Will Dcps Hold Any Collectible Value Over Time?

I've been collecting DCPs ever since the USPS introduced them a few years ago. I find them aesthetically pleasing, but they are getting increasing expensive to collect. Will they hold any value over time? Just curious about what you all think.

Whats a DCP?

Sorry, digital color postmark.

Riderontherain, Greetings:

I am pessimistic about recovering your cash investment, but I am also curious.

The Postal Bulletin is accurate, complete, and tedious.

Q/ What is the best news source for keeping-up on DCPs et al?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I'm a bit skeptical about DCP's longevity. As I understand it, they are merely produced on a color laser printer (or similar) device. Will the color stand the test of time or will they fade after a few (or few dozen) years? No one really knows as they haven't been in production all that long.

Personally, I think that anything the USPS sells as a "collectible" are produced in such vast quantities that the future value is questionable, at best. Look at first day covers as a case in point. While DCP's are priced a bit higher and are a bit more attractive looking than a four bar FDOI cancel, chances are they may be valued proportionately higher, but still have questionable worth on the secondary market.

Also, to buy DCP's from the USPS means no cachet. There are cachetmakers that produce cacheted envelopes for DCP's ... but often the cachet has to be a bit smaller than usual to accommodate the oversized DCP. Of course, adding a cachet makes them proportionately more expensive, too.

By the way, is there any published catalog that values these things?

Contact Doug Kelsey at the AFDCS Central Office. His phone number is 520-321-0880. While I find them attractive I didn't purchase them in 2013.
Tom

ikeyPikey: Personally, I simply track them by brute force. I buy them as they are announced by the USPS. I also noticed that in the past few years, the USPS has been selling complete yearly sets at year end at a slightly discounted price.




wt1: Does the USPS publish information on the quantity of DCPs produced associated with each stamp issue? Do we know how popular they are with collectors at present?




sdtom: Are you implying that you bought these things before 2013 and simply stopped doing so last year? I am facing a difficult decision as to whether to continue to collect or abandon them.

I only collect Hanukkah and Chinese Lunar New Year FDCs as a rule for my pleasure and I personally prefer the DCPs. As far as adding or holding any more value, I doubt it. In most cases I have found all modern FDC's are not worth much as far as resale- you more than likely will have a loss with the exception of a few cachet makers like Collins hand painted type, that for now seem to hold their value.

I wasn't implying anything at all. I have some in my collection of covers.
Tom

That's a good question and no, I don't know if any production numbers are ever released (I doubt it) unless, of course, someone who is cataloging these things has access to such detail.

Frankly, I'm not too concerned about production numbers, as they are not etched in stone. A lot depends on the popularity of a given issue, how many cachetmakers send them in for DCP cancels and how many uncacheted DCPs the USPS sells off of their website(s).

I do agree with Acanalizo, though, that FDCs of any type have little resale value -- except for the handpainted varieties that are truly limited editions and in high demand and therefore get a good price on the secondary market.

I haven't done any sort of analysis, but in looking at recent ebay listings, most DCPs for private resale (not USPS inventory) typically sell for $5 or less on the secondary market, with few recorded sales. There are better investments out there ... but then the same can be said for all US new issues.

Bottom line: Supply exceeds demand, so secondary market values reflect that.

What is a digital color postmark. A picture sure would help. I don't collect modern so I guess that explains my ignorance.
Is it applied by the P.O.

This explains the Digital Color Postmark ordering process and some examples of recent DCP pictorials:

http://about.usps.com/postal-bullet...info_010.htm

An example is shown below:

Not to change the subject; but You know I do watercolor and Pen & ink, I should make cachet covers. Say 10 an issue and send them to my friends..what do you think?

Collecting FDC's is a poor investment one of the worst things I can think of as far as stamps are concerned. Let's use my FDC cover of Jenny that I put up for auction recently. The cost of the stamp is $2.00, the cachet from Artcraft is $1.10, the cost of mailing including protection sleeve etc. another $1.00. I put an asking price for it at $5.00 and there wasn't one bid. I thought it unique enough because I put the stamp upside down making it right side up a novelty of sorts. Result= no bids. You need to get the word investment out of our vocabulary and we'll be okay. Unless it is something rare like the 1381 stamp signed by the commissioner you can get the majority of them right now from Artcraft for $1.00 each including postage to ship it to you.
Tom

Here's another case in point of how poor FDCs sell: I was at a bricks and mortar stamp shop awhile ago (typically more expensive than ebay) and they had a clean, unaddressed and cacheted $1 Seaplane Stamp (Scott 2468) FDC (SCV $3) in their 50c box of clearance covers. Less than 20% of CV, not to mention half the value of the postage alone and not considering any of value of what the cacheted cover must have cost up front. A loss on all accounts. (Probably just looking to clear out a purchase of FDCs that were bought for pennies on the dollar.)

But they can be very pretty to look at and enjoy having in your collection.
Tom