Chasing The Imperfs

I must admit that I had some fun last year chasing down all the US imperfs. However, metaphorically speaking, the "shine is off the apple" for me now. I don't intend to purchase any of the 2013 imperfs for numerous and sundry reasons. Just curious how others in SCF feel about the 2013 imperf issues.

It seems whenever I feel like actually going forth and putting the effort to acquire all the new stamp issues of a certain year, like I feel like doing this year (I guess I'm a seasonal collector), the USPS always finds a way to prohibit me from doing that.. I don't like the stamps.

But, I guess that means I just won't collect them. They haven't been given Scott numbers anyway, I believe?

This will be a hotly debatable subject for years to come. Personally, I like the idea, but the cost is just ridiculous. For the 12 issues announced thus far (until the end of March that is!), one needs to shell out $979.96 for a complete set of uncut imperf press sheets. The whole year 2013 will probably cost in excess of $2.5k...
I think USPS should make these available in single panes at least to keep the cost at a minimum for collectors. But if no one complains, they won't change anything.
Some of the previous issues have achieved significant premiums - Baseball All-Stars mixed pane, Earthscape issue. But the rest can be bought for a reasonable premium on ebay - and as single panes or stamps!
At the end of the day, USPS is a business not a charity. They know that at least 99% of imperf stamp press sheets will NOT be used for postage. That's the best thing that can happen to them...

The imperfs can be bought for a pretty reasonable price right after release on ebay, so chasing them down shouldn't be too hard. The fact that they even exist is a real annoyance to me, because I don't think they are ever going to go away. If the USPS wants to issue imperfs for collectors, that's fine, but they should be unique imperfs, not imperf varieties of existing die cut stamps.

I believe imperfs are going to be yet another "fad". Since they are not (at least not yet) being listed in the Scott catalog, I'm quite skeptical that they are going to command that much of a premium in the future.

Sure, there will always be the specialized collectors who want them, and album makers (such as Mystic) have even created stamp album pages for them, but it is up to the individual collector to select what they choose to collect.

I've mentioned before that I have no real interest in uncut press sheets. That decision was made partially due to the budget I (don't) have to spend to purchase them all. If I choose to collect only commemoratives (no definitives) or no stamp higher than perhaps $2 in face value, that's my choice, too.

Like a lot of collectors, I am excited about the upcoming Muscle Cars stamps and one person even mentioned that they were going to "splurge" and buy a Press Sheet of them at $92. I thought the same thing at first, then when I saw the immense size of that Press Sheet, I decided against it. I just don't find much pleasure in collecting items that I have to store rolled up in a box or put away in a closet. If I collect it, I want to enjoy looking at the stamps. (Not just look at the box it's stored away in.)

"Just curious how others in SCF feel about the 2013 imperf issues"
They have jumped the shark.