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United States/Stamps : US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

 

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larsdog
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APS #220693 ATA#57179

24 Mar 2014
11:35:52pm
I didn't see this topic listed anywhere so I will mention it. Sorry if you already know this, but another deathblow has been dealt to first class postage stamps! I received a metered cover today that had 48 cents postage. I thought it was an error, but I checked the USPS web site and sure enough, metered mail is 48 cents but a stamp is 49 cents. I called an office in town that I know sends out a lot of metered mail and they said this last price hike was the first time they got a price break from the normal first class stamp rate. I additionally note that everything in my PO Box today was either metered or bulk rate printed on the cover (not even a bulk rate stamp).

I don't object to this pricing policy. USPS is not obligated to make business decisions based on the wishes of philatelists, but it seems they are prematurely sacrificing the cash cow we represent if they don't reign in the number of Commemoratives issued each year. I had previously decided to end my Commemorative collection at the end of 2016 and this latest move simply reinforces that decision. I would be tempted to end it in 2013 if it weren't for the Civil War issues and the 2016 Expo Souvenir Sheet.

I won't stop collecting, but I will stop collecting Commemoratives because they really aren't POSTAGE stamps any more. I can't remember seeing a single non-holiday commemorative on cover, other than decorated covers from philatelists, in the past 2 or 3 years. Commemoratives are more souvenirs than postage stamps, hence the uncut press sheets! I may make an exception for special occasion stamps like Eid, Hanukkah, Christmas, Love, Chinese New Year, and Celebrate stamps. I actually do see them on an envelope from time to time. I will still collect the Medal of Honor stamps, and definitives that are part of an existing series. I also plan to collect Airmail (now Global Mail) and BOB (Priority, Express, and semi-postal), but I will soon begin the countdown to the last 1000 days of Commemoratives for my collection. It's really quite liberating. I have been fascinated by so many ancillary areas like postal history, CSA, revenues, and others that I look forward to having the time and financial resources to spend more time there once I shut down most modern collecting.

Lars
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smauggie
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25 Mar 2014
08:18:12am
re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Certainly from a commercial mail perspective that is correct, but meters have been cheaper than stamps even without the rate reduction in cases where you are dealing with a large batch of envelopes.

Most personal mail (what there is of it) will still need to be stamped.

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amsd
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Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads

25 Mar 2014
08:20:57am

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re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Lars,

working in an office, I noticed the price discrepancy immediately. I also noticed that Liz posted the international Canadian rates, which also has a stamp/meter/indicum discrepancy.

I don't think the penny difference will make a difference in the continued dominance of meters on any mail still sent. It's convenience, not price, that dictates, and here convenience is solely the postal clerk's, which it was before this price differential reared its head.

On the other matter, I couldn't agree more: commemoratives have essentially failed to serve to a purpose other than to lure collectors. They are not used by people other than collectors and, thanks Mom, their relatives. I have yet to complete either Greetings set on cover, although I have most. I have not seen a single Harry Potter stamp used on cover yet, and most of the baseball commemoratives (Doby, Joe Di, Stan, and Willy) that I've seen are from imperf sheets. Imagine that.

I long ago gave up collecting mint, except where the expectation is that i'll never get the set used or when the intact mint can't be replicated, and even that is haphazard.

I used to collect PNCs and Plate Blocks, but changes in USPS production and issuance rules made those non-viable for new issues, and, rather than creating an arbitrary (or not) end date, I just abandoned them. Many are still around, and i'll either slowly add them to my collection or use for postage.

I think a large part of my interest in covers is my growing disinterest in the stamps. I haven't fully reconciled this, and, unlike you, have no plan in place.

Thanks for pointing out the price discrepancy between stamps and meters; it's the sort of thing that could easily go unnoticed by many, even though it's right there, and some of us already take it for granted.

David

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I still have more questions than answers

25 Mar 2014
08:58:27am
re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Does the post office really even look at the stamps on an envelope anymore? I know this is somewhat unrelated, but my point is I don't think the rate matters that much these days.I get items from other collectors or dealers several times a week. The majority of them use old stamps. It is uncommon for me to get something with one current stamp. It is much more likely to have several stamps. I don't think anyone at the post office bothers to add up to see if the proper rate was used when multiples of older stamps are on an envelope. It is very common for things to come that are short of the current rate and there is never postage due. We either use old mint stamps that we over bought or we buy "discount postage". There are so many ways the post office misses out on revenue these days. The biggest deathblow to the post office has nothing to do with any of this. It is all about how their pension plan is structured and how much they are required to put into reserves. We collectors are such a minor consideration to them. They have much bigger problems to deal with.

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amsd
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Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads

25 Mar 2014
10:10:05am

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re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Pat, you are correct about the retirement funding as the real financial culprit in the USPS demise. You may thank Congress, again, for yet another wound where no none needed be.


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CapeStampMan
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Mike

25 Mar 2014
02:24:54pm
re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

In MHO. I think the USPS gave up concern for collector's a few years ago, they are more interested in people that will hoard "Forever" and sheets of stamps and never use them for postage, which is basically the same thing the Treasury bureau did when they started issuing "state quarters" and all others of that ilk. Both are efforts of futility, because many people are posting letters with the old stamps, from the 1950's and '60's and later, just like they will eventually start spending those quarters and other coins someday.

The stamps from the first century of stamps are already the biggest survivors of interest to keep stamp collecting alive, not this "wallpaper" most countries issue now, which is also MHO.

Mike

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larsdog
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APS #220693 ATA#57179

25 Mar 2014
04:03:41pm
re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Mike,

I agree about the Commemoratives, but the State Quarters series is what got me back into coin collecting after a very long absence. You can find every state in circulation and it really attracted a lot of new collectors. After the success of the State Quarters they just couldn't resist and started the Presidential Dollars, but those you can't find in circulation. They don't even issue most half dollars into circulation, but they are certainly in the Mint Sets they issue every year! Now they are issuing America the Beautiful quarters, so there is no end in sight. I feel the same about mint coins that aren't even released into circulation as Commemoratives that are rarely used to deliver mail. They just don't seem to belong in a collection, somehow.

Lars

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Author/Postings
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larsdog

APS #220693 ATA#57179
24 Mar 2014
11:35:52pm

I didn't see this topic listed anywhere so I will mention it. Sorry if you already know this, but another deathblow has been dealt to first class postage stamps! I received a metered cover today that had 48 cents postage. I thought it was an error, but I checked the USPS web site and sure enough, metered mail is 48 cents but a stamp is 49 cents. I called an office in town that I know sends out a lot of metered mail and they said this last price hike was the first time they got a price break from the normal first class stamp rate. I additionally note that everything in my PO Box today was either metered or bulk rate printed on the cover (not even a bulk rate stamp).

I don't object to this pricing policy. USPS is not obligated to make business decisions based on the wishes of philatelists, but it seems they are prematurely sacrificing the cash cow we represent if they don't reign in the number of Commemoratives issued each year. I had previously decided to end my Commemorative collection at the end of 2016 and this latest move simply reinforces that decision. I would be tempted to end it in 2013 if it weren't for the Civil War issues and the 2016 Expo Souvenir Sheet.

I won't stop collecting, but I will stop collecting Commemoratives because they really aren't POSTAGE stamps any more. I can't remember seeing a single non-holiday commemorative on cover, other than decorated covers from philatelists, in the past 2 or 3 years. Commemoratives are more souvenirs than postage stamps, hence the uncut press sheets! I may make an exception for special occasion stamps like Eid, Hanukkah, Christmas, Love, Chinese New Year, and Celebrate stamps. I actually do see them on an envelope from time to time. I will still collect the Medal of Honor stamps, and definitives that are part of an existing series. I also plan to collect Airmail (now Global Mail) and BOB (Priority, Express, and semi-postal), but I will soon begin the countdown to the last 1000 days of Commemoratives for my collection. It's really quite liberating. I have been fascinated by so many ancillary areas like postal history, CSA, revenues, and others that I look forward to having the time and financial resources to spend more time there once I shut down most modern collecting.

Lars

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this post

"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."

stamps.colp.info
Members Picture
smauggie

25 Mar 2014
08:18:12am

re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Certainly from a commercial mail perspective that is correct, but meters have been cheaper than stamps even without the rate reduction in cases where you are dealing with a large batch of envelopes.

Most personal mail (what there is of it) will still need to be stamped.

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canalzonepostalhisto ...
Members Picture
amsd

Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
25 Mar 2014
08:20:57am

Auctions

re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Lars,

working in an office, I noticed the price discrepancy immediately. I also noticed that Liz posted the international Canadian rates, which also has a stamp/meter/indicum discrepancy.

I don't think the penny difference will make a difference in the continued dominance of meters on any mail still sent. It's convenience, not price, that dictates, and here convenience is solely the postal clerk's, which it was before this price differential reared its head.

On the other matter, I couldn't agree more: commemoratives have essentially failed to serve to a purpose other than to lure collectors. They are not used by people other than collectors and, thanks Mom, their relatives. I have yet to complete either Greetings set on cover, although I have most. I have not seen a single Harry Potter stamp used on cover yet, and most of the baseball commemoratives (Doby, Joe Di, Stan, and Willy) that I've seen are from imperf sheets. Imagine that.

I long ago gave up collecting mint, except where the expectation is that i'll never get the set used or when the intact mint can't be replicated, and even that is haphazard.

I used to collect PNCs and Plate Blocks, but changes in USPS production and issuance rules made those non-viable for new issues, and, rather than creating an arbitrary (or not) end date, I just abandoned them. Many are still around, and i'll either slowly add them to my collection or use for postage.

I think a large part of my interest in covers is my growing disinterest in the stamps. I haven't fully reconciled this, and, unlike you, have no plan in place.

Thanks for pointing out the price discrepancy between stamps and meters; it's the sort of thing that could easily go unnoticed by many, even though it's right there, and some of us already take it for granted.

David

Like
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this post

"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"

juicyheads.com/link. ...
Members Picture
postmarks

I still have more questions than answers
25 Mar 2014
08:58:27am

re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Does the post office really even look at the stamps on an envelope anymore? I know this is somewhat unrelated, but my point is I don't think the rate matters that much these days.I get items from other collectors or dealers several times a week. The majority of them use old stamps. It is uncommon for me to get something with one current stamp. It is much more likely to have several stamps. I don't think anyone at the post office bothers to add up to see if the proper rate was used when multiples of older stamps are on an envelope. It is very common for things to come that are short of the current rate and there is never postage due. We either use old mint stamps that we over bought or we buy "discount postage". There are so many ways the post office misses out on revenue these days. The biggest deathblow to the post office has nothing to do with any of this. It is all about how their pension plan is structured and how much they are required to put into reserves. We collectors are such a minor consideration to them. They have much bigger problems to deal with.

Like
Login to Like
this post

pjsstamps.blogspot.c ...
Members Picture
amsd

Editor, Seal News; contributor, JuicyHeads
25 Mar 2014
10:10:05am

Auctions

re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Pat, you are correct about the retirement funding as the real financial culprit in the USPS demise. You may thank Congress, again, for yet another wound where no none needed be.


Like
Login to Like
this post

"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"

juicyheads.com/link. ...
Members Picture
CapeStampMan

Mike
25 Mar 2014
02:24:54pm

re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

In MHO. I think the USPS gave up concern for collector's a few years ago, they are more interested in people that will hoard "Forever" and sheets of stamps and never use them for postage, which is basically the same thing the Treasury bureau did when they started issuing "state quarters" and all others of that ilk. Both are efforts of futility, because many people are posting letters with the old stamps, from the 1950's and '60's and later, just like they will eventually start spending those quarters and other coins someday.

The stamps from the first century of stamps are already the biggest survivors of interest to keep stamp collecting alive, not this "wallpaper" most countries issue now, which is also MHO.

Mike

Like
Login to Like
this post

"It's been 7 years now, since I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet..."
Members Picture
larsdog

APS #220693 ATA#57179
25 Mar 2014
04:03:41pm

re: US metered mail cheaper - another deathblow to stamps!!!

Mike,

I agree about the Commemoratives, but the State Quarters series is what got me back into coin collecting after a very long absence. You can find every state in circulation and it really attracted a lot of new collectors. After the success of the State Quarters they just couldn't resist and started the Presidential Dollars, but those you can't find in circulation. They don't even issue most half dollars into circulation, but they are certainly in the Mint Sets they issue every year! Now they are issuing America the Beautiful quarters, so there is no end in sight. I feel the same about mint coins that aren't even released into circulation as Commemoratives that are rarely used to deliver mail. They just don't seem to belong in a collection, somehow.

Lars

Like
Login to Like
this post

"Expanding your knowledge faster than your collection can save you a few bucks."

stamps.colp.info
        

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