Help With Describing Approvals.

Consider instead ... ebay and the internet in general have created an environment where potential buyers can see scans of offerings eliminating the inefficient need for unsold approval material being returned, etc. The old approval method has been largely replaced and the kitchen table dealers shifted to ebay. Times change. Technology changes. The "squeeze" from ebay is seeing the material on-line.

And has been discussed in many other threads, the metrics of the strength of the collecting hobby are harder to measure in an internet world where considerable collections can be amassed without being in the mainstream of the hobby.

Ok, maybe to clarify further, I was referring to the process where some entity sends you a packet of stamps, and you return them or keep them and pay for them. And if I remember that correctly from my childhood, you'll periodically receive more packets to repeat the process.

Approvals - a service offered by some dealers whereby a selection of stamps is posted out to a customer, who will select any they wish to purchase and return the rest. Subscribers will typically receive selections of stamps periodically and may also be sent stamp collecting supplies on the same basis. Dealers who offer this service include Mystic Stamp among others. The author of this website has had limited experience with approvals, and most collectors do not see much advantage in this type of service.

Do'h. I was with you Ringo until the last sentence, otherwise I like your description, it is very succinct. I realize it is just a rewrite of the original post and not necessarily your opinion, but I agree with the others who said to leave the opinions out of the glossary definitions. Unless maybe similar pros and cons are added to the descriptions of other ways to buy stamps, then it would be helpful, like the risks of buying valuable stamps from Internet sellers with low feedback ratings and bad photos.

In my opinion, seeing how prolific and successful Mystic and a few others are, they appear to have a large fan base and many satisfied customers. I have known a few of these people, and while I wouldn't consider them experienced philatelists, they were active stamp collectors and really enjoyed receiving their next packet of approvals from Mystic.

The reason I don't like the wording that "most collectors do not see much advantage in this type of service" is that it may dissuade potential future collectors from trying out approvals in the first place. They aren't all bad. They are an easy place to start. I anticipate many of us on this forum consumed and enjoyed some approval packets in the day. Or even still today - anyone who has provided a dealer with a "want list" probably received selections of stamps found from that want list "on approval" from the dealer, perhaps even on a periodic basis. I think there are advantages to an approval service in general. If others disagree, I'd like to understand why. Most of the complaints that I have heard about approvals are about specific dealers' business practices, including high prices and difficulty unsubscribing. It is making an assumption that most people don't like the concept of approvals due to how some dealers have implemented them.


Edit: reworded, reorganized, and added additional thoughts to my late night rant.