Ep. 88: Jay Bigalke: Editor in Chief of Scott Catalogue on the New Catalogue Subscription Model

In our first episode back after the break, we talk with Jay Bigalke of Amos Media to discuss the decision behind the new Scott subscription model and what improvements they have made over the previous digital catalogue.
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[@tedtalksstamps]

I'm going to comment as I watch, so please excuse me if I say something that is addressed later in the video, First: Charles contrasted the new system with the old, "fixed static book." This new subscription model, as I understand it, is still, essentially, a fixed static book; the catalogue you buy in April 2022, is the same catalogue you will have in April 2023, until Scott rolls out the 2023 edition. You have the same old prices and the same old listings, with no updates and no new issues from the interim. Next: Jay says, they took a survey, and the overwhelming response was, "We want a subscription model." How many of those responses were, "And we want to pay full price each year just as if it was a fixed static book that we can look at forever and ever, only now it we want it to disappear after a year if we don't pay that full price all over again?"

[@deborahlee9972]

Pay that annually?? No. Nope. As a worldwide collector, the pricing model is just not appropriate.

[@tedtalksstamps]

Michael. the digital catalogue is NOT constantly updating (except for the US having new issues added).

[@michaelmccabe212]

Thank you for another interesting program. The new catalogues concept and features appear to be a start in the right direction; however, the pricing model seems ill-conceived. To spend the amounts indicated on the emails that I have received from Scott's to receive only "access" to information for a year and to own nothing at the end of the year is a hard point to overcome for many users. Additionally, I find the response to the internet access issue to be dismissive at best. Keep the good work up of addressing topics that are relevant to all philatelists.

[@rickhowell7507]

Amos' pricing may be fine for dealers who professionally have to have a current catalog, but for individual collectors, this price is way too high. At the end of your subscription, you have nothing. At least with the hard copies, you have something you can use as a reference, not a blank computer screen. Sorry guys, I ain't buying it.

[@AaronTenino]

The price of online catalog are just as inflated as prices in the catalog. Scott may become irrelevant except as way of assigning a number description to a stamp.

[@tedtalksstamps]

Catalogues will always . . . ALWAYS, be higher than market prices. It’s simply the nature of the business, the whole stamp business, not just catalogues. Dealers buy collections at a small percentage of catalogue, which they than sell at a discount from catalogue value, in order to entice buyers. If the catalogue then adjusts the prices downward to reflect these discounts, the dealer then offers commensurately less and sells for less, and then the cv’s and retail values spiral ever downward. In fact, in the late 80s Scott did just that. Revised most of the cv’s down to better reflect actual retail, and dealers rebelled. Many continued to use the old catalogue for years. That’s the problem with being the 800 pound gorilla that, both, sets nominal values based ostensibly on actual dealer sales, and is also used by dealers to set their prices. It’s sort of a case of the tail wagging the dog, but depending on the situation, sometimes Scott is the tail, and other times the dealer is the tail.

[@sjrr124]

No matter how hard he tries to spin the pricing model, it is outrageous. They need to rethink this fast or some smart entrepreneur will develop a half decent replacement that costs a lot less than this and bankruptcy will be in Amos' future. Also, am I the only person who finds it ironic that while he is being dismissive of the need for offline viewing because of how good the internet is, he doesn't have a stable enough connection for his video???

[@tedtalksstamps]

Sorry, Jay, I don't buy your claim that it's not possible to offer your digital product at a reasonable price. SG and Michel ARE doing it.

[@angore3rd]

A few takeaways. It is clear that the Scott staff is small given that Jay is scanning material himself. This may explain why everything is slow. They do not do crowd sourcing like other "catalog" sites. I will note that Microsoft sells Office as a one time download or as an Office 365 subscription., They did not follow up on the question about competitive online offerings from SG and Michel that are much cheaper. It was nice to hear they will offer catalog groupings but sadly not likely individual countries as they prior offerings. The pricing may satisfy those already buying a new set each year but not likely to attract many new purchasers. This means there will always be a market for used editions for some time. I do not care about modern issues and values do not change that much over time for most countries. I think people would want both models (they can co-exist) plus country models. The question is this intentional or just not enough resources to implement.

[@vkollekciyu]

👍

[@tedtalksstamps]

At the risk of sounding like an insufferable cynic and skeptic, nothing Jay said brought me any closer to accepting this scam. This is still an incomplete and inadequate system for which they are charging you as if it has been already perfected. Even at that, a "perfect" catalogue would not be worth what they are asking. Look what Microsoft did with Office 365. The full software suite used to cost you over $400. Now it is $7.25 a month. One of the new features being touted in their email marketing is the ability to zoom in on stamp images, and they include an animated gif illustrating that. Have you seen it? The zoomed enlarged image had such poor resolution, it was worse than useless. I also tried the free demo (of Austria) from Amos. I couldn't even read the artist inscriptions in the bottom margin of the stamps. This new system is a gaslighting scheme of the highest order.

[@sjrr124]

I appreciate you putting out your video with alternatives options. I personally will be taking my money elsewhere from now on.

[@tedtalksstamps]

@@sjrr124 Thank you.

[@velorambler]

Friend don't let friend use Microsoft. Linux Rules! I used Gimp and can do anything you do with Photoshop and I don't have to pay for it!

[@Alan1234x]

No wonder the stamp hobby is dying.

[@stampdealer]

Have people never heard of Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Pandora, etc? You pay for access to content. At the end of the subscription, you "own" nothing, you "have" nothing. That's how it works. If you want to "own" something to have and hold and refer back to, buy the book, buy the CD box set. What's so difficult to understand?

[@michaelmccabe212]

I am sure that everyone is aware of how subscription services work, I think the issue people are having is the value add of the service. The cost is only a modest discount to the print version. While the features appear to be a good starting point, there is a long way to go for this to be appealing to the vast majority of collectors. I think you cannot make a direct comparison to this service and Netflix. I have designed databases for years and realize the work and time that is needed to just to get the basic features available and I am sure that Amos Media will produce a product with incremental improvements. I think that the pricing model is all wrong. While you can never, please everyone, this solution will please very few. I think that what is getting views upset is that Mr. Bigalke gloss over the concerning of many collectors to the point of appearing to condescension. I person with poor internet connections on a Zoom call should not dismiss concerns over internet access issues. Just be straight with the strengths and weakness of the product.