Most All Questions...

It seems that this forum gets more and more questions concerning "What's it worth" or questions that can be looked up in a catalog real easy. I'm not suggesting that they stop asking but they be redirected into a topic category specifically for that. No one knows it all and those questions should be answered. I just think it may be easier for the ones posting the questions if they were all in one place.

Face it,
Most all "What is it" questions can be answered by looking it up in the catalog.
Most all "What's it worth" questions can be answered by looking it up on ebay.
Most all other questions wil be quickly answered.

I can understand asking a question concerning a U.S. Stamp if you don't collect U.S. But, if you do and don't have a catalog, get a Scott's Specialized. If you do have one, learn how to use it.

I hope I didn't offed anyone by being blunt, it's not my intention.

Art

Not offended, but...

In the US Classic forum, I see lots of "what is it?" type of questions that don't appear to me to something one can just look up in a catalog. Many seem to be by people who have read what the catalogs say, but are having trouble applying that to particular cases, and come here to seek the input of people who may have more experience or expertise. If everything could be divined just by looking in the catalog, why have the forum in the first place?

As for "what is it worth?" while I agree that ebay is a good place to look for the value of something, you have to know what the "something" is to begin with. Most of these questions seem to be from people who have inherited a collection, and don't know what it is they have. ebay isn't going to help them with that.

I think it is amazing how most beginners see 2 catalog listings for a stamp, one that catalogs at thousands of dollars and the other listing catalogs for pennies and they have convinced themselves the one they have is the rare one, not the one printed in the hundreds of millions.

Beginners sometimes have different questions and need different answers than long time collectors or those practiced in differemt aspects of collecting.

Sometime the worth of something depends on the demand from the market, the skills of the salesman / woman, the condition of the item, and the knowledge of the buyer, hopefully increased by the salespeople somewhat to better allow the buyer the opportunity to appreciate the features of the item(s) and the benefits of owning it.

Terms or a glossary are useful at times also for learning and understanding and communicating.

Hmmm interesting, first off this is just my opinion. I do not collect stamps for what they are worth so I kinda skip those questions but I do ask what is it questions sometimes and I read other what is it questions. To have them all in one place would be nice not sure how that would be accomplished. My reasoning for asking what is it questions is - I have 2 options with the money I have available for my hobby. 1 buy stamps or 2 buy catalogs to look up my stamps. Being a beginner I don't have a lot of money so I'd rather buy the stamp then the catalog. As I have progressed I have gotten a scott catalog as a gift (I surely can not afford it). Yes as time goes by I have realized you really can't have one (stamps) without the other (catalog). So yes it is easier for us newbies to run to this forum and ask all you more experienced folks what is this then getting in our cars and driving 4 miles with stamp in pocket to the library to see if we can find it in the catalog and figure out what it is. And back to the original post, yes I think it would be great to have them all in one place. Just my beginner point of view thanks

Education is the key stallzer, I come here to maybe get some stamp education. I hope other beginners do too.

Joining a local stamp club would be more effective than driving to the library in hopes of digging the information out of a stamp catalog. Beginning and intermediate collectors need mentors. The first and best place to start looking is the local stamp club and the local stamp shop if one still remains in the area. The American Philatelic Society offers courses at Summer Seminar in June in Bellefonte, PA and on the road at major stamp shows. They also have some internet courses. With membership comes access to the American Philatelic Research Library, probably the best of its kind in the world.

If no local mentors are available, the APS can assist in finding someone with similar interests. This forum could also be useful, but answers are sometimes more random than relevant.

Clark

Some of the "what's it worth" questions come from people who know absolutely nothing at all about stamp collecting and probably have no idea that catalogs even exist. And if you know nothing about stamps, you wouldn't even know how to search for them correctly on ebay since most are listed by catalog number of some sort. Of course not all of the "newbies" are like that, but some are.

Assume the worst and then prove it is the best is the best way.

I myself have assumed a $30 stamp when tired when it was a 30c stamp.

Hi!
Well, as one of those guys that asks a lot of questions here, and also one that tries to answer what I can, may I add..........

- The "what if" questions are easy for those that know the answer. For others, the thought of looking in a catalog just doesn't occur to them - or more likely - they don't know the catalog would help, or don't have access to one.

- The "what's it worth" questions are almost always from non collectors or those in the very beginning stage. They may not have a clue as to what they have, and more so how to look it up - even if they know of ebay. I admit that the "I just inherited this and what's it worth" questions get old, but I would like to look at them as our opportunity to get a recruit brought into the hobby.

Awhile back I asked a question on this forum, and a reply was essentially that I should "google it" and know better than to waste the Forum's time on such a question. Well, although the reply ticked me off, I did "google it", and eventually found the same answer as other posters to my question gave me.

But here is the thing... if I don't know the answer, I suspect several other (most?) forum members don't either. So getting the question out and having knowledgeable replies serves to not just help the OP, but educate all those that read it.

Said another way.... this is a FORUM - in all the senses of the word.

I may be naïve but I welcome questions especially from new collectors as I am hoping they are getting involved in collecting. I am aware hopwever that there are many people asking questions that have bought lots to break down and sell that have no interest in collecting at all. They will never learn about varieties and they don't have to as long as we answer their questions. They of course want every two cent red they see to be a rare variety and they won't listen to us when we tell them it is a very common one. They usually get frustrated with our answers and don't hang out here very long.

+1

As I said in my response, if the appropriate response to "what is it" questions is "read the catalog" then why bother with a forum?

Personally, I don't get the objection to ANY questions of any kind, regardless of how simple or basic they may seem. In fact, I say the more questions the better. It means more people are particpating, and more "NEWBIE" types of questions potentially means more people getting interested in the hobby. If you don't like them you can always choose to not participate in the thread or hit the back button.

Moreover, constraining certain types of questions to a certain category makes no sense to me. It would create more disorder than it solves. Frequently a "What is this?" question or a "What is this worth?" question can cross the lines and turn into something else that is ultimately much more informative and/or investigative that educates many more people and to a much greater extent than was originally anticipated.

I think things are fine the way they are...

Well said, revenuecollector

I am pretty sure when I originally joined this forum, there was a thread dedicated to helping people identify stamps. Maybe it should be tacked to the front page of the subforums?

cfrphoto I would love to join a stamp club but there are none in my area and if I remember correctly there is not even 1 in my state. So my options are online and the library. I would take suggestions if you can offer me more options.