Catalogues

michael j park

I see many people quoting Gibbons,Scott etc & I cringe because to keep these catalogues up to date or start from scratch is a huge outlay especially if you want specialised.I use Stampworld (I know it is in competition with Hip but its like a flea biting an elephant,Hip is by far the most superior site on the net,so please don't kick me off lol).You can view stampworld in a large variety of languages,it is up to date (a huge task) & a good search engine (there is nothing worse than trying to find out about a set you want to sell in an Asian/European language with no date.).Costs me $35/year & I can be on as long as I like.(I am Scottish so love it lol),Constructive comments welcome.

Rod Tilyard

Hi Michael, you say Gibbons and Scott is a huge outlay "especially if you want specialised" yet aren't you paying a subscription for a basic catalogue in stampworld? Presumably then basic SG and Scott catalogues really are okay then?

Why are you paying a subscription for stampworld? I thought the subscription fees there were for sellers, but catalogue use remains free.

The reason everyone quotes SG and Scott is because these are the de facto standards used by most all US collectors and UK Commonwealth collectors, so I expect quoting stampworld numbers doesn't mean much to most collectors.

SG have just released a much anticipated update to 'My Collection' on their website, which for £34.95 a year gives you access to the SG Stamps Of The World Catalogue (2017), allows you to record your collections including custom details and images and has a vastly improved search capability. There's a one month free trial that's worth checking out.

Ted Tyszka

I like the Stampworld.com catalog, especially the advanced search features. And, for a while, I had even included their numbers in my listings. However, I found that it was adding just too too much time to my listing procedure. Using an online catalog is fine for casual use, but it just can't beat a physical book in being able to flip quickly to specific sections and to leaf through the pages glancing quickly over 2 pages at a time, looking for an issue.

It's also inconvenient, when working at your stamp desk or table, having to get up, go over to the computer, and look up the information you need, then go back to your table. It's all very unconducive to a good work flow. I bought the 2018 Germany Scott e-catalog, and I still use my 2012 print catalog almost exclusively.