Advice Needed On Labeling FDC Collection By Scott #

First, here's the background: A friend told his next door neighbor that I collected stamps. After her husband and his brother passed away, she inherited the brother-in-law's stamps and had zero interest in them. Long story short, I took pity on her and bought the stamps from her a couple of months ago.

Here's the odd part - the b-i-l had taken construction paper and put a Scott number at the bottom with a label maker. Then he mounted (not hinged) whatever he had for that number on the sheet - single, plate block, FDC, etc. I've never seen anything like this - some pages have a single stamp, some have one of everything. There are 15+ three ring binders like that.

My plan is to use some of his older stamps to fill holes in my personal collection. But I've never collected FDCs - and don't plan to start - so I'd like to get these into the hands of someone who could enjoy them, resell them for a profit, etc. My question relates to the easiest way to label these for organizing. Once I remove each FDC from the 'master page' that has the Scott number at the bottom, I lose that info. But should I buy hundreds of post-it notes, index cards, etc., so I can figure out what's there?

I'm currently planning to sell larger lots by company, like 'Lot of 85 Artcraft FDC - Scott #XXX-YYY'. If there's a better way to organize (like by Scott # irrespective of cachet company), I'm certainly open to it, since I haven't started anything yet.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Feel free to insult my intelligence - my FDC knowledge is virtually nonexistent.

On a tangential topic, he also has some addressed/cancelled covers for pre-WWII definitives, but I know even less about the collectibility of them. If someone could point me to online info or let me know if I need to start a thread to get info on them, I'd greatly appreciate that as well.

Opinion:
my route, I scan the covers then enumerate the cover with the date code.............

eg: 25th January 1938 FDC = 19380125

They cannot get out of order, when you want to sell,
The image tells the whole story without having to add text.
You can stich 2-20 covers together with your image software.

Thanks for that idea. I'll have to dig out a scanner and try some.

> You can stich 2-20 covers together with your image software.

What software do you use for stitching?

I use a very ancient ACDSee software package,

It is referred to as "Make a contact sheet" one just selects as many images as you want, and bingo.

I would suggest the FREE "Irfanview" software would have such an option.
I have never used it, so others may chip in and confirm or deny.

I'll throw my 2-cents in for what it's worth...

I'd make a count of the covers and look for a good deal for poly sleeves on ebay. Then attach a small Avery label (#6737 or similar) to each with the SC# written on. Make sure the label is out of the way of design and stamp... or on the back side.

It may be a small and worth while investment, buyers will appreciate that they are in a poly sleeve so make mention of that in the ad.

Scan them as you put them in the sleeves. But for first day covers, I'd use the SC# for the naming convention. 775_fdc.jpg and append it with a (1..2..3) for multiples [775_fdc(2).jpg] FDC's are all going to have the issue date, general covers won't in which case the SC# followed by the date would make sense [775_cover_mmddyyyy).

Depending on the covers conditions, SC#'s and the speed at which you want to sell, you'll get a better price by putting them up separately or in small groups. Watch for periodic deals like when ebay offers 500 free ads (no insertion fee). But don't get fancy with the ads because ebay still charges for each add-on. If you want to get rid of them fast, you'll likely get less for them but it's a lot less effort too.

But that's just what I would probably do it.

Jeff

Rod, would you know which version of ACDSee?

I use have used ACDsee version 9,10,11 and 12 and they all had the 'Make a contact sheet' tool.
Don

Thanks Don. I just found a copy of ACDSee Photo Manager 12 for sale. I'm thinking it might be worth the investment...

For dyed in the wool, ACDSee fans, there was only 1 version.
It was, I believe Version 3.1
This is / was just fabulous, it is lite, super fast and had all the trimmings.

It is just about impossible to source.

I wrote to ACDSee to purchase, I was willing to pay over the top price,
but had no replies.

It does appear to be online for free, but be careful, some have virii.

The version most desirable has the "Plugins" including "make a contact sheet"

If anyone manages to source a copy, please contact me.
I paid full price for mine when it was released, lost the disc in a house move.

If one is a thematic collector, you just do a search in your Stamp Image files,
It will search globally on your computer, and return the images of say "Bird"
in seconds.
Just a fabulous, but lost, piece of software......................

PS: I am not a techie guy, I trialled the later versions of ACDSee , and found them bloated, expensive and over the top.
Deleted the trials.
Rather than spend the shekels, try Irfanview, it is Free, and may have the "make a contact sheet" option.

To use the original poster's example of "Lot of 85 Artcraft FDC - Scott #XXX-YYY". Time is money in creating ebay listings. This is a job for a camera and floorspace, NOT individual scanning of each cover and lots of editing. I would take one picture of the entire group to use as the primary picture, slightly fanned out to show the entirety of the bulk. Then I would take several sub-set pictures of about 12-16 covers each, spread out, not overlapping. This would show each with enough detail for the viewers to confirm overall identity and condition. Covers good enough to be offered individually will deserve scans.

Rod, I tried to PM you but I must be too new. Could you send me a note to reply to? Or e-mail me directly using my user name and hotmail?

Rod,
I remember that version...I have collected software for several decades and maintain a database of titles with a closet full of disks. I have ACDsee versions 95, 3, 5, 7 of the original (non-Pro). The first Pro version was ACDSee 8 (also called Pro version 1). I am currently running version 12; it is ok but has a few bugs in the 'create html album' feature.
Don

I'll try SVTarHeel.

John Becker's advice is, on reflection, a better idea, going to save you heaps of time.
FDC's in the main, do not command a very high price.

If your Version 3 has the Plugins, happy to pay you for it Don

I am currently using 2 types of Version 3.1, and it is a real pain,
One Version has the plugins ( But lacks "Move" in the drop down list)

The other version has "Move" but no plugins, and I have to continually juggle the 2.

ACDSee is remains my only "go to" stamp image organiser.

I say to try irfanview first. I've used this for my basic photo editing for years and is very lite and robust and as always it and the set of plugins are free. I love this program!