Queen Beatrix

On Sep 19, 6:26*am, Ralphael1 wrote:
On Sep 18, 10:01*pm, "Blair (TC)" wrote:



On Sep 18, 4:39*pm, Ralphael1 wrote:

On Sep 18, 12:29*am, wrote:

On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:05:44 +0800, "rodney"

wrote:
I think we touched a nerve

"Rein"
It's an interaction between the lazy philatelists and the lazy stamp
dealers that produces lousy catalogues!

Probably a little more than that, I would estimate.

When you have countries printing the same stamp by 3 different
printing firms, each producing multiple variations of one definitive,
I wonder how long that takes to master that information.

Has anyone asked Douglas Myall about how he deals with "Deegam"? *I
realize that is much more limited in scope, but that's probably the
point. *The massive amount of work invested in that volume would be
almost exponential if you count the other countries besides U.K. and
Machins.

That said, the catalogs are getting quite expensive for very little
change in information and the absence of some information, let alone
blatant mistakes made. *It's rather funny to see one publisher with a
stamp inverted in the book, but it's not an invert stamp. *hehehehe...

Cataloging the new issues is a full time job - or more - for more than
one person.

Most definately a massive job. Nowayinhell can any team keep up with
all the new issues being issued.
The way I see it, the biggest difficulty when posting new issues to
the catalog is getting CORRECT information from the issueing
countries.
After the incorrect information is posted to the catalog there ain't
nowayinhell to get it corrected.

Ralphael, the OLD one

True Story

I found a 35 year old error in SG (Egypt). *I wrote to the editor
with my evidence (validated by 3 sources) and rationale enclosed.
I cross refernced to two other catalogues.
credi
He thanked me and complimented me on my research. *He also
mentioned that the Egyptian Specialized catalogue (Egypt
Philatelic Society) had the same error. *The correction was
in the next SG edition. *I wrote to the Egypt P.S. and they
replied likewise. *The correction was made in their next edition.

Interestingly, the SG Editor noted that in 35 years, NOT ONE
philatelist had drawn the error to their attention. *So who is to
blame here?

Blair- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Kudos Blair for a job well done. It must have been your excellent
documentation that convinced the editors that a correction should be
made.
I suffer from much envy.

Ralphael, the OLD one


It as most encouraging.

If all collectors did the same, our catalogues would be more accurate.
Editors are human beings too and appreciate our help.

By the way, I find that Scott are the LEAST open to suggestions for
correcting errors or omissions. I had them answer one letter by
thanking me for writing and then saying that they would not br making
the corrections as "it would be a lot of work" and "that country is
not
very popular".

So now we will only worry about accuracy for "popular" countries.

I'm glas Scott isn't running any hospital that I need to go to.

8*)

Blair

On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:01:46 -0700 (PDT), "Blair (TC)"
wrote:

On Sep 18, 4:39*pm, Ralphael1 wrote:
On Sep 18, 12:29*am, wrote:



On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:05:44 +0800, "rodney"

wrote:
I think we touched a nerve

"Rein"
It's an interaction between the lazy philatelists and the lazy stamp
dealers that produces lousy catalogues!

Probably a little more than that, I would estimate.

When you have countries printing the same stamp by 3 different
printing firms, each producing multiple variations of one definitive,
I wonder how long that takes to master that information.

Has anyone asked Douglas Myall about how he deals with "Deegam"? *I
realize that is much more limited in scope, but that's probably the
point. *The massive amount of work invested in that volume would be
almost exponential if you count the other countries besides U.K. and
Machins.

That said, the catalogs are getting quite expensive for very little
change in information and the absence of some information, let alone
blatant mistakes made. *It's rather funny to see one publisher with a
stamp inverted in the book, but it's not an invert stamp. *hehehehe...

Cataloging the new issues is a full time job - or more - for more than
one person.

Most definately a massive job. Nowayinhell can any team keep up with
all the new issues being issued.
The way I see it, the biggest difficulty when posting new issues to
the catalog is getting CORRECT information from the issueing
countries.
After the incorrect information is posted to the catalog there ain't
nowayinhell to get it corrected.

Ralphael, the OLD one



True Story

I found a 35 year old error in SG (Egypt). I wrote to the editor
with my evidence (validated by 3 sources) and rationale enclosed.
I cross refernced to two other catalogues.

He thanked me and complimented me on my research. He also
mentioned that the Egyptian Specialized catalogue (Egypt
Philatelic Society) had the same error. The correction was
in the next SG edition. I wrote to the Egypt P.S. and they
replied likewise. The correction was made in their next edition.

Interestingly, the SG Editor noted that in 35 years, NOT ONE
philatelist had drawn the error to their attention. So who is to
blame here?

The person who didn't perform the proper research in the first place?

I think that the time has come to change the format of catalogues
completely in order to

a) make it easier to make additions/changes to the listings
b) to keep the values up to date.

The problem is that the catalogue has to do two jobs. It needs to be a
reference book to act as a starter for philatelists doing research. It
also has to act as some sort of "value" guide whether as a pice list
or rarity estimartor.

The solution is simple. Print the information section as a loose leaf
format. Replacement pages with new issues, new knowledge additions
and alterations can be sold as an annual edition ( one year there
might be 10 pages, the next 50 - and priced accordingly ). The "price
list " could be a seperate publication, issued annually, (or up to 5-
yearly) according to perceived popularity.

The catalogue publisher would be able to keep production costs down
while still receiving a decent "return" for all new complete
catalogues ( with binder ) issued. Also reformatting would be kept to
a minimum by the issue of replacement pages - allowing as a side
benefit a much shorter "lead time" for the supply of new information.

In this scenario I would envisage that the producer would possibly
charge somewhat more than at present for the original catalogue, but
updating would produce a lower but more frequent revenue. Total sales
would probably increase as collectors would be more likely to purchase
the updates and prices every year rather than buy a catalogue every 4
or 5 years and I would not envisage much change to the cost/profit
relationship. Also reprinting of the basic"total" catalogue could be
restricted to "new" customers, and unlike annual catalogues, the
complete catalogue plus updates added as they are printed would have
an unlimited shelf life.

Malcolm





On Sep 20, 6:21*am, wrote:
On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:01:46 -0700 (PDT), "Blair (TC)"





wrote:
On Sep 18, 4:39*pm, Ralphael1 wrote:
On Sep 18, 12:29*am, wrote:

On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:05:44 +0800, "rodney"

wrote:
I think we touched a nerve

"Rein"
It's an interaction between the lazy philatelists and the lazy stamp
dealers that produces lousy catalogues!

Probably a little more than that, I would estimate.

When you have countries printing the same stamp by 3 different
printing firms, each producing multiple variations of one definitive,
I wonder how long that takes to master that information.

Has anyone asked Douglas Myall about how he deals with "Deegam"? *I
realize that is much more limited in scope, but that's probably the
point. *The massive amount of work invested in that volume would be
almost exponential if you count the other countries besides U.K. and
Machins.

That said, the catalogs are getting quite expensive for very little
change in information and the absence of some information, let alone
blatant mistakes made. *It's rather funny to see one publisher with a
stamp inverted in the book, but it's not an invert stamp. *hehehehe...

Cataloging the new issues is a full time job - or more - for more than
one person.

Most definately a massive job. Nowayinhell can any team keep up with
all the new issues being issued.
The way I see it, the biggest difficulty when posting new issues to
the catalog is getting CORRECT information from the issueing
countries.
After the incorrect information is posted to the catalog there ain't
nowayinhell to get it corrected.

Ralphael, the OLD one

True Story

I found a 35 year old error in SG (Egypt). *I wrote to the editor
with my evidence (validated by 3 sources) and rationale enclosed.
I cross refernced to two other catalogues.

He thanked me and complimented me on my research. *He also
mentioned that the Egyptian Specialized catalogue (Egypt
Philatelic Society) had the same error. *The correction was
in the next SG edition. *I wrote to the Egypt P.S. and they
replied likewise. *The correction was made in their next edition.

Interestingly, the SG Editor noted that in 35 years, NOT ONE
philatelist had drawn the error to their attention. *So who is to
blame here?

The person who didn't perform the proper research in the first place?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:30:24 -0700 (PDT), malcolm
wrote:

This is like the way the Higgins & Gage stationary catalogs were done.
They had original pages up to a point, then revised prices printed
afterwards. Your example is a bit more than what they did, but it was
a start.

The page numbering could get a wee bit screwed up, unless some scheme
was used that allowed for gaps in numbering. Kind of like the way
Scott leaves numbers open for future use, but make better use of it.

I have worked on catalogs of other types before and if the data were
quickly searchable by staff, then changes may be made easier.

Maintenance of any project - especially this size - is always a
challenge. More times than not, maintenance plays more of a role and
new additions to databases. The catalog is only as good as the
maintenance done on it. If people submit valid changes, they should
be looked at. Maybe a FIFO standard - first in, first out and then a
cut off date for changes. I have no idea how they do it now.

Anyway, I think you do have a good idea about individual pages. I see
people selling county pages on eBay from new Scott catalogs. Seems
like they buy them and them rip 'em up!

With loose leaf pages, one could also insert information they garner
about their collecting areas.

There are a lot of positives with that thinking. Some catalogs
already / still do it - pre-cancels, H&G reprints, a few others and it
works better.

I think that the time has come to change the format of catalogues
completely in order to

a) make it easier to make additions/changes to the listings
b) to keep the values up to date.

The problem is that the catalogue has to do two jobs. It needs to be a
reference book to act as a starter for philatelists doing research. It
also has to act as some sort of "value" guide whether as a pice list
or rarity estimartor.

The solution is simple. Print the information section as a loose leaf
format. Replacement pages with new issues, new knowledge additions
and alterations can be sold as an annual edition ( one year there
might be 10 pages, the next 50 - and priced accordingly ). The "price
list " could be a seperate publication, issued annually, (or up to 5-
yearly) according to perceived popularity.

The catalogue publisher would be able to keep production costs down
while still receiving a decent "return" for all new complete
catalogues ( with binder ) issued. Also reformatting would be kept to
a minimum by the issue of replacement pages - allowing as a side
benefit a much shorter "lead time" for the supply of new information.

In this scenario I would envisage that the producer would possibly
charge somewhat more than at present for the original catalogue, but
updating would produce a lower but more frequent revenue. Total sales
would probably increase as collectors would be more likely to purchase
the updates and prices every year rather than buy a catalogue every 4
or 5 years and I would not envisage much change to the cost/profit
relationship. Also reprinting of the basic"total" catalogue could be
restricted to "new" customers, and unlike annual catalogues, the
complete catalogue plus updates added as they are printed would have
an unlimited shelf life.

Malcolm





On Sep 20, 6:21*am, wrote:
On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:01:46 -0700 (PDT), "Blair (TC)"





wrote:
On Sep 18, 4:39*pm, Ralphael1 wrote:
On Sep 18, 12:29*am, wrote:

On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:05:44 +0800, "rodney"

wrote:
I think we touched a nerve

"Rein"
It's an interaction between the lazy philatelists and the lazy stamp
dealers that produces lousy catalogues!

Probably a little more than that, I would estimate.

When you have countries printing the same stamp by 3 different
printing firms, each producing multiple variations of one definitive,
I wonder how long that takes to master that information.

Has anyone asked Douglas Myall about how he deals with "Deegam"? *I
realize that is much more limited in scope, but that's probably the
point. *The massive amount of work invested in that volume would be
almost exponential if you count the other countries besides U.K. and
Machins.

That said, the catalogs are getting quite expensive for very little
change in information and the absence of some information, let alone
blatant mistakes made. *It's rather funny to see one publisher with a
stamp inverted in the book, but it's not an invert stamp. *hehehehe...

Cataloging the new issues is a full time job - or more - for more than
one person.

Most definately a massive job. Nowayinhell can any team keep up with
all the new issues being issued.
The way I see it, the biggest difficulty when posting new issues to
the catalog is getting CORRECT information from the issueing
countries.
After the incorrect information is posted to the catalog there ain't
nowayinhell to get it corrected.

Ralphael, the OLD one

True Story

I found a 35 year old error in SG (Egypt). *I wrote to the editor
with my evidence (validated by 3 sources) and rationale enclosed.
I cross refernced to two other catalogues.

He thanked me and complimented me on my research. *He also
mentioned that the Egyptian Specialized catalogue (Egypt
Philatelic Society) had the same error. *The correction was
in the next SG edition. *I wrote to the Egypt P.S. and they
replied likewise. *The correction was made in their next edition.

Interestingly, the SG Editor noted that in 35 years, NOT ONE
philatelist had drawn the error to their attention. *So who is to
blame here?

The person who didn't perform the proper research in the first place?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Anyway, I think you do have a good idea about individual pages. I see
people selling county pages on eBay from new Scott catalogs. Seems
like they buy them and them rip 'em up!

I thought I had seen this before,
is that illegal?

On Sep 24, 7:33*am, "rodney" wrote:


Anyway, I think you do have a good idea about individual pages. *I see
people selling county pages on eBay from new Scott catalogs. *Seems
like they buy them and them rip 'em up!

I thought I had seen this before,
is that illegal?

No.

If you legally own a book, you can legally remove a page
from that book and sell it. This is done all the time by
antique map amd print collectors. If I would like one map
from an old $2000 book and there are 100 maps in it , then
why should the owner not break up the book and sell the
maps at $25 each?.

Similarly antique dealers might sell pair of chairs from a
dining room set of 12. (Few people can sit 12 people to
dinner these days.)

Blair

Thanks.
Rod.

"Blair (TC)"
is that illegal?
No.

If you legally own a book, you can legally remove a page
from that book and sell it. This is done all the time by
antique map amd print collectors. If I would like one map
from an old $2000 book and there are 100 maps in it , then
why should the owner not break up the book and sell the
maps at $25 each?.

Similarly antique dealers might sell pair of chairs from a
dining room set of 12. (Few people can sit 12 people to
dinner these days.)

Blair