Used Commemoratives

philatomic, it sounds like your dentist is a collector, himself. :)

I went to the P.O. a couple weeks ago to mail two packages. The cost to mail each was almost $6 and the clerk was about to put metered Postage on them. I told her I wanted her to use actual stamps. She asked why? She did but. The story of it all is. If the P.O. is using metered postage. They are not helping their own cause. Sure if they are charging me the Stamp rate and using metered stamps they are making more money but in the long run the P. O. is hurting itself.

Tinman: I always determine the cost of postage before I enter the post office. At the post office, buy the necessary stamps, apply the stamps and only then hand the package to the clerk. A small digital scale in the home is a good friend.

In the past when asked why I use so many stamps, I just tell them that all the receivers are stamp collectors.

Stamp collecting is so far removed from the public eye that when some people learn that others collect stamps they are amazed that the hobby even exists anymore.

At my local PO, I have the best of both worlds. I live in a big city, so my PO always has a large selection of stamps. Its also a smaller community post office, (the parking lot has 4 spaces) and I see the same guy there every time I Go. Hes very friendly and always asks, "want to buy any stamps today?"

A few weeks ago I went to my local downtown post office to mail a fairly large packet of my duplicates to a fellow collector in the Netherlands. Price was $14 and some change. Told the USPS person to use stamps and I noticed a deer in the headlights look. I was filling out the customs form and noticed that she had grabbed a metered unit, too late, microseconds later it was slapped on the package. She then proceeded to ask me, "do you need any stamps?" No, I don't, I wanted them on the package. Again, that deer look.

While I turned and walked out, her final words, "you have a nice day."
I was too angry to respond.

Maybe it was too much trouble for her to wade through stamps I would of chosen.


Attention to detail would of been nice by them.

I know that using the stamps made no difference at all. What the goal should be is having you do all of this at home and mailing them yourself. The computer can print postage etc.
Tom

#1 request from ebay buyers - Please use stamps. It does make a difference.

" it sounds like your dentist is a collector, himself. :)"

No, I've asked him and he doesn't collect. He just likes to use a variety of stamps on his mail. The only collectible stamps he has are a couple of framed Looney Tunes items hanging in his office.

I remember the very first day I walked into the Post Office where I have my PO Box at, talking to myself, "nice, they display all recent commemoratives on the wall". I go to the counter, this very nice overworked clerk decorates his wall with the Flag series stamps from the 80's, probably a stamp enthusiast. Since that very day, I fell in love with this Post office compared with all the Post Offices I've seen in the Atlanta area. The clerk lets me postmark my mail when I ask for, and all handstamped mail never gets recancelled or Sharpie-d when it's sent from that Post Office.

Now, I've moved to another suburb in Atlanta, I still get mail from that Post office which is 20 minutes away and the Post Office stocks every stamp available, except Imperfs (if you consider that as a different stamp,)even when they have to be specially ordered, eg. Waves of Color, Lady Bird Johnson.

Terrence


Thank you for the nice Operina site link. I have downloaded the book recommended and will pursue this.

Fascinating calligraphy / hand-writing / cursive writing is a part of a nice cover or envelope at the very least along with a nice stamp(s) and paper and labels and markings.

A well travelled letter is a joy to receive, whether now or 100 years from the past.

Hi Puzzler,

Those old letters of long ago fascinate me as they are tangible links with our past. It is not just stamps and letters though, it can be any old object. I eat my breakfast off a small Victorian pine table (c.1860) and often think of all those men, women and children who did the same. What were their lives like?, what did they do?, what were their aspirations?.

Some on here think handwriting will disappear from our personal skills entirely. I disagree. To study and read old papers you need to be able to write to have a full appreciation of the letter forms. To make notes quickly writing beats the electronic notepad. And what about the batteries running down.? But most of all, there is the pleasure and sense of achievement to be had in being able to write in a neat, clear and legible hand. The frequently remarked "My, haven't you got nice handwriting" will always please me.

Terry

A nicely prepared cover is a joy to collect and made even better if it contains the original letter. I greatly appreciate such items and collect them to the extent they interest me and I can afford them. However, I'm one of those who believe that handwriting and related skills such as envelope and letter preparation eventually will disappear. We take these skills for granted because they have been taught to us. Drop handwriting from the school requirements and it'll be gone in a couple of generations.

When I was in elementary school there used to be a series of alphabet signs above the blackboards in nearly every classroom. These signs showed the proper way to write each letter, upper and lower cases. Up to the sixth grade we practiced writing everyday. We also learned how to formulate a letter, i.e heading, salutation, body, and closing, how to properly fold the letter to fit the size envelope at hand, and how to address the envelope and where to place the stamp.

These were such basic, and necessary, skills they were never even thought about at the time. My guess is they are not taught at all now. My wife teaches remedial English and writing at a community college and is constantly amazed at how many students cannot formulate a simple, complete sentence or write it in a legible hand. Composing and writing a paragraph is beyond the pale for them. Many have never received a personal letter let alone written one. Unfortunately, I believe cursive writing is on the way out.

I'm awaiting a novel that will be written in the text language.
Tom