How Often Do You Update Your Catalogue?

How often do you update your stamp catalogue? I used to get a complete set of Scott's yearly when there are only 4 volumes plus the US Specialized. Now I will buy a set every 3 to 4 years. It is getting too expensive to buy the whole set.

George

I have 2007 Scott on cd that I won at an auction of the philatelic federation of Quebec for $40 almost 2 years ago. Before I use to borrow the catalogue at the borough public library. Last year they change their policy, Scott 2010 and now 2011 are only available for consultation there. The library is not far from where I live so I go there for an up to date evaluation if needed. No way I will spend $400 for brand new catalogues. I will by used one for much less, probably 2009 on cd. Daniel

I wholeheartedly agree with the previous post. Scott Catalogs are way too expensive for my modest WW collection. I will update the Scott U.S. Specialized every few years, but I use a very antiquated set of Scott WW Catalogs that I acquired 25 years ago for less than $20. The value of my WW stamps simply doesn't justify the cost for a new set of WW catalogs, as I can get the basic identification of classic stamps from my old catalogs and the necessary updated price information from the newer sets at my local library.

Fortunately, my library carries a complete set of Scott catalogs for the current year. Unfortunately, like timbres667, the library policy is that it is reference material for in-library use only. The inconvenience is worth it, though, as I can't justify (nor can I afford) the cost to update the WW catalogs on a regular basis.

I still use my 1997 Michel for German stamps. It gives me a good idea of the price and has a lot of notes and comments that help when I'm away from other resources.

Once or twice in my life, I collect US used only, 1993 Scott's specialized, I purchased used for around $5 on ebay about 10 years ago.I still prefer my 1961 Red hardcover specialized, something about it just...........

first I bought Volumes 1-6 of Scotts 2006 International Catalogs for a total of $60ish including shipping

then I found the 2008 series volume 1-6 on Abesbooks.com and Amazon.com mixed and matched till I put together 2 sets of ex library editions in A+ shape, each set cost around $70 including shipping, I was going to ship one to a family member but they had their own set. so now I have 3 sets 1 2006 and 2 2008 in the house, LOL....

I guess what I'm getting at is its cheaper then you think to replace those old editions for the 2006 thur 2008 editions! I use to help my father with his stamps he used 1998 no color old volumes they were so hard to use compared to the new glossy print color editions they have today!

Hi

I found a dealer that breaks the Scott catalog into country sections (totally legal). Therefore, every year I purchase a Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela section. Total cost is usually less than $20USD. Before that I was working part time for a dealer who also sold supplies so I had access to the catalogs every year and had no need to purchase any.

As an aside, Michel once advertised 'on-demand' catalogs. That is they would print and bind selected countries into a single book. It sounds like a good deal until you find that the price of the custom catalog, at least in my case, was almost three times the cost of buying the whole normal catalog.

Jerry B

Most (best of) of my catalogues are 5year old and older,
I photocopy pages from the Library of my main
collecting areas US,GB,Aust, Romania
and leave the others in Folder : New issues of...
until I get another updated catalogue.

And yet, how long does anyone suppose the catalog makers can continue to produce annual catalogs if so many collectors either won't or can't pay the price? Surely, a certain number have to be sold in order to justify the cost of producing the printed catalogs.

I bought a 2007 Specialized on Amazon used. It was a good buy, but I am now going to spring for the 2011 Specialized coming out Oct. 4. Using Amos Advantage it will be $59.95. Steep, but at least up-to-date. It will however have to last me for a few years.

I am not criticizing in anyway the comments made here, just a thought on my part.

My catalogue collection consists of a Stanley Gibbons GB and Commonwealth, 1984 edition. It covers most of the timeframe of my currect collection. I bought it in a thrift store (charity shop, as we would call it here) for £3.00. I will update/extend my cataloue library as and when I see them available at a similar price!
Of course this leaves me stuck for anything that isn't GB/commonwealth in that era. There's the library when I can get there, and resources online. Then there's my final option, enjoy looking at the stamps and don't get too hung up on catalogue numbers, IDs and prices.

I update spasmodically, and sell my old ones, which always pains me! I wish I had kept all of my old SG Part 1's.........

As no-one pays CV for stamps anyway, the prices are only a relative guide to scarcity.

Specialists are lucky. Spending up to A$600 on new SG World makes no sense to a specialist. Then they (we ) go out and buy monographs on the minor differentiations in an overprint on one stamp.

There's another forum where the owner thinks he copyrighted the phrase "knowledge is power". When it comes to our wonderful hobby, he's right! Update whatever you can, whenever you can, even if it means deferring buying stamps. Remember, a mechanic can't fix a car without tools.

found this on bidstart

2007 complete set world catalogs for $80.00
http://stampwants-stamps.bidstart.c...88566/a.html

I update my Gibbons Part 1 every year. I've ordered the new one, to be released tomorrow. I keep my old ones; my bookshelf is groaning, but the historical information is really valuable.

Why? Because the prices of the Indian States I collect keep on going up, and there are always additions to, and deletions from, the catalogue.

So my suggestion: not only make sure you have access to the most recent catalogues, but that you have access to the right catalogues for the job. It's fine to be a WW collector, but don't fool yourself that a 20 year-old catalogue from any one publisher will tell you what you really have. Times and tastes change, and new discoveries are made all the time. Twenty year-old relativities may not apply any more.

And paying CV, Jubilee? At the most recent Murray Payne auction in the UK, prices for quite a few George VI items from the Indian States were multiples of full Gibbons. (The 1939 set of Orchha to 10 Rupees, SG 31-45, went for over double full Gibbons. And the same set, in blocks of 4, went for even more. That George V-cum-George VI, Cochin SG O57, the 1921 1½ Annas surcharged 9 Pies in 1943, mint, with dried gum, went for 136% of Gibbons.)

Say it isn't so. If prices keep going up like this, I'll be collecting QEII before you know it.....

Alright 'It isn't so.' But it is. For the Indian States in the George VI era at least. My customers are going to pay for this

I feel comfortable in the fact that my purchase is just
a process in the food chain.
Purchasers of new current catalogues, depend on purchasers
of their outdated issues, in order to upgrade.
We are all contributing in our own small way.