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Post by captphil211 on Jan 7, 2024 21:08:42 GMT
Alright, I usually do not advertise. But I just ordered 50 Lighthouse 5S pages for $37, tax included. KMA.
Amazon also carries Prophila products and stamp packets now, which is useful to know for starters.
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Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Jan 7, 2024 21:21:04 GMT
what is KMA?
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Post by captphil211 on Jan 7, 2024 22:06:44 GMT
On the old show "Adam-12," it meant "Keep Me Advised." On my show it means "Kiss My Arquebus."
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Post by khj on Jan 7, 2024 23:02:46 GMT
Please be advised that some of the Professional Pack Vario pages being sold on Amazon are, in my opinion, manufacturer 2nds. I've purchased about a dozen or so of these on Amazon over the past year. Every single one of them without exception, contained anywhere from 2-20 pages with a constant manufacturer defect. Most are minor, so I didn't even notice at first. But later after going through them carefully... Some are simple, like miscuts, which I can easily round off or straighten off using scissors. One batch was contaminated with machine oil, which I had to tediously clean off one page at a time with dish detergent. Another batch was "over-pressed", so the seam was literally embossed deeply into the page so that the page wasn't really flat anymore. Somebody is selling manufacturer 2nds without stating it. The reputable supplies dealers I used to buy from, would always tell you when you were getting manufacturer seconds. I'm at the point where I won't even consider buying professional packs off Amazon unless they are $15 or less each pack (which means they are "open package" sales). Even then, it's a questionable value given how much is "damaged". Back in the day when I used to buy manufacturer seconds, I could get them for 60%-80% off list price.
To put this in perspective, I've probably purchased ~100 of the 5-packs over the decades from reputable US supplies dealers. Total damaged: 0.
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Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Jan 7, 2024 23:24:19 GMT
I'm shocked -- SHOCKED!
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Post by khj on Jan 7, 2024 23:31:01 GMT
I might have taken some pictures with my cellphone. If so, I'll post them later. The machine oil pack I know I didn't take pics. I was too much in a rush to clean them. I didn't realize it would take that long -- otherwise I would have returned them immediately.
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Post by khj on Jan 8, 2024 0:11:50 GMT
These are pics of what I refer to as constant damage (appears on at least 2 sheets). wrinkle in top row major scrape 2nd row
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Post by khj on Jan 8, 2024 0:13:10 GMT
major rip in corner (I trimmed it off)
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Post by khj on Jan 8, 2024 0:15:41 GMT
hooked seam, over-embossed rows
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Post by khj on Jan 8, 2024 0:18:58 GMT
wrinkles in row Also 50-100 slight miscuts that I trimmed off the miscut before taking pics.
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Post by Ted Talks Stamps on Jan 8, 2024 1:29:00 GMT
khj All seriousness aside, I am shocked to see such flagrant lack of integrity and disregard for customer satisfaction by a retailer. My blood pressure's rising, just looking at these.
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Post by ClassicPhilatelist on Jan 8, 2024 3:41:52 GMT
I only use Prinz stock pages. They may cost a little bit more, but I've seen none with even close to the same level of quality.
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Post by stampie83 on Jan 8, 2024 15:37:45 GMT
I prefer the Hagner stock sheets myself. They are open ended and seem to hold the stamps in place better than the Vario type with the welded ends. I do have some Vario that came in box lots over the years. I find that stamps in the middle of the pockets will tend to shift. I noticed some also tend to warp for some reason. But I have never seen any in the condition in the pics you posted. Hagner has a cardboard backing, comes in 1 to 8 strips and also in one or two sided.
Hope the pic is good enough to see the difference.
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Post by khj on Jan 9, 2024 1:42:03 GMT
I use the Hagners for sorting/IDing, because it is quick to take things in/out. But for long term items not on album pages or stockbooks, I use the Vario and Vario-type stockpages extensively. I no longer keep track, but I should have well over 2000+ Vario style pages, more than half of which were acquired used but excellent condition.
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Post by captphil211 on Jan 10, 2024 17:36:58 GMT
The pages arrived yesterday. Fifty pieces, all in good order.
I have had the occasional problem with Lighthouse pages. Once I had machine oil on a sheet, but only one sheet. I tossed it. Once I had a package that got caught in the belt during shipping. The mailing bag was torn and three pages were not usable. And maybe twice I have had pages miscut. It happens.
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