Postzegels/Tips for using the catalogue: searching efficiently, prevent duplicate items

How are duplicates created?

There are a number of reasons why duplicate entries in the stamps catalogue are created.

1) Entry for sales purposes only 

The creator thinks Catawiki is a market platform, like a number of other web sites (which I'm not allowed to mention here), and is not aware Catawiki is first and formost a catalogue. Items in the catalogue have to be unique and identifyable for other collectors. So: first search the catalogue if the item you want to sell, already exists. Then open that item, and use the selection options on the right to add your own copy of the item to your shop, collection or search list.

2) You can't find the item

Next, a main reason for existance of duplicates is that searching for the item did not reveal the expected item. There are a number of reasons why you can't find the expected item, although it exists in the catalogue:

a) Stamp filter active

You did not de-activate the green 'filter' bar in the upper part of the screen. When this 'stamp filter' is active, you only see items that are considered the 'basic items' of the catalogue: 'Definitives' (regular postage use) and 'Airmail', and only some 'types' of items, like 'stamp'. Varieties, sheets or postage due stamps for example, only show up when the stamp filter is disabled. 

b) Assumption of correct data

you assume all information in the catalogue is complete and correct, so when you search for an airmail stamp, you expect to find it when selecting  'Usage'='Airmail'. However, that does not have to be the case. Catawiki is an open 'Wiki' platform and catalogue. Anyone can enter and change the catalogue items, even if these changes are incomplete and incorrect. So an airmail stamp could very well be listed incorrectly as 'definitive' or as '<Unspecified>'. 

The catalogue moderators (like me) try to monitor and review these changes, but unfortunately there are nearly not enough moderators to keep up with all new entries and changes.

c) Unexpected sorting

When you look at the stamps in the 'Gallery', the 'Sort by' option is very important in determing what items you actually see, at the place where you expect it to be. 

The sorting option 'Original' first shows all stamps created by user 'Collect-A-ROM', these are the stamps imported into the database when the catalogue was started in 2009. Only after these items, the items added later by other users are listed. 

So for example when you have a look at the stamps of 'France' in 'Display case' mode, you first will see 27 pages of items created in 2009. When you scroll down on page 27, you will see some classic stamps (Ceres) starting all over again.

So it is better to use another 'sort by' option - for example 'Year' or 'Collection' (series). This will show the items in a more logical order (provided the item's 'year' and 'collection' are filled properly).

d) Item not placed in correct series

When you have found the 'series' ('collection') where the searched item should be part of, you can zoom into that series by clicking on the 'collection' name, to show all items of that series. When you don't see the item you were looking for, you will assume it does not exist in the catalogue yet. Wrong! For the same reason as mentioned earlier: it could be very well that the item does exist, but with incorrect or undefinied collection name.

So all these reasons can lead to creating another item in the catalogue, while in fact it already existed but was not be found easily. That is why it so important that the basic entities of a catalogue item are filled correctly: Country, year, usage, type and collection. 

How to search efficiently

1. Always first disable the stamp filter. This will show more items than you may prefer, but it will also unveil the 'misplaced' items

2. Set the 'sort by' option in the stamp gallery to another option than 'Original'. 'Year' is probably the best choice, otherwise 'Collection' may also be a good choice.

3. Use the filter field 'Cat Nr' to search by one of the external catalogue numbers, of the 'paper catalogue' you are using. In most cases one or more of these fields are filled and you will still find your item.

4. filter the view by only selecting one year (in 'from to'). This will narrow the output down already. When you still see a lot of stamps in one year, change the view to 'Display case'. That way you can 'scan' the images of the existing items quite quickly.

How to add new items efficiently

When you are sure that your item is not in the catalogue yet, but other items of the same series are, then open one of these existing items and use the 'Copy item' option on the right, to create a new item prefilled with the same data. Just change the fields that are unique for the new item, and remove the automatically added text 'Copy of ..' in the 4 titles. This way you create a new item in the same series as the existing ones.

If you cannot copy from an existing item efficiently, then please make sure the following fields at least are filled correctly: Country, year, usage, type and collection. Also use a logical title for the stamp, which should NOT include: country name, year, usage type, face value, 'shop'-specific texts or commercial texts. 

Please note: the automatic translations of the titels are not always perfect, because Catawiki uses public translation engines, populated by anyone on the internet. These engines have no specific context to 'stamps', so the translation can be somewhat unexpected.

How can you help the catalogue

1. When you encounter items in the catalogue which are filled incomplete or incorrectly, you are greatly helping the catalogue system by correcting or completing that information, especially the following fields: Country, year, usage, type and collection.

2. scan your own collection, shop or search list regularly, for items marked as 'Duplicate of ...'. Remove it from your collection, shop or search list, and add the original number (referred to in the duplicate title) instead. You can copy and paste the mentioned Catawiki number in the site search box 'Search the catalogue'.

You notice a duplicate item

When you encounter a duplicate item in the catalogue, which has not been marked yet as such, you can change the titles of the item to 'duplicate of ...' (where '...' is the Catawiki catalogue number of the original item)

It is important that you change ALL four titles, and if you can, please change the Dutch title to 'DOUBLURE VAN ...' - because that is the text used to search for duplicate items when moderators are merging duplicate items.

After marking the item as 'duplicate', you can inform the moderators of the new duplicate item by adding a message in this forum thread (use the link 'Reageer op onderwerp', = Reply to topic, all down on the last page)

This is only of use however, when the duplicate item has no linked collectors, searchers or sellers, other than the original creator. When other collectores are linked to the item, a moderator can no longer simply remove it from the catalogue. The item will be 'merged' with the original item later, but this merging is done by 'super moderators' only.

Also, when you encounter a catalogue item that already has been marked as duplicate, but seems to have no collectors linked other than the creator, you can report the Catawiki number of that item in a forum message. However, some items may be linked to 'private collections', you will not see linked collectors but the item can still not simply be removed by a moderator.

Some general rules related to duplicates:

- the item with the oldest creation date remains the original item. The item created later is the 'duplicate' item. This is because a moderator will reject the duplicate and send an e-mail to the creator, and it would be incorrect to send this message to the original creator. In some cases an exception can be made. 

- The duplicate item should be visible next to the original item. So same year, collection and 'stamp number in collection' (Sequence no.). This saves a lot of time when duplicate items are merged.

Thanks, and enjoy your stay at Catawiki!

How are duplicates created?

There are a number of reasons why duplicate entries in the stamps catalog are created.

1) Entry for sales purposes only

The creator thinks Catawiki is a market platform, like a number of other web sites (which I'm not allowed to mention here), and is not aware Catawiki is first and formost a catalogue. Items in the catalog have to be unique and identifiable for other collectors. So: first search the catalog if the item you want to sell, already exists. Then open that item, and use the selection options on the right to add your own copy of the item to your shop, collection or search list.

2) You can't find the item

Next, a main reason for existence of duplicates is that searching for the item did not reveal the expected item. There are a number of reasons why you can't find the expected item, although it exists in the catalogue:

a) Stamp filter active

You did not de-activate the green 'filter' bar in the upper part of the screen. When this 'stamp filter' is active, you only see items that are considered the 'basic items' of the catalogue: 'Definitives' (regular postage use) and 'Airmail', and only some 'types' of items, like 'stamp '. Varieties, sheets or postage due stamps for example, only show up when the stamp filter is disabled.

b) Assumption of correct data

you assume all information in the catalog is complete and correct, so when you search for an airmail stamp, you expect to find it when selecting 'Usage'='Airmail'. However, that does not have to be the case. Catawiki is an open 'Wiki' platform and catalogue. Anyone can enter and change the catalog items, even if these changes are incomplete and incorrect. So an airmail stamp could very well be listed incorrectly as 'definitive' or as '<Unspecified>'.

The catalog moderators (like me) try to monitor and review these changes, but unfortunately there are nearly not enough moderators to keep up with all new entries and changes.

c) Unexpected sorting

When you look at the stamps in the 'Gallery', the 'Sort by' option is very important in determining what items you actually see, at the place where you expect it to be.

The sorting option ' Original ' first shows all stamps created by user 'Collect-A-ROM', these are the stamps imported into the database when the catalog was started in 2009. Only after these items, the items added later by other users are listed.

So for example when you have a look at the stamps of ' France ' in 'Display case' mode, you first will see 27 pages of items created in 2009. When you scroll down on page 27, you will see some classic stamps (Ceres ) starting all over again.

So it is better to use another 'sort by' option - for example 'Year' or 'Collection' (series). This will show the items in a more logical order (provided the item's 'year' and 'collection' are filled properly).

d) Item not placed in correct series

When you have found the 'series' ('collection') where the searched item should be part of, you can zoom into that series by clicking on the 'collection' name, to show all items of that series. When you don't see the item you were looking for, you will assume it does not exist in the catalog yet. Wrong! For the same reason as mentioned earlier: it could be very well that the item does exist, but with incorrect or undefined collection name.

So all these reasons can lead to creating another item in the catalogue, while in fact it already existed but was not be found easily. That is why it is so important that the basic entities of a catalog item are filled correctly: Country, year, usage, type and collection.

How to search efficiently

1. Always first disable the stamp filter. This will show more items than you may prefer, but it will also unveil the 'misplaced' items

2. Set the 'sort by' option in the stamp gallery to another option than 'Original'. 'Year' is probably the best choice, otherwise 'Collection' may also be a good choice.

3. Use the filter field 'Cat Nr' to search by one of the external catalog numbers, of the 'paper catalog' you are using. In most cases one or more of these fields are filled and you will still find your item.

4. filter the view by only selecting one year (in 'from to'). This will narrow the output down already. When you still see a lot of stamps in one year, change the view to 'Display case'. That way you can 'scan' the images of the existing items quite quickly.

How to add new items efficiently

When you are sure that your item is not in the catalog yet, but other items of the same series are, then open one of these existing items and use the ' Copy item ' option on the right, to create a new item prefilled with the same dates. Just change the fields that are unique for the new item, and remove the automatically added text 'Copy of ..' in the 4 titles. This way you create a new item in the same series as the existing ones.

If you cannot copy from an existing item efficiently, then please make sure the following fields at least are filled correctly: Country, year, usage, type and collection. Also use a logical title for the stamp, which should NOT include: country name, year, usage type, face value, 'shop'-specific texts or commercial texts.

Please note: the automatic translations of the titles are not always perfect, because Catawiki uses public translation engines, populated by anyone on the internet. These engines have no specific context to 'stamps', so the translation can be somewhat unexpected.

How can you help the catalogue

1. When you encounter items in the catalog which are filled incomplete or incorrectly, you are greatly helping the catalog system by correcting or completing that information, especially the following fields: Country, year, usage, type and collection.

2. scan your own collection, shop or search list regularly, for items marked as 'Duplicate of ...'. Remove it from your collection, shop or search list, and add the original number (referred to in the duplicate title) instead. You can copy and paste the mentioned Catawiki number in the site search box 'Search the catalogue'.

You notice a duplicate entry

When you encounter a duplicate item in the catalogue, which has not been marked yet as such, you can change the titles of the item to 'duplicate of ...' (where '...' is the Catawiki catalog number of the original item)

It is important that you change ALL four titles, and if you can, please change the Dutch title to 'DOUBLURE VAN ...' - because that is the text used to search for duplicate items when moderators are merging duplicate items.

After marking the item as 'duplicate', you can inform the moderators of the new duplicate item by adding a message in this forum thread (use the link 'Reply to topic', = Reply to topic, all down on the last page)

This is only of use however, when the duplicate item has no linked collectors, searchers or sellers, other than the original creator. When other collectores are linked to the item, a moderator can no longer simply remove it from the catalogue. The item will be 'merged' with the original item later, but this merging is done by 'super moderators' only.

Also, when you encounter a catalog item that already has been marked as duplicate, but seems to have no collectors linked other than the creator, you can report the Catawiki number of that item in a forum message. However, some items may be linked to 'private collections', you will not see linked collectors but the item can still not simply be removed by a moderator.

Some general rules related to duplicates:

- the item with the oldest creation date remains the original item. The item created later is the 'duplicate' item. This is because a moderator will reject the duplicate and send an e-mail to the creator, and it would be incorrect to send this message to the original creator. In some cases an exception can be made.

- The duplicate item should be visible next to the original item. So same year, collection and 'stamp number in collection' (Sequence no.). This saves a lot of time when duplicate items are merged.

Thanks, and enjoy your stay at Catawiki!

Very usefull contribution. Thanks Wilfred

Deserved attempt, but in my view completely pointless if you do not know that this text can only be viewed on the forum of the Dutch-language site of Catawiki.

If these guidelines would have a place somewhere in the NL and the E that would be the same for every site, I would be inclined to translate these guidelines into F.

That was certainly known to me, but some non-Dutch people know where to find the NL forum. In addition, this link can now be used to refer to.

Still missing:

0) Be sure to first identify your item correctly.

A lot of mistakes, causing duplicates, appear to be due to insufficient identification of the item, eg watermark, perforation and so on.

Sometimes stamps seem to be duplicates (same picture), but they might have differences in watermark (upright vs. sideways or completely different) , or in perforations. Even inscriptions can be different (Sudan Camel Post stamps, India king George V), or printing process (photovure printing vs. lithography, see e.g. Malaysian States).