Canada Post's Jokes Of The 4th Quarter ( Winter )

Canada Post's Joke of the 3rd Quarter (Autumn) was the issuance of the CFL stamps (nine 10 stamp booklets, eight 50 stamp coils, one 8 stamp souvenir sheet, one 9 stamp special pane and 10 OFDCs).

Today, I received the October to December 2012 DETAILS magazine, which revealed the two 4th. Quarter jokes on the world's collectors.

Joke #1 is actually funny only when you realize that it is the true lead-in to Joke #2.

It's the classic "Bait and Switch" tactic.


JOKE #1 - The "Bait" - the issuance on October 16th of a three stamp souvenir sheet "aimed at young, beginning collectors" containing previously issued Beneficial Insect stamps - the 3 cent Golden-eyed Lacewing, the 4 cent Paper Wasp and the 8 cent Margined leatherwing. This makes sense, a fifteen cent souvenir sheet that any young collector can afford and obtain easily. I can see that it would encourage our youth to collect Canadian stamps.

and then:

JOKE #2 - the "Switch"- the issuance on November 5, 2012 of Picture Postage stamps in four configurations and in four different face values.

Using the production and descriptive information contained in the magazine, here's what I've written for my personally created album pages.

"Canadians now have greater diversity in choosing their own personalized Picture Postage stamps. For the first time, Canada Post issued Picture Postage stamps in United States ($1.05), Overweight ($1.29) and International ($1.80) rate values in addition to the standard permanent domestic rate ($0.61). As an additional first, Canada Post recognized the needs of the general public by issuing the permanent domestic rate stamp in a twelve stamp booklet.

Printed in four colour process by Lowe-Martin on Tullis Russell Coatings paper with pressure-sensitive gum in a twelve stamp Collectors Pack (Issued: 10,000), a sheet of 25 + 1 stamps (Issued: unknown), a sheet of fifty stamps (Issued: unknown), a twelve stamp booklet (Issued: unknown), post cards (Issued: unknown), greeting cards (Issued: unknown), invitations (Issued: unknown) and envelopes (Issued: unknown)."

This Picture Postage massive issue now prohibits youth from collecting as booklets can not be split up in order to sell individual stamps from them. Oh sure, they can buy the twelve stamp Collector's Pack of the domestic 61 cent stamps, but can't buy any United States, Overweight or International stamps without buying complete booklets of each.

Assuming the issuance of each denomination in all four formats, the total cost will be $470.25, plus 13% HST in Ontario ($61.13) for a grand total of $531.38.

Oh, and this doesn't take into consideration that there are twelve varieties of each of the Picture Postage stamps - that's 12 booklets of United States stamps, 12 booklets of Overweight stamps, 12 booklets of International stamps. - Oh well, you get the "PICTURE".

And the above "Grand Total" does not included privately-created or Official First Day Covers, Canada Post produced customized post cards and greeting cards, (November 5th.) or invitations and envelopes (January 2013).

I ordered both =)

Hi BlackJag,

Royal mail have been pulling that sort of wheeze on UK collectors for years by issuing increasing numbers of new stamp sets in all sorts of options; presentation packs, press packs, mini sheets and so on, feeding off the completionist collectors' desire to have every possible option. When we go to the post office we get a printed label stuck on our packets and letters. Some of the small post offices do have limited supplies of stamps to stick on letters, but in most you have to ask for them specifically. This raises a question about these issues being bona fide postage stamps, or just specially produced "collectors items". Many UK dealers have now stopped handling these and increasing numbers of UK collectors are no longer collecting modern GB stamps. I calculated one year's issues in all options would have cost me close to £1000 (around $1642). This is surely madness. I could buy a good selection of classic GB or US stamps for that amount of huckleberries. I see a possibility here of genuine postally used modern GB stamps bearing a clear, neat cancel ultimately being worth far more than these "collectors' items". There will certainly be fewer of them.

Terry

BlackJag:

Take a closer look at the stamps; there are actually 24 designs (12 portrait and 12 landscape).

So 12 designs x 2 orientations x 4 denominations x 3 formats. Have fun with the greater than $12,000.00 price tag on these (at today's rates).

See the already started discussion of these titled "Picture Postage(tm) ReDesigned".

studystamps:

You're right !

I hadn't noticed that the Collectors Pack stamps are portrait, whereas the stamps on the two OFDCs are landscape.

This year is my swan song for attempting to keep up to date with new releases from CP. Even a blind person could see what they have been up to despite their comments about encouraging budding collectors to spend their paper route dollars with them. I will need a second job just to finish out this final year, the paper route money won't cut it.