Buying Blocks Of 4 From Stamp Fulfillment

Maybe I'm too picky on what are essentially mass produced album fillers unlikely to ever have philatelic merit but ...

Since I can't afford to buy a pane of every new issue, I get blocks of 4, usually for a single for an album. If I had a pane, I would neatly trim the backing after removing surrounding stamps; however, with a block of 4, at least one side will have been separated by USPS.

Note the 65c Baltimore Checkerspot shown. The USPS removed backing exposes nearly all the tips with some very slight damage to a few.

How do you address this issue or is it simply not worth worrying about?

Yeah, no surprises there. You might try haunting a few local post offices and see if you can find blocks that still have the rest of the sheet still attached.

I have that happen many times, even on stamps that I purchase at a local post office and separate myself. The situation occurs because the USPS printer not only provided die cut perforations of the stamp, but they included a fine perforation score on the backing sheet of the stamps (see your second illustration for the best example) to provide for easier stamp separation.

Of course, for stamp collectors, it becomes a bit of a problem as the stamps cannot be separated individually without the die cut perforations no longer hitting the backing paper.

Could it be a problem for collectors looking for a true perfect example of a stamp? Yes. But as a practical matter the volume of stamps issued on these modern self adhesives are so vast that it will likely never affect values (as the material isn't going to be worth much over face value to begin with).

On the other hand, if perfection is demanded, you could always buy a larger multiple and remove the stamps on the four sides of the one you select to keep for your collection and carefully trim the backing paper so that enough of it overlaps the stamp to ensure that all of the die cut perforations are not exposed.

The USPS is probably looking at it as a convenience for 2nd oz. surcharge stamp users, but it does present issues that become yet another "pain in the neck" for US stamp collectors.

So ... not worth the trouble to worry about, as I suspected. How do most people save stamps from, for example, the block of 4 provided here? A single, a PNS, a block of 4 with PN? Interesting the USPS went to the trouble of removing the bottom selvadge. Many of my blocks of 4 from them actually come as plate blocks.

I save singles, unless, they are a se-tenant. I personally see no value in any kind of selvage without descriptive text. But that's just me.