First. let me say, I am not making any political or social comments concerning this matter. My only concern is waste of money as far as USPS goes and how it affects us as collectors. USPS made a big deal out of these dogs and cats stamps. My question is how much money is Ellen Degeneres making off her being the mascot (pardon the pun) for these stamps. Is she getting paid big bucks? Is her pet food co. (HALO) making big bucks off of this?
(Message edited by Stampaholic on May 26, 2010)
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" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "
No, actually, Halo is putting up big bucks to contribute to shelters. Yes, Halo is getting publicity for this, but they're also doing good work. I see this as symbiotic and one of the few times that the USPS has voluntarily embarked on a compaign where real good is being done. I don't like everything about it: the pictorial cancel is way too dense, for instance, but the idea is a good one. Everyone, especially the critters, wins.
David
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"Save the USPS, buy stamps; save the hobby, use commemoratives"
President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org 26 May 2010 04:45:00pm
re: dogs and cats stamps
I'm a bit bummed by the size of these stamps. I thought they were going to be the same size as the Spay/Neuter stamps issued a few years ago. They are almost definitive sized, perhaps a little larger.
Bob
PS Also, didn't Ellen have some sort of controversy for adopting a stray and then giving to her hairdresser because the dog did not get along with her cats?
Bob, I think you're right about that dog adoption story concerning Ellen. And yes the stray dog/cat cancellation is a heavy one. Also, I think they are defins & not commems.
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" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "
I personally think this is a win-win situation not only for Ellen Degeneres and the USPS, but for our hobby as well. Despite what you may think about the size of the stamps, design etc., how often do you see postage stamps featured on the 6 O'clock news?
Cool story, cool stamps. Offhand I can think of several really stupid issues (read "waste of money") over the past couple of decades.
And perhaps coolest of all is USPS's willingness to present Degeneris in a positive, non-homophobic light (not that I'm suggesging they would have cast her a homophobic light — it's just that in a nation that seems to be dominated by right-of-far -Right conservatives, gay people are often just invisible.
As far as size of the stamps goes (I'm sure I'll be perceived as an environmental nutjob by someone), small stamps use a lot less paper and ink and gum (and even energy and chemicas)l to produce. During the Second World War, Great Britain made new printing plates which used less ink to print KGVI definitives, and South Africa reduced the size of its "War Issue" to perhaps a third of the size of the original stamps, in an effort to paper and printing costs. I have no idea whether USPS had conservation in mind, but the effect is the same regardless.
On a sort of related matter; does anyone know if Jack Potter, the PMG is related to anyone in the Ashton-Potter company? (You know, the slimeballs that print many of the stamps with non-water soluable glue.) And another thing, related to that, anyone have any info on how much more it costs to print self-adhesives than lickem-stickems'? (this was probably discussed years ago, so you must forgive an old geezer that is behind the times).
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" I have a burning love for stamps. Lord A'mighty ,feel my temperature risin'! "