The Great Manila Stock Page Famine

People still use manila stock pages? I had no idea.

I love manila stock pages! Easy to pencil-in notes, and get things organized for later mounting on album pages. The stamps will never fall out unlike the black stock pages by Vario, Lighthouse, Hagner et al.

Still have several large stockbooks stuffed with them, I like them too. I save any I get in collections.

I have one thick stockbook that's just manila stock pages that are beat up or that Philistines marred with ink notations. You know what I keep in those? Hundreds and hundreds of those giant goofy Stamperija miniature sheets. It's about the display that they deserve.

Avery Address Labels, 1" x 2-5/8", 750 Labels ~1c each.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

'
Wizard Coin Supply has eMailed to say that the 12-row G&K Elbe Manila Stock Sheets are back in stock:

https://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/g-...singles.html

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

It's the 1950s all over again! I haven't seen anyone use manila stock pages for decades. Why? Collectors vote with their money, and they've voted not to use manila stock pages which is why they have largely disappeared. There's no conspiracy involved in this, just ordinary capitalism. If only I could find some Crystal Mounts . . . !

'
There was never a conspiracy, just a famine, and that was because a machine needed a part.

Apparently, the part has been fabricated, the machine has been fixed, and the products are flowing.

That dealers are re-stocking is a sure sign that customers are still buying.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I wish I'd noticed this thread a year ago I could have been rich by profiteering while the machine was getting fixed. I have at least 10 fat 3 ring binders full of manila pages. I'd love to sell them but they were assembled by a rocket scientist who placed ALL the stamps in the stock book backward and wrote a Cat# on the back of each stamp. This stuff is as close to unsellable as anything I've ever seen. I literally thought of putting them on my burn pile they are so annoying.

On a serious note, if you are putting stamps on stock pages for resale never use manila pages. Their resale value is about 1/10th Vario type pages.

I'm thinking there is a very simple resolution but perhaps something is alluding me.

Yes, few, if any, would purchase stamps without seeing the front, there are those who want to see the back also, and yes again, with the manila page pockets one only sees the top half. I seem to recall though, if I am recalling correctly, a thread about e-bay listings where only the reverse of the stamp was shown. Perhaps that was the same "rocket scientist" who assembled these binders .

I would just turn the stamps over, which seems simple enough. If there are very common stamps those could be pulled and offered as a loose lot.

Assuming the stamp identification was correct, and that the catalog # notation on the back was in light pencil, this could be an advantage in some bidder's minds.

Update: I innocently called Subway this week to buy some, learned what y'all have known for awhile and today found this topic while searching for another supplier. BUT ... as of now, they have replaced the broken part, identified and replaced the part which was damaged by the broken part (unrecognized until they tried to restart) and have now started the production process of what I would expect will be a large run. They have a four part process, cutting, positioning and taping, punching and trimming corners. They are in the second stage and hoping for completion within 30 days. We could offer to let them skip the last two steps ... :<)

Are their manila pages acid free?

There's no mention of acid free on their listings ...
https://www.subwaystamp.com/PKG-100...nfo/ZMN714R/
https://www.subwaystamp.com/PKG-100...fo/ZMN714RB/

The term 'acid free' means nothing, it is marketing puffery used to placate consumers.
Don

How about the question as whether it archival safe or not? One can then define whether it is acid free lignin free etc. The first aspect is do they believe it has any archival properties.

The info at stampsmarter can apply to other paper products,
https://stampsmarter.org/learning/H...sePaper.html

Almost all discussion is about album page where the stamps may not be in contact with page if one uses mounts. There is always stamp / storage contact when using supplies like manila pages, sales cards. glassines, etc.

'Archival' is also a marketing term, there is no standard or regulations for marking paper or supplies as 'archival'.

Agreed on 'direct contact'. For example, it makes little sense to use high quality lignin free paper but then put the album in a slipcase made from cardboard that is loaded with acid making lignin. Enclosing and surrounding the pages, even without direct contact, can result in the stamps toning. I was once shown a cigar box (made from wood and highly acidic) full of nice stamps that had been put in mounts and the mounts put in glassines. The stamp and glassines had become highly acidic; toned brown and very brittle. The stamps were so brittle that if you even bend the stamp it would break in half. The stamps had no direct contact with the glassines or the cigar box, they were all in mounts.

But the opposite can also be true, many of us have seen stamps left sitting in Crystal Mounts for decades that are perfectly fine, no deterioration of the stamps or the mounts. This is because the environmental conditions play such a critical role in all of this. IF a hobbyist maintains a very, very good environmental they can "get away" with poor quality storage materials. I consider high quality materials to be a type of insurance policy. I not only consider using cheap paper and shortage material false economy but also think it is like 'buzzed driving' (driving just under the legal limits); you can get away with it for a while but sooner or later it will catch up with you. And a collector might be able to maintain great environmental conditions while involved, but we have all seen collections that got moved after the original collector is no longer around.

The simplest solution is to do your homework and test the material that you use. There is no excuse for not testing, it is simple and inexpensive.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nk...Pen&_sacat=0

Don