Need Help With Stamp Catalogs

Hello Everyone,
I need some help with stamp catalogs. Can someone suggest what I need to buy and where? I saw Scott Stamp Catalog Vol 1, 2, and 3 for around $140 on ebay. Can I buy them?

Appreciate your help!

Thanks.

The most appropriate catalogue for you will depend on where you live, what you collect and to what extent you can use a catalogue in a foreign language. Most collectors probably use their "national" catalogue, whilst those who are interested in stamps from a particular country or area will buy that "national" catalogue.

In the specific example, vols. 1-3 for $140, it depends on the edition. For a recent edition, 2014 or 2015, $140 might be a reasonable price. But if you do not need the latest catalogue values for stamps (if you need the catalogue primarily in order to identify stamps), then you can do better. Search for 2011 or 2012 or even 2013 editions. You don't need to buy all volumes from the same edition. You might find a 2011 vol. 1-6 offered for a good price but you are more likely to find vol. 3 from 2011 at $15.00 and vol. 4 from 2013 at %25.00 and so forth. Depending on shipping costs and how many different sellers you are buying from, the entire six volumes in older editions may be cheaper than 3 of the 6 at $140. You just have to do the math.

If current market values are important to you, then you need to spend big bucks for all 6 volumes from 2016 after they are all published. But current 2016 values won't be that different from 2013 or 2012. And, of course, the values in the 2016 catalogue are not actual market values. When I wrote "if current market values are important to you" I meant that you will always determine "market value" by using a percentage (depending on condition) of the value stated in the catalogue. If the 2016 catalogue says a stamp is valued at $120.00, that's catalogue value. Market value will vary from 20% of that to 100% or more of $120.00, depending on condition.

Most collectors can avoid spending the big bucks on all six volumes of the current edition. But do pay attention to shipping costs and look for a complete set from 2013 or 2012.

Dealers for the most part have to stay current.

No easy answer. What do you collect? That would be the main criterium in what catalog to get. For instance, I collect the Netherlands, so I use "the Specale Catalogus van Nederland en Overzeesche Rijksdelen". Please let us know what you collect and we can be of further assistance!

Peter

Two additional points relating to Scott catalogues. (I note that the original post referred to 3 volumes of the Scott worldwide catalogue, which implies that the O.P. is not a specialist in a single country. Advice to buy a highly specialized single country catalogue would apply only to those who really narrow their collecting to one or two. If one specializes in a half-dozen countries, buying the absolutely authoritative catalogue for each country is a formidable investment, not to mention language issues.)

That said, (1) for Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue (6 volumes) search used bookstore sites, or just search Amazon, where most big used book operations list, together with ebay. Most of the used (therefore cheaper) copies of Scott catalogues on the market are de-accessioned public library copies and thus many end up in the used-book trade rather than the philatelic trade because used-book dealers buy up all kinds of de-accessioned public library books.

(2). This source may be drying up as libraries increasingly invest their purchase budget in electronic resources and, even for their print purchases, are perhaps less likely to buy each year's new edition of the stamp catalogue. Instead they may update less frequently or may no longer see a set of Scott catalogues as de rigeur for a public library. If ex libris public library copies are becoming less plentiful, the market price for used Scott catalogues will rise.

The biggest problem with buying catalogs is the cost of shipping. Catalogues are big and heavy.

If you need Scott, because you live in the US, then your best bet is to buy just the countries you need from http://scottcataloguepages.com/. Scott's digital offering is less than ideal.

Stanley Gibbons sells individual catalogs digitally through an iPad app. I bought their 2015 Ireland catalog and am quite pleased.

MICHEL sells PDFs of their catalogues on USB drives.

Thanks everyone for the support.

Hieronymus,

This is great information. Thanks a lot. I collect all kind of stamps from US and worldwide. I just want the catalogs to identify the stamps. I am not that bothered about the current value as of now. I will look for older versions(2012 or 2013) as you suggested. I think that should be good for me to get started.

GeoffHa,

I live in United States. But collect stamps from all over the world. I couldn't figure out a lot of stamps I have and want to get just basic information about the stamp.


Thanks!

Can someone suggest the best software for stamp inventory? I found USA Stamp Collecting Software 2015 SCOTT Catalog Inventory Program for $40. Does any one have experience with this software?

Thanks.

This should become a new thread but before you create a new thread, search for stamp collectings software. This has been discussed at length on SCF in the past.

Is it better to have hard copy of the book or a CD?

The CD of the Scott Standard is an illegal pirated copy. The print versions of the 6-volume Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue are softbound. The one-volume Scott Classic Postage Stamp Catalogue 1840-1940 is clothbound.

Actually, there are perfectly legal Scott CDs out there. For a short period you could purchase them, either with the paper version or on their own. I agree that most of the offerings are pirated copies, but not all.