Personalized Stamps: Where Do They Fit, In Stamp Collecting?

I looked through Zazzles site but couldn't find anything stated outright. I didn't go further and ask customer service though.

Maybe it is just the Photo Stamps dot come guys that do not pass international rules or something.

Puzzler,
That list is hugely misleading, and should be taken with a pinch of salt. Great Britain have never issued any personalised stamps. The reference to 'with a Tab' [seen by most countries] is merely an addition to a regular stamp and have no premium over the types from Canada and elsewhere. They come in sheets and generally come under the banner "Personalise your stamps" referring to the attached label.
But these are NOT personalised stamps, merely personalising your stamps. I am sure tha same can be said for many countries on that list, including Israel who offer the same service.

In Israel, the only opportunity to have made a truly personalised stamp was at the 4-day 'Telabul' Exhibition in Tel Aviv,May 2004. Each design was printed in a maximum of 2 sheets [2x20 stamps] and these are highly sought after by collectors of Israel stamps.
Israel post kept records and scans of all designs and they have never been made available to the public.
Single stamps can sell for a few hundred $$$$$, whole sheets for $1,000 or more. I made my three designs for personal use and gifts and did not think about investment or cashback. That was my mistake !

I have been offered a few hundred $$$$ for the stamp in my avatar and one on cover [postally used], but as they are the only ones I have left, they will remain with me !

PS. I thought a zazzle was a postage label?

More later.

Londonbus1

Not according to the USPS web page posted earlier. I read it to mean that ALL personalized photo stamps may be used for domestic mail ONLY (no international mail). It doesn't mean that some may fall through the cracks and get delivered anyway, but I suspect it has something to do with other countries not recognizing the vendors of non-USPS issued stamps.

Here's another interesting tidbit:

I read a brief comment in a Wiki explanation of "Mail" suggesting that personalized postage, such as that issued by Zazzle, is viewed by postal authorities as a form of meter stamp and therefore does not meet the requirements of a stamp that has to be postmarked. In other words, it's perfectly acceptable for a personalized stamp to arrive at its destination not bearing any cancellation whatsoever, similar to what you would see when a cover arrives with a meter franking.

The Wiki explanation was correct, hence my question in my previous post. Zazzle is a Pitney Bowes personalised Meter Label and should not be confused with personalised stamps.

Personalised stamps should have Water-activated gum and be issued by the Postal service not from a machine with all avlaues possible. These should be classed as labels.

Londonbus1

I agree actually.

It was not produced by me but by a personalized stamps (and stamps with labels) collector, a new member, casselo, that I borrowed from this post: https://goscf.com/t/5665&whichpage=2#169176 .

But, I must add, to an avid collector of anything personalized and stamp related, while stamps personalized themselves are the ideal to collect, stamps with a personalized label attached are the next best thing and closest to real personalized stamps that a country was willing to go towards.

They are all collectible.

I will add a further sentence or two to the post with the list to help clarify.

Agreed. They issued the Smiler's sheets which have either Royal Mail designed labels attached or personalized labels attached.

Stamp collectors and searchers on ebay and in shops and at shows can be easily confused by the terminology used by each individual seller.

Sheets and stamps with labels from these sheets are called personalized either by misunderstanding and mistake or intentionally as a form of misleading advertising to draw in the personalized stamp collector.

It becomes easier to just say personal instead of personalized stamp or personalized label attached to a stamp. Language in evolution in action.

One interesting note in regards to attached labels is that some countries (France and Australia come to mind immediately) have initially issued stamps with personalized labels attached for a number of years but now have changed to issuing personalized stamps with no labels.

The Wikipedia article quote mentioned by WT1 and referred to by Londonbus1:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail





As shown by the above stamps, borrowed by another post, the actual part of the stamp that the post office machines pay attention to is the black and white fancy bar code and denomination.

Other parts of the stamp, the background and the picture area can be coloured by choosing from 216 colours, enough to make a picture or none at all as seen on the bottom stamp.

Thus, in fact, a stamp with similar properties to a machine label, but coloured to look close enough to a stamp.



Canada, Australia and France to name three have self-adhesive persoanlized stamps issued in sheets of 20 or so. They are not issued from a machine. Now are Zazzle, which are issued in sheets of 12 or more I think and are self-adhesive.

The 'all values possible' option available from Zazzle and other US personalized stamps (machine labels) does make it very similar to machine labels in that respect.

I think that you are correct on this Londonbus1. US personalized stamps are label-like in their use and processing by post offices.


I think it is just that as a collector who likes the personalized aspect of the stamp-like labels thay do seem attractive and stamp-like enough (and with a personalized picture or logo or message, that the distinction between stamp and label begins to blur.

Probably, in fact, all personalized stamps even should be considered as labels. the actual stamp part is the border on Canada or France stamps and the personalized picture part is just that. On new Australia and Tuvalu it is roughly the same with a stamp part and a picture added (if desired) part.

I don't think the intention was to imply such. Just to have a portion on the actual stamp personalized or to have a se-tenant label personalized is all.



I do wish that Canada was like this but it is not.

How were the stamps recorded? Are they in a catalogue somehow? I mean is each sheet made listed? Is this why they are so much?

Why aren't Canad'a sheets of 21 stamps valued like this?

Scanstamps, I like your thoughts about the yearning for that which is lost. I don't think I view stamps that way (now) but perhaps I did when younger or will at a time yet to come.

Selling is actually be friendly with people and helping them get what they want ( and also you can convince them they need too).


As to Zazzle, I looked at their site dot com instead of dot ca (duh) and found this is stamp info:


following along with WT1 said.

They do not actually say on the site anywhere that their postage can or can not be used on international mailings.

All they do say is a very detailed explanation of jow to use the stamps, and how they would look, on domestic mail.

Hi, everybody!
Interesting points of view here, in all diversity.

Hi DC3, welcome!

Hello,

I got this stamp (??) but I don't know what it is it.
It has a personalized label at left. To the right side has a flower bouquet sticker on "stamp"( like the first Canada personalized stamps).
No indication about postage value. The letter seems to be circulated.
Is it a fake?

Hello casselo,

It is not a Canada stamp or personalized stick-on-label stamp, to start with.

Both the bottom photo part and the stick on flower part have perforations that indicate it is a self-adhesive type of label / stamp.

It is Not a postage stamp as No denomination is stated either on the bottom or top label. Canada has 'For Domestic Use' and USA has 'Forever' or a denomination on it.

Maybe looks like a business promotion sticker with a postal non-postage-stamp label from a sheet stuck on over it, because of the micro-printing year date on the flowers.

Looks like it snuck through the mail and got canceled anyway. It does look nice.