Former PMG Resigns From Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee

An interesting read about Former PMG Benjamin Bailar's resignation from the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, as it appears in Linn's Stamp News:

http://linns.com/news/breaking-stam...ot-be-needed

I may not be as eloquent in my vocabulary but most of his points are well taken and mirror my own as to the future of the US Stamp Program, specifically:

Interesting topic for debate!

In my opinion, no great loss. "Pursuit of profit" is such a basic concept that it shouldn't even be questioned, especially for an entity with financial difficulties.

And what is wrong with trying to attract new stamp collectors in the process of issuing stamps? Of course you need attractive (and relevant to modern culture!) stamps. Is this the type of stamp (thanks to IBS for the image) he is referring to that "communicates" to a modern world wide audience? I hope not.



A Harry Potter or Batman stamp however has appeal to many. But no matter what, if this committee doesn't keep up with the times, it will have no relevance in any event.

Well, the USPS can and should do what it feels is necessary for the stamp program or anything else. If anyone doubts the popularity of the Harry Potter stamps, just take a look at how much used examples go for on ebay - i.e. almost face value. I love using them for SASE's because it's almost like getting free postage.

I very much disagree. Pursuit of profit does no moral good and promotes no virtues. There is an identity crisis at the heart of the USPS which money alone will not resolve.

I personally don't want lillypads & lighthouses on cheap sticker paper in my albums. A nicely engraved president or prominent American would do nicely and the proof IS in the pudding just look at your front of the book material and how desirable they now are but having said hat I also must agree with Smauggie because they are a business and need to make at least their overhead back before any profit can even be entertained and I believe therein lies part/most of the problem.

I hate to say it but it seems to me that stamp sales cannot fix issues such as the US Postal Service having to fund its employee benefits into the future (and other Congressional mandates) or the fact that mail volume is dropping and will continue to do so. That is like saying drive-in movies would have survived if they had only increased the size or number of theaters.
Don

Stamp sales and which issues get stamps is effectively rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The revenue dollars involved are a pittance compared to the real USPS woes (prefunding, dropping volumes, existing union contracts).




No, I'm sorry but the proof isn't. Not until you go back 80+ years. There are virtually no letter-rate stamps issued in the last 80 years that are worth significantly more than face value, REGARDLESS of subject.

The actual cutoff is 1940. That is the point where first class rate stamps begin to have a real value, however minimal.
As for the designs, my experience is that the personal tastes and political views of any collector are the only determining factors when discussing what types of designs are acceptable to them. Since the PO can't please everyone anyway, they should be issuing a very wide range of designs on both serious and fun subjects. That is the only way to try to reflect the real nation.

Such as paying $30,000 as an "inducement" to someone to accept a $192,500 accounting VP job who has held 4 different positions in the past 5 years? Defies all logic.

http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/fi...-20-2014.pdf

Wait just a minute. Are you saying my 29c Elvis stamps are NOT worth $100 each??? (LOL, yes, I've had that telephone conversation.)

Yeah... but it could be worse... at least those were only purchased at face value.

REAL insanity is quarter and dollar coins with color stickers and/or silver/gold plating on them commemorating a certain presidential inauguration, sold by TV shopping channels at ludicrous prices, preying upon a certain demographic. (I'm trying to be accurate without getting political, and yes, some of the presentations were shameless in their targeting.)

Seeing people who paid $10-50 PER COIN being told they are only worth face value ($0.25 or $1) and that they might as well spend them at the store is cringeworthy. Unfortunately, more often than not, they think the person now giving them the information is the one ripping them off rather than the party who originally sold them the garbage, promising scarcity and collectibility.

Bleagh.

As much as I despise celebs on stamps, I do not think that stamp aesthetics (subject, design, etc) have much of an impact on the price of those stamps when a) incomes after 1940 were high enough that zillions of folks could stash away mint sheets out of pocket change and, b) printing volumes were typically, if memory serves, 110-140 million per issue. You could put a classic painting of The Virgin Mother on a stamp - in fact, they did, time & again - and the resale value of the stamps years later would still be next-to-nothing.

There are some tastes - what a stamp should look like, what a married couple should look like - that we acquire before we are aware of them. Thankfully, sticking to our 'what a stamp should look like' guns won't cost us any friends or relatives.

Art: "... using [HP stamps] for SASE's ..." reminds me of Voltaire: "Hell is guests with breakfast."

PS: celebs on stamps are good for PostXing, but the celeb I use is Katherine Hepburn ;)

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

"There are some tastes - what a stamp should look like, what a married couple should look like - that we acquire before we are aware of them".

We do NOT "acquire them before we are aware of them".
What we acquire is the point of view of our parents and other adults who visit. There is no law natural or governmental that says we cannot learn to think for ourselves as we age. As adults ourselves we may agree or disagree with those early opinions, but only the laziest people would simply accept those early views on anything without thinking about them.

As I sheepishly raise my hand to express my opinion: The National Parks Issue, such as the Okefenokee Swamp with lilies above is a good example of "... celebrate the things that are great about the United States ...." I find it and all of this particular issue not only relevant but also attractive. The Harry Potter issue, although attractive and popular, is in reality not at all a part of US history; it is 100% British.

We issued a stamp for Shakespeare, and everything he wrote was long before the US even existed. Should we not have issued it? Or Mexican Independence? Or any of the Champions of Liberty series, none of them was an American. Not every stamp has to be 100% American.
Millions of people here in the US love the Harry Potter series with a passion, and that makes it relevant. Popular is the key word.

Amen.