"Look! $2.00 Jenny"

I placed an order from Mystic Stamp (they undercut their competition on some supplies I needed, so I guess there's a first time for everything). I received the suitably beaten-up, unpadded mailing envelope today:





But something caught my eye. A label I had never seen before, in the upper-right. I moved in for a closer look:





Well, yes, Donald Sundman, you are correct. That is, in fact, a creased, poorly-centered, heavily-canceled modern $2 stamp. That I had noticed. What strikes me as utterly bizarre is that your company printed stick-on labels with arrows (almost) pointing to the stamp to draw recipients' attention to it.

Amusing. Strange, but amusing.

LOL

I also received a similar package from them with the very same arrow.

I'm a beginner and I would have been happy to receive that stamp (and the $2 tiger stamp) on a piece of mail. Centering on a stamp just mystifies me. Your stamp looks centered to me too. But I looked at the centering examples in a book, and they all look the same to me unless the perfs cut into the design.

dsmith426, I'm sure my post sounded very elitist. Of course there are people who could use that stamp for their collection; the label just tickled my funny bone.

If you'd like, send me an email (through my profile) with a mailing address, and the next time I have accumulated a small lot of used higher-denomination U.S. stamps, I'd be happy to send them to you as a gift.

In Defense of Mystic:
It's easy for established and experienced collectors collectors to make fun of Mystic. Their stamps are expensive, I guess because they spend so much on promotion. But this promotion does draw people into the hobby, and Mystic is very helpful to beginners. Sundeman sponsored my application to the APS. And if you want something in a hurry, you can call them, talk to a nice lady, and it will be in the next day's mail. This is good service, so of course you pay for it. And they have a profit sharing system that allows you to get supplies and stamps for next to nothing.

One thing I really don't like: Mystic sells stamps at considerable mark-up that are still available from the U.S.P.S. at face value.

It didn't take me long to find other dealers who sell for abt half Mystic's prices. I don't know why it took me so long to get comfortable with ebay, but I did, and I have managed some real bargains. So I don't deal so much with Mystic any more.

Regards, Don

Full disclosure: My last name is Dreisbach, not Sundeman.

Hahha! Don, your middle name is Sundeman, right?!

mcgeesorg,

Thank you for your kind offer. Email sent.

I should have a few of these $2 Jenny....postally cancelled,
on piece here. If anyone would like one....
please send me a email @ kevin 80334 at aol dot com
I shoulh have atleast 10.
No spaces in the email address.
Send name/mailing info.
I will get outto you same day...FREE!

Looks like Mystic is playing the "Jenny Lottery" as well and has some postage to use up as a result. They're likely not getting them at a discount (as compared to the rest of the stamps on the package, which are clearly discount postage), so they're probably trying to get some marketing mileage out of their increased postage costs. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

TheArtfulHinger....possible correct situation....but...
I have seen these offered as discount postage before.

Mystic is good for our hobby.