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Inventory! How to know which stamps you have and, of course, which stamps you
need.
Years ago when the Scott catalog was complete in one volume, I'd simply check
off the stamps that I had on the pages. If I'd go to a bourse or stamp show, the
catalog came with me. While checking through dealer stocks, I immediately knew
what I was missing. I always had a want list with me with the individual stamps
I needed to fill sets. When price lists came through the mail, it was always
easy to check what I needed. All I had to do was pull out my catalog. It wasn't
necessary to constantly go through my albums, except for newer issues. That
system worked great. Now the Scott catalogs are in 6 volumes. Although I still
use the catalogs as my check list, it's a lot to carry when you go shopping for
stamps!
Well, we now have a computer. We're in the process of inventorying our
collection in the computer. We bought an inventory system from M.S.L. Software
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania called "Stamp Keeper." While we like this
system, it's not exactly what we wanted, but it did give us some ideas to
develop our own.
Screenshot
from a typical computer inventory program.
Al created a simple inventory program from spreadsheet software. We can easily
input newly acquired stamps, then sort by catalog number, printing as we go
along. We're very happy with this solution, which could also be very useful in
the event the collection is stolen. We can now print out specific want lists
instead of lugging our catalogues everywhere we go. It's also easier to add
special notes about particular items in the database. In the near future we plan
to design our own album pages.
We've also installed an encyclopedia and world-wide map on the computer. This
helps us find towns and cities that we find on cancelled stamps that are
otherwise hard to locate.
We realize that a computer doesn't fit into everyone's budget, but if you can
afford one, you'll find as we have that it really enhances the hobby. I'd be
glad to hear from anyone who has a computer. Perhaps we could put our heads
together and come up with an ideal program. As collectors, we could probably
develop a system that suits us much better than a commercially produced software
program. Computers are just another way to have fun with our hobby.
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