Used Commemoratives

I use only commemoratives on all of my outgoing mail because that is all I buy. I order those that I like from the Kansas City online post office site. Even with the shipping fee, it's almost as economical as driving to the post office, and a lot more pleasant than standing in line and then talking to a postal clerk who may or may not have commemorative stamps in his/her stock.

Don

There was a historic post office that used to only sell stamps for mailing, but they switched to using meters because of time and money.

I got a piece of mail this month that had the Althea Gibson stamp on it. I use commeratives for everything including Parcel Post or first class mail. I get extra all the time as I don't save sheets.
Tom

I'm waiting for the Jimi Hendrix stamps to go on sale and that's what I'll be using on my mail for awhile.

Battlestamps: Then we do. Sending stamps through the mail won't make anyone want to collect them. Either people are predisposed to doing so or they are not. What catches the eye is quality and that's not the case on modern stamps. I am fully convinced that stamps, at least in the United States, are on the way out completely and honestly, considering the design and the cheap feel of them, good riddance. The Post Office has to earn my business and they have not done so. Even people in this very thread are complaining about the poor service they receive at the Post Office, I have no idea where you are, but you're the exception to a vast rule of government employees being rude, obnoxious and worthless.

I'm not trying to be negative, I'm being realistic. Just because we all collect stamps, that doesn't mean that we have to mindlessly support the industry when it stops being worth supporting. Lots of people have stopped collecting modern issues altogether. I know I have and have zero interest in anything that comes out of the stamp mill today. I have plenty to collect and I will continue to do so, but I hold no false illusions that the postal service in the United States is on it's way out in the reasonably short term, mostly of their own doing. I wish it was different, but that's just the way the world works today and it's unfortunate that there are so many collectors who would rather half-heartedly cheer for the USPS, mostly because they want to continue having something to collect, than because it has actually earned any accolades.

Cephus: I think there's a lot more collectors than you think that collect modern stamps, especially the sheer numbers of topical collectors. Not everybody cares too much about dead kings, presidents and dictators. Not everyone evens cares about engraved stamps for that matter. All of that is an opinion that's different from collector to collector and most have their niches. I've met collectors who question people who collect used stamps or if it's not perfectly centered then don't bother with it. That's all a choice. What you don't like someone else does. It's sorta like music. A lot of people hate rap music and want nothing to do with it, but then again it's extremely popular. To each their own. As for myself when I started at 7 years old, I wasn't looking at the quality of the engraving, but just the pretty pictures regardless how they were printed. I was also thrilled to get any form of stamp in the mail. Also another reason why I know modern stamps are in demand. The number one request I receive from my ebay buyers is asking me to use current commemoratives for postage.

Even on here, people are surprised by how high the prices can be on ebay for recent postally used commemorative stamps. Love them or hate them, I think they'll be around for much, much longer and people will continue to collect them. I don't see the USPS stopping any day as for them every stamp we buy and don't use is money in their pockets. Stamps are a cash cow for the USPS and there's no reason to slaughter it. The USPS would actually be doing just fine if it wasn't for Congress and prefunded benefits. Certain congressmen are acting as the wrecking crew and would love the see the postal service sold off. Luckily it's constitutionally mandated. It still doesn't stop Congress from doing as much damage as they can. Imagine if they passed the same law for the military. It would never happen and shouldn't have for the USPS.

As for the USPS, I will support it, cheer for it and fight for it. I live in eastern New York near Vermont and Massachusetts. There's a dozen different post offices within 30 minutes of me, one of which I can walk to. I find them all to be very friendly, patient and helpful even when I'm dropping off 100+ envelopes that need handstamping. They also help me when they can by asking what stamps I would like to see in future orders (all that's been hamstringed by the regional supervisors), they save me the pack cards and make sure I have amble supplies of forms and labels, especially the elusive airmail labels. They also see that I'm prepared and knowledgeable about stamps available, postage rates and rules. We treat each other with respect and all is well and you get what you sow.

The area I live is composed of small rural towns and the postal workers are also my neighbors and each office is a community center in itself as it's where I frequently see my other neighbors, make friends and even meet other stamp collectors. Thus the post office for me is not just a means of buying stamps and sending mail, but it's pillar of community and part of the social fabric. It's worth fighting for. The alternative is not pretty. Does anyone want the UPS or FedEx handling the mail? Neither can handle the volume, both are expensive and provide lousy service. Also neither are focal points in a community.

Also, I use to live in suburban areas of Maryland near D.C., Kentucky and Illinois and problems with any clerks were few and far between. Any problems were quickly resolved. Again kindness begets kindness. I don't think government workers are anymore or less rude than any other workforce.

I do know that if the USPS and stamps are no longer part of the cultural landscape then philately will suffer for the worse. The experiences of visiting post offices, sending & receiving mail and having stamps presented to one are the chances that one might become a collector. Without those experiences then the number of new collectors dwindle.

Hey,
I got my first upside down jenny on Friday! It was on the cover for my lot of covers I bought on ebay from Will at Battlestamps. I started collecting stamps when I was 7 by going through the families mail. I always use stamps and usually commemoratives for all of my outgoing mail even at my office. Several years ago when money was really tight my business partner said we could save money if I just bought regular stamps that come in rolls instead of the larger stamps that come in small sheets that I always buy. I explained to him that 41 cents was 41 cents regardless of the picture on the stamp. He did not believe me. I had to show him receipts to prove my point.
The other thing I do is I try to get a hand cancel if time allows.

The USPS has earned my business. The minute UPS or FedEx can get an envelope to just about any address in the country in 2-4 days or so for 50 cents, or one halfway around the world for a buck and a quarter - they'll have my attention. In the meantime, the USPS remains the best deal on the planet when you have to physically send something low cost and lightweight over much of a distance. Yes, there are occasional "glitches", but 99% of the time, for me anyway, things work fine and happen pretty much as expected. I wish the corporation I worked for had a track record that good.

Maybe it's the area I live in, maybe it's in how I treat others, but in one capacity or another, I've dealt with many hundreds of government workers over the past few decades. They all pretty much seem to have about the same level of rudeness and competence (or lack thereof) as people in any other line of work, and that goes for postal workers, too.

The USPS does not do that bad considering the competition. I do think they should limit stamps to just commemoratives.
It would make receiving and sending mail a lot more interesting.

Once a year I do a mailing at work and I get to use a couple hundred dollars worth of stamps on about 200 flats to mail out. I wonder if any stamp collectors wind up with them... They are sure fun to put together. The post office where I get the stamps never have the really neat stamps like the inverts but I did use a bunch of the International Globe stamps.

Hi Puzzler,

You mentioned a desire to take up handwriting again. I had the same thought over a year ago and decided to have a go. Because no pre-printed albums suited my collecting the only option for me was to go back to the old way and hand write my collection pages. Though very nice I didn't much like the look of computer designed and printed pages. And handwriting would be quicker, nicer and give that 'journal' look of the old collectors that I was after.

With a little effort anyone can improve their handwriting. Attached is an excellent free handwriting pdf. You should use this to develop your own handwriting style using the guide sheets as letter forming examples, not copying the printed styles exactly. That way you will develop neat, personal, and readable handwriting. Do have a go, it is well worth the effort.

Terry

http://www.operina.com

(download 'handwriting repair' - fifth down the list. (Or download them all.)

While I was at the post office yesterday to pick up a package I saw two people in line with real commemorative stamps on their letters/packages to be mailed. One had Johnny Cash and the other had one of the muscle car stamps.
Tom

I don't think this matters to the amount of collectors at all.

I can see the post office going away over the next 20 years when you'll pay on line, print your own postage for packages. I can see letter writing go away, texting will replace it. We can see the list of online publications growing and doing away with the physical copy.
Tom

None of those things are inherently bad though, time and technology march on whether we want them to or not. There's probably a time in the very near future that physical CDs are going to go away entirely and all music is going to be digital. Collectors of physical CDs really shouldn't be artificially propping up the marketplace because they'll lose their hobby. Clearly they will not, there are millions of CDs already on the market for them to collect. What happens today really means very little. The same is true of collectors in virtually every field, the world goes where the world goes and dealing with the reality of things, rather than the wishful thinking of how things "should be", seems to be the only real credible position to take.

When someone invents the teleporter and I can get all of my online purchases instantly without having them sent through the mail, I'll embrace that too.

Usually the only first class business mail I get that has stamps is from small local businesses, e.g. my doctor and dentist and the guy who cuts may lawn. The dentist always uses commemoratives. He also provides a return envelope for bill payments that's already franked with a commemorative. Most of the others are usually flag stamps from coils or booklets. The lawn guy sometimes uses APC stamps, and the last mailing from him was franked with an Althea Gibson stamp.