What Is The Greatest Need That Stamp Collectors Have?

Aside from the obvious ($$$, time), I could go for some scratch resistant Vario pages.

unlimited supply of affordable Dennison hinges

I too have a lot of Vario pages that have developed a "haze" from small scratches. The plastic is so soft that it happens just from finger nails while you're inserting/moving stamps. I doubt interleaving would be of any benefit.

Stampworld has made an attempt to create a unified cataloging system however it lacks depth. The areas it covers are fully illustrated so you can mention a Stampworld catalog number and anyone can find the stamp you mean. There is not enough info on basic varieties such as perfs, papers, and shades but you can at least mention the number and which variety you want and the other party will know what you mean. It's all online so for the "neophilatelists" I mentioned in a post a few months ago, it could be an ideal tool. Just needs to catch on more.

The problem with hinges is that if someone did come up with an acceptable, equivalent product for Dennison hinges and they need $12 a pack to make a go of it, I suspect a lot of collectors would push back and not buy them. Perhaps I am wrong; I have not used stamp hinges since I was maybe 11 or 12.

An expanding collector base to ultimately sell our collections to when the time comes. Note: i'm Not holding my breath.

Hi shermae. I imagined this was probably an issue for other people. I'm an incurable perfectionist, and am always dismayed to see dents and scratches appear on my pages – especially when I try to be so careful.

One thing I did notice recently is that placing different Vario page formats against one another often results in scuffing. (I alternate between 1S and 5S pages). The welded edges appear to scratch the plastic film against them. I ordered some interleaving glassine pages that I hope will rectify this problem.

A good pair of Tongs that suit you.

The cumulative knowledge of this forum!

FYI, philately does not need a unified catalog system, it needs a unified metadata specification. In other words, every philatelic related element, whether it be a file, image, stamp, link, book, video, sound bit, etc. should have its metadata completed based upon a universal open-source specification (including a unique ID number). This would replace the need to have separate catalogs and catalog numbering systems; every element would get its own unique number. For folks who may not know what metadata is, it means 'data about data'. An example is to right click a file on your computer and view its 'file properties'; these 'file properties' are metadata.

This would standardize all philatelic data across the earth and allow it to be connected as a giant searchable resource. Basically think of it as a distributed philatelic-specific search engine on steroids or a Dewey Decimal card system for every piece of philatelic information.

I proposed this project back in 2015, built a demonstration SQL database based upon a sample open source metadata specification. But frankly it got a lot push back from old school Luddites who insisted this concept was trying to 'make all information free' and that it would ruin the hobby because they would no longer be able to author and sell their articles and books. This resistance sucked the motivation and momentum from the project, this is a good example of how a lack of vision and resistance to change can damage our hobby. Like self-driving cars, what is described above will happen no matter how much the 'old farts do not like it'. Clinging to the traditional ways and methods that we used to interface with the hobby may be nostalgically preferred but we have to face the fact that the world constantly changes around us (you would think that as students of history we would be a bit more in touch with this). We have/had an opportunity to control our own hobby's destiny, if we continue to resist transitioning to the digital world someone else will eventually implement metadata solutions and before we know it our hobby will be controlled by some Google/Amazon-like mega giant who will be holding all the interface to all the philatelic 'information' cards.
Don

i would echo that too.......

Don I would be interested in helping with a project like that. Although I am computer literate, I have not programmed so my contributions would be elsewhere, say data entry.

For those commenting about affordable Dennison hinges, what is the highest price you'd pay if a supply was ongoing? How many 1,000's would you likely buy in a year?

Need or knead? Dough in either case.

Shermae,

I have 5 unopened packs with one of them over $20-. I find that I am having very good luck with Prinz's and they are a lot cheaper. So the Dennison's will remain unopened for now.

Jack Kelley

I purchased a case (20 packs) of vintage Dennisons around 6 years ago (if I remember correctly I paid around $175 for the case) and have 4 packs left.
Don

Under present circumstances, I think Scott/Prinz mounts are a better value than Dennison hinges.

If you can find Dennison hinges, you are very likely going to pay at least $20 per package including shipping. So, you are paying 2c per stamp for a mount which cannot be re-used and which gives no protection to your stamps. It is true that the "look" of hinged stamps on a page is preferred by many, or most collectors.

If you buy mounts from a seller such as Global Stamps, your cost for a package of 215mm x 25mm is $5.95, and your shipping is free for a $35 and up purchase. You can mount 9 definitive stamps in each 215mm strip, and you get 22 strips per package. So, you can mount 198 stamps per package, which comes to almost exactly 3c per stamp. These mounts are easily reusable, especially if you use "cheapo" Prinz hinges rather than the mount adhesive to affix mount to page And, your stamps are protected.

If I could buy Dennison hinges for $5/package, of course I would do it. Can't say how many packs I'd go through in a year.