USEFUL LINKS - SAVE TIME! Tired of exhausting searches via google, yahoo, etc.? Need to find a great website to know what a stamp term means (i.e. APO), find show schedules, report fraud, find eBay's phone #, or find other autions away from eBay, or maybe you want to learn how to identify real photo postcards? Did you know one can save on mailing costs vs. buying stamps from the postoffice? Then, use the links provided below which go directly to that specific page or site. Broken into logical categories (i.e. Auction Sites). LINKS:  Auction Sites eBay A household name with thousands of items for bid and direct sale. Playle's Auction site specializing in postcard auctions. Has other collectibles for sale. Very valuable and highly recommended site for postcard collectors. Stampwants Good site if you just want to find stamps and covers. Some bargains, monthy giveaways, and more! Delcampe Another auction venue with very low selling fees and highly detailed categories. Worth a visit. Collectibles Shows by Topic Stamp Shows Worldwide American Philatelic Society Postcard Shows Airline Collectible Shows Show schedule from World Airline Historical Society. See Link for society under clubs and organizations. Clubs and Societies Add Your Site Have a club or organization dedicated to certain aspect of colleting - then send your info and I'll include it. Collectors be sure to check out the APS, USCS, and so on - these sites have links to subtopics/chapters on various collectibles (i.e. Canal Zone Study Group). APS American Philatelic Society. Stamp orgainzation helping colletors and dealers. Currently, very aggressive about cracking down on eBay fraud. Publishes a magazine, has sales, and much more. Worth checking out or joining. American Airmail Society Also known as AAMS. Good organization/club which publishes catalogues for sale, has two publications covering various topics of airmail collecting, has it's own show, and much more. If you just want the books - see Publications link. Universal Ship Cancellation Society Great orgainzation/club and by far the best in my opinion. Members are very helpful and don't block or give resistance to promoting your business. Excellent catalogue and really worth joining. If you just want the catalogue for help with identifying ship cancels and so on, see publications. American Topical Association Great Orgainzation/Club which has several chapters and publishes a pamphlet/magazine covering various sub topics (i.e. Ships on Stamps) and so on. American Stamp Dealers Association The American Stamp Dealers Association is a professional organization serving philately since 1914. They're are dedicated to promoting integrity, honesty and reliability, and claim to be the hobby builders of philately. American Stamp Dealers Association members represent all segments of the philatelic marketplace both retail and wholesale. Our membership is international in scope with members coming from Europe, Asia, South America, the Pacific Rim Nations and the Middle East as well. Our stamp dealer members include the most respected firms and individuals in the industry. Publications and Supplies Canada Collecting Great publication if your speciality is collecting just Canada. Rate is $39.95 a year for US and Canada Residents. Free copy is available. Collectors Books Site having tons of titles on various collectibles. Linn's Stamp News Major publication with lots of information on new error discoveries, reviews of mixture lots, stamp market trends, and much more. See also their Zillions of stamps for yet another source for stamps and covers. Scott Catalogue - Amos Amos publishing produces Linn's stamp News and also sells Scott Stamp News, and produces the Scott Catalogue series which is also on CD-ROM. Stanley Gibbons Referred by a lot of stamp dealers if you collect Great Britian and British Commonwealth. Site has also auctions and other useful info. Unitrade - Canada Catalogues Publisher of Canada Stamp Catalogues and various supplies. Used by many firms as to identification for stamps which don't appear in Scott (i.e. Revenue's) Postcard Collector Magazine/Subscription covering the sale and collecting of postcards. Published Six Times a year. American Airmail Society Organization that publishes the popular and often used American Airmail Society Catalouge which is now in it's Sixth Edition. I also included the main link under clubs and organizations. Universal Ship Cancellation Society USCS has a catalogue and also a CD-ROM version covering ship cancels along with giving a brief history of the ship. Collectibles Research Stamps - Ask Phil Don't know a stamp collecting accronym or term? This site can help and gives detailed definitions. Stamps - Local Posts Want to identify and learn about local posts/Cindrellas. Site also known as stampyellowpages.com Stamps - Translation Want to know what a foreign language term means in English or another language? Then click on this valuable link form Stampshows/Stampyellow pages.com Stamps - Terms & Examples Great site showing examples of covers as it relates to various philatelic/stamp collecting terminology. If you like it, send a small donation to keep it running. Stamps - Yellow Pages Directory from Stampshows.com gives valuable links to yet more information. Well organized by category. Stamps - Marine History Visit Shipslist which has lots of valuable links and databases for tracing ships from ownership, transport to navy, and much more. Great also if your not a collector, but genealogist! Stamps - Naval/Navy Need to know a naval term for your naval or military postal history collection? Then check out this link! Stamps - USA Railroad Names Great list showing list of current railroads operating in the US by State. To find defunct railroads click on the small orange text List of US Defunct Railroads. Please note there may be errors, but this is a great webpage with tons of links as to tracing history and can be used to help identify RPO cancels on postcards, covers, and other collectibles. Transportation - Airlines Great categorical index to airline timetables. Useful to trace changes and current logos/insignia used. Use the same info and apply to glassware, and so on. Super site! Transportation - Airlines#2 Index for identifying baggage labels. Be sure to check out the other links for more valuable airline collectibles info. Transporation - Ships Great site for finding info about ships. Postcards - Playle's Helps! Check out this link if you need to understand postcard grading and identification as to publisher. Collectibles Directory - Postcards Want to find more info on postcards? Click on this link. The Postcard Great site which has lots of links to help in finding buyers, and other links to postcards. Walt's postcards is packed with lots of info as to determining condition and finding info about various publishers. Advertising is also very cheap if your dealing or have a large collection to sell. Postcards - Real Photo Having trouble identifying who made that card? Feel you have been taken? Want to make sure that seller is really selling a real photo/RPPC postcard - then check out this link from Playle's Online Auctions. Postcards - Ships Check out this site. Valuable site to trace ownership and learn more about that ship listed on postcard. Postcard - Buy and Wants Find collectors having similar interests; perhaps a new buyer, or find another source. Links are hit or miss, but still a good site. Postcard Research This is an index of links leading to various archives with respect to various museums and societies having archive records as to postcards. The sites owner is VintagePostcards.org Curt Teich Postcard Archive Postcard archive opened to visitors C/O of the Lake County Forest Preserve in Illinois. Archive has over 10,000 images or Curt-Teich postcards. Postcard - Detroit Publishing Archive from Library of Congress in Washington dealing with Detroit Publishing Company. Francis Frith Postcards I included this link since the site has an archive which should be useful in identifying photographs, postcards and other items Francis Frith published. The postcards are known as Frith's in the trade. You have to register to use the archive, but it's free. Postcards - Valentine & Sons Great website giving the background history of the Valentine & Sons Postcard Co. Site also has a lot of information about various publishers of Scotish and British Postcards despite the site focusing on postcards of Edinburgh, Scotland. To access the info for Valentine just click on the link under postcards. Gen Disasters Great website to trace historical dates and events as it relates to various disasters in the US. Easy to use pull down menu to find by state. Beneficial no matter what you collect if your into history. Language Translation Google has a very useful tool for figuring out what the subject is on a foreign postcard. Use this free service. It's easy and will help when you sell. Not every langauge is supported, but new ones are being added. Besides you can even start learning a new language for free! eBay Guides/Reviews Excellent source to find info on collectibles, site information as to buying and selling, and more. Some guides and reviews are better than others. Included here nonetheless. Internet Movie Database Great site for tracing the history of actors who appeared in various TV Shows and Movies. Ancestry.com Good starting point to trace family history with links to Military Records, Immigration, and more. Downside is you have to join. American Civil War Well organized site with many links to subtopics on the war (i.e. Gettysburg Address). Civil War - Regiments Union Ken Jones project well orgainzed with links going right to state and federal genealogical and archive sources. Research that Civil War letter won on eBay or auction. I also included the sites link for the confederate side. Civil War - Regiments - Confederate Same site that has organized info for Union Army regiments. Or what I'm calling the Ken Jones Project. Site is an excellent starting point with all kinds of great links related to the war. US National Archives & Record Admin US Government Website Having detailed records for a wide range of subjects. Link included here goes right to the sites index leading to many useful resoures per area of interest. Use the alphabetical tool bar to get started. In otherwords clink on the Letter W and you'll find all the links to wars the US was involved in! Space Program #1 Great site where you can find background info and event history as to the US Space Program. Use the info to trace dates on your covers, etc. Wikipedia Good site and starting point to find information on all kinds of subjects. Tip: In google or Yahoo type the subject and add + then type Wikipedia. This will go right to the page. Note: Wikipedia did have some errors, but overall is a good site. I use it alot when listing. Genealogy & Vital Records Link This is a great website with all kinds of links to help in finding the orgins of your families surname, military records, dead counties to use as a starting point in tracing a town which may no longer exist. Use the site to help with your collecting interests. You will likley have to search around, but I found that one can trace a town's post office by using the Family History Links. Note: Every so often a link is broken, but with all this free info, it's really a great resource. Let's face it books are also very expensive as to collectibles. Another suggestion is to find a comprehensive list and then use wikipedia or another free online encyclopedia where one can find a complete history of the town (i.e. Anchorage IL + Cook County). Fraud Reporting Federal Trade Commission Report e-mail that you know is spam or intends to defraud. Examples Marketing scams, Lotto, etc. At the very least you'll make big brother aware. USPS Inspector General Been taken by an eBay seller on excessive shipping, items stolen, not delivered, or threatened? File a complaint with the post office. They will send a card acknowledging the complaint. Travel - Planning a Trip Hopstop Useful website styled like Yahoo Maps instead it covers subways and bus lines for major cities. Currently, has info for Chicago, NYC, Boston, (Beta/Test Version), San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Even send the info to a cell phone! Google Maps Need to find directions? Try google. See also Yahoo Maps and Mapquest. City Search Excellent website having links back to maps and sites as to restaurants and area businesses for major cities. You also can find info for small towns. Highly recommended for general searches. Current Weather Find current world weather information no matter where you live or visit. Current Time Find what time it is in a particular part of the world. Click on a Major world city (i.e. Chicago)and get a general idea of the current forcast. USA & Worldwide Phone Info Need to call Len in London, England, but don't know the International Dialing Code? Then visit this site. Currency Conversion Find out what the dollar is worth vs. Euro or any other currency. Up to date info useful when traveling and also buying. City-Data Great website to get information on demographics and more. Find People People Finder Finding a person who gave a bad addres or one you can't read can be quite time consuming. Rather than go thru tons of directories try this site. You can even trace the last address as to residence. Theft Protection National Serial # Register Site offereing free registration for serial #s. Juststolen Another site for reporting and registering property. Auction Tools eBay Categorical List Sick of clicking back and forth to find the listing category and going thru multiple screens? Then, just type the category # and save yourself some time. eBay Help Link Categorial list of topics with links for submitting your concern to eBay. If you want to talk with a live person I've included a seperate link also. Photobucket Easy to use and free website to store up to 1 gigabyte of photos. Gives html code for eBay, blogs, and so on. Also very reliable. Paypal Paypal is still the easiest to use and has very affordable rates and features for collecting online payments. Mention MJM Covers and Postcards if it's the first time signing up. Dealers on Line ASDA - Stamps ASDA - American Stamp Dealer Association gives links to dealers and other firms by speciality. Contains a search engine to help further. APS - STAMPS According to the APS this is the world's largest on-line directory of stamp dealers! Search by speciality and other criteria. International Federation of Postcard Dealers Index of various dealers and society members.