Mystic Has A Cheap Hingeless Album Now

Mystic will happily swap them again. They do have outstanding customer service.

After two times I did not want to push my luck or their forbearence and just asked for and got a refund. I never got any more response after mailing the second set back to their quality control person, their customerm service reps were nice but I got the distinct feeling they thought I was a whackjob. My conclusion was that this is how these pages look. Apparently some of you on this discussion bought this album and didn't have any complaint. So I guss it's me. I own several sets of hingeless pages by Lighthouse and they aren't ugly like these were. They did keep my $10+ postage charge.

Seriously considering these... price is $89.95 each now, though... :/

ARGH! I'm more or less thinking/typing out loud here, but any input is appreciated.

I've been leaning toward the regular Mystic Heirloom set because I'm cheap and because I can easily deal with my husband's griping about me spending $50 (3 volumes + shipping = $50).

However, I'm also lazy very busy, so the idea of being able to simply insert my stamps in the mounts without having to do any other work is VERY appealing. I'm just not sure if it's $250 worth of appealing (3 volumes + shipping = $300).

At this point, almost all of my stamps are used, and I don't foresee switching to mint (but who knows), so I don't think I need to compare the long-term costs of hingeless vs. mounts.

I think my decision really comes down to price vs convenience. I'm indecisive enough as it is, but when we're talking about a $250 difference, I'm even more inclined to fret.

Help me out here SCF folks! Are there other factors I should be considering?

Mystic's layout of se-tenants is something I always complain about. If you're collecting used, your chance of having connected se-tenants is much lower, so it may not be an issue for you.

ZuZu -- it's worth it to me. I use hingeless albums and I don't regret the occasional inconsistency of "layout" of precut mounts.


Clarification: I do not use the Mystic albums; I use the more expensive and more confusing Schaubek :)

Zuzu, I think you will be very happy with the Mystic Heirloom set. Money aside, it is a nice album and will work out well with your collection. I use hingeless but I will use mounts on my own pages for precancels. Dan

Hi Zuzu,

I use both pre printed pages without mounts and blank pages, for both of which I use Showgard black mounts cut-to-size or strips cut by me. I buy them as I need them. If I bought a pre printed album I would buy the type without mounts and keep the huckleberries I saved in the bank. Why pay the premium for someone else to stick the mounts in, possibly without the same regard for neatness and presentation you might have.

Terry

Thanks for the input everyone. I really do appreciate it. Someday I should keep track of how long it takes me to make decisions like this. I tend to "research" to death and ask for opinions from everyone I can find. :P




Andy & Kirk, I agree that I don't think the layout would be a deal-breaker for me. There are some very nicely-done hacks that I can print on a page-by-page basis if the need arises.



Dan, I'm certain I'll be going with the Mystic Heirloom, it's really just a question of whether the price difference between regular and hingeless is worth the time and effort I would save.




Terry, I would be paying the premium so that I wouldn't have to take the time to purchase and/or cut and place the mounts - or, more realistically in my case, to mess with hinges. (I'm very lazy busy, remember? ) And I've read just about everything I could find on this forum about the Mystic hingeless, and it sounds like the clear mounts are well placed and decent enough quality.

On the subject of inexpensive hingeless albums, if anyone collects Japan check these out:

http://japanphilatelic.com/catalog/...?cPath=38_39

I have ordered from this dealer in the past. Pricing is in British pounds but a bit over $100 a volume for hingeless albums is pretty good, attractive looking too.

I wonder who the loser is with no life that has time to do stuff like that....

I like those Japanese albums. Maybe they will move on to other countries when they have done their Japan series. I would buy them.

Terry

Hi Zuzu,

Yes, I had forgotten the lazy busy bit. And if you have a lot of stamps to mount then it is time consuming. I tend to only do a page at a time, maybe two at most. I also write up the pages by hand rather than printing the text as I wanted that classic personal journal/album look. And I prefer the black mounts so that unfortunately rules out most pre-printed albums for me. Whatever you decide, the main thing is that you enjoy your stamp collecting.

Terry

Hi Stamps 1962,

I have looked again at those Japan albums. They look exceptionally good for the price. I am very nearly tempted to order volume 1, which covers the period I am interested in generally. Those early Japan stamp issues are also very tempting, dammit. And the mounts, clear and carefully placed, seem to be mounted over a wide printed black border. Which of course would help in keeping the mounts properly aligned when sticking them down. I assume the albums are printed in Japanese Kanji, but there seems enough space for handwritten catalogue numbers and brief notes.

Terry

Notice if you click on the links the Volumes are not $69 but $89 and Vol III is $109 and if you pursue it after each video goes to $118 I think it was? There is a price increase for all volumes except the first two volumes. I realize as there are more pages because the U.S. issued more stamps it will take more pages but. But it seems they sucker you into the first two volumes then start socking it to you. Increasing the prices of each volume as you go.