D'oh! U.S. Postal Service stuck with 682 million Simpsons stamps

By Bloomberg News ^ | August 21, 2012

[SMGFan]

The money-losing U.S. Postal Service guessed that TV cartoon character Homer Simpson and his family were twice as popular as Elvis Presley when it came to sales of commemorative stamps.

As Homer would say, “D’oh!” In a move that wasted $1.2 million in printing costs, the service produced 1 billion of “The Simpsons” stamps and sold 318 million.

[Dr. Sivana]

One over issue of stamps would be a mistake, but it looks like most of the special issue stamps are over produced.

I find that they always run out of the Reagan stamps, and also the religious (Nativity Scene) Christmas stamps.

[Track9]

When are the Baraq & MooseChelle series stamps released?

They were already issued but they didn't stick.. everyone was spitting on the wrong side.

[muawiyah]

Glad you brought this one up. This happened with the Cape Hattaras Stamp many moons back. Insiders conspired to pull out and set aside Blocks of Four with plate block numbers ~ those suckers were worth over $6.00 per block on the collector's market ~ which is incredible for anything with just 4 cents postage showing!

They got caught. High officials were removed. I guess some plea bargaining got back all the plate blocks and folks just walked away from the embarassment although the stamp collecting kit had Cape Hattaras blocks of four in it for years afterwards.

Could be the overproduction served to cover up some select production used to enrich insiders with plate blocks.

Might look at that problem.

Stupid IG couldn't find his butt with his hands in his pockets so I may have to call him and remind him how this trick is done ~ and it ain't with smoke and mirrors.

[KarlInOhio]

Australia has been issuing stamps of their gold medalists in the olympics and many other living persons.

How about print on demand stamps of the customer at the Post Office counter? I call this extra-rare issue "annoyed balding guy looking at idiot government employees".

Pretty sure there are some stamps out there for 0. Kenya could at least be a plausible issuer though.

I thought they were defective until the post office informed me that I was spitting on the wrong side.

[Red Badger]

Good work, if you can get it!............

[nascarnation]

LMAO

[Don Corleone]

Back in the 30’s when Germany’s economy went bad they just overprinted the stamps with new denominations to save the costs. Inflation at that time was rampant as it will be here if we don’t unload the Marxists, all of them!

[dfwgator]

The US Postal Service just announced they are issuing a series of stamps honoring famous prostitutes.....the cost will be 42 cents per stamp, but if you want to lick them, it will cost you 20 dollars.

[upchuck]

Bump! Absolutely perfect.

[Carriage Hill]

That’d be expensive toilet paper.

[capydick]

My Post Office still has Valentines Day crap displayed - it amazes me that the USPO thinks people (customers) want this crap.

There's no need for it - they should stick with plain stamps and brown boxes.

[vette6387]

Here we are as a nation, broke, and yet these morons in government “service” are continuing on as though there is a bottomless pit of taxpayer money for them to piss away whenever and on whatever their little hearts desire. For the life of me, why the USPS is still producing “commemorative stamps” when they contribute to their burgeoning debt is beyond comprehension.

[Bender2]

Re: --the service produced 1 billion of Simpson Stamps... and sold 318 million

Gadzooks, big? Don't tell me... you've been cancelled?

Well, don't sweat it... I've been cancelled by Fox more times than I can count--

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Do’h!...close the postal department!

[Maven]

Who collects stamps any more, anyway?

You'd be surprised at who still collects stamps. My father is a stamp dealer, and has been one full-time since 1976. I handle his Ebay sales, which are very healthy. He's busier now at age 77 than he's ever been.

Having said that, he doesn't deal in new commemoratives - that's just postage. OTOH, he bought a huge plate block collection for about 6% of SCV, and I've putting them up for him at 10%, and the final auction prices are around 15-30%, so he's really happy about that.

Also, I just sold a bunch of Crosby covers for him - those have real photographs and cool cachets and were created in the 1930s and '40s.

Mostly, though, he doesn't even deal that much in U.S. stamps - his expertise is in Germany and Europe. He has customers all over the world - I know more about international mailing than the people at the Post Office do (which might explain some things that are wrong there) - and he also buys and sells in live auctions here and in Europe.

Just handling his Ebay sales for him has expanded my geographical knowledge immensely, and I like to joke that I'm now a philatelist against my will. I also like to say that, when in doubt, it's probably a British colony. LOL!

[hawaiianninja]

Do’h!...close the postal department!

LOL!... or have Bain Capital take over.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

I find that they always run out of the Reagan stamps, and also the religious (Nativity Scene) Christmas stamps.

They still print Nativity stamps? All I've found the last few years are ornaments and (woo-hoo) pinecones.

[Dr. Sivana]

They still print Nativity stamps?

You have to ask, and get them early (preferably before December). They always have a great Master's work, a secular one, and a Hannukay and sometimes Kwanzaa.

[a fool in paradise]

[Revolting cat!]