Subpar Quality Of Vario Sheets

Hello fellow philately aficionados! Has anyone else noticed quality issues with Vario sheets recently? I purchased sheets from two different highly reputable vendors on ebay and all sheets arrived wavy (see the picture attached), with the bottom pocket affected the most. I placed a few sheets under heavy weight in a bid to flatten them out but alas to no avail. Both dealers promptly refunded me, but with no good alternatives on the market, I feel really frustrated as to how to store my new arrivals now.

I ordered several packages of 5 rows. One was marked 5 row but had 3 rows inside. Not a huge error, but an error.. seller refunded

Dunelm - There have been some lengthy discussions on this forum about just this topic. I have had the same issue with Vario's that I purchased in the past two years. Also, the ones that I purchased had holes that were not punched and were just cheap looking in general.

Counterfeits on the market? Poor third party vendor storage?

Lighthouse (Lighthouse Publications in USA) currently has their 20% off holiday sale. You could order direct from them without a need to worry about counterfeits or poor stock storage by down stream third party vendors. I have had zero issue when ordering direct during the holiday sales.

I had a similar experience with a 6 row (6s) shipment recently. I thoroughly investigated Anchor stock sheets (made in Japan) and have now converted to them. The Anchor 1s is a bit wider than the Vario version. The Anchor sheets are thinner but suit my needs perfectly. A wee bit cheaper, too - if ordered in quantity.

If you are used to using Vario-G binders (3 rings) for your Vario sheets, there was an issue with turning because of the 3 ring holes, but recently that has been fixed by Vario. There are no such problems with Anchor sheets.

The "top of the line" remains Vario-Plus sheets - much thicker and thus heavier (as well as very expensive) and I have never had any issues with Vario-Plus.

John

There are, in fact, lots of alternatives - Hagner, Lindner, Yvert, SAFE etc. Aren't there some US manufacturers of stock-pages?

Indeed. If price is no object, there are alternatives such as those you quoted. Scott (Amos Advantage) has a line of stock sheets - I'm not sure where they are manufactured.

For the 8.5x11 3 ring binder USA market, the only real economical choices are Vario or Anchor.

John

We don't produce a lot of critical things like RX drugs and oil anymore let alone stock pages. We do however "produce" a great deal of social media influencers and cranberries!

Heck, even a lot of our Forever stamps are made in China.

Ah, I'd forgotten the US three-ring preference! Prinz is another I've used - doubt if they do three-ring, though.

Thank you everyone for your responses! I brought up this matter with Lighthouse USA and they promised today to relay my concerns to their QC office in Germany (although I seriously doubt that these sheets are still made in Germany despite the corresponding inscription on every sheet).

After thorough online research, I decided to give Anchor sheets a go, even though I couldn't find any detailed information on their manufacturer or at least the material these sheets are actually made of (PVC?). I prefer to stay away from sheets made using cardboard, such as Hagner or Prinz, as I am always wary of possible transfer of paper fibers on the gum side.

Sturdier Vario Plus sheets are indeed of considerably higher quality. I use them for more precious material, but they are simply too expensive to house regular stuff.

Selling items misattributed to country of origin is a crime with high fines. In other words, not worth the lie, especially for a well established company.

Good for you, and I do not think you will be disappointed. Be sure to post back here with your observations.

I like to believe that I have high standards when it comes to stock pages. I like them...

John

Reliable source for Anchor sheets? I'd like to investigate a pack.

ebay seller firstamp is who I use to get Anchor sheets.

John

Thanks for the pointer to firstamp. I like the discounts and the free shipping. They're telling me that my order ships today.

To make Vario sheets economically, one would likely do it one production run for possible to cover say a year's worth of sales. This means if there was a process issue in the manufacturing process there would be a lot of possibly defective sheets until they next batch are made. Since sellers likely do not have FIFO type organization they could be around for a long time in sellers' stock.