The catalog now contains around 50,000 different banana stickers, making it the most complete archive of its kind. Every month, about 200 to 300 new stickers are added. Almost every day, large batches of “new” stickers must be checked and compared with the existing database. There is hardly ever a chance for a longer break, because after some time away the backlog becomes overwhelming and it is easy to lose track of what has already been published.
Over the years, my role has changed. I started mainly as a collector and trader, but today I often feel more like the curator and museum administrator of the banana sticker world. Most of my hobby time now goes into maintaining, organizing, correcting, and preserving this archive of all known banana labels for everybody else.
This work involves a wide range of ongoing tasks:
- adding labels shared by collectors via Facebook, WhatsApp, or email so that new discoveries become available to the entire community. Over the last 11 years, I have added more than 18,500 labels this way, an average of about 140 new labels every month. Month after month, without a break.
- maintaining and improving the database structure and table of contents, making it easier for collectors to find labels, brands, and sticker sets. The labels in the catalogue are currently organized into 12,000 catalogue entries covering around 6,500 different brands. If this were printed as a table of contents in a book, it would amount to roughly 240 to 300 pages.
- reviewing the sorting of catalogue entries and replacing low-quality images when necessary to ensure labels can be identified correctly and similar labels are placed next to each other. I estimate that I have personally scanned and uploaded around 30,000 images.
- correcting errors, completing missing information and removing duplicate entries to improve catalog accuracy and reliability
- collecting, organizing and preserving information, articles and historical material related to banana labels
- answering user questions and helping collectors to work with the catalog
- maintaining and developing the technical side of the website to keep the catalog accessible, stable and up to date
In addition to the huge amount of time involved, the catalogue also creates yearly costs of nearly €1,000, which I still mostly cover alone.
Many collectors think as if I were a regular trading partner, expecting traditional exchanges of duplicates like we have done it in the past. However, this is no longer the reality of how I can operate. Due to the scale of the catalog and the workload involved, I can only handle very limited or selective trading today. The bigger and more successful the catalog becomes, and the more members join it, the less time I have left for actual collecting and trading myself.
That is why I now ask collectors from time to time to support the project with some duplicate stickers. Not money, not rarities, just a few spare labels that help me continue building my own collection while maintaining the catalogue for everyone else. If you enjoy using something that somebody else has built with passion, time, and personal effort, then it is fair to give something back once in a while. You can decide yourself what and how much the catalogue is worth to you, but I believe that everyone who benefits from it should contribute something from time to time. That is the only way a community project like this can remain fair and sustainable in the long run. Simply benefiting from the catalog without ever contributing anything in return is not a fair basis for a community project
Supporters can be recognized by the golden badge next to their username. A heartfelt thank you to all of them. Their contribution is essential and helps keep this project alive and growing.
Kommentare
I totally agree and I can
I totally agree and I can understand, that you are investing a lot of time and money for this extraordinary catalog. It has been always very helpful to me to organize my own collection,
But I also have to say, that I regret, that you will no longer trade for labels. We have been trading for many years, even before the catalog was born.
Again, my compliments for the wonderful job you have done and still are doing. Thank you very much, amigo.
Dear Peter,
Dear Peter, you always manage to touch the right spot — and yes, trading is what keeps this hobby alive. I really hope to get back to it once I’ve sorted my duplicates properly.
My main concern is how some collectors support the maintenance and financing of the catalog. I now spend far more time maintaining it than collecting or trading. Over the years, I’ve invested about €10,000 and uploaded more than 18,000 labels — a lot of time and care. So it’s frustrating when a few treat it like a self-service shop, or say no when I ask for a small thank-you.
I see the catalog as a warm, well-kept home for our hobby. Visitors are always welcome, and after a few visits, it feels natural to bring a small gift — a little thank-you for the work behind it. Just as guests might bring a bottle of wine, here it could be a few stickers I don’t yet have.
Thanks, amigo, for your words, your friendship, and your steady support. You — and a few others — are the reason I keep going.
Warm regards
In this article, I ask the
In this article, I ask the collecting community for support with the maintenance and operation of the catalogue. The reactions and contributions vary widely. I am therefore curious to know which of the following groups you see yourself in:
This is not meant as a judgement, but as an honest reflection of the current situation.
Eight months have passed
Eight months have passed since I wrote the text above. I am grateful to the collectors who have supported the catalog during this time. Their help is appreciated and makes a real difference.
Unfortunately, many collectors still use the catalog regularly while contributing little or nothing in return. I would like to repeat an important point: maintaining this catalog requires a significant amount of time and money. Access to the catalog is not free of effort, even if no membership fee is charged.
It is usually easy to see when a newly found label is missing from my collection, because the catalog shows this immediately. If you have a duplicate, simply put it aside and include it in a letter you send from time to time. Nobody is expected to send rare stickers or large quantities. No reminder from me should be necessary. It is simply a small gesture of appreciation for the time, work, and money invested in making the catalog of all known banana labels available to everyone.
The catalog can only remain fair and sustainable if those who benefit from it are also willing to support the person who maintains and develops it.
To collectors without a gold badge, I would like to ask a simple question: Is it really so difficult to support me occasionally with a few new labels? If you do not wish to do so, I would appreciate hearing your point of view. Simply remaining silent while continuing to use the catalog does not seem appropriate when a response would be expected.
Hello Michael,
I’m still quite new to the site, and I’ve recently read through all of your posts and comments about contributions. I would really like to help and contribute to the development of the banana label catalog, but I’m still not fully sure how to do it. I understand that you care deeply about the catalogue and put a lot of work into it, and thank you for that.
However, I wanted to share a perspective that I think many collectors might relate to. I live in a small country, and I find new banana labels very rarely — sometimes only one to three per month. And about 95% of my findings are already in the catalogue. In the six months that I’ve been collecting, I’ve only found two or three labels that are not listed yet.
In your posts, you mention that receiving five to eight new labels every six months is not enough and that you are disappointed when contributions are small. But for collectors like me, gathering even that amount of fully new stickers (that are not in the catalog) could take a year or more.
Because of this, I honestly don’t understand what I’m expected to do or how I should behave. Even if I send you the few new labels I find, after reading your posts I would still feel pressure and judgment, even though I don’t understand what I would be doing wrong.
I just want you to know that not every country gets dozens of new labels every month. We don’t even receive Chiquita, or Del Monte and Dole promo series. Sometimes the same batch of bananas stays in stores for an entire month. It’s difficult for me to collect even for my own hobby, which is why I also collect other fruit labels.
And it feels strange to think that I might deserve to be blocked from the site simply because my country doesn’t get many new labels — even though I genuinely enjoy this hobby and want to be part of the community. I believe I’m not the only one in this situation.
When the tone becomes too negative, it creates an atmosphere where people feel judged rather than welcomed.
I also tried to find your postal address on the site but couldn’t locate it anywhere.
I hope this helps you see the situation from the perspective of smaller collectors and be a bit less strict with members who haven’t contributed much yet.
Thank you for taking the time
Thank you for taking the time to write and explain your situation. Please do not worry. I am well aware that in some countries new labels appear only rarely, and I do not recall ever mentioning any specific number of labels that collectors are expected to send. I can clearly distinguish between collectors who would like to contribute but simply have very limited access to new labels, and collectors who are able to help but choose not to.
Sorry if my tone sometimes comes across as too direct, but at the moment some people in the second group no longer have my understanding. You are new here, and are just starting to explore and find your way around the catalogue. Please take your time.
If at some point you would like to send me a few labels, just send me an email. My postal address is not public, but I will be happy to provide it when needed. I appreciate your message and your willingness to contribute whenever you can.