When Is The Year Of The Snake Stamp Issued?

Could anyone tell me when is the issue date of the year of the snake stamp? From usps.com it seems to be today 1/16, but I can't find a post office that has it today, and all seem to think the issue date is next week, no one knows the exact date. Thanks for helping.

https://store.usps.com/store/browse...catBuyStamps

Yes, today (1/16/2013) is the First Day of Issue of the Year of the Snake Stamp. It's been reported on USPS Facebook page and on the USPS's main website at this link:

http://about.usps.com/news/national...pr13_003.htm

If your local post office claims they don't have it or that it's not issued yet, show them the above news release or better yet, this excerpt from the 1/10/2013 Postal Bulletin. If you read down to the subtitle "Initial Supply to Post Offices" an automatic distribution to every post office nationwide was automatically to be made, so all post offices should have them:

Welcome to the forum, aspirinbottle.
Usually a new postal issue is available on the initial day of issue only in a specified city selected for the "honor". The issue then becomes available at other locations the following day. Not all post offices order the new issue immediately, so it pays to call ahead to see if a particular post office has the issue.

No longer true. Most commemorative stamps are available nationwide on the first day of issue. I didn't bother to try to purchase the Year of the Snake stamps today, but I can most always get them on the first day of issue at my local post office.

I'll admit that I've often encountered problems in getting the stamps on the first day of issue at larger post offices. More than likely their automatic distribution of stamps is stored in a vault and it is up to the post office supervisor or postmaster to make them available to window clerks to sell. If your window clerk doesn't have them, ask to speak to the Postmaster.

I find the best results are at the smaller one person post offices in rural towns. They get the same automatic distribution of new issues as they come out, too, and there's usually no need to have to wait for them to check with others up the chain of command in order to sell them at the counter.

Thanks wt1 & ncbuckeye. I still can't find the stamp from local post offices, either vault can't be opened today or haven't received it :(

I ordered the stamps online and will mail an envelope to the san francisco office to get a first day of issue postmark. Do you know if the postmark is like the ones I would get at a post office, or are they laser printed like on this envelope?

I also tried to get this at my local Post Office today, and the gentleman told me that they were on order, or that just no one has put them in the drawers yet(or something to this regard).
I had good luck on the first day for the LadyBird Johnson stamps, but I wonder if this is a common situation. I don't mind going a few days later, just as long as there is consistency.

For the Postmark question, I like to do this too, you get a handstamp. Sometimes they are fancy, often not, depending upon the issue. There is a process to get the digital postmark, but I'll leave that to someone else who has experience. I wonder if I read the bulletins right that you have to order 50?

The first day of issue postmark will just be the standard 4-bar postmark in black and white. If you prefer, you can purchase them directly from the USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services (SFS, for short) at $0.89 each at this link:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse...catC_CP_FDCs


The illustration shown earlier in this thread is a Digital Color Postmark, which is also available through SFS but an additional fee of $1.60 at this link:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse...catC_CP_DCPs

Of course, ordering stamps from SFS requires an additional $1.25 service charge, but given the costs you have to incur to service your own covers and mail them in and wait for their return in the mailstream, if you only want one or two, the extra fee may be well worth it for a perfect specimen versus one that could ultimately get damaged in the mail.

I stopped by my local branch post office this morning (1/17/2013) and asked for the Lunar New Year Stamp. They had it, of course, and I even got a free deck card. (They had plenty of them, too.):

Thanks wt1, I got the postmarked envelopes, your post office sounds awesome.

I visited my Post Office again today, even got the same clerk, none in, no postcard rate stamps either. He says they haven't gotten any of the new stuff in the stack yet.

I would find this rather strange, but it's not as strange as the national warehouse and HQ of a company also sharing the same Post Office, and instead of mailing my products to me, they DHL'd the goods 400 miles away and dropped it off at a post office there, so I am still awaiting for that for almost a week. Therefore, not getting news stamps isn't as strange in comparison now.
I need to save money anyway.

I was one town over, I had to patch a tire and like to offset such things with fun, and stopped by the PO there, sold out of these. Didn't have the new postcard ones either.
This will probably be the end of my reports for this issue as I'm giving up until I order from the center.

I wonder how popular these stamps are or how little they send out to the local post offices.

I posted so many times on this thread, I may as well give closure.

Had to stop by my PO again today, and they did just get them in. He unwrapped the stack and said only one came in. So now I'm sitting on two sheets. :)
I like the "gold" border on these issues. nice series.