Those Insane Prices Asked For Out Of Date Scott Catalogs On Ebay

I occasionally look for more recent editions of my 2 Scott catalogs, and I for the life of me don't understand why people list older, out of date catalogs on ebay for full MSRP, or even HIGHER!

These books should not fall under the same rules as first edition best sellers! They contain information that goes out of date, so while the catalog numbers for the most part never change, and can therefore be useful for reference years later, the prices may change quite a bit.

Curious if other folks have noticed this, and what you think about the phenomena. Just be civil and don't make wise comments about people who still prefer printed media... like me ;-)

JD

I imagine they sit there for a very long time - a little like second-hand bookshops that don't reduce or clear out their stock once in a while. My limited experience of selling old catalogues is that I'm lucky to get rid of them, even very cheaply.

You see this with books generally. This is no problem for Scott catalogs as there are usually plenty of cheap ones available. Libraries are always disposing of older versions, usually sold by "Friends of... Library" on ebay. Despite being library books, they are very clean to immaculate. That's actually saddening as they haven't been used very much.

A tip is to check if the seller is not using the fairly standard gray plastic bags to ship. These are too weak to handle something of the weight of a Scott catalog volume.

I always suggest looking for older catalogs on Amazon. Much better prices than ebay.

Agree. Amazon is the way to go. But check your local library first!

Jack Kelley

Another good choice and not just for Scott catalogues but for books in general, is better world books. They have a huge selection, and if you're not in a tremendous hurry, shipping is free for most orders. They also have a literacy program in which, for every book you buy, they donate a book to schools, libraries, etc to promote literacy. And if you want to donate books to them they will issue you a free shipping label

Definitely a better selection on Amazon, particularly during the times when catalogs are not being replaced by new ones.

I used to get my Scott catalogues at library book sales back in the day, but I haven't found any there in many a year, with the result that I haven't updated them in a long time. I don't recall when I bought my ex-library 1991 U.S. Specialized (probably in the mid '90s), but I only paid 50 cents for it!

I've always relied on my public library's copies of Scott, which is a nuisance but affordable.

Last October I went to the Friends of the Library's twice annual book sale, which is huge. I noticed a cardboard box of books still sitting on the floor and picked up 2016 Volumes 2, 4, and 5 and 2015 Volume 1. I have the USPS 2015 Guide to Stamps so that part is covered. I've tried a couple of times to check out a current Scott for the missing countries but they have always been checked out with a waiting list. I'll defiantly be first in line for the spring book sale.

I defiantly concur with waddsbadds' recommendation of Better World Books. I've not looked for Scott Catalogs there but it has often been a source for other hard to find books, and at reasonable prices. It is an amazing organization.

That's why I'm glad that my local public library keeps a full set of the current Scott Catalogue in the reference section. It's always available when I need something more recent than the antiquated edition I have at home.

I have always purchased once every two years a full sets of Scott catalogs for 40 years. I stopped that about 10 years ago because prices were not changing that often .Now it is every 3 or 4 years .

Prices of the new catalogs has also gone too high to purchase as often . I keep two recent sets one downstairs and one upstairs .

This past week I was at Rasdale Stamp Actions and they had a new set with the A-B volumes and I just didn't like getting up and going to pick up each volume as I needed it ,I was making twice the trips .

My guess is that ,Scott is going to announce the end of the printed volumes and that will be the day you will see a $100.00 jump for a recent USED set of Scott volumes .

And then there are the for sale sections of this group and other on line stamp groups....They sometimes have catalogs for very little $.

Not going to happen unless they go out of business entirely. Printed volumes are the cornerstone of their catalogue business, and they have a very anti-digital mindset. Every digital endeavor has been half-hearted and not well planned or executed. They eschew the notion of consumer-friendly per-country digital pricing, and stick firmly with the per-volume model, ignoring the sales they could make by offering individual countries.

It's not going to happen. They'll go under first.

Yes, from what I've observed, Amazon seems to be the best/easiest way to get older Scotts. I've seen a couple things here, but am not posting quickly enough to get to 50 to be able to 'shop' promptly. (currently at 23)

Revenuecollector makes a good point about the Scotts if they finally stop producing print books.

B.G.

I agree with revenuecollector about Scott ending printed catalogs. I just do not think they want to invest the money to do it right and belive a large portion of the current buyers would balk as well.

I never even thought about Amazon! I like to see at least one photo of the catalog, though, as I need the pages to not have markings on them. I mark off the stamps I have on the pages, which makes the catalog worth a lot less to someone later on, but a beginner would still be able to use it.

Regarding library sales, I don't know if it is just me, or where I live, but I have NEVER seen a library sale in my town. Have some of you simply asked a librarian what is done with the catalogs later on? I know that in my town the current catalogs are non-circulating, and the previous year is circulating.

Finding affordable copies on ebay is tough (for me, anyway) so I think I will take people's advice and at least look at Amazon.