USPS Stuck With 682 Million Unsold Simpsons Stamps

How did this lack of unexpected sales happen? Was it was only the fact that the price of postage jumped soon after their release?

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/au...mps-20120821


-IBFS

d'oh!

Price change was only one factor. It was also issued during the transition from "denominated" stamps to to "Forever" stamps. The newly advertised concept of buying a "Forever" stamp that would not change when postage rates changed, drew a lot more sales to the new concept than to the older denominated stamps.

While not mentioned in the report, I always found it curious that when these findings hit the news media, the Simpsons stamps were already in the process of being (or had already been) destroyed. When the general public heard of this outrage of over-supply of stamps, many patrons went to their local post office to buy Simpsons stamps only to be told they were no longer available. It seems to me that if the USPS had appealed to the public at the time that there was an over-supply problem, it may have netted additional sales, but for the general public to not hear of it until the stamps were withdrawn, made those efforts fruitless.

Further, the Simpsons stamps had a general appeal to private individuals and younger people. It was not an appropriate stamp to use on business mail, especially from those in the legal or medical professions, who intentionally did not want their business mail to look "cartoonish" to the recipient. So there again, the field of those who would use the stamps were diminished.

If it is of any consequence, the USPS did learn some lessons in inventory control from this fiasco.

This is the report you really want to read (especially Appendix C on page 13):

https://www.uspsoig.gov/foia_files/...r-12-006.pdf

Why don't they overprint the stamps with a "forever" designation..i'm certain that variant would create sales...and help unload inventory.

That's a good question.

An even better one is why the USPS destroys "forever" stamps after they've been on the market for a set period of time. If they are "forever" stamps, it seems counter-productive to destroy them, yet the USPS does exactly that every Quarter and then comes out with new "forever" stamps to replace them. They don't even let post offices sell older "forever" stamps they may have on hand after a set time frame, instead they must be returned to the USPS for destruction.

Most of us collectors have learned long ago that you can't second-guess the USPS -- what seemingly is common sense to most rational people often doesn't apply to the USPS.

I'll tell you exactly why I think the USPS doesn't do this...

Remember that "forever" stamps were created mainly so that the general public wouldn't have to buy small denomination stamps to supplement the stamps that they still had before rate hikes. But forever stamps can't really be "forever" stamps. One stamp couldn't be used for the rest of your life to mail letters. The USPS would make no money off of rate hikes, which they still need to do. That's why they print new ones every so often, and then of course for the plan to work, they would have to destroy the old ones. And charge at least an arm, but maybe a leg too, for that next book of "forever" stamps that you buy. They probably have the loss of revenue from the last set of "forever" stamps figured into the new price.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the price for a book of the same "forever" stamps increases from year to year. I see the "forever" stamp as a great way for the USPS to not charge for one stamp with a denomination on it, but to overcharge for a stamp that has no denomination on it.


-IBFS

This is so true. But I think this is a Government wide problem. Social Security, Disability and other departments seem to aimlessly thrive on the truth of this quote. I wonder some times if stupidity may be contagious within the U.S. Government.


-IBFS

Where were these problems when the 3 cent stamp was the coin of the realm ? Didn't the post office run in the black back then ?

At least they are going green.

USPS does increase the prices of Forever stamps when the rates go up. Last year's 45 cent Forever stamps can be bought for 46 cents. I believe that increases are rather automatic, so if your PO has some leftovers from last year, they will cost you 46 cents this year.
I have also been told by our PO that stamps have been "sent back" to somewhere and are no longer available. I guess they get "destroyed"! What a waste...

We are dealing with bureaucrats...today at the YMCA gym the guys were outraged to hear that a janitor that had been there forever..a good man was let go 6 months before he was eligible for lifetime health benefits. It turns out that in New York state a worker has very few rights..unless he is in a good union !!

Eh, I can see this stupidity in 'private' companies as well if they are big enough. Too many departments, no cross communication. Everyone does their own jobs without much anticipation.

Although to be honest, I want to do my marketing rant again, about the only decent way to get stamps being online of all places and paying a buck extra there. Not like anywhere else I buy stamps gives me a selection or options.

"Why don't they overprint the stamps with a "forever" designation..i'm certain that variant would create sales...and help unload inventory"

There would be a cost of recalling all the stamps and then overprinting them. Remember these are already cut down into panes and they were originally printed in web form (a long continuous roll of paper), so they would need a special setup to overprint them one pane at a time. Altogether perhaps no cheaper than printing new stamps.

Getting back to the Simpsons stamps, it frustrates me that for a few weeks I have been looking to replace a mint sheet that got torn a little, but all the ones I can find on ebay sell for 50 to 100‰ more than face value. Now I read that they have destroyed a bunch of overstock?! *frustrating*

As far as somebody sitting down and figuring the cost of destroyed stamps and adding that to the cost of new stamps...no I'm sure that doesn't happen. The cost of destroying old stamps is one of the operating costs of running the postal business...and the costs of running a postal business is the very reason that congress allows rate increases at all. In that regard, it IS part of rate increases.

If these stamps were Forever stamps, they could have just re-used them. Heck, I'm surprised they don't print FOREVER over the top of them and just re-issue them.