Download this report as an MP3 sound file.

On a roll.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

Many mass mailers prefer to use stamps rather than imprints, feeling that stamps attract
more attention. They also get discounted rates for their huge mailings… and for these
customers, the U-S Postal Service issues low-value stamps .

They come in rolls of ten- or 25 thousand.

For years, the Postal Service has also offered these stamps to collectors in much smaller
quantities through its mail-order sales – strips of 25. But not any more.

If you want the 5-cent grapes stamp, you’ll have to order an entire roll of ten thousand.
That’s five hundred dollars. The 10-cent pears stamp will cost a grand.

It’s not just these new 20-16 issues. Small quantities of some older rolls have quietly
disappeared, too — the one cent Bobcat, the 49-cent Ferns, among them.

Most new issue collectors only need five stamps at the most. That’s a lot of excess stamps
to use up as postage.

The Postal Service is re-examining all its collector sales policies with an eye toward
cutting expenses and waste… and yes, selling strips of 25 stamps takes extra time and that
means extra money.

In the meantime, collectors who want a small quantity can form a co-op, buy them from a
dealer at a premium, wait a few months until the dealers blow off their overstock....or
wait until the Postal Service goes back to the friendlier rules.

I’m Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting,
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

----------------------------------------------------------
Go to Previous Report
Go to Next Report

Go to Report Index