USA Philatelic Qtr-1

Okay, I just received my qtr 1 USA Philatelic Catalog from USPS. A little late and with a much different set-up from previous. My first comment is about the standard quantity -item #. Previous issues provided a block of 4 of most issues, in the New Items Section. There is not one item with a block of 4 selection (except in the back where the Richard Allen issue has a blk-4 item #). The high value items, Express mail and Priority stamps are issued only in multiples (I guess the Priority has a blk-4 in the back) and no single stamp item offered. Except for the high values, I ordered the smallest quantity. The cost for this (with FDC & DCP items) came to $193+.

Now I have 2-options for the high values: The first would be to go to the local Post Office & make a single purchase. The second would be to 'custom order' a single of each from stamp fulfillment for an extra $2.10. Have any of the members used the 'custom order' option with no significant issue or would my first option be a better/safer purchase.

It is bad enough that the minimum coils for the 10c pears is 500 @ $25 (which I think is a printing error as 500 x $.10 is $50).

Looks like I will either stop using Stamp Fulfillment for the modern collection in 2016 & begin filling in the holes via stamp shows.

Not a good business decision. Keeps the small quantity purchaser out of the store.

I absolutely agree! The USPS Store (or USA Philatelic) requires you to buy way too many stamps in order to acquire one example of each new issue. Makes me happy that I don't aspire to collect every new issue, especially since the face value of some of the new special rate stamps (Priority, Express, etc.) are now of a higher denomination than ever before. I'll try my luck at a small, customer-service-oriented post office before I waste money buying more stamps than I'll ever use from the USPS Store.

I doubt we'll ever see numbers to support my theory but I suspect that with the forthcoming rate reduction in several classes of stamps in the next couple of months, the USPS Store is going to see a considerable decline in purchases by collectors until the reduced rates are put into place.

In Canada where the panes, booklets, souvenir sheets, etc, are all coded with UPC lines for inventory control, only complete products are sold. It's impossible for a collector to buy a single stamp from a booklet and from many panes. I think that Canada Post is attempting to kill off collecting.