Im Sure This Has Been Asked But...

I used the search but couldn't really find any help.

I am so new that I don't have a catalog yet. I found an H. E. Harris 2015 US/BNA catalog this afternoon at a local hobby store. I was wondering what everyone thought of this catalog.

I have two major questions: Is it good for identifying stamps? and Are the prices in the catalog in line with the scott catalog prices?

I am only collecting US stamps at the moment.

Again, sorry because I'm sure this has been addressed ad naseum.

wp62

Welcome to the forum feel free to ask any question, although I havent seen the book your asking about I'm sure someone will come along with the answer.

WarriorPoet: welcome also from me to the Forum. I'm sure you will find lots of good information here. Like Jim, I'm not familiar with the particular catalog you mention. But I have bought Harris stamps and booklets in the remote past. You might want to give the catalog a closer look, before buying it, to see if it actually is a reference book, or more likely, a retail sales catalog. I can't determine if it is helpful to identify stamps or not, without seeing it. But you are correct in knowing about the Scott catalog and its value as a reference guide.

Scott catalog valuations are retail prices, and in the actual world, stamps may sell for much less, and sometimes more. Depends on the country, and more important, the condition of a given stamp. One point is that before buying any catalog, you might want to check out the Scott catalogs at your local public library. Most libraries in larger towns and metro areas will have a set or two. They may not be the most recent, but still useful.

I have an older version of this catalog. It has some good stuff on ID'ing stamps but it is not as detailed as the Scott catalog. Harris uses Scott numbers so you'll be on the right foot in regard to US stamps. As to whether or not the Harris prices are in line with Scott...I couldn't tell you. However, I'm not sure that Scott is at all correct on current market values. Check out the prices on stamps2go, E-bay and other auction sites and you'll soon realize that published catalog prices may be over estimations. Welcome to the site and enjoy your collection.

For a starting catalog it is a good catalog. It as a lot of color pictures with references for the different varieties. It follows the Scott numbering system. The only problem I have with it is following the year breaks. A regular Scott catalog has the year by every stamp or group of stamps in its description but in this catalog there is only a one or two line heading at the beginning of each year break. The full color pictures in it make all the difference trying to id each stamp.

Published Scott catalog prices are for very fine sound stamp. Few in this condition are offered on ebay. If anything, prices for sound well centered stamps are low while prices for off center stamps are maybe too high. The Scott US Specialized catalog is the best printed general reference source. The 1847usa web site on http://stampsmarter.com is very useful for identification and goes beyond the catalog.

I would rate the Harris catalog with a low C- the last time I saw it. They are no longer a major player in the stamp market. The Brookman Catalog is much more useful and contains some information not in the Scott catalog. The Brookman prices are often a bit high, but they successfully sell stamps at their listed prices. I have had no real difficulty selling truly very fine stamps on ebay at full catalog. While quality buyers are not as thick on the ground as bargain hunters, they are around.

Clark

You may want to consider a Pocket Scott Catalog if you just need basic info so you can look up a Scott# and have a general idea as to value. You can probably find one for around $20-$30 or so for the current edition, older versions would be even less.

The one offered by the Post Office is very good too

My advice would be to get a Scott U.S. Specialized catalog that is a couple of years old. These can often be found used, but in good condition, for very reasonable prices. Here, for instance, is a list of sellers offering the 2013 edition for just under $20, including shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0894874756/

If you're on a budget Mystic Stamp Co. will send you a free catalog. It will have most US stamps listed at the Scott numbering system is used. While the price of some of the stamps is quite high it will give you a starting point.

As a fellow new collector, I have found my 2014 US/BNA catalog to be extremely helpful. I borrow a Scott Specialized from my library at times but for general use it works well.

I like the way it is laid out and the stamp identifier is easy to follow. I also like the 1847USA website for its identifier.

It follows the Scott numbering system and under each illustration lists the stamps that share that basic design. Be careful there - it is not perfect.

The pricing is pretty close to Scott in the vast majority of cases and differences are minor when they occur. Of course there is a vast difference between catalog price and real world, I want to sell my stamps price. You will find many discussions on this site about that and if you have collected anything else in your life you already understand that.

Good luck, as you wade into a great hobby. I don't really post but I read the discussions here daily and have learned a ton.

Hi Poet,
I like the Mystic catalog because you can't beat the price. They will send you one for free, and, at least in my case, in a month send you another one, then another one, etc. Nice, clear photos of the stamps.

I also have a Harris from a couple of years ago. It's useful for all the things mystic doesn't cover: revenues, official stamps, postal stationary, parcel post. Also has a moderately useful section on identifying difficult stamps, and an index of stamps by subject.

Since I started buying on ebay, I've lost faith in catalog values. Certainly Mystic's are way too high.

One of these days I will buy a Scott, but for now I'd rather put my money into stamps.

Oh, and welcome to the forum. There are a lot of really bright people here. I've learned a vast amount ans gotten quick and polite answers to my questions.

Don

Thanks everybody for the help...I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do but this really helped a lot.

I would like to collect & reinforce:

- Harris, Mystic, Brookman, etc, feature prices at which you can actually buy particular stamps from these sources; but,

- Scott is publishing a catalog purporting to reflect market prices at which you ought to be able to purchase stamps in very fine condition, one-by-one.

This latter point means that the Scott price includes the dealer's inventory & handling costs for selling that single stamp; when you buy groups of stamps, the per-stamp inventory & handling costs are much lower (even if the dealer's prices can be sticky downwards) because the total inventory & handling costs are shared by all of the stamps in that lot.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

The Harris is a good book especially if you can get it 40% off. It would really be good if you could pick up a 1 or 2 year old Scott Specialized on Amazon or ebay that would be a good next step. I do get a Minnesota Stamp catalog every year to look at pricing, they are a good company to deal with.

I use old Harris books as my 'Bible'. I have had a 1974-75 edition for several years that I mark what stamps I have in (I collect mainly Canada and USA). But the ol' girl is on it's last legs. Been taped together many times, and the markings have gotten quite messy, and inaccurate, so I'm going through my collection and marking what I have and what needs to be upgraded.
Handy, though, as mentioned, not as detailed as Scotts.