Amos Publications Is Completely, Utterly Useless.

I am definitely up for trading too. I have a bunch of new material also. What are you looking for right now? I have lots of revenues and a good supply of possessions. I also have completed my M&M pages and I'm wondering what size pages you would like. I'm looking forward to continuing this conversation! Pick your lunch place, you probably have some diet restrictions?

Well, I've waded through the entire thread and have gained a lot of empathy for those who are suffering. But...............

"vector data;" "raster data;" "DTP app;" "SQL data base'" "SQL lite;" among other things. In large part, this thread is an internal discussion among programmers and data base experts. What about those of us who aren't in that field? I know what PDFs are and use them frequently. But, a little more English being spoken would help the somewhat technologically deprived among us to figure out what is going on.

"auction result research tool for US revenues....." Nice thing to have IF one collects US revenues. I have a few, but don't actively collect same. Actually, I can research to my heart's content on the websites of some large auction houses, like Kelleher and Rasdale, to find what I want to know about auction results.

The online Linn's.......... Sorry to rain on anyone's parade, but I am perfectly happy with the print edition of Linn's and even paying for the wrapper. I spend way too much time on my iMac working on web research, e-mails, and the like, including visiting this SCF almost daily. I find it a real pleasure to be able to open up the print Linn's and settle in for a good read. I mention this solely because the tone of the thread is how bad Amos is in terms of their online efforts. Not everyone is heavily into "on line."

I'm not a dealer and the bulk of my updating of values and results; other than the afore mentioned auction houses and a couple others; comes from the Scott Classic catalog (1840-1940; to 1952 for British). I buy it every other year; due to high price; and will be sending off a check in the next few days for the 2016 edition (I know..... a check???? oh the pathos of it all.... ;-) ;-) ).

What I would like the ability to do; beyond the Classic; is to be able to track price updates for my specialty areas (Portugal & colonies; Mexico; Poland; a little British) from 1940 or 1952; through 1965 (Parts I through V of the Scott Blue International album). And through 1974, the end of the Portuguese colonial issues (except for Macau, which I don't collect past 1974). That would be my wish list for a change in how Amos approaches the Scott catalog. I would be happy to pay for this material; preferably some sort of periodic online purchase (if and when their web site is back on line).

What is no longer cost effective for me is to keep refreshing, with new purchases, the 6 volume regular Scott catalog. My current range of the 6 is 2012 through 2014; and 2012 for the US Specialized. As of now, I anticipate making no further purchases of these volumes. And, if you're wondering what happened to my older Scott volumes, they were donated to the Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library and I took a modest tax write-off.

Climber Steve - as Don has explained (so sorry about the technical jargon), the very things you are seeking are only possible through a database. The technology allows you to open these doors. Scott Publishing has just declined to do so unfortunately.

The "online" part is only how you access the information. Whether you access Scott catalogs or even Linn's online or the old fashioned way, the information needs to be organized and served. I'm not a programmer or DB expert, I'm really DUMB when it comes to what Don does. I'm a designer who works to arrange information to best present it, either on paper or on screen. That's User Interface, UI design in "technical" terms.

At this point I'm not exactly optimistic about the hobby's future in regard to this technology. Though I'm really looking forward to discussing this with Don.

They did say that they'd decide on and announce the new format by the time the 2017 editions go on sale. They let it be known some time ago that the format would be changing, but they initially thought it would be for the 2017 edition. Their recent announcement was only that the new format (whatever that will be) will be pushed back another year. Given their track record, I expect them to keep the alphabetical format and just split it into 7 or 8 volumes. I'm rooting for regional editions, but I think this company is so risk averse and so set in their ways of doing things that I'd be genuinely surprised if they actually made a major change to anything.

Don & Artful, you get no argument from me. It's a shame for the collector community that Amos/Scott products have failed to meet more customer's needs. I wasn't actively collecting 10-15 years ago, but as you point out Amos has fallen behind the broader market and some competitors because the company lacked vision and remained traditional during the digital revolution.

Artful, you're probably right. Looks like arrogance for Amos to still be marketing 1940's style album solutions in 2015.

I like this idea. They really need to sell their products the way their customers want to buy them, including some inexpensive options. The list price of a catalog is what, $120 or so, probably $130 next year, with even the AA price being $100? If the cheapest item on your menu costs a c-note, you're going to price yourself out of a lot of business. If someone customizes a catalog containing, say, Europe before 1950, and spends $50 on it, that probably represents $50 Amos wouldn't have seen before. Amos probably thinks that the person who spent $50 would have previously dropped $600 on the full set, but that probably wouldn't be true in most cases. That $50 sale would have gone toward buying old used copies, or nothing at all. I think that's basically Amos's thought process. They're very afraid that if they offer more (and cheaper) options that people will spend less on their products. This is a legitimate concern, but it seems they have a hard time seeing what it's costing them in lost business to keep things the way they are.

I sure wish we had a "mole" over there at Amos

I know, I'm probably worse than anyone at speculating on what their thought processes and motives are, thinking I've got them all figured out and how to run their business. Truth is we really don't know much of anything about what's really going on there. Maybe they sunk millions into an IT project that ended up not working? I've seen that happen more than once at my various jobs, but my employers were big enough to absorb that loss. Anyway, my point is that we really don't know. Speaking for myself, I should probably stick to talking about what I'd like to buy from them rather than assuming intentions and business details that I'm not privy to.

I'm terribly sorry that our discussion doesn't meet with your approval. I also apologize for forcing you to read it. We all promise to do better for you in the future. After all, it is YOUR forum....

Linn's certainly doesn't report about itself or Amos -- e.g., the system crash that prompted this thread, which would seem to be significantly newsworthy "stamp news" for U.S. collectors.

As problematic as Amos Publishing is with regards to new technology, we in the USA should at least take comfort that the Scott brand at least on surface looks sound. Compare this to Gibbons where there is now a great deal of financial concern regarding the company due to its poor internet investments and its decision to become a publicly traded company and attempting to parlay Gibbons name into an investment vehicle that there is a possibility Gibbons' entire future may be at stake. Not an apologia for Amos, mind, but at least the glass seems half full, not merely down to one final drop of water.

To all of the Scott/Amos collector friends,

Received recent Amos e-promo for the 2016 Scott U.S. Pocket Catalogue.
Weird how there are NO links on the promo, so I checked and of course the website remains offline. Sent my complaint email to Customer Service saying how the heck can America's #1 supplier disappear like that. They were very apologetic. Company also offers to add us to an email list if we wish an email notification when the new site goes live. The latest notice indicates that the effort is taking longer than initially expected. You can't make this up!

Regarding the financial state of either Amos/Scott or Stanley Gibbons, I really don't have a clue if either company is flush with cash, or bleeding red ink. It seems to me though that Gibbons has launched a business strategy that's based on up-selling other collectibles to high-value stamp collectors. I am unclear if Amos HAS a strategy.

The Gibbons share price has certainly only been going one way for a few years. I suspect that we'll see consolidation in various philatelic areas over the next few years - both on albums etc and catalogues. Gibbons and Scott might be a potential marriage, but possibly of the Addams Family variety.

southpaw: thanks for your feedback. I do have knowledge of what a data base is, and also online.

revenuecollector wrote: "I'm terribly sorry that our discussion doesn't meet with your approval....." Please point out where I said I approved, or disapproved, of the discussion. My sole point in writing was to ask people to clarify what they're talking about, since a lot of it is technical jargon. That request was granted. And maybe save your snarky comments for the other SCF forum.

climbersteve,

"What I would like the ability to do; beyond the Classic; is to be able to track price updates for my specialty areas"

I agree that your point is very important. While I use print catalogs, I would LOVE entering my inventory into a software product that would help me manage my collection's valuation. Are there any such products out there? Or do most collectors input there items into a spreadsheet that allows auto sum of the new values?