The Return Of The Imperf Press Sheets

I called exactly at 5AM PST today and they answered immediately and was done in a couple of minutes. Probably the wait times is like the wait times in any store -- randomness due to variations in demand (today's Go For Broke was the most boring issue of 2021), environmental (such as being middle of the week after Memorial Day), USPS staffing levels (maybe more people are on the phones mid-week, intentional staffing, variations due to day of week).

I'd expect commercial online stores to use real time inventory management software, but not .gov.

The USPS Philatelic Catalog 2021 Quarter 3 (Summer) is available now

https://www.usps.com/stamp-collecti..._catalog.pdf

I see that there are Tap Dance imperf ( no die cuts) panes on the market. The USPS never listed these on their web site nor did Linns have a USPS item number available like they did for the other no die cut press sheets. How is the average collector suppose to ever get these issues without buying at a very high markup on the secondary market ? The USPS needs to get their act together.

For the Tap Dance issue, I called the USPS a few days before the 7/10 Saturday release about availability. Also, had to ask about other future releases before the catalog was released.

It's really annoying the quarterly USPS philatelic catalog is released too late for "new issues". They seemingly take around 2 weeks after the quarter starts so anything released during that time is it to us to figure out.

USPS in their infinite wisdom limited the Raven Story NDC orders today to ONE (good and bad). No info on circumstances or future guidance.

crazily, now the first ebay press sheet is up at a BIN price of $999

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304086748450

You can ask whatever you want to sell something. Doesn't change the fact that it's worth $66. I am kind of ticked off that this has been allowed to happen, and the PO should fix this a la Dag Hammarskjold, and flood the availability of these issues.
They are forever stamps right???

I assume you mean the USPS should reprint these imperfs to fill the supply. Second printings often are different and lead to more varieties. Plus it is too expensive to do this after the printing which may have been 4 months or more ago. Better idea is limit one or two per address and if not sold out allow more sales. Eventually the initial printing will increase also. I don't know why they are not releasing the print quantity as they did with the 2013-15 issues.

that $999 sheet was a joke because the same seller was selling a Mystery Message sheet for $999 also.

Last year I bought someone's partial Mystic 2012-2014 Imperf Album based solely on price and didn't know they existed. It's been a weird and fun experience since.

Not a coin collector, but there might be a parallel with what is going on with the US Mint and their plethora of releases and demand (like their 2021 American Gold Eagle 1oz Proof Type 2 21EBN selling out in minutes online yesterday).

IMHO it's intentional scarcity (and interest resulting from it). Here's a simple graph based upon the Ambrose book numbers. Some of the last year issues are very expensive or difficult to find. Likely an attempt to generate continued general collector interest versus a modest financial gain from selling another widely available version of a press sheet.

I missed out on RAVEN IMPERF stamp even though I was put on hold by USPS at exactly the time they opened. On hold for 90 minutes and was told it had just sold out.

In their infinite wisdom (LOL) the postal service cut from 5 to 1 press imperf sheet per address. This has caused the value of this new issue to skyrocket because of such even distribution. Before a collector could sell one and keep one. Now if you lucked out and got an imperf pane you either keep it or sell the only one you have. Rare stamps to be rare have no overhanging supply and the stamps are locked up in collections. So to satisfy no one they have created a real scarcity since all these sheets are so well distributed. good luck to all on the lighthouses next issue - only 4 panes per sheet! If I get one I am not selling it.

Short production run for this issue? Third hand, according to a USPS customer service rep, these were printed last year and had quality control issues.

Craziness is that joke "press sheet" originally listed for $999 last Friday looks like a good deal today.

gwanghoops,
Does the decline in imperf press sheets match the decline of perforated USPS stamps issued? In other words, perhaps the decline in first class stamp production reflects the drastic decline in first class mail volume and they are cutting back production across the board?
Don

Production and printing information is available on all issues in the postal bulletin which is on line. The problem is they are not telling us the print quantities on the imperfs.

here's the % of imperf stamps vs. die cut stamps for 2012-2016. If the imperf production matched the die cut production numbers, you'd see a very broad even distribution through the years.

you can still see a downward trend especially if you look at the lower values. NOTE: there are many outlier, high and low, values (christmas stamps, special occasion, priority/express mail) with some missing data points.

Intentional scarcity and pandemic / free money / collectibles / online market are causing prices to go through the roof. Chien Shiung Wu, Droids, Heritage Breeds Sun Science, Raven Story are all >$100 while prior to the pandemic, very few panes cost that much.

Would be helpful to collectors if the USPS disclosed sold data vs quantity issued for each stamp release.