book" thus becomes a storefront, a revolving door for sales. While it is wonderful to see the success of this system, it is also true that these constant edits, make it very busy from a buyer's perspective. I'd much rather be able to say: I looked at this book, and it is done. Books constantly pop up as new for no apparent reason. And even if a new page was added, one has to go through all pages again, because one does not remember if there was just one page added or more etc.
Because of the semi-permanent concept of a book (after posting generally don't touch unless for price changes until retirement), pages can not be exchanged. The reason is that if Stamp 4 on page 7 sold, it cannot be replaced with a new page 7 with a different stamp 4 under the same book number. There might be a programming way around, but the potential mess and confusion, in my opinion, is not worth it. As a buyer, I would be very much against enabling the replacement of pages, even if it was technically possible, because it is very inconvenient if new material is constantly mixed in with the old. If you got new stuff, make a new book.
So I second (third?) the advice given by Bobby and Tim: prepare books that give enough of a selection to make it worthwhile, considering postage for buyers. Let the book be life until depletion, possibly reducing prices along the way. Upon depletion, take offline, disassemble and incorporate remaining stamps into new books. That is the typical use for which the system has been designed. My personal preference also would be that sellers get their book ready offline, instead of posting a "stub" to which they constantly add and edit.
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There are requirements with creating sales books and sending them to the APS. I am not suggesting that we adapt these, but are using these for illustrative purposes and a guide compared to the SOR approval book system:
- minimum net value (sales price) per APS book is $30.00 (The standard singles APS sales book is 16 pages with 12 spaces per page designed to hold 192 individual stamps. Perhaps a standard for SOR approval books would be a minimum number of stamps - sets count as one - per book. I wouldn't use net value as a minimum as that would defeat the purpose of the SOR approval books.)
- books stay in circulation for around 18 months, or when there is less than $10 net value remaining in the book. (If you figure that means that a book with the minimum net value is retired when 2/3 of the value of the stamps in it are sold that can be a good measure for the SOR approval books too, except that a seller of SOR approval books may want to consider retiring a book when 2/3 of the stamps in it have been sold. If a minimum rule is ever imposed, the system can be programmed to automatically retire the books when a threshold is reached.)
Here are some other thoughts:
Unless the APS sales book contains valuable material, sellers rarely send just one book at a time to the APS. (Work on the SOR approval books - can be done online; just don't activate them until you get a half dozen or so ready at a time. Patience and good presentation with quantity will net better sales.)
When APS sales books are retired, the books are removed from circulation. The seller can request the books be placed in a "clearance circuit", meaning that the book is offered to collectors at a special buy-all discount (usually 40% to 75% off the remaining value of the book), or returned to the seller where the seller takes the unsold stamps and with, additional stamps, creates new sales books, and the cycle begins anew.
Maybe for future consideration is an option for a seller to put an SOR approval book on clearance where the application lets the seller put a "buy-all" price on a book or close it when a book reaches a certain age or the book has been sold down a certain percentage (the system already tracks how many stamps are in a book and how many remain). If the seller does nothing within a certain amount of time after receiving book closure notification, the system closes the book. If the seller wants to close the book, the book is closed. If the seller wants to clearance sell the book, the seller enters a buy-all price and the book moves out of the regular approval book area to a clearance section. It stays there for 30 days, where if not sold in that time, the system automatically closes the book. The seller would not be able to reactivate the book.
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Michael,
Excellent suggestions. We'll be looking further into your ideas.
Regards ... Tim.
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Good suggestions Michael.
And another suggestion to those who are currently putting Approval Books together. Please Keep the Book Title More Compact. There is a space for comments after page one where you can post additional information, but I am not sure the story of your life is necessary on the book title, and it does mess up the Book listing as well as the presentation of each page of your book.
My suggestion, Titles should say it all in two lines.
Put the rest under comments.
rrr.. (I am back, and I missed all the activities of the last 2 weeks!)
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Good point Ralph.
Regards ... Tim
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Gosh I go to work for a couple months and you move the furniture on me. Really nice job on the approvals. I can't wait to play with it. Do I smell a silver or gold site this year?
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Currently there are no limits on the number of pages or number of items; different members will have different thoughts as to what should be the minimum number of these, but so far no-one has really suggested an upper limit to the numbers.
Personally, I prefer to browse smaller books with fewer than 20 items per page; more than 20 a page, and it gets hard to see the scan images or details. But this is just my personal preference, not a suggested rule or advice to others.
Peter
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@d1stamper. As a buyer, I like books between 10 and 25 pages, and a minimum of 100+ items.
rrr...
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As a "buyer" I like the concept of the Approval pages. I think they are great. Thank you to all that made them possible. One mention however, wish there were consistency in "picture size" to as where one could easily examine the stamp, such as the size posted by Margin. I find it difficult (especially as a Topical Collector) to see what the stamp depicts. I've always had this issue with the "auction" as well...
Just a thought
Clayton
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I would like to thank all of those that have offered advice on this subject. As I have worked with the system I have learned a lot of new ways of working with the pages as well as the books. After time has passed I see a value to having to retire the book and re-arrange it and add new material. It keeps the material fresh and more likely for a buyer to want to look at it. I have noticed that a couple of my books were quick to have the first few pages bought and no one goes in far enough to see the unsold pages. Thank all again for your advice.
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I have set an upper limit now of 24 pages. As a buyer though, I like about 10-12 pages in the Book I'm looking at. If I'm buying, I usually feel that I've spent enough after 10-12 pages. 
Tim.
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10:21:58pm
These Approval Books are addicting!! Bobby was right, I'm having as much fun with them as I am with my own collection. Problem is, I don't have time for my own collection!
Kelly
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I'm having a ball looking through the approvals and filling gaps but is there a way to limit the findings to only those that accept paypal etc. As I'm in the UK cheques are out of the question, cash is often hard to get in smaller US$ ($20's and $50's are easy to get).
I often look at a book thinking "yes, I want that stamp" only to find payment would prove very difficult
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Hi Martyn,
That is an interesting question. There isn't a way at the moment to limit to those who will accept paypal, but I definitely see why you have requested it. I will give it some thought.
Regards ... Tim.
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Maybe you can add the PayPal icon next to the seller's name in the Seller's column on the book listings table. You would know if they take PayPal from their selling account information.
If you could do this in the auction area as well that would be great.
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I am thrilled to announce that SOR has just released its Approval Books Platform.
This started from a simple idea discussed in this bulletin board some six months ago. The basic idea transformed itself after a lot of thought and hard work into this new platform. This is truly unique. None of the on-line auctions, clubs, or stores offers anything like it!
Approval Books are like the old mailed APS circuit books we are all familiar with, but much more in this handy and all encompassing e-version. In contrast to auctions or stores, they provide a unique and simple way to sell and to collect for our members. Approval Books do not just try to be one more auction platform, they will encourage participation, sharing of resources and help relieve the clutter of lower cost items which one cannot justify listing one at a time in auctions. But it is much more than that, and I encourage you all to check it out and jump in!
Built into the SOR Approval Books Platform is a remarkable level of flexibility. This will allow the creation of various formats in the approval books to meet virtually any need, and the member to pick from them expediently.
Take a look at the various Approval Books that have just been released. They represent various approaches your development team has played with and put together as we implemented and debugged the system. They are the first books released on this platform. Please join in.
From books made on standard templates (provided for your convenience) to any custom template you may wish to set up, to scanned album pages, to....let your imagination run wild... the SOR Approval Books will greatly improve the experience of collecting at Stamporama.
I am truly in awe at the results! Let's break out the champagne!
I cannot close this announcement without adding my unlimited praise for the small team of remarkably talented, dedicated, meticulous, opinionated (lol) and truly remarkable members that brought this project to fruition. Led by our software "extraordinaire" Tim (the wizard), backed by mister organization himself, Arno, and with major contributions from Bobby, Peter and yours truly, this small team volunteered immense time and effort. It proves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the benefits of such a group effort when you put together talented and dedicated people. Thanks to all for the privilege of working with you!
rrr...
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To error is human -to really fowl things up takes a computer
27 Dec 2013
06:35:58pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Great Job Guys!!!!Thanks for all the hard work and time spent.
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The past is a foreign country, they do things different there.
27 Dec 2013
06:42:44pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
A formidable innovation that consolidates Stamporama's position
as the best stamp-collecting club on the internet.
John Derry
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
If any one wonders, Approvals can be found on the Home Page (just after Auction)
Or use the following link: http://stamporama.com/approvals/approvals_main.php
rrr...
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
This really is something well done. To make a purchase it is really easy to use. I just bought a ton of stamps from one book, so there doesn't seem to be a problem with any limit on the number you can buy at one time...ouch, my wallet! I'll be diving back into this section quite often, and not just as a buyer.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Just read this thread and went into the Approvals Section. Took a while to find the link, but did manage to fill a few of the inexpensive holes in a number of countries. What a great way to fill blanks in the albums! Congratulations to the team, the future posters of Approval Books and those who buy (I will be posting a book or two!). Again, THANK YOU!
George (biggeorge)
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
What a wonderful launch for our new Stamporama Approvals. In the first 6 hours of operation 606 stamps were purchased from the Approvals.
Tim.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Great job. Looks really good and is awesome feature for the club.
Alyn
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
i just completed transfering data from an old catalogue to a new catalogue and found lots of holes in my German and occupation areas.. hopefully my timing and the launch of these approval books will be kismet
hint
hint
David
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Since all the superlative words seem to have been used, let me say it looks like this is going to be hotter than a bottle of cinnamon schnapps (Dare I say the name?)How about if I say,
"Hot Da*n". Anyway, will definitely be using this to sell since my scanner setup takes twice as long to use as on my old computer. Perhaps, I can figure out how to list in a couple of months. Printed out the "Stamporama Approvals User Guide" to help. Might have to ask for the simpler version "Stamporama Approval Guide For Dummies". I'm a klutz when it comes to this stuff. I can barely manage the smilies. Anyway,
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Oh man, Stampoholic, do I ever hear you! My ignorance of computers takes a back seat to no one. I tried to play with the entering of some stuff just to see, and I'm now a looker/buyer with the approval books-definitely not a seller. I'm hoping that someone will work on the U.S. and the Revenues books-I'd love to look through them. Meanwhile, for the higher end stuff the auction proper will be the place for me to look/post. What a wonderful job the 5 member team did to bring this new dimension to light. Of course with a Wizard, should we have expected less? All hail to the Wizard and his team of apprentices. We are a most fortunate kingdom indeed.
Dan C.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Great news rrraphy
I am sure this will be an added plus for the forum.
Chimo
Bujutsu
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Yeah, Tim, there are "solds" all over the place. My PO Box is going to be full in a few days!
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I think I got a page listed. Not showing up yet, though . Didn't I see something somewhere about a 15 minute lag? been working on it for hours. If so, it is a great testament to all who developed it.
Got'er done. Yee-hah!
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
You need to activate the Book for it to post.
As long as the book is INACTIVE you can work on it solo, make changes, add pages, etc, etc... and no one will see it, but you.
When you ACTIVATE it, it is posted publicly for sale, and items are up for grabs. You will then be limited to what you can still do to your pages once an item has sold...ie not all changes are still allowed. If nothing has yet sold, you will be able to make changes with no restrictions, but preferably make it inactive, make your changes and then activate it again.
So, my suggestion is for you to work on your book in INACTIVE mode, not just on one page, until you are ready to post the whole thing for sale. Remember...this is intended for "books" not auction items or pages, which should go under auction as before.
By the way, it will get much, much easier after you have done a page or two.
rrr...
And we are all available for help should you need it.
You may also want to make the book title shorter. Put your comments at the bottom of the pages. See how some of the other books were done, as a guide.
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07:12:28am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I believe approval books are numbered in the order they are created; the missing numbers are probably either retired books or inactive books, determined by the seller. The number itself pretty much lacks any meaning other than a placeholder or counter.
I like the idea of an option to buy the whole page.
Peter
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
@ Carl (Stampaholic)
I think numbering stamps above or below the stamp is prone to error. When you scroll the page, you do not see the whole page, and one can get confused if the relevant number is above or below. Especially if some members have pages with numbers above and others below. See image:
I believe it is best if books mimic the template pages which uniformly have numbers at the left. Most custom pages I have seen from other members follow this format. If these are old stock pages, that you want to permanently use for the Approval system, you can buy a pen that writes in white, and write numbers on the page.
While the system accommodates a wide variety of approaches, all approaches must enable that stamps can be reliably, uniquely identified. I don't see this is the case with numbers above and below, especially as in this case the number below is relevant, but the number above being much closer to the image.
Good to see you got started using the new approval system. I hope you will find it easy to use after a while.
Arno
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09:49:15am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I agree that putting the number closer to the item is the key, but I think having the flexibility of using numbers in any position is fine, as long as a number is clearly associated with the relevant item. I don't use the provided templates as I never hinge stamps, and don't want to use mounts just for this purpose. I like the flexibility of the custom pages, such as Vario or Prinz stock sheets.
I'm going to start using the Prinz Plus sheets which have a "gutter" for a label above the stamp holder. If you put a pre-printed set of number labels in the gutter and the labels will be flush against the stamp in question. Here is an example using the six row sheet where the gutter is close to the stamp section. I'm partial to the numbers beneath the stamps, so I use the bottom gutter.
Here's an example using the 3-row sheet, for larger items. Note how using the pre-printed and cut labels allows you the flexibility to center a label under a specific item.
Cheers,
Peter
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Arno, was amazed I even got it listed on the 1st try (sort of). This was my prototype,
so to speak. I'm still working on the setup. Took me hours just to get that. I like templates but all my colored paper is in storage. Having to hunt to find the black pages to put them on.
BTW: It's still a hail of a lot of work just to prepare them. I shudder to think of the work all these folks that developed this did. Many thanks for a great job.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I found that there is steep learning curve, meaning the preparation of later pages went much faster than the first few pages. Obviously, the amount of time needed to prepare pages much depends on how elaborate you design your pages. If you look at several of the books created from different members, you will get a wealth of ideas how to create your pages. For instance, you include little labels with catalog numbers on your pages. It is also possible to enter this information as you upload the pages. There is a space to enter specific information (catalog number, condition, faults etc.) for each stamp on the page.
Ultimately, and I agree with you 100%, many will just not find it worthwhile to sell extras from their collection. The time it takes to prepare items for sale, list them, pack them, ship them, deal with errors/returns/unpaid lots etc. etc., is simply not worth the effort to some. While the Approval system brings down the time/effort quite a bit compared to listing the same number of stamps as individual items in our auction, many members will still prefer to remain on the sidelines of selling. I do believe, however, that it is a healthy exercise to participate as both buyer and seller to really appreciate the time sellers take to supply items for our collection. I don't think money is the motivation most of the time; some member just find it fun to sell, some do it as a service to others, or simply to clean up the desk.
Arno
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Peter,
Looks like these "Prinz Plus sheets with gutter" are a good solution. I also experimented with the virtual overlays of numbers used by many. I don't think it is working for me. The mess starts once you actually sell some stamps and have to count out the positions to find stamps #9 and #13, because there are actually no numbers on the physical page. And once #9 and #3 are gone, good luck when stamp #17 sells next, and counting will get you to the wrong spot because some stamps are now missing etc. I am sure that sellers who number items with overlays have some system to ensure that there is no confusion later, but I am afraid the efficiency of not physically numbering the stamps when creating the page is paid for with all kinds of double checking and extra work later. For instance, having to go back and compare with the scan for items sold, because there are no numbers on the page. Over time, I am sure best practices will probably emerge as users are sharing their experiences.
Arno
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To error is human -to really fowl things up takes a computer
29 Dec 2013
09:00:17pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I have been playing around with the picture formats. I have also been playing with image size as I believe that will correspond to sales. What are your opinions on this layout and item identification in conjunction with the purchase buttons.
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To error is human -to really fowl things up takes a computer
29 Dec 2013
09:11:32pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
On another note when working on your book I was wonder if any other small capabilities could be added in the "Edit" area
1. The ability to edit the # of items on your page besides the "Enable/Disable" button.
2. The ability to adjust the page order- to be able to add to a book and keep it relatively in catalog order. Example I have a book started of Canada Starting with Scott# 36 page 1 then it jumps to #200 on page 2 I would like to add a page of Scott #75- when adding now it places the page at the end I would like to adjust the page #'s.
3. The ability to "delete" a page.
Ross
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09:50:25pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
For #3, I believe you can do that now.
Also, Ross in your scans there is a light mark across the bottom of each row; I think if you press down on the top cover of your scanner it may go away. Or use a newer stock sheet. The white line happens because the bottom of the rows are not flush against the backing so it elevates this part during scanning. It can also affect focus or perf images in some cases.
Peter
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I haven't found all the info yet, so I have a couple of questions.
Is this ONLY for low end items ? If so, what is the maximum price ?
The list of categories is the same as the auctions. So can someone make up a page of covers ?
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07:02:05am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Mr. Bus
Yes, you can put any philatelic material; for covers, you're probably going to get two, maybe three on a page to show the stamp section clearly (depending on their size and how detailed you want the scan you could even fit more on a page).
This is not only for low end items, but there are two caveats to using this system efficiently.
1. Remember the intention is to allow people to put multiple pages up for sale; if you only have one cover or a couple of stamps, consider using the fixed price option in auctions instead.
2. You can tailor each page of a book to have its own price, so if you have a bunch of GB stamps for example, you could put a page of Penny Blacks at 10c each (just be sure to email me first! ), followed by a page of two covers for $1 each, then a page of Machins for 50c each, etc. Mix and match, as long as they are all the same theme (GB in this case; you can do the same for topicals, Commonwealth, etc.).
The only category that doesn't really make sense here as it does for auctions is the penny lot category.
Peter
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
The Approvals section is a great new addition to SOR. I expect to make lots of use of it in the months -- years -- to come. Thanks for the effort at getting this put together.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I am leaving the #'s & stamps as listed on each page and making new #'s for each new page.
lot of work, definitely not doing it for the money.
Would be glad to put up a $25.00-$50.00 page, But so far better stuff isn't going well at auction. BTW: can we mention our auctions in the approval book?
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
@ mdroth
"But you have not created 'approvals' at all - you've created stores!!"
We created a quite flexible system, but the "vision" was that of approval books that allow member-to-member offerings for the bulk of less expensive stamps. I see that some offerings, and questions concerning allowable offerings, "test" the limits of the system. Specifically, posting 10,000 "books" with one page each with one stamp on the page, would indeed use the approval book system to introduce BidStart/ebay-style Seller stores through the back door. Let me assure you, this is not going to happen.
The name of the module is Stamporama Approvals, because it based on the idea of an online version of APS-style approval books. One stamp is not a BOOK; one page or two pages is not a book. If you only have one page of Sweden and two pages of Denmark, and 2 pages of Norway, then make ONE book of Scandinavia etc. OR -- simply sell the whole page as BIN in our auction, if this is what you prefer.
Can you start a book with one page, and add pages later? Or just do a one page book now to test the system? Especially now, while this is all new? ABSOLUTELY! There are currently very few rules prescribing what can and cannot be done. I am not sure if more detailed rules are necessary. I personally think that principles are more powerful than rules. The principle is that the Stamporama Approvals are a virtual version of Approval books. If everybody participating keeps this in mind, I don't think we need more rules and have to waste volunteer resources for enforcement. We wanted to create something that did not previously exist, and what we believe fills a specific need. Members that want Stores, find plenty of options for that in other places.
Not speaking for the design team, personal opinion,
Arno
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Carl, RE:
"Quote"" I am leaving the #'s & stamps as listed on each page and making new #'s for each new page. lot of work, definitely not doing it for the money.Whew
Would be glad to put up a $25.00-$50.00 page, But so far better stuff isn't going well at auction. BTW: can we mention our auctions in the approval book? """
I hope you are not planning to have one page BOOKS Carl. This is not the intention for APPROVAL BOOKS, and is best served under auctions. please look at the way the first 30-40 books have been put together by the design team to explore many ways to simplify your task. It gets easier after each page. But do put together multiple page multiple item books, and then Activate them when you are done.
On the issue of higher price items, I have tried to make my books of mostly lower cost stamps...which was the original concept, but I have experimented with adding a few sets, S/S, covers, and a few more expensive stamps at the back of the book. Surprising! They are being bought! I suppose collectors are like me. They work by subject, country, topic, or whatever, and like filling empty spots cheaply and effectively, so first you work to find the low cost ones, and them, why not get tempted by a few others, maybe more difficult to find stamps, sets etc.. if the price is right...why not?
So my suggestion to you is to list a BOOK of say 10 pages of lower cost items, under one topic, and then throw in a few pages of the more expensive stuff at the very end of your book, and see what happens. But the intent here has been to facilitate the trading of low cost items, and un-clutter the auctions where hundreds of stamps, priced say below 10 cents, are lot of work to list and to buy. So this Approval Books should work well for buyer and seller alike.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
These are great! For those who remember, this is what I envisioned when I created my U-Pick Stamps Stop Lots on BidStart years ago... but the "engine" was never there to automatically differentiate the different stamps and buy them individually (without calling out the stamp labels one at a time in a separate message).
Well done, Tim and others! This is sure to be a hit!
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Geez! It takes me several hours to get a page ready to scan & list. I'm getting to be
an old geezer that can't see too well. Gimme (sorry, Bobby) a break here! I certainly plan on having more than 1 page books. On top of that I'm not the greatest computer whiz in the world. I consider myself lucky to be able To get the smilies working.
Let's not turn this into O'care.
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To error is human -to really fowl things up takes a computer
30 Dec 2013
10:44:15pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
" 1. The ability to edit the # of items on your page besides the "Enable/Disable" button.
2. The ability to adjust the page order- to be able to add to a book and keep it relatively in catalog order. Example I have a book started of Canada Starting with Scott# 36 page 1 then it jumps to #200 on page 2 I would like to add a page of Scott #75- when adding now it places the page at the end I would like to adjust the page #'s.
3. The ability to "delete" a page."
Thank you!
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A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
31 Dec 2013
12:46:29am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I second Michael's request - can we have an option to purchase the entire page? I know from my own trigger happy thumb tonight that a "purchase page" would have been easier.
This way if there are 30 stamps on the page I have to manually click all of them plus keep a tally of prices as I go through the book.
Minor issues of course which is what we do with a physical approval book.
Kelly
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Great idea SOR. I have been wanting something like this to help me get rid of the hordes of doubles I have. It takes a little while to get things scanned but after that its all down hill. Fantastic software! It looks like the traffic is great too. Already 1 buyer and the book only went live an hour ago.
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
31 Dec 2013
06:30:54am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Franky
The book you posted is fantastic. It is exactly what we envisioned when we began this endeavor. Well scanned, well numbered and documented, multiple pages, lots of stamps and priced low. The five of us on the development team had many common goals and a few individual goals. One of those common goals was to promote the hobby by getting low cost, more common material into the collecting stream, while at the same time moving members' duplicate accumulations into new homes where they can be appreciated.
Keep on posting!
Bobby
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Immediate Past President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
31 Dec 2013
09:51:04am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I'm very excited about this new feature. I am planning on creating a few books, but have a things to think through first. I don't think I want to hinge the stamps, not that I have anything against hinging but I think it would be time consuming. That means using stock pages, but I don't want keep the stamps in the pages. How are members who are using stock pages storing the stamps? Are you keeping them in the stock pages or moving them to a glassine? I don't like using stock pages to store low value stamps. I think putting the stamps in a glassine will make it tougher to pick them when they are sold.
Like everything, I'm sure it will take a little getting used to then once you got routine, it becomes much easier. I remember it would take me 10 minutes to create an auction, now I can create one in about 1 minute.
Thanks,
Bob
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
THIS IS FUN!
After all the hard work, it is FUN to see the growth of interest and to witness my first sales, my first 100 sales..etc...Wow.
I have just added a few pages to one book that had a lot of items sold, and in keeping with my earlier thoughts, reduced some of the other prices. I plan to do it systematically for every book, but will wait until I return from my trip.
What I really like is the flexibility Tim built into this system, and I hope you all appreciate it.
Meanwhile I am learning about selling, packing, shipping, invoicing, communicating, etc... My growing respect to those who do it regularly. It is work!
Putting a page together is now a 10 minutes process for me, so trust me when I say, it will get much easier after you have done a few, and I hope the same applies to the shipping part.
I like being able to share duplicates that just sit otherwise, and to scan and pick stamps that I need and never have the patience to go look for one at a time! So I plan to do a lot more books in the future.
Only drawback I see: I will spend even more time on my hobby and here!
I better be nice to my wife!
rrr....
PS: One remark from someone who has used both SOR templates, and stockcards. Having the number on your page helps a lot. Putting numbers via photo software requires, when you have sold some of the stamps, that you identify the number from your inventoried card..and the number is on the scan. So I find the technique of putting numbers on small pieces of (acid free ) paper just next to or under the stamp both more efficient and less subject to errors when you put a book together, and when you go back to pull the stamps you have sold.
For me, templates still work the best because I print them as I need and because I will soon run out of Vario or Unitrade stockcards, and I am sure I will screw things up if I try to move the stamps from scanned card to inventory to reuse the ones I have.
Already when packing for shipping, I noticed that it is easy to make mistakes...like to ship stamp 5 from page 6 instead of stamp 6 from page 5! So anything that identifies page number and stamp number permanently is a plus, a big PLUS! But you will all find out soon enough.
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To error is human -to really fowl things up takes a computer
31 Dec 2013
03:37:44pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I'm of the school of what works for you may not work for everyone else. The magic key here is organization. Finding a method that is both easy and efficient for yourself. There are a lot of good idea's that have been offered by members but for myself I have yet to settle on any one yet. I am still experimenting with the listing templates, storage idea's and the most important is correctly filing orders. I do appreciate all the idea's and ask that they keep coming as I'm sure that someone else idea will become a great solution to one or more of the challenges we all face.
What a conundrum we have here- we are all in competition with each other to sell our stamps yet without hesitation we offer help and idea's ten fold. What a great club we have and who could ask for a better start to a new year.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
"For me, templates still work the best because I print them as I need and because I will soon run out of Vario or Unitrade stockcards, and I am sure I will screw things up if I try to move the stamps from scanned card to inventory to reuse the ones I have.
Already when packing for shipping, I noticed that it is easy to make mistakes...like to ship stamp 5 from page 6 instead of stamp 6 from page 5! So anything that identifies page number and stamp number permanently is a plus, a big PLUS! But you will all find out soon enough."
But you can always look at the scans if you are not sure. When I start scanning pages I will only be using a stockpage or 3....the stamps will be returned to an album. Surely it's more neat that way.
Now I just need to find time !!
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08:35:41am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Certainly the moderator group deserves great praise for this new feature!!!
I have not yet posted to this part of the site, but I certainly intend to give it a try.
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
01 Jan 2014
11:10:20am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Thanks for the praise, Bob. However, the development team responsible for this new part of SOR was not the Moderator Group (although I happen to be a DB moderator, my participation in the Approvals Book development has nothing to do with my moderator role). The following members are responsible for this creation (user names only - listed alphabetically - full names and contact information may be found in the "members area" database):
auldstampguy
bobby1948
cocollectibles
Rhinelander
rrraphy
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Wow, gone for the holidays and look what happens! This is a fantastic addition to SOR. Kudos and many thanks to the fab five (auldstampguy, Bobby1948, cocollectibles, Rhinelander, and rraphy) on a job well done. I cannot imagine the time this project took but it is very impressive. Thanks much.... Sally
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Welcome back Sally. I am about to go on vacation myself. Wonder what will await me in about 2 weeks.
Rrr... (3 r)
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01:23:36pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
(Let's play a joke on Ralph, so when he logs in again in two weeks, he gets hit with listing fees and a star rating system?)
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Rrr - sorry for missing the third "r". Hope you have a great vacation. Maybe share some photos? Sally
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Can anyone help me? I have tried to start a new Approval Book but am having problems uploading the pictures. I get as far as stage two, where I am asked to select and upload a picture file but when I do so all I get on stage three is the Stamporama heading and a blank page. I have made sure the picture is not too big and I am using the Stamporama Apptoval Book templates. What am I doing wrong?
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
03 Jan 2014
01:52:35pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I don't know Kim. Could you attach your scanned page to an email and send it to me?
Bobby
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03:12:22pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Is it possible to price Approval Book stamps in sterling?
Best regards
Joe Donohue
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
03 Jan 2014
03:35:46pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Sorry, Joe. Like the auction, it has to be in US$.
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05:37:43am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Thanks Bobby for answering my query re pricing for approval books.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
New Subject:
Maybe I am just being dumb, but I need to delete or retire several pages of approvals and can't seem to find a way to do it. On the bottom of the pages that have just a few stamps it says I cannot delete the page because some of the stamps have been sold. I have already sent invoices on the sold stamps, so how do I go about getting rid of the used up page?
Thanks, and by the way, I agree with everyone else. This approval idea is great and very well thought out. Just a few glitches I have seen such as this if it is one and kudos to those who worked so hard to create it. Thank you!!
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Try "disabling" the few stamps left on those pages and then try to delete the page/book.
Don't know if that's the correct way of doing it, but it shouldn't hurt to try.
Mike
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08:23:08pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
What can I say, it works to well. I'm now purchasing more issues for my stamp club friends here at home, than I'm doing for myself. But it helps the collector to reach out to the sellers because of how the system is set up. For newer collectors such as myself, this gives is much more freedom and time to collect what we want.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
AKTraveler,
You bring up an interesting question, one that I don't have a great answer for yet. I had a look at your books and I see what you mean. I would retire the book and take the unsold stamps and start a new book. That will make it easier for people to find what is left.
Regards ... Tim.
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They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. -Benjamin Franklin
12 Jan 2014
09:31:02am
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
AKTraveler
When we first began the Approval project, there were many long discussions on various aspects of the ultimate product, one of which was what to do with books when pages became seriously depleted. Ultimately, we came to a consensus that rather than install a complex system to relist books, either minus the depleted pages or with holes in said pages replaced by new stamps, it would be simpler to just retire the entire book and incorporate the unsold items into a new book.
Now, with this wonderfully smooth and user friendly program Tim has given us, that answer is even more appropriate. You can retire your book and start a new one. Use the scans you have of the unsold items on pages that are substantially full, but remembering to disable the buttons corresponding to sold items. Then reassemble the items from the seriously depleted pages, consolidating them into new, full pages. Then simply publish this new book.
Remember, that while we currently have no firm and fast rules regarding size, this program was never envisioned to accommodate one or two page books, so please add new items to get additional pages up, or insure than the item total is at least 60.
Bobby
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Let me provide yet some more context. What member can post are called "BOOKS" for a reason. Like with the APS approval books, the idea was that sellers put a selection of stamps together, circulate online, and retire books once depleted. For members who do not have enough material to make single country books, books of several countries are an option (Caribbean Islands, Scandinavia, etc.)
What I observe is very heavy use of the editing options. An initial "book" of only two pages is posted, pages are moved, added etc. etc. The "book" thus becomes a storefront, a revolving door for sales. While it is wonderful to see the success of this system, it is also true that these constant edits, make it very busy from a buyer's perspective. I'd much rather be able to say: I looked at this book, and it is done. Books constantly pop up as new for no apparent reason. And even if a new page was added, one has to go through all pages again, because one does not remember if there was just one page added or more etc.
Because of the semi-permanent concept of a book (after posting generally don't touch unless for price changes until retirement), pages can not be exchanged. The reason is that if Stamp 4 on page 7 sold, it cannot be replaced with a new page 7 with a different stamp 4 under the same book number. There might be a programming way around, but the potential mess and confusion, in my opinion, is not worth it. As a buyer, I would be very much against enabling the replacement of pages, even if it was technically possible, because it is very inconvenient if new material is constantly mixed in with the old. If you got new stuff, make a new book.
So I second (third?) the advice given by Bobby and Tim: prepare books that give enough of a selection to make it worthwhile, considering postage for buyers. Let the book be life until depletion, possibly reducing prices along the way. Upon depletion, take offline, disassemble and incorporate remaining stamps into new books. That is the typical use for which the system has been designed. My personal preference also would be that sellers get their book ready offline, instead of posting a "stub" to which they constantly add and edit.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
There are requirements with creating sales books and sending them to the APS. I am not suggesting that we adapt these, but are using these for illustrative purposes and a guide compared to the SOR approval book system:
- minimum net value (sales price) per APS book is $30.00 (The standard singles APS sales book is 16 pages with 12 spaces per page designed to hold 192 individual stamps. Perhaps a standard for SOR approval books would be a minimum number of stamps - sets count as one - per book. I wouldn't use net value as a minimum as that would defeat the purpose of the SOR approval books.)
- books stay in circulation for around 18 months, or when there is less than $10 net value remaining in the book. (If you figure that means that a book with the minimum net value is retired when 2/3 of the value of the stamps in it are sold that can be a good measure for the SOR approval books too, except that a seller of SOR approval books may want to consider retiring a book when 2/3 of the stamps in it have been sold. If a minimum rule is ever imposed, the system can be programmed to automatically retire the books when a threshold is reached.)
Here are some other thoughts:
Unless the APS sales book contains valuable material, sellers rarely send just one book at a time to the APS. (Work on the SOR approval books - can be done online; just don't activate them until you get a half dozen or so ready at a time. Patience and good presentation with quantity will net better sales.)
When APS sales books are retired, the books are removed from circulation. The seller can request the books be placed in a "clearance circuit", meaning that the book is offered to collectors at a special buy-all discount (usually 40% to 75% off the remaining value of the book), or returned to the seller where the seller takes the unsold stamps and with, additional stamps, creates new sales books, and the cycle begins anew.
Maybe for future consideration is an option for a seller to put an SOR approval book on clearance where the application lets the seller put a "buy-all" price on a book or close it when a book reaches a certain age or the book has been sold down a certain percentage (the system already tracks how many stamps are in a book and how many remain). If the seller does nothing within a certain amount of time after receiving book closure notification, the system closes the book. If the seller wants to close the book, the book is closed. If the seller wants to clearance sell the book, the seller enters a buy-all price and the book moves out of the regular approval book area to a clearance section. It stays there for 30 days, where if not sold in that time, the system automatically closes the book. The seller would not be able to reactivate the book.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Michael,
Excellent suggestions. We'll be looking further into your ideas.
Regards ... Tim.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Good suggestions Michael.
And another suggestion to those who are currently putting Approval Books together. Please Keep the Book Title More Compact. There is a space for comments after page one where you can post additional information, but I am not sure the story of your life is necessary on the book title, and it does mess up the Book listing as well as the presentation of each page of your book.
My suggestion, Titles should say it all in two lines.
Put the rest under comments.
rrr.. (I am back, and I missed all the activities of the last 2 weeks!)
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Good point Ralph.
Regards ... Tim
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Gosh I go to work for a couple months and you move the furniture on me. Really nice job on the approvals. I can't wait to play with it. Do I smell a silver or gold site this year?
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04:42:33pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Currently there are no limits on the number of pages or number of items; different members will have different thoughts as to what should be the minimum number of these, but so far no-one has really suggested an upper limit to the numbers.
Personally, I prefer to browse smaller books with fewer than 20 items per page; more than 20 a page, and it gets hard to see the scan images or details. But this is just my personal preference, not a suggested rule or advice to others.
Peter
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
@d1stamper. As a buyer, I like books between 10 and 25 pages, and a minimum of 100+ items.
rrr...
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
As a "buyer" I like the concept of the Approval pages. I think they are great. Thank you to all that made them possible. One mention however, wish there were consistency in "picture size" to as where one could easily examine the stamp, such as the size posted by Margin. I find it difficult (especially as a Topical Collector) to see what the stamp depicts. I've always had this issue with the "auction" as well...
Just a thought
Clayton
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I would like to thank all of those that have offered advice on this subject. As I have worked with the system I have learned a lot of new ways of working with the pages as well as the books. After time has passed I see a value to having to retire the book and re-arrange it and add new material. It keeps the material fresh and more likely for a buyer to want to look at it. I have noticed that a couple of my books were quick to have the first few pages bought and no one goes in far enough to see the unsold pages. Thank all again for your advice.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I have set an upper limit now of 24 pages. As a buyer though, I like about 10-12 pages in the Book I'm looking at. If I'm buying, I usually feel that I've spent enough after 10-12 pages.
Tim.
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A Service Dog gives a person with a disability independence. Never approach, distract or pet a working dog, especially when (s)he is in harness. Never be afraid to ask questions to the handler (parent).
28 Jan 2014
10:21:58pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
These Approval Books are addicting!! Bobby was right, I'm having as much fun with them as I am with my own collection. Problem is, I don't have time for my own collection!
Kelly
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05:13:35pm
re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
I'm having a ball looking through the approvals and filling gaps but is there a way to limit the findings to only those that accept paypal etc. As I'm in the UK cheques are out of the question, cash is often hard to get in smaller US$ ($20's and $50's are easy to get).
I often look at a book thinking "yes, I want that stamp" only to find payment would prove very difficult
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Hi Martyn,
That is an interesting question. There isn't a way at the moment to limit to those who will accept paypal, but I definitely see why you have requested it. I will give it some thought.
Regards ... Tim.
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re: STAMPORAMA (SOR) ANNOUNCES APPROVAL BOOKS
Maybe you can add the PayPal icon next to the seller's name in the Seller's column on the book listings table. You would know if they take PayPal from their selling account information.
If you could do this in the auction area as well that would be great.
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