From Royal Mail's Post and Go News webpage today:
"Poppy stamp
The Poppy design from the Symbolic Flowers Post & Go set will be
re-introduced nationwide from 19 October 2015. The stamps will be available from
Post & Go /Self-Service Kiosk post offices, BPMA, Royal Navy Museum and Royal Mail Enquiry office
machines."
It will also be one of the options at the Sindelfingen and Paris stamp exhibitions - see here.
UPDATE: The Poppy stamp has been reprinted with MA15 year code: there are reports of blank examples already being offered on auction site eBay.
Ian - Despite rumours to the contrary the single Poppy roll has been reprinted and is MA15. Already on eBay !
ReplyDeleteI think your reports today total 150 new Post And Go stamps/labels (not including whatever it is that has been produced in Qatar and a couple of speculations about future issues) based on there being 6 values per Collectors' strips. Only the very brave and very rich can carry on collecting Post And Go's surely.
ReplyDeletesee my comment under Royal Navy Museum kiosks: it is not possible that the Poppy will be loaded alongside
ReplyDeleteMachin & Union Flag - as published by RM
My heart absolutely sank when I saw these reports. Particularly the military museums - that comes to some 10 different collectors strips from them alone. 4xMachin with logo, 4xUnion Jack without logo, 2 x Trafalgar day. Then Hong Kong and the other two overseas exhibitions (both Machin and Union Jack? - not clear). I was planning to carry on to end 2015 and stop all overprints and just focus on the new pictorials, but the thought of spending so much money on the military museum ones before then just seems stupid. And because of the disparate locations they really need to be bought from dealers which makes the cost more (although of course so convenient). I'm with White Knight - The P&G overprint collection is no longer feasible or sensible unless money is no option. "Where will it all end" as they say?!!!!
ReplyDeletePO Post & Go
ReplyDeleteI now only collect Post & Go issued from Post Offices normal & any errors. And a couple of packs. that seems enough. Also 1 overprint The BPMA.
The Royal Mail end museums & shows seems trashy and use any excuse to fleece the public.
I only collect the Packs, PO collectors strips of 6 values and BPMA Overprints and special overprints in the UK only. Other museum issues are just taking the **** out of loyal collectors, something Royal Mail know but it will only get worse as the cash keeps rolling in for them
ReplyDeleteThese machines dispense 1st class stamps, so why does a collector feel compelled to purchase the more expensive collector's strips when 6 x 1st is available? And to show a change of machine location name or other textual or font change, why not just a single 1st class of any of the six designs? It is only expensive because of the collector mentality of having to have one of everything and the only 'winner' is Royal Mail. I choose to collect just a blank strip which I insert into its presentation card (and use the pre-printed stamps from the pack for postage) and will not pay more than £1 per blank stamp - at least my strips will not fade to nothing over time! 65170
ReplyDeleteHi Ian just saw on your other report that the Navy group are also issuing poppy stamps. Does that really mean these 4 are issuing 14 new sets? Surely RM shouldn't allow them to do that?!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe reason for the Poppy stamp is remembrance (the definitive-size poppy will be on sale in many post offices).
DeleteWho do you think supplies the museums with the stamps but Royal Mail. It's not a question of 'allowing', it is Royal Mail which determines which stamps will be sold when and where.
Thanks Ian that''s a really good point and this situation raises lots of issues. Personally it''s the tipping point for me. Not going any further with these overprints.
ReplyDeleteWise words at last from fellow collectors about the Post & Go Farce! Remember the Frama labels and the money spent on those, thankfully there were only a handful of machines, collectors can buy what they want, but just remember, all this Museum and Stamp show philatelic tat will not even have a SG catalogue number and the Royal Mail issues are just worth face value less 35% when it comes to selling it to dealers, so here is a cunning plan, just send me 25% of what you normally spend and the 10% you can go out and buy something that you like rather than what is created by the Royal Mail Marketing team. Thankfully the word 'Investment' has not yet got attached to the whole Post & Go market unlike the bad old days when the public were fleeced by Companies who should have known better. No need to name them as we know who they are!..
ReplyDeleteIt is noted that the Poppies P&G are not due to be released into machines until 19th October. The new stock, we are informed, has a year code of MA15. So with those two statements taken as read, then how is it possible that blank MA15 Poppy have come on to the market? It cannot be that wrong stamps have been inserted into a machine as they would be 'printed' labels. Personally my only conclusion is that there is some form of collusion between staff who operate the machines and members of the public/dealers in allowing these to be released. Maybe the only answer is possible deliberate theft. There is no argument for these being blank and hence have no value. There should be strict controls (audit processes) in place to stop this happening. No doubt should a whole roll be 'misappropriated' it would be a relatively easy thing to start overprinting these on say a home computer/laser printer with any value and then no doubt Revenue Protection would be on the case. Could I ask whether in this case Revenue Protection are involved and naming/shaming those involved? Doug (Enfield)
ReplyDeleteWhilst I understand Doug of Enfield's reasoning, may I add that my own PO kindly gives me two or three blank strips (shock) when new issues arrive. No, I don't overprint them and I do not sell them on EBay. Yes, I already have my MA15 poppies - thank you - which arrived last week. One strip in my album and one to send to a contact abroad. He kindly sends me a blank from there. Is this so wrong that it requires the intervention of Royal Mail Protection ?
DeleteNo I don't think its wrong, no worse than cancel by favour on covers or all the other little quirks that make this hobby interesting. It is when material is 'lifted' wholesale that it begins to get a little darker, especially if it goes direct to a dealer who corners the market. It is certainly no worse than all that material that left by the back door of one of the stamp printers about 6 years ago and then the market was flooded with all these Machins with the 00p values, what's happened to all of those I wonder. Oh and word to the wise at the Human Resources Dept. at these sort of Companies. Do not tell your workforce that they are to be made redundant and then ask them to lend a hand moving the equipment and stock to the new company that has brought them out! Ha!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe not the ideal place to post this, but anyone know what has happened to the Machin Post & Go stamps with MA14 date code? First seen in July 2014 but barely used since. One wonders why it was produced as MA13 and No Date Code are still used extensively, so stock shortage doesn't appear to be the reason. Anyone any ideas on this?
ReplyDeleteMA14 Machin stock was produced for use on the NCR machines only, and would have to be remanufactured for use IAR machines, as was done with the Working Sail issue.
DeleteWe can only speculate how Southport & Carmarthen got them in their machines. It’s more understandable for Harrogate to have got them for their NCR machines early.
A lot of blanks (and it now seems part rolls are being offered) and so called errors emanate from Post Office Staff who have responsibility for the machines. I know of two branches where this is the case, but too whom do you report concerns?
ReplyDeleteThis blog is read by some people within Royal Mail, and Post Office Ltd.
DeleteTrue - eBay item number: 272020277898
DeleteThis is a 2nd class roll-end.
DeleteQuestion 1: if you go into a Self-Service PO branch and see a reel-end in the waste-bin do you leave it there or take it out?
Question 2: Either way, do you point out to the PO staff that the unprinted stamps should not have been disposed of in a non-secure manner?
Question 3: Assuming the answers to questions 1 and 2 are NO, and that you have more blanks than you actually want for your own collection, what do you do with the remainder?
I have seen on more than 1 occasion engineers putting the remains of rolls in the bin, this seemed to have happened more when Winor machines were in use. A good place to find them was Ludgate Circus/Tudor street i never told the staff or engineer if training is only done remotely then what does RM or the PO expect.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe Revenue protection are bothered at all, if they were they would have stopped the Worldwide stamp that had no weight limit printed on it in an font error on Wincor machines. If they are bothered then this is new and in lots of ways too late.