We actually had a pretty cold month in January. It got below freezing a dozen times but we had about ten days with temperatures above 60 degrees. The big news here for a week was a coming snow storm forecast – the weathermen got very excited . The day of the big snow we 1/4th inch!

For well over forty years we have published a monthly price list for our customers. In recent years we have received fewer and fewer orders from those who received price lists. We estimate that 90% of our sales now are based on our web site listings and want lists.
Our monthly price list mailings have dwindled from 400 to well less than 100. It is time for us to allocate more effort to maintaining our web site and to do that we will be severely reducing updating our mailing price lists. We will continue to update our most successful lists but less often..We will start by mailing revised lists every other month.

We will update our web site continuously and add new items as they are acquired and delete items as they sell out. If you order from our site items should always be in stock.

We will continue to mail newsletters to our regular customers who order through the mail and/or phone. Hopefully we can keep you informed via the newsletters as to what we have to offer that way.

This month we updated our German area price list Part C which covers German occupations and plebiscites from Memel through Poland.

For those who visit us via our web site, you will see us adding new items continuously. You might want to check more often for items you need. Don’t forget to check our Specials page – bargains to be found!

Postal Service

Last year this month we were advising customers to be patient with the extremely slow mail service. Slow mail continued well into last fall but has improved since last November. We are not getting regular phone calls asking where their stamps are. Also, we have had no mail losses at all in the past year. Yeah!

ABBREVIATIONS USED ON OUR PRICE LISTS – and on our web
site.

We have been using these abbreviations for nearly 50 years and forget that some of our customers are unfamiliar with all of them. (We can tell from all the questions we receive.) We used to list all of abbreviations on the first page of each price list but have stopped doing this to save space. Here is a listing of most of those abbreviations. If you use our web site these abbreviations are listed via the link “Purchase Terms” at the top of the home page.

** – MINT NEVER HINGED
* – MINT HINGED
U – USED

ANK – NETTO Catalog

CAN or CANC – Cancel

CERT – Certificate

CL – Close

CPCR – Clipped corner
(2 Perfs or more)

CR – Crease

CTO – Cancelled to order

DG – DISTURBED GUM

DT – Design Touches Perforations

EX – Expertized

FD – First Day

FERCH – Ferchenbauer catalog

G – Good (stamps have large defects)

G/VG – Good/Very Good (stamps have small defects)

HOFF- Hoffmann PPC

HOR – Horizontal

HR – Hinge remnants

HH – Heavily hinged

LG – Large

M or MAR – Margins

MI – Michel Catalog

NG – No gum

OP – On piece (on paper)

PR – Paper remnants

P – Poor

PC – Pen cancel or post card

PF – Plate Flaw

PPC – Picture postcard

RC – Rounded corner

SE – Straight Edge

SM – Small

SP – Setenant strip

SPC – Special Cancel

ST – Stain

TY – Tiny

TR – Tear

SCHAN – Schantl Catalog

Vert – Vertical

NEW ISSUE SERVICE

If you would like to receive new issues from Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein or Luxembourg let us know . We provide new issues on a quarterly or annual basis. Our normal service is to send one copy of each Scott listed issue to our customers. We can, however, provide any new issues in any quantity as long as we are notified in advance of issue. We can provide sheets, combinations, booklets, postal stationery, etc.