Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Iceland Post, Stamp and Philatelic Department (Postphil) will be abolished at the end of this year after about 90 years in operation.
We still have two stamp issues left this year, on September 12th. and October 31st., but when they are done the department will be closed down for good and will stop serving stamp collectors, domestic and foreign, altogether.
The fact that the number of our philatelic customers have constantly been decreasing year after year has lead to years of deficit for Postphil.
Iceland Post has got a new CEO Mr. Birgir Jonsson, who is cutting down everything that is not profittable in this company, including Postphil, and that is due to the fact that Iceland Post currently has severe operating difficulties.
To-day, August 20 Iceland Post is laying off about 50 people throughout the company.
The current management of Iceland Post Ltd., prefers if possible to stop issuing new stamps altogether, but on the basis of current law, Iceland Post cannot unilaterally decide to do so.
However, there is some uncertainty as to how these matters will be handled in the future and the company is waiting for answers from it´s owner, the Icelandic state.
If the company must keep on issuing new stamps in 2020 and onward the number of new stamps will be very few each year and there will be no service for stamp collectors.
According to CEO Mr. Birgir Jonsson this task of producing and issuing new stamps could be given to outside contractors.
I will leave Iceland Post Ltd., in September after 20 years in charge of Postphil.
From October to December there will only be 3 people working at Postphil so operations will be at minimum
Kind regards,
VILHJALMUR SIGURDSSON
HEAD OF PHILATELY
POSTPHIL | ICELAND POST
TEL: +354 580 1050 | DIRECT: +354 580 1051 | MOBILE: +354 825 1051 | STAMPS.IS | facebook.com/icelandicstamps | vilhjalmurs@postur.is
STORHOFDI 29 | 110 REYKJAVIK | ICELAND | TEL: +354 580 1000 | FAX: +354 580 1059 | POSTUR.IS |
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Stamp collectors have stopped buying/looking for new issues for many reasons. Some are:
- face values are too high
- too many stamps are being issued
- too difficult to buy/find them from the postal entities
- dealers cannot afford to stock new issues due to volume and cost
Single stamps, except for the larger countries, are a thing of the past. In an effort to raise hard currency, many countries produce only massive amounts of miniature sheets and souvenir sheets that would cost collectors hundreds of dollars to acquire. A look each month through the Linn's Monthly Update issue shows this.
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Whatever they decide wouldn't hurt me one way or another.
But it is bizarre to say that the stamp division is so unprofitable that it cannot afford to produce any new stamps in 2020. The cost of stamps has always been factored in the postage rates. Stamps were printed on watermarked paper at banknote printing facilities and still the post office survived. Now that all printing is supposedly faster and cheaper they tell us they can no longer do it.
Why not go back to printing 7 stamps a year instead of 37 and see how that model will work for them?
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Cougar, totally agree. Collectors realize this. The problem is that collectors don't have a darn thing to say in it. These decisions are being made by corporate types, most of whom know nothing about us and seem not to care.
Iceland was one of the first countries I collected. Very sad news.
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'
Will the folks who collect Dead Countries now start collecting Iceland?
Will Iceland become the first Post-Postage country?
We're gonna need a new category.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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"
According to CEO Mr. Birgir Jonsson this task of producing and issuing new stamps could be given to outside contractors.
"
This comment to me seems they are abolishing an in house group that produces and sells stamps and looking for an outside contractor to do this. This may not mean the end of Icelandic stamps.
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I hope that you’re right angore. While I’ve collected Icelandic stamps off and on over the course of my collecting career, I have recently taken a renewed interest in them. Most of my collections end at or near 2000 but I have been considering collecting Iceland up to the present because of their conservative issuing policy. I actually found the announcement while searching for information about subscribing to their new issue service. I just hope that my Icelandic collection doesn’t end up with a definitive end date.
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"I hope that you’re right angore. While I’ve collected Icelandic stamps off and on over the course of my collecting career, I have recently taken a renewed interest in them. Most of my collections end at or near 2000 but I have been considering collecting Iceland up to the present because of their conservative issuing policy. I actually found the announcement while searching for information about subscribing to their new issue service. I just hope that my Icelandic collection doesn’t end up with a definitive end"
I am identical to you (collect Iceland, cut off at 2000, like they issue a reasonable number, have thought about extending).
This news is grim, seems like some mismanagement as well. Surely they will not end stamps forever, unless they want to shut down their postal service entirely. I can see outsourcing some/all of the functions, I don't think postal mail is quite dead yet.
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I heard that they'll soon be using US stamps! 
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No, no - that's Greenland 
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More like Chinese stamps...
About 2-3 years ago, Greenland approached Denmark about investing in infrastructure (new airport, bridges, etc.) but Denmark was not able to commit. So China stepped in and made an offer, it included maintaining ‘full control’ over all the projects and allowing other investments in Greenland’s rare earth mineral rights. Denmark and Greenland eventually backed out of the China deal due to pressure from the West. Not to be thwarted, China is now the majority shareholder in Greenland's largest mineral mining company.
Interesting side note...
Back in 1946, US President Truman made an offer to buy Greenland from Denmark. When the offer was turned down, Truman then offered to trade parts of the Point Barrow district of Alaska, including the oil and mineral rights, in exchange for parts of Greenland. Denmark turned the offer down. Years later US would make the richest oil strike in U.S. history in the same Point Barrow area that Truman had offered.
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If this means an end to wallpaper that is never postally used then I say Yay!
The post popular areas for many philatelists are stamps that worked for a living and reflect the historical eras they were in use. Sure there are exceptions like topicals, but I think it would be fabulous if stamps were only printed if there was a need.
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Can we buy Iceland?
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06:53:59am
" ... an we buy Iceland? ..."
No need, we can just steal it fair and square as we did Arizona and New Mexico.
Puerto Rico,
The Philippines,
Cuba (fora while),
Panama Canal Zone
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Charlie, how could you have forgotten about Hawaii?
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02:58:48am
Yes, Hawaii, and perhaps Guam, Samoa, and Saipan, of course.
Next Greenland !
( Which will be shown to be three separate islands once all the ice melts.)
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" I think it would be fabulous if stamps were only printed if there was a need."
The countries printing the "wallpaper" have a need - for money.
If stamps were printed just for postal needs, there wouldn't be that many out there (going on 700,000 or so), and the print quantities would be significantly less. Our collections would be much smaller as a result of the much higher expense to obtain stamps. Double-edged sword there.
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BUT Collectors of used stamps would see a huge reduction in collecting costs. Those who purchase mint new issues would still only pay face. Dealers would be able to stock all new issues more inexpensively, so would make more of an effort to do so. If more dealers stock all the issues, collectors would have more choices of dealers to buy from and prices would remain competitive. The print quantities would have an increase as fewer issues would be available to cover needs. It is cheaper to mass print fewer issues. And collectors love low emission rate countries so more would collect those countries and buy the new issues. Think about the glut of 3c plate blocks we have now issued back in the days when the USA issued way fewer stamps which are now available below face value.
So I think these issues would be much cheaper to collect long term.
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Actually, today the post office is printing much smaller quantities of each stamp than "back in the day" of the low face valued stamps. Back then, almost all commemoratives had print runs of well over 100 million. The newer issues today have print runs mostly 50 million or less. Most new issues today have print runs of less than 25 million. So you're looking at a large reduction in the number of US stamps printed per issue. (Source: Scott US Specialized Catalog)
For example, considering the print runs of the 43 US commemorative stamps from Scott #5003 through #5211 (the years 2015 through June 2017), only 7 issues had print runs of 100 million or more. Of the remaining, 36 issues had print runs of less than 100 million. 23 of those had print runs of 25 million or less. (Source: Scott US Specialized Catalog)
Some countries have reduced their print runs down well below 1 million, and often below 100,000. I believe Monaco and Japan fall into this group. With much less stamps being printed, many issues are sold out at time of issue, and dealers are unable to get them. Those that do get them control the market, and the prices go up.
The cost of stamp production, advertising and retail is a big financial drain on postal systems. Post offices would like nothing better than to eliminate them. Stamp collectors do not buy enough stamps to make much of a difference (despite what stamp collectors think) in the profit/loss margins of post offices.
Old stamps bought at discount are being used in the US by many people and businesses. The post office is processing mail franked with stamps bought 3/4, and 1/2 a century ago with money that today would be worthless. New stamps are not being bought to frank mail, and those stamps go off sale with a good quantity going to the shredder. There would be a big uproar, but one of the positive things the post office could do is invalidate all non-forever stamps.
Collectors of used stamps won't benefit from anything, because stamps, for the most part, are not being used on mail. Despite what collectors think, their use of stamps on mail doesn't help the post office much if at all. People do not write letters. They send emails. People do not pay their bills through the mail. They pay online.
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https://stamps.postur.is/en/?ct=t(Newsletter_November_2017_COPY_01)&mc_cid=4cc14a7aa9&mc_eid=%255bUNIQID%255d
island stamps online ...
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04:43:42pm
" .... There would be a big uproar, but
one of the positive things the post office
could do is invalidate all non-forever stamps. ...."
It would also eliminate the revenue loss from
people using (non-forever) "skips."
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postmasters prefer computer made postal labels to stamps, as they get full revenue, instead of % facevalue. stamps are purely philatelic overtime. in UK, machins are scarce in local POs. and fakes are cheaper 25% of 1st 2nd class rates. but, even labels are being faked... so Post offices are under pressure.
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The issue really is that these philatelic agencies are selling collectibles and people are less interested in them for variety of reasons.
They turn out to be limited editions distribution so n0t available everywhere and no longer can just buy a few. Modern stamps can be difficult to collect in mint condition. In the US most are not used on mail and difficult to soak,
It is like they are doing everything to add barriers for collecting.
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"... If stamps were printed just for postal needs, there wouldn't be that many out there (going on 700,000 or so), and the print quantities would be significantly less. Our collections would be much smaller as a result of the much higher expense to obtain stamps ..."
Disagree.
The complete disappearance of The Dunes, for example, would do no more to raise the price of US classics than their shunning has done to date.
Any urges unsatisfied by collecting the smaller ocean of different stamps might be satisfied by increased attention to differences (a/k/a minutiae) we comfortably ignore today.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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12:17:03pm
".... they get full revenue, instead of % face value. ...."
I do not understand.
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"The issue really is that these philatelic agencies are selling collectibles and people are less interested in them for variety of reasons. "
Agreed ... I went to check out their website and was surprised at the HUGE variety of collectibles. I think this may be where they went wrong. It's enough to try to keep interest in the actual stamps but no one needs 20 different stamp related key-chains.
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Dear Friends
Iceland Post, Stamp and Philatelic Department (Postphil) will be abolished at the end of this year after about 90 years in operation.
We still have two stamp issues left this year, on September 12th. and October 31st., but when they are done the department will be closed down for good and will stop serving stamp collectors, domestic and foreign, altogether.
The fact that the number of our philatelic customers have constantly been decreasing year after year has lead to years of deficit for Postphil.
Iceland Post has got a new CEO Mr. Birgir Jonsson, who is cutting down everything that is not profittable in this company, including Postphil, and that is due to the fact that Iceland Post currently has severe operating difficulties.
To-day, August 20 Iceland Post is laying off about 50 people throughout the company.
The current management of Iceland Post Ltd., prefers if possible to stop issuing new stamps altogether, but on the basis of current law, Iceland Post cannot unilaterally decide to do so.
However, there is some uncertainty as to how these matters will be handled in the future and the company is waiting for answers from it´s owner, the Icelandic state.
If the company must keep on issuing new stamps in 2020 and onward the number of new stamps will be very few each year and there will be no service for stamp collectors.
According to CEO Mr. Birgir Jonsson this task of producing and issuing new stamps could be given to outside contractors.
I will leave Iceland Post Ltd., in September after 20 years in charge of Postphil.
From October to December there will only be 3 people working at Postphil so operations will be at minimum
Kind regards,
VILHJALMUR SIGURDSSON
HEAD OF PHILATELY
POSTPHIL | ICELAND POST
TEL: +354 580 1050 | DIRECT: +354 580 1051 | MOBILE: +354 825 1051 | STAMPS.IS | facebook.com/icelandicstamps | vilhjalmurs@postur.is
STORHOFDI 29 | 110 REYKJAVIK | ICELAND | TEL: +354 580 1000 | FAX: +354 580 1059 | POSTUR.IS |
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01:34:33am
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
Stamp collectors have stopped buying/looking for new issues for many reasons. Some are:
- face values are too high
- too many stamps are being issued
- too difficult to buy/find them from the postal entities
- dealers cannot afford to stock new issues due to volume and cost
Single stamps, except for the larger countries, are a thing of the past. In an effort to raise hard currency, many countries produce only massive amounts of miniature sheets and souvenir sheets that would cost collectors hundreds of dollars to acquire. A look each month through the Linn's Monthly Update issue shows this.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
Whatever they decide wouldn't hurt me one way or another.
But it is bizarre to say that the stamp division is so unprofitable that it cannot afford to produce any new stamps in 2020. The cost of stamps has always been factored in the postage rates. Stamps were printed on watermarked paper at banknote printing facilities and still the post office survived. Now that all printing is supposedly faster and cheaper they tell us they can no longer do it.
Why not go back to printing 7 stamps a year instead of 37 and see how that model will work for them?
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
Cougar, totally agree. Collectors realize this. The problem is that collectors don't have a darn thing to say in it. These decisions are being made by corporate types, most of whom know nothing about us and seem not to care.
Iceland was one of the first countries I collected. Very sad news.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
'
Will the folks who collect Dead Countries now start collecting Iceland?
Will Iceland become the first Post-Postage country?
We're gonna need a new category.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
"
According to CEO Mr. Birgir Jonsson this task of producing and issuing new stamps could be given to outside contractors.
"
This comment to me seems they are abolishing an in house group that produces and sells stamps and looking for an outside contractor to do this. This may not mean the end of Icelandic stamps.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
I hope that you’re right angore. While I’ve collected Icelandic stamps off and on over the course of my collecting career, I have recently taken a renewed interest in them. Most of my collections end at or near 2000 but I have been considering collecting Iceland up to the present because of their conservative issuing policy. I actually found the announcement while searching for information about subscribing to their new issue service. I just hope that my Icelandic collection doesn’t end up with a definitive end date.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
"I hope that you’re right angore. While I’ve collected Icelandic stamps off and on over the course of my collecting career, I have recently taken a renewed interest in them. Most of my collections end at or near 2000 but I have been considering collecting Iceland up to the present because of their conservative issuing policy. I actually found the announcement while searching for information about subscribing to their new issue service. I just hope that my Icelandic collection doesn’t end up with a definitive end"
I am identical to you (collect Iceland, cut off at 2000, like they issue a reasonable number, have thought about extending).
This news is grim, seems like some mismanagement as well. Surely they will not end stamps forever, unless they want to shut down their postal service entirely. I can see outsourcing some/all of the functions, I don't think postal mail is quite dead yet.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
I heard that they'll soon be using US stamps!
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08:29:47am
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
No, no - that's Greenland
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
More like Chinese stamps...
About 2-3 years ago, Greenland approached Denmark about investing in infrastructure (new airport, bridges, etc.) but Denmark was not able to commit. So China stepped in and made an offer, it included maintaining ‘full control’ over all the projects and allowing other investments in Greenland’s rare earth mineral rights. Denmark and Greenland eventually backed out of the China deal due to pressure from the West. Not to be thwarted, China is now the majority shareholder in Greenland's largest mineral mining company.
Interesting side note...
Back in 1946, US President Truman made an offer to buy Greenland from Denmark. When the offer was turned down, Truman then offered to trade parts of the Point Barrow district of Alaska, including the oil and mineral rights, in exchange for parts of Greenland. Denmark turned the offer down. Years later US would make the richest oil strike in U.S. history in the same Point Barrow area that Truman had offered.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
If this means an end to wallpaper that is never postally used then I say Yay!
The post popular areas for many philatelists are stamps that worked for a living and reflect the historical eras they were in use. Sure there are exceptions like topicals, but I think it would be fabulous if stamps were only printed if there was a need.
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02:20:51am
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
Can we buy Iceland?
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
29 Aug 2019
06:53:59am
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
" ... an we buy Iceland? ..."
No need, we can just steal it fair and square as we did Arizona and New Mexico.
Puerto Rico,
The Philippines,
Cuba (fora while),
Panama Canal Zone
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05:32:36pm
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
Charlie, how could you have forgotten about Hawaii?
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
30 Aug 2019
02:58:48am
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
Yes, Hawaii, and perhaps Guam, Samoa, and Saipan, of course.
Next Greenland !
( Which will be shown to be three separate islands once all the ice melts.)
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03:51:38pm
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
" I think it would be fabulous if stamps were only printed if there was a need."
The countries printing the "wallpaper" have a need - for money.
If stamps were printed just for postal needs, there wouldn't be that many out there (going on 700,000 or so), and the print quantities would be significantly less. Our collections would be much smaller as a result of the much higher expense to obtain stamps. Double-edged sword there.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
BUT Collectors of used stamps would see a huge reduction in collecting costs. Those who purchase mint new issues would still only pay face. Dealers would be able to stock all new issues more inexpensively, so would make more of an effort to do so. If more dealers stock all the issues, collectors would have more choices of dealers to buy from and prices would remain competitive. The print quantities would have an increase as fewer issues would be available to cover needs. It is cheaper to mass print fewer issues. And collectors love low emission rate countries so more would collect those countries and buy the new issues. Think about the glut of 3c plate blocks we have now issued back in the days when the USA issued way fewer stamps which are now available below face value.
So I think these issues would be much cheaper to collect long term.
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01:32:53pm
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
Actually, today the post office is printing much smaller quantities of each stamp than "back in the day" of the low face valued stamps. Back then, almost all commemoratives had print runs of well over 100 million. The newer issues today have print runs mostly 50 million or less. Most new issues today have print runs of less than 25 million. So you're looking at a large reduction in the number of US stamps printed per issue. (Source: Scott US Specialized Catalog)
For example, considering the print runs of the 43 US commemorative stamps from Scott #5003 through #5211 (the years 2015 through June 2017), only 7 issues had print runs of 100 million or more. Of the remaining, 36 issues had print runs of less than 100 million. 23 of those had print runs of 25 million or less. (Source: Scott US Specialized Catalog)
Some countries have reduced their print runs down well below 1 million, and often below 100,000. I believe Monaco and Japan fall into this group. With much less stamps being printed, many issues are sold out at time of issue, and dealers are unable to get them. Those that do get them control the market, and the prices go up.
The cost of stamp production, advertising and retail is a big financial drain on postal systems. Post offices would like nothing better than to eliminate them. Stamp collectors do not buy enough stamps to make much of a difference (despite what stamp collectors think) in the profit/loss margins of post offices.
Old stamps bought at discount are being used in the US by many people and businesses. The post office is processing mail franked with stamps bought 3/4, and 1/2 a century ago with money that today would be worthless. New stamps are not being bought to frank mail, and those stamps go off sale with a good quantity going to the shredder. There would be a big uproar, but one of the positive things the post office could do is invalidate all non-forever stamps.
Collectors of used stamps won't benefit from anything, because stamps, for the most part, are not being used on mail. Despite what collectors think, their use of stamps on mail doesn't help the post office much if at all. People do not write letters. They send emails. People do not pay their bills through the mail. They pay online.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
https://stamps.postur.is/en/?ct=t(Newsletter_November_2017_COPY_01)&mc_cid=4cc14a7aa9&mc_eid=%255bUNIQID%255d
island stamps online ...
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
31 Aug 2019
04:43:42pm
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
" .... There would be a big uproar, but
one of the positive things the post office
could do is invalidate all non-forever stamps. ...."
It would also eliminate the revenue loss from
people using (non-forever) "skips."
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
postmasters prefer computer made postal labels to stamps, as they get full revenue, instead of % facevalue. stamps are purely philatelic overtime. in UK, machins are scarce in local POs. and fakes are cheaper 25% of 1st 2nd class rates. but, even labels are being faked... so Post offices are under pressure.
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this post
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
The issue really is that these philatelic agencies are selling collectibles and people are less interested in them for variety of reasons.
They turn out to be limited editions distribution so n0t available everywhere and no longer can just buy a few. Modern stamps can be difficult to collect in mint condition. In the US most are not used on mail and difficult to soak,
It is like they are doing everything to add barriers for collecting.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
"... If stamps were printed just for postal needs, there wouldn't be that many out there (going on 700,000 or so), and the print quantities would be significantly less. Our collections would be much smaller as a result of the much higher expense to obtain stamps ..."
Disagree.
The complete disappearance of The Dunes, for example, would do no more to raise the price of US classics than their shunning has done to date.
Any urges unsatisfied by collecting the smaller ocean of different stamps might be satisfied by increased attention to differences (a/k/a minutiae) we comfortably ignore today.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
01 Sep 2019
12:17:03pm
re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
".... they get full revenue, instead of % face value. ...."
I do not understand.
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re: An Announcement From Iceland Post Today (8-20-19)
"The issue really is that these philatelic agencies are selling collectibles and people are less interested in them for variety of reasons. "
Agreed ... I went to check out their website and was surprised at the HUGE variety of collectibles. I think this may be where they went wrong. It's enough to try to keep interest in the actual stamps but no one needs 20 different stamp related key-chains.
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