Think Before You Leap !

I do not understand lurking..i figure I belong to something or I do not..i imagine they can pick up some pointers by lurking..but why don't they pitch in and agree or disagree ?????

Phil:

Two days at the show.... I'm all set. I'm saving my money earned at ian K's to go to NY in September.

As for buying bulk collections, my trained eye (thanks to the lotting training & experience at Ian's) can easily tell the difference between s**t and Shine-O-la (as my American Army friends would say!)

David

Just to make sure before you go, David...

This is Shinola:


I'm sure you already know what the other one looks like.

When I was a kid my father picked up an old album for cheap at a yard sale, and that was where a lot of my early collection came from. I suppose that's why I've been watching ebay auctions, and occasionally placing bids on albums. So far they've gone for much more than I want to pay, and I didn't know whether I was being unrealistic about their value, or the winning bidders were!

As far as why people lurk, I must confess that I have a tendency towards lurking, especially when I am new to a forum. If I don't know very much about a topic, I often feel that I have little to contribute. And if I don't know very much, I also hesitate to ask questions. On some forums, you risk getting your head bitten off if you accidentally ask a stupid question, or a question that has been asked before. So I spend a lot of time in the beginning reading old posts, and getting my questions answered that way. As time goes on, and I learn more and become more comfortable on a forum, I begin to post more. I still don't tend to be one of the more prolific posters, though.

Chicken:

I made the original comment about lurkers and I totally agree with your ideas about lurking. I have been on several boards where noobs were discouraged (and derided) for posting. Some of the computer hardware and software boards are the worst.

I also freely admit, I frequent some photography-related forums where I tend to read a lot and speak very little. Some boards require registration before you can even read the posts and that would logically create "registered lurkers." But on this board, you can read everything without registering, so I was just a little surprised by the large number of people who registered but never posted. I think you made a great point that different people have different comfort levels about when and what to post.

Like I said, I'm a newbie here, but so far I'm having a blast :-)

A lot of the price can depend on the album. With new Scott Internationals going for some $300 per volume, it seems, a clean album with just a few stamps can do very well when someone doesn't want to pay Amos' current retail prices.

Modern I agree...thats how I got my 8 International albums..i dont think I averaged more than 30 dollars each..i never purchased a new one !!

Kirk, I hear you about lurking..many years ago..before I found the Stampoffers.com chatboard.where I was for years before SCF..i attempted to use the ebay stamp chatboard..i soon left that..it seemed like a clique..if I tried to post a question they either ignored me or I got a sarcastic reply..to me it was toxic place ! Here you are dealing with human beings....

Old albums don't intrigue me so much, but give me a medium/small box or better yet an attractive tin (I also like to collect tins) full of stamps and I can have a ball. I find the sorting to be relaxing and it helps me determine which countries use styles that I find attractive.

Even though I love to read, unlike Kirk, I fall in love with a stamp and then worry about learning about it. It doesn't matter how special a stamps history is, it's got to trip my trigger visually. Makes for some very ecelectic collecting.

I normally would be pretty quiet on a forum like this where I'm a definite newbie, but with Tom talking about this forum on a daily basis (nicely, I might add) I feel like I already know some of you. In all the posts I've read everyone has been very supportive of each other regardless of their level of expertise. It's a great atmosphere!

Larry... I just wonder, with all of these free on-line album pages, [which are now available on the Internet ] Will Amos be forced to lower their prices.

i can not imagine a scott international album being worth anywhere near 300 American pesos..if I had my life to live over I would go with one Scott specialized country album at a time..but how do you know..it took me over 50 years as a hardscrabble worldwide collector to figure out what some people saw right from the git go !! The International album only gives you an overview of a countries stamps..they leave out what they want..usually the higher values..how many times do I have a stamp and no way no where a spot for it in the International album !!

Phil:

That's what the blank pages are for.

David

Chicken, you never ever have to worry about getting your head bitten off here for asking any question. I would know cause I ask a lot of them.
Kirk I glad you're having fun here. This is the first forum I ever joined and I really lucked out, I felt welcome from the very beginning.

I agree totally with you Sara I love all stamps and love going through lots to see what I can find. This being said some are indeed nicer to look at than others and when they catch my eye right away I tend to spend more time studying and looking at them. I make up my own albums so I don't tend to buy albums full of stamps.

Dianne

You have to remember, that today's Scott International Part 1 was originally the International Junior Album. The original Internationals--the "Scott Browns"--included everything. When Scott dropped those and renamed the Scott International Junior Album the Scott International Album, it became an abridged edition by default. This is why Part 1 is the worst offender for leaving things out. (Subway has reissued the full version if you are interested.) Later editions are much better in including all values of say, British Colonial definitive sets.

That's a tough one, Bob. Not if they can help it. I kind of think these print-it-yourself versions may be replacing the Minkus and Harris stuff, but a lot of International users are die-hards who like the quality, which today, going by some of the newer pages I've seen, might be even better than it was.